The Five Hundred and Ninety-Seventh Location
“After Geoffrey’s d*ath, the Adherents faction disintegrated, leading to internal strife. The rebels who opposed the Wind King began to suspect and even despise each other after losing Geoffrey’s leadership. During subsequent wars, they fought separately or even attacked each other, no longer having the strength to resist Baldric.
“Baldric ultimately pacified the entire Pritt region through military action, ending the Wind King’s Rebellion. He became the sole king of Pritt, and most of the Adherents’ lords eventually surrendered and converted, which Baldric accepted. However, aside from a few families like the Devenhills that surrendered early and made significant contributions during the war, most of the Adherents’ lords were stripped of their titles and privileges. Most of their extraordinary inheritances were abolished, with only a few d*e-hard resistors being executed.
“Finally, Baldric officially changed his surname to Despenser, elevating his lineage as the legitimate successors of the Wind King. This earned him the title ‘True Successor.’ After Baldric’s d*ath, his son, Edward III, ascended to the throne, moved the capital to the mouth of the Moonflow River, and expanded the new city of Tivyán, earning him the title ‘City Builder Edward.’ Thus, the Wind Messenger Dynasty began and has continued to this day.”
In the dim room, John sat on the bed, continuing to narrate the historical stories he knew, as if lecturing in a classroom to his students. Ed sat in a corner of the room, listening attentively, then pondered for a moment before asking.
“So… At the end of the Wind King’s Rebellion, most of the Adherents’ final outcomes weren’t too bad; they all survived, right? If I remember correctly, the Church’s policy towards heretics wasn’t nearly as lenient back then as it is now. You could erase your past by changing your faith…”
“This is indeed an interesting point… Generally, the Church’s major policy adjustments towards heretics happened after the Iwig Mudstream War. The Wind King’s Rebellion ended almost a hundred years before the Mudstream War began. During the Wind King’s Rebellion, the Church was still in a very strict period towards heretics. It’s somewhat unbelievable that they didn’t bind all the surrendered Adherents to the stake.
“I think it might be because Baldric played a mediating role. However, there are also signs indicating that the Church did not show much hostility towards the Night Sky Empress’s faith throughout the entire war.
“While they destroyed or repurposed old faith relics discovered during the war, confiscated related books, and erased legends, they provided a path for old faith believers and clergy to change their beliefs and survive. The judges did not interfere much with Pritt’s affairs, making the situation after the Wind King’s Rebellion much better compared to the large-scale religious tragedies that occurred during the Mudstream War in Iwig.”
After hearing Ed’s words, John thought for a moment and responded. Then, Ed shifted the topic.
“You mentioned that Ampel Devenhill took some temple secrets to his grave. Do you know where this tomb is?”
“No… My research hadn’t progressed to that point yet. If you want to delve deeper into this matter, perhaps you can find someone from the Devenhill family and seek clues from them.” John replied. Ed immediately asked another question.
“The last question: Apart from you, does anyone else know about the information that Ampel knew about the temple’s secrets? Did Duke Barret participate in translating this secret letter? Does he have any records?”
“As for that… After we discovered Ampel’s secret letter, I’ve been the one doing the translation. The handwriting on the letter was very messy and unclear, written in a dialect of Pritt from five hundred years ago, quite obscure. It took a lot of effort to decipher. Since my knowledge of languages is better than Richard’s, I did this work. After translating it, I found important information but couldn’t find Richard at the time, so I left him a note in the library, specifically mentioning this matter.”
John said while recalling. When he finished speaking, Ed let out a slight sigh of relief, but John’s next words made his expression change again.
“However, although I was responsible for translating these secret letters, to ensure safety, both sides kept copies. The original is with me, and Richard has a photo copy to prevent any damage to the original.”
“Photo copy…” Hearing John’s words, Ed’s tone became more serious. John, noticing this, curiously asked.
“We always keep photo copies of valuable documents. Is there something wrong with that?”
“No, nothing… Thank you, Professor Macchison, for sharing your information selflessly. Your intelligence has been very helpful to us.” Ed responded. As he spoke, he slowly stood up from his seat in the corner.
“Since you saved me, sharing this is my duty.” John continued calmly, looking at the standing Ed. Then Ed politely replied.
“Well, it’s almost time. I should take my leave. Professor, stay here and rest well. Someone will come to take care of you. Now, in those people’s eyes, you’re already dead, so as long as you don’t appear in public for a while, you’ll be safe.
“Goodbye.”
After saying this, Ed waved goodbye to John on the bed, walked toward the door with a peaceful look in his eyes, opened the door, and left. After closing the door behind him, Ed turned his gaze to the corridor and saw a familiar female figure leaning against the wall.
“Hello, Miss Adele. Are you also interested in history?”
Looking at the beautiful woman in a red dress holding a cigarette, Ed smiled and said. Adele glanced at Ed and replied.
“I have neither the fortune nor interest to indulge in such secretive historical knowledge. I came here to see someone who borrowed my territory but never showed their face.” Adele said. Then, after taking a puff of her cigarette, she slowly walked up to Ed, placed her hand on his chest, leaned her delicate face forward, and whispered.
“After traveling for half a year, you didn’t even show your true face and came to ask for help. Don’t you think this is a bit unreasonable, Detective Miss?”
Seeing the seductive face so close, Ed remained unperturbed and smiled slightly, then continued.
“I’m sorry, Miss Adele. I got entangled with troublesome people as soon as I returned to Tivyán and have been busy with important matters. I haven’t had time. Once I finish handling my urgent matters, I will visit you to apologize. If you want to drink, I can accompany you.”
“Are you the real deal or a puppet?”
“Of course, I am the real deal.”
