Chapter 523: Suicide Note! (16k Words Large Chapter!) (2/5)

Chapter 523 Suicide Note! (A grand 16,000-word chapter!) (2/5)

Footsteps echoed from outside the private room as the waiter began serving the dishes. Once the table was set, Dalliss picked up the wine bottle and inquired, "A little drink? To celebrate our success in advance?"

Neo nodded and smiled. "Why not?"

The three of them raised their wine glasses, clinked them gently, and emptied them in one gulp.

As Dalliss continued pouring the wine, he remarked, "If either of you has anything else to ask, please don't hesitate. Feel free to ask anything."

Neo shook his head and replied, "Nothing to ask. We just want to focus on the task at hand. Of course, if we can become friends in the future, we can converse more casually."

"Splendid, you are always welcome."

Following that, they began their meal.

Karen and Neo merely ate to keep him company, whereas Dalliss ate swiftly and with utter focus. Before long, he finished his meal, and as he wiped his mouth with a napkin, he apologized with an air of regret:

"My apologies, it has been far too long since I tasted the cuisine of my homeland, so I could not contain myself. I originally intended to finish eating before you arrived, haha."

"As a diplomatic priest stationed abroad year-round, it must be arduous," Karen remarked.

"It is not so bad. There are far too many within the Church contributing under much harsher conditions; I do not consider it arduous. Oh, yes, there is one more matter."

"Please, do speak," Neo said, shifting his posture.

"If you wish to bring my father down with greater certainty, then it would be best if, when filing the indictment, you do not seek the death penalty for treason. I am not pleading for my father, but rather wishing to avoid any unexpected variables and to refrain from provoking the sensitive nerves of other factions within the Church. Furthermore, to facilitate better cooperation between the Whip of Order and the Regional Administration Office hereafter, I suggest that stripping him of all positions accompanied by a period of solitary confinement and reflection be the primary demand.

Such a demand can be accepted by all sides, allowing it to be executed with greater stability.

Of course, I know that from your perspective, you would certainly hope to sentence my father to the ultimate punishment, preferably of the 'obliteration' kind.

It is only natural that you wish for this, but I believe your superiors might not see it that way."

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Dalliss," Karen said.

"You are welcome, it is only my duty. In truth, I rather wish my father could die, sincerely. But my father is different from others; if other bishops encountered such a predicament, they would likely have written a suicide note for the sake of a final shred of dignity and chosen to end their own lives.

Yet my father is not a man who would commit suicide; he will stubbornly keep himself as healthy as possible out of spite.

Therefore, we have no need to anticipate that he will write a suicide note stating his choice to end his life after being sentenced, stripped of his title, and confined.

Such a beautiful scenario will not manifest."

Having said this, Dalliss raised his glass once more:

"After this glass of wine, we shall have to busy ourselves. I hope it can end swiftly; I wish to read a book in peace by myself."

Karen and Neo raised their glasses as well, and they all drained this final cup.

Putting on his coat, Dalliss spoke, "You two may wait for me here. I shall return home to fetch a few items and then come back. It might take a short while, as I wish to bid farewell to my family as well."

"No matter, please do as you please, Mr. Dalliss."

"Very well, thank you for your understanding."

Dalliss stepped out of the private room. Soon after, the waiter brought a fruit platter and beverages into the room, presumably ordered by Dalliss when he settled the bill.

Neo waved his hand, establishing a simple barrier:

"As it turns out, the one with the clearest mind in that Dolph family is actually a cuckold."

In the Wien cultural and linguistic system, a "green hat" shared the exact same meaning as the cuckold concept Karen was accustomed to, though its origin differed. The phrase stemmed from a tale of the Wien royal family from many years ago. To satisfy her desires, the Queen frequently summoned male attendants into her bedchamber to serve her. Because the throne was inherited by the Queen, her husband, the Count, held a low status and had to compromise in these matters.

To avoid awkwardness and to maintain mutual "tolerance," the Queen's handmaiden would use the color of a hat as a signal during the couple's breakfast. If a green hat was chosen to be worn, it signified that an outside male would enter today, and the Lord Count would proactively excuse himself after breakfast to provide the "workplace."

After this story leaked out, the green hat took on its peculiar connotation.

Karen took a sip of iced water and remarked, "I am now even beginning to suspect that his father might have had some hidden justification for doing such a thing to his wife."

Neo looked at Karen with utter disbelief. "Oh, heavens, do you realize how twisted and perverted what you just said truly sounds?"

"Have you read the files? The ones his commanding officer sent to our headquarters. Unlike Terrence's chain of evidence, which is completely filthy, his side appears somewhat too clean. Just like this evidentiary material he handed us himself, the vast majority belongs to the unspoken rules of occupational income, akin to the tip money we used to collect from those we protected during security missions."

Neo took out another cigarette, preparing to light it as he spoke:

"A normal person placed within that abnormal family—being too normal makes him seem abnormal instead?"

Karen responded:

"Sometimes, the one who appears the most normal might actually be the most abnormal one of all."

"Then we shall continue to wait here. Barring any accidents, the matter should be resolved swiftly. By the way, that Terrence will likely be sentenced to obliteration. Leave that one for me to practice on, stop playing with ash."

"A pity. Is it truly impossible to put Dolph to death?"

