74 Mute
His sister needed rest, so Lumian couldn’t learn new Hermes and ancient Hermes words. He could only revise what he had already learned. Around ten o’clock, he left the house and headed straight to Ol’ Tavern.
He had two objectives: first, he wanted to see if the mysterious lady would appear after he became a Dancer and provide him with some knowledge. Second, Leah and the other foreigners lived there. After yesterday’s incident, they might not be out today.
Upon entering Ol’ Tavern, Lumian quickly scanned the room and was disappointed to find that the spot where the lady usually sat was vacant.
With a slow exhale, he walked to the bar counter, intending to ask if the three foreigners were around.
At this moment, the tavern owner, Maurice Bénet, appeared to have just woken up and was clearly not in high spirits. He had a bulbous nose and was conversing with a customer at the bar.
The customer seemed agitated, gesturing wildly and making muffled sounds, but he couldn’t speak.
Mute? Lumian approached curiously and realized the customer wasn’t one of the village mutes but Jean Maury, Sybil Berry’s husband.
Sybil was the mistress of Padre Guillaume Bénet, sister of Shepherd Pierre Berry, and a member of their small group.
Jean Maury isn’t mute… Lumian assessed the middle-aged man in confusion.
His black hair was unkempt, and his stubble was uneven. His eyes were filled with anger and fear.
Uncharacteristically agitated, he gestured urgently, trying to communicate something to the tavern owner.
As Lumian thought, “Odd,” he approached the bar counter and knocked on it with a smile.
“Hey, what’s going on?
“Maurice, did you sell fake alcohol to Jean? He looks so angry he can’t speak.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Maurice Bénet quickly defended himself. “He muted himself.”
Jean Maury paused and glanced at Lumian, reverting to his usual sullen demeanor.
He then turned and left Ol’ Tavern.
After he disappeared through the door, Lumian lowered his voice and asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
Maurice Bénet looked outside and whispered, “I heard he caught Sybil and the padre in bed together last night, and it made him so mad he went mute. Today, he’s been telling everyone he sees. Heh, he doesn’t even have the guts to go to Dariège to confront the padre. What a coward. Serves him right!”
Lumian was baffled and shocked.
If he remembered correctly, Jean Maury knew about his wife Sybil’s prolonged affair with the padre. He just didn’t want her to be with another man. How could he be so angry that he went mute over something he was prepared for?
Something was off!
Moreover, in the previous cycle, there had been no instance of Jean Maury becoming mute from anger. Otherwise, Lumian would have known.
In Cordu, this was headline news. It would have spread rapidly.
Could it be that their investigations had caused a disturbance, making Jean Maury encounter something he wouldn’t have otherwise? As Lumian speculated, he showed an excited expression.
“Is that so?
“Then I’ll have to ask him properly!”
Maurice Bénet wasn’t surprised by his eagerness for gossip, thinking it was typical.
He scolded jokingly, “Damned kid, be decent and don’t provoke that poor man. Besides, he’s mute and can’t write. How can he tell you what happened?”
Lumian chuckled and said, “Can’t he gesture?”
He raised his hands and clenched his left fist, gently hitting his right palm.
Throughout the Dariège region and even across southern Intis, this was a universal gesture for the act between a man and a woman.
Maurice Bénet cursed angrily, “I hope you’ve got some decency left and don’t play pranks on that poor man.”
“Don’t worry. I just want to ‘hear’ the story.” Lumian waved his hand and dashed out of Ol’ Tavern, searching for Jean Maury.
However, Lumian didn’t know where the man had gone, nor was he gesturing his story to other villagers. Lumian scoured Cordu but found no trace of him.
Finally, he arrived at Jean Maury’s house.
At the entrance, Sybil Berry, clad in a grayish-white dress, was sorting through spoiled potatoes.
“What’s the matter?” The woman looked up at Lumian.
Like Pierre Berry, she had blue eyes, and her long black hair flowed softly down her back, unlike other married women who always wore their hair in a bun.
Lumian answered frankly, “I’m looking for Jean Maury?”
With plump cheeks and gentle features, Sybil replied indifferently,”He’s not home.”
“Then do you know where he went?” Lumian pressed.
Sybil replied calmly, “We had an argument last night. He might have left Cordu and doesn’t want to return for the time being.”
Lumian’s brows twitched. He sensed that something bad had happened.
Clearly, Jean Maury couldn’t leave Cordu. That would trigger the cycle and cause a restart!
