The Faceless Man Chapter 231 – Confession

　　Similar feelings are not strange, experienced Klein immediately used the ability of the “clown” to control the expression of the face and the slight tremor of the body.

　　He softly but not sharply withdrew his eyes, so that the casual glance just now did not reveal too many abnormalities.

　　”Gee, Talim is so young, he’s not even married yet, no kids.” Klein sighed in passing.

　　He said it because it made enough sense to explain his subtle reaction when he saw the woman offering the flowers: associating the woman, who was related to Talim in some way, with the other’s marital and family situation, associating his friend with an untimely death, and being overwhelmed with grief.

　　”Yeah, actually, at his age, he should have gotten married four or five years ago, but unfortunately, what happened to his grandfather left an extremely strong psychological shadow on him, and has always rejected marriage until recently.” Reporter Mike sighed in agreement.

　　By this time, it was as if there was a bush of thorns behind the seemingly normal Klein’s back that was penetrating deeply and slowly into his skin and flesh and blood, making his spirit highly tense.

　　The black-skirted woman wearing a sapphire ring on the little finger of her left hand straightened her body and looked around in a sullen manner before quietly leaving Talim’s tomb, accompanied by two maids of honor, and drifted away into the distance.

　　Whew …… Klein breathed a silent sigh of relief.

　　The feeling of being stabbed in his back quickly turned into a cold sweat.

　　Who the hell was she and why had she come to the grave to lay flowers? Talim’s lover? But how could Talim, who had no wealth, no power, no status, no position, have a love affair with a terrifying character involving a level 0 seal or a demigod of the same level? This isn’t a novel! Moreover, she should be the one who utilized the curse to kill Talim ……The water behind it is so deep ……Klein listened with a stoic expression to the reporter Mike and surgeon Allen recounting Talim’s past events.

　　He quickly scattered his thoughts and felt that the most confusing point on this matter was:

　　The death of an ordinary person with no money, no power, no identity, no status and no strength could involve a level 0 seal or a strong person of the same level, which was simply unbelievable!

　　But this is not an isolated case, there is a similar thing around me …… Klein suddenly had a connection, looked at the surgeon Allen:

　　This ordinary man’s home may be hiding a Sequence 1 “Mercury Serpent”!

　　Along this line of thought, Klein recalled the nearly five months since he crossed over, and was shocked to find that he had unknowingly been involved with a number of demigods and a number of terrifying seals.

　　The woman who killed Talim just now, the “Mercury Serpent” Will Onsettin, the “Blasphemer” Amon, the mysterious woman in the Kingdom Museum, the high-ranking powerhouse of the Rose School, “0-08 “, “1-42”, Ince Zangwill, the mutated Sun Emblem, the Antigonus family notes, the suspected descendant of the Grim Reaper, Mr. Azic Aegis, Mr. Door, the Twilight Hermits. …… Names flashed through Klein’s mind, each one making him want to suck in his breath.

　　He sank his mind down and thought hard:

　　”And that’s not counting the ‘True Creator’ and ‘Eternal Blaze’ …… that sit above these Strictly speaking, I myself can be ranked in that bracket as well. After all, it’s the otherworldly soul that came as a result of the Black Divination, mastering the eerie gray mist …… Could this be the tip of the iceberg for another era after Rossel, which is why demigods, and horrific seals are coming into real life in droves …… ”

　　As Klein’s thoughts flickered, the somber reporter Mike and the surgeon Allen said their goodbyes one after another, and he left the cemetery without a moment’s hesitation.

　　Just as he was looking around, searching for where to find a horse-drawn carriage for hire, a familiar carriage pulled out of its hiding place and stopped in front of him.

　　Although the coat of arms on the black carriage was skillfully done to conceal it, Klein still recognized it as Prince Edzak’s carriage at a glance.

　　Wordlessly, the door of the carriage opened, and the old butler with meticulously combed hair descended, making a polite gesture of invitation:

　　”His Royal Highness is waiting for you.”

　　”Good.” Without half a heartbeat, Klein entered the spacious and warm carriage.

　　Prince Edzak wore a dark blue coat-collar jacket with an attire consisting of a golden ribbon like thing on his chest, which made him look exceptionally regal.

　　He rubbed down his diamond lapel pin, his narrow eyes tinged with a few sighs:

　　”Even attending a friend’s funeral, I am restricted from being there directly, I can only observe from afar, and I can only send someone to lay flowers for me, this is the royal family’s lack of freedom.”

　　”If Talim’s grandfather hadn’t lost his knighthood, you shouldn’t have to avoid anything.” Klein followed Prince Edzak’s gesture and sat down across the table.

　　Edzak raised the Ormil wine that was as crimson as blood and said:

　　”Ai, I originally planned to find a chance to help Talim’s father restore a certain degree of knighthood, but unfortunately ……”

　　He did not delve into this topic and turned to ask:

　　”Sherlock, did you receive that package?”

　　”Yes.” Klein answered what he asked, never making too much of a description.

　　Edzak nodded gently:

　　”Any progress?”