"You are afraid that if we fail to kill him this time, there might be further complications later. There is nothing we can do about that for now; let us bring him down first. Learn from Vicole; once the storm of this matter blows over in a few years, we will find a way to finish him off.

In any case, as long as we can continue to thrive, we need not worry too much about those who glare at us with hatred in secret. Those people only dare to rush forward and bite you when you are down; at any other time, they are more cowardly than anyone.

Alright, alright, would you care for another cigarette?

No need to worry about this further. His own son said it himself: it is impossible for Dolph to write a suicide note to save face."

...

"Are you tired?"

"No."

"In truth, you should have listened to me and sat there to rest. I could have handled the matters here by myself."

Philomena looked at Richard and said, "You are in no position to command me."

Richard shrugged; he had long grown accustomed to the way the girl spoke.

However, without her assistance, disposing of these corpses would have kept him busy by himself until dawn.

Once everything was settled, Richard stretched and said, "The night market is not far from here. Shall we go have a late-night snack?"

Philomena paused.

Richard continued, "I am hungry. I want to get a late-night snack."

Yet Philomena still gave no response.

Huh, what is it?

Richard walked forward and discovered that Philomena's gaze was fixed on a corner of the roadside ahead. There stood an elderly woman.

The elderly woman leaned on a walking stick, clad in a brown robe, and was likewise looking in their direction.

"Who is she?" Richard inquired.

"My grandmother."

"Your grandmother? Oh, she is..."

Just then, Richard sensed a gust of wind appearing by his side, and immediately continued:

"...she is the beloved, most benevolent grandmother you always mention?"

"Young man, I hardly believe my granddaughter would speak well of me out there. Do not try to sow discord between us."

"How could I, Grandmother?" Richard said, scratching his head and putting on an innocent, harmless demeanor as he turned to face Madame Fersher.

Madame Fersher inhaled deeply, her peripheral vision catching the mark on Richard's palm, and asked:

"That piece of useless trash from the Guman family?"

Richard quickly replied, "Yes, it is I! Hello, Grandmother. I have always wanted to pay you a visit, but I never could find the right opportunity, hehe."

"Your grandmother certainly would not want you coming to my home for a visit."

"It matters not. I can simply not tell my grandmother, and come in secret."

Madame Felscher let out a sudden laugh upon hearing this. "For such an unyielding woman as your grandmother to have a grandson like you, it is a wonder she has not been vexed to death, haha."

"My grandmother's temperament is much gentler now; she has long since looked past such things," Richard responded.

Lately, his grandmother regarded Karen as her own flesh-and-blood grandson, to the extent that when she bought divine robes last time, she had actually purchased them in Karen's size rather than his own.

Yet this was quite well in its own way; Richard felt he was incapable of making his grandmother proud, so letting her derive a sense of belonging and pride from Karen amounted to the same thing anyway.

Philomena spoke up, "Grandmother, what are you going out for?"

Madame Felscher looked at her own granddaughter and asked in puzzlement, "Am I forbidden from going out?"

Philomena shook her head.

Richard immediately chimed in, "You can, of course you can! The elderly ought to go out more often for walks to breathe the fresh air, for only then can one enjoy health and longevity. Grandmother, you really should stroll outside more frequently."

"You shameless creature, whom are you calling grandmother?"

"Is the relationship between you and my grandmother not quite good? I merely called you that in passing to show a sense of closeness."

"Haha, the relationship between your grandmother and me can hardly be considered good. It is just that not many of the old folk survived from the past, so in an altered sense, those with whom one can still converse have simply dwindled.

In the old days, the relationship between your grandmother and me was very, very poor."

"That is all business of the previous generation. In truth, there is nothing that cannot be looked past, right?"

"Your grandfather was not as smooth-tongued as you back then; he only knew how to roll up his trousers and catch loaches to make a barbecue. If he had possessed a mouth like yours, he would have saved himself a great deal of trouble in those years."

"Ah, my grandfather was the one truly possessed of wisdom. Feigning dullness and an inability to speak is also a way to earn impression points, is it not?"

"That is indeed a possibility. At the very least, he managed to coax your grandmother into his arms. To this day, I have never understood why your grandmother would take a fancy to him. Having seen a giant dragon soaring in the heavens, how could she be willing to choose a frog upon the earth?"

Richard responded, "Perhaps it is because my grandmother clearly understood what was ultimately suited to her, and furthermore, that the giant dragon would never belong to her."

Hearing these words, Madame Felscher's gaze suddenly turned cold.

Richard's feet left the ground as his entire body was completely immobilized.

The exact same words had once been spoken to her by Madame Tangli, and now, her grandson was actually saying them to her as well.

This grandmother and grandson truly possessed a remarkable tacit understanding when it came to mocking her!

"Boy, I would not mind snapping off your head and sending it to your grandmother along with a fruit basket."

Philomena stepped in front of Richard, looking at her grandmother. "You did not come out just to see me."

"Naturally. My excursion this time is to meet a little friend, and I merely came to see you along the way. Very well, I must depart. You have not returned home for quite some time either; once you are finished with your tasks, come back to visit and feed your father."

The moment Madame Felscher finished speaking, her figure vanished from the spot.

Richard's imprisonment was lifted, and he dropped to the ground.

"Your grandmother's temper is truly dreadful," Richard said. "Well, let us go eat a midnight snack first."