“That’s good.” Hearing Ed’s words, Adele removed her hand from Ed’s chest, stepped back two steps, and then scrutinized the man in front of her before continuing in a relaxed manner.
“I can tell that when you put on a different persona, you become completely different. This kind of confident and steady demeanor doesn’t require much skill to bewitch many innocent young girls. You seem to be quite skilled at playing the part of a man. I’ve seen enough men… none of them are as attractive as you.
“So, are you interested in a man like me?”
“Interested, but my interest in your adorable true self is far greater than in this persona.”
“Adorable…”
Facing Ed, Adele finished speaking lightly and then turned away, walking away slowly.
“Alright, busy detective, go about your business. Remember to be careful. The tendrils of the Deep Web Queen aren’t easy to deal with. Don’t get stuck.”
After saying this, Adele left without looking back, and Ed silently watched her departure.
…
During the day, in a corner of Tivyán, on a carriage parked by the roadside, Dorothy, dressed in a black silk dress with pigtails and wearing small leather shoes, sat in the carriage as usual. Using her mind to control the distant zombie puppet Ed and Crown University archaeology professor John Macchison, she learned about many secrets of the Wind King’s Rebellion five hundred years ago.
‘The Wind King’s Rebellion back then… There were such secrets. The last monarch of the Howling g*n Dynasty, who claimed to be the rightful successor of the Despensers, turned out to be a madman, whose s*icide triggered a dispute over the throne, leading to the extinction of the dynasty… It became the catalyst for all subsequent turmoil…
‘Did the mad king’s family have a genetic predisposition to madness? The struggle for the throne in the capital quickly escalated into a life-or-d*ath situation, and ultimately ended in mutual destruction, directly burying the entire dynasty…
‘The mad king’s family seemed to have a genetic predisposition to madness. The struggle for the throne in the capital quickly escalated into a life-or-d*ath situation, and ultimately ended in mutual destruction, directly burying the entire dynasty…
‘The conflict between the old culture of Pritt and the Radiant faith was indeed present, but it wasn’t the sole cause of the Wind King’s Rebellion. The primary contradiction at the beginning of the rebellion was still the power struggle among the various lords of Pritt. The church wanted to use this opportunity to expand its influence, supporting Baldric, which led the other lords to unite in resistance, using the symbols of the old faith to rally people…
‘The Blackhen King Geoffrey… the man who unified the Adherents and became king. Unlike the lords who merely used the old faith of the Mirror Moon Goddess as a tool, he seemed to genuinely worship and believe in the goddess. This transformation was due to the appearance of the so-called divine envoy witch, who brought him supposed miracles, leading him to discover relics of Pritt to seek forgiveness from the gods and obtain blessings from the Night Sky Empress to oppose the Radiant Church.
‘Frankly, this divine envoy witch seems somewhat suspicious. According to the information I obtained from the ruins of the Mirror Moon Goddess, her faith left Pritt voluntarily. They seemed to have signed some contract at the beginning of the fourth era, abandoning their existence in Pritt. Based on the Radiant Church’s northward expansion and missionary activities in the Pritt Islands, the contracting party was likely the church at that time.
‘This means that the entire Pritt region may have been obtained by the Radiant Church through some agreement with the Mirror Moon Goddess’s faith. The relatively moderate treatment of the Mirror Moon faith during the Wind King’s Rebellion suggests that the relationship between the two was not particularly bad, at least not as bad as the relationship between the Amniotic Sac and the Radiant Church, or the Savior Faction and the Radiant Church…
‘The sudden appearance of this divine envoy is somewhat suspicious. If Pritt was handed over by the Mirror Moon Goddess to the Radiant Church, and they do not seem to have an irreconcilable conflict, why would the Mirror Moon Goddess suddenly send a divine envoy back to Pritt to organize people to overthrow the church? Could it be that She regrets the agreement made in the past, or are there other reasons?’
Sitting in the carriage, Dorothy thought. In her view, the war five hundred years ago, as described by John, seemed to hide deeper secrets.
Regarding the clearly “Shadow”-dominated secret transmission obtained from John, Dorothy did not rush to extract spirituality or exchange knowledge, instead saving it for later use when the “Shadow” spirituality was lacking. After a simple analysis of these secrets, Dorothy focused her attention on the most crucial part: the location of the temple.
Dorothy took out her magic box and retrieved the “Navigation of the Literary Sea,” flipping to the communication page of Misha Devenhill, and began writing.
“Excuse me, do you know Ampel Devenhill?”
After finishing her writing, Dorothy patiently waited. Finally, after waiting for half an hour, the response appeared on her page.
“Of course, he is a very important ancestor in our family. In ancient wars, he led our family to make significant contributions to the founding of the dynasty, laying the foundation for our family’s prosperity for centuries.”
“Do you know where Ampel’s tomb is?” Seeing Misha’s response, Dorothy immediately wrote again, and new words quickly appeared.
“Ampel’s tomb? Naturally, it is in our family cemetery in the Devenhill family, under the Loyal Guardian Church near Tivyán, buried alongside other notable members of our family.”
‘The family cemetery of the church, and it’s near Tivyán?’ Reading Misha’s response, Dorothy’s eyes lit up, and she quickly wrote again.
“Is it easy to enter your family’s cemetery? What I mean is, we might need to go inside quietly and without drawing any attention, and it would be best to do it quickly.”
“The Loyal Guardian Church’s cemetery? That’s not an easy place to enter. Usually, it’s sealed off with huge stones and remains closed for long periods. The cemetery is protected by bl**d rituals, and there are guards around. To enter without opening the tomb, one would have to dig a tunnel or forcibly break down the gate, and these actions would inevitably make noise.”