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Lumian wore a mischievous grin.
“Why did you guys quarrel? I heard that you and the padre…”
He didn’t finish the sentence but instead punched his right palm with his left fist.
Sybil’s face turned cold as she cursed in a low voice, “Get lost! Get out of my house!”
Lumian clicked his tongue and left Jean Maury’s house.
After walking for a distance, the smile on his face vanished.
In truth, he didn’t want to ask about Sybil’s affair with the padre. He had seen the padre and Madame Pualis naked. What else was there to ask?
But if he didn’t ask, it didn’t fit his persona in the eyes of the villagers. He had already “visited” them. If he didn’t anger the mistress of the house, could he still live up to the name of Prankster King of Cordu?
Therefore, Lumian had no choice but to ask. Otherwise, he might be suspected.
...
The persona of a character was sometimes useful and sometimes troublesome.
Judging by the padre’s actions and the information he had, Lumian suspected that Jean Maury hadn’t become mute because of the affair but had uncovered something else.
It was highly likely that he had been poisoned and rendered mute!
I have to find him as soon as possible. If he goes around looking for people to complain to, he might just die like the previous one. No, he’s already missing… The more Lumian thought about it, the more he felt that something had happened to Jean Maury.
The villager who had snitched in Dariège previously had fallen to his death for no reason!
Just as Lumian was making his last effort to find Jean Maury, he encountered Ryan, Leah, and Valentine, who were “hanging around” in the village.
They were still wearing their original clothes.
“Good morning, my cabbages,” Lumian greeted them with a smile.
As soon as they approached, he immediately asked in a low voice, “Did anything happen yesterday?”
Leah replied with a smile, “That madame doesn’t seem to want to pursue the matter. She didn’t appear.”
As expected… Lumian looked around and saw that there was no one nearby. Only then did he tell the three official investigators about his sister’s deduction of the Madame Pualis pathway and her guess of Pulitt’s identity.
...
Valentine’s expression soured as he listened, while Leah was rather excited.
Ryan recalled and said, “It’s rare for a Demoness to appear in Riston Province. We don’t know much about this, but the higher-ups should know very well. I’ll send a telegram later and tell them about Madame Pualis. Hmm, I’ll only mention how Madame Pualis’s room has Pulitt’s photo, but the Roquefort family doesn’t have Pualis.”
Seeing Lumian’s puzzled expression, Ryan added, “In Intis, Demoness-related matters often happen.”
So, my sister’s pen pal is also in Intis? Lumian nodded and said, “So far, Madame Pualis doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the loop. Also, she seems to be aware of the loop. That might be why she didn’t pursue our search of the castle.
“Is it possible that we can join forces with her to some extent?”
Valentine blurted out, “How can I work with such an evil and filthy person who’s even more terrifying than a demon?”
Lumian didn’t even look at him. He turned his gaze to Ryan and Leah.
Seeing that they were somewhat hesitant, he tried to persuade them earnestly.
“A limited cooperation, only in the loop. When this damned loop is resolved, you can deal with her however you want! You can even tell her directly about this. I believe she can understand and accept it.”
Ryan thought for a few seconds, patted Valentine’s shoulder, and said to Lumian, “Indeed, the most important thing now is to resolve this loop. However, we can’t be sure of that madame’s attitude. We don’t dare to visit her directly. I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you or your sister to communicate with her and inquire.”
“Alright,” Lumian agreed.
He planned to do it himself.
He didn’t want his sister to be alone with Madame Pualis when he realized that she might harbor abnormal feelings for his sister.
Valentine kept a poker face as he listened to their conversation. He neither agreed nor disagreed.
Lumian peered around furtively once more.
“There are three more clues…”
He recounted Reimund’s case, Jean Maury’s situation, and the “burial chamber” where the owl had flown into.
Leah was stunned.
“How did you get so many clues so quickly?”
She even suspected this guy or his sister were off. That was why there were red flags and clues everywhere.
Who were the real investigators here? Why hadn’t we caught on?
“Blame yourselves for not remembering the first two cycles.” Lumian smirked, spreading his hands in mock innocence.
Leah nodded, swallowing his explanation.
Ryan mulled it over for a beat before uttering in a gravelly voice, “Then we gotta investigate the cathedral catacombs ASAP. Yeah, it’s probably very dangerous down there. You should contact Madame Pualis first. If she’s down to joining, we’ll have a way higher chance of nailing this.”