　　”I’ve done several divinations using Talim’s hair, flesh and blood, and belongings, but all I’ve gotten is that he died of a sudden heart attack.” Klein’s smooth, emotionless narration frantically implied that “I’m not very good at sequences,” “I’m limited,” “I’m good at divination but the other side is more powerful.” “I definitely can’t investigate the truth” and other meanings.

　　Edzak revealed an expression of disappointment that was hard to hide and sighed:

　　”How do you plan to investigate after that?”

　　”Start with the people Talim touched and the places he visited a few days before his death.” Klein answered according to the preliminaries.

　　Edzak glanced at the old butler:

　　”This is surely no less than coercive interrogation and monetary bribes, well …… give Sherlock 100 pounds for the investigation.”

　　”Yes, Your Royal Highness.” The old butler took out a stack of banknotes that had long been prepared from his coat pocket.

　　Directly giving 100 pounds as funding? Klein once again felt Prince Edzak’s generosity.

　　”I will endeavor to investigate.” He took the 100 pounds of cash and put it directly into his pocket without bothering to count it.

　　”I hope we can let Talim rest in peace.” Prince Edzak clenched his right fist and lightly struck his left breast.

　　As he spoke, he glanced sideways out the window to the Crown Cemetery not far away.

　　He still has a few feelings for Talim. …… Klein sighed darkly and was led out of the carriage by the old butler.

　　……

　　Queens, inside the luxurious villa of the Earl of Hall’s family.

　　Audrey looked at the long-haired and waist-length psychology teacher Yslante in front of her and pretended to look around cautiously.

　　She then lowered her voice:

　　”Teacher Yslante, I’ve recently had a new gathering of extraordinary people, in which there are people who are acquiring the properties of the Human Skin Phantom and the ‘Wind Favored One’ magic potion formula at high prices… well, different people, this should all be mid-sequence things, right? Sounds interesting, ah yes, are you guys interested?”

　　Yslante was baffled for a moment, and pondered for a few seconds:

　　”I’ll go back and ask.”

　　”Good.” Audrey responded briskly, like she just simply found a similar mid-sequence deal interesting.

　　Yslante withdrew his attention and said seriously:

　　”Ms. Audrey, although you are already a Sequence 8 Extraordinary, you have not received formal occult education, and you don’t know enough about many of the applied techniques of ‘Audience’ and ‘Mind Reader’, and the corresponding theoretical foundations. Starting today, I will guide you to gradually become a true Extraordinary.”

　　”That’s exactly what I was hoping for.” Audrey said with genuine sincerity.

　　Susie, the big golden-haired dog squatting beside her feet, also wagged her tail pleasantly, seemingly happy for her master.

　　……

　　Klein, who had made up his mind to be passive-aggressive, took a carriage and returned to 15 Minsk Street.

　　He opened the door and entered the house, and was just about to take off his hat when his movements suddenly froze.

　　His psychic intuition told him that a stranger had entered the parlor and entered the room!

　　This …… was hardly a disguise …… was it a warning? A warning is better than no warning at all …… Crane stood in the foyer, silent for some time.

　　Whirling around, he turned out the door and took a hired carriage to the Steam Church.

　　This church towered over the chimney and bell tower, the former representing the power of steam, the latter hanging intricate clocks to symbolize mechanical beauty.

　　It was neither a weekend nor midday or evening, and the church hall was filled only with sparse worshippers praying quietly.

　　Klein sat down to his place against the aisle, leaned back on his cane, took off his hat, and for ten minutes pretended to pray to the holy emblem at the very front.

　　Then, taking his things, he reached the altar along the aisle and said to the bishop, who stood beside him:

　　”I want to confess.”

　　”Good, God is watching over you.” The kind-faced bishop, pale at the temples, went first to the side confessional.

　　Klein followed close behind, closing the door of the room.

　　He sat down in a chair and addressed the bishop across the boards:

　　”I confess that I did not stand on principle in the face of danger, and chose to retreat.”

　　”What were your thoughts at the time?” The bishop asked softly.

　　Klein immediately described Talim’s death, his own suspicions, his reminder of the “Mechanical Heart”, Prince Edzak’s commission, and his heartfelt retreat in the face of royal tensions after failing to obtain the answer he wanted in divination.

　　The reason why he did not approach Carlson directly was that he feared that he himself was not only being watched from across the room, but also being secretly observed by Prince Edesak’s people, and that once he explicitly stated his perfunctory and negligent intentions, he might meet with a different kind of doom.

　　As for the Steam Church, it was the headquarters of the Church of God of Steam and Machinery’s Bechlend Diocese, one of their three main sanctuaries, and no one could pry into this place.

　　What Klein intended was to use the Church of Steam to convey his true thoughts and avoid being drawn into a deeper level of conflict.

　　Simply put, follow the will of the heart.

　　The bishop listened quietly and replied in an unchanged tone:

　　”Your choice is human instinct; God will not blame you.

　　”You go back, and God will protect you.”

　　This is good …… Klein took the hint and quietly left the steamy church.

　　Standing outside on the street, looking at the misty sky, he sighed silently:

　　Let’s ascend as soon as possible.