Chapter 656: The Treasure
“Remnants of the Bourbon Dynasty of Faraluo?”
Seated in the single room of a bar, Dorothy couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise on her face after hearing Adele’s words. She had guessed that Adele was from Faraluo, but she hadn’t expected Adele to have an even deeper identity beyond being from Faraluo.
For a moment, Dorothy began to recall the memories she had about the Bourbon Dynasty of Faraluo.
In the mundane history known to Dorothy, the Bourbon Dynasty was also called the Banquet Wine Dynasty, and it was the last dynasty in Faraluo’s history, representing the peak and end of the monarchy in Faraluo. It was established over six hundred years ago and ruled until more than a hundred years ago during the Cold Moon Revolution. It was overturned by countless resistance forces from all over the country and became one of the few dynasties whose royal family was completely overthrown among the major countries on the main continent. Today, Faraluo is one of the few countries on the main continent that does not have a monarchy or a ruling royal family.
“As far as I know, during the Cold Moon Revolution over a hundred years ago, almost all members of the Bourbon Royal Family were convicted. King Robert and countless other members of the royal family were executed, while the rest fled overseas. All the royal wealth was confiscated by the new government after the revolution. Where would there be any royal inheritance left to inherit? Even if there were, the current Faraluo government wouldn’t recognize it.”
With a serious expression, Dorothy looked at Adele in front of her and said. Adele then put down her wine glass after savoring a sip of fine wine and spoke leisurely.
“That’s true. During the later stages of the Bourbon Dynasty, the Bourbon Royal Family, led by the Greedy King, recklessly taxed and plundered the country’s wealth without restraint, making enemies of almost everyone. After the revolution succeeded and he was executed, the entire Bourbon family was blamed. Regardless of their proximity or distance from the royal family, their properties were looted. The damage the king caused to the country was immense. In theory, the Bourbon family should not have any inheritance, and even if they did, it wouldn’t fall to us, the remnants of traitors. The Faraluo government has already swallowed it up.”
Adele waved her hand and said. After hearing this, Dorothy replied solemnly.
“So… the letter you received might be a prank?”
“To be honest, it doesn’t seem like a simple prank. In general, very few people outside know about my Faraluo identity, let alone that I am a descendant of the Bourbon family. Since the Cold Moon Revolution, my ancestors have hidden their names and severed ties with various factions within Faraluo, never interacting again. There should be very few people in this world who know of my connection to the Bourbon family.
“Moreover, along with the letters, some small items similar to jewelry were sent. I specifically had them appraised, and found out that these items are mostly those popular in the Faraluo court over a hundred years ago. These things aren’t cheap. If this were just a prank, the cost would be too high.”
Adele answered Dorothy in this way. After listening to Adele’s words, Dorothy frowned slightly and continued speaking.
“Can I see those letters?”
“No problem.” As she spoke, Adele opened her lady’s bag and took out three envelopes that had been opened and placed them on the table.
“I’ve checked these letters from multiple angles and confirmed that there are no extraordinary traces attached to them. Similarly, the contents inside are safe and free from poison. You can view them safely.”
Listening to Adele’s words, Dorothy picked up the envelope on the table. After checking it herself, she took out the letter inside, unfolded it, and carefully examined it, reading its content seriously.
Judging from the handwriting, all three letters were written by the same person. The writer wrote elegant Faraluo script, and the entire letter was sincere in tone and appropriate in wording, adopting a supportive and flattering attitude toward Adele.
The sender called himself “Mr. F,” claiming that his ancestor was once a court attendant serving the Bourbon Royal Family, loyal to the Bourbon family. He had long been dissatisfied with the overthrow of the Bourbon family by so-called “mob,” and had always wanted to do something for the injured Bourbon family.
Mr. F stated that for a hundred years, their family had secretly collected intelligence and searched for hidden Bourbon descendants, providing them with covert assistance. Recently, they discovered a clue to a secret treasure left behind by the last Bourbon King, Greedy King Robert.
According to their estimation, this treasure was extremely rich. They wanted to elect the most pure-blooded and qualified members among the remaining Bourbon descendants to jointly find this treasure and share the inheritance after finding it.
“In summary, we are quite certain that the wealth King Robert collected was not entirely found by that group of mobsters. Some fish slipped through the net and are still buried underground in Froz, awaiting the arrival of Robert’s descendants, the true masters of Faraluo. We are also looking forward to it…”
After reading the last few sentences of the letter, Dorothy fell silent. After a while, she looked at Adele and asked.
“Even after the Bourbon Dynasty collapsed, there were still loyal supporters… Do you think this possibility is high?”
“It’s still possible. Bourbon ruled Faraluo for several centuries and had considerable influence within the country. After the Bourbon Dynasty fell, the Royalists who attempted to restore the dynasty were once an important political force in Faraluo’s politics. They could even compete for positions among the five executive officials, initiating several significant events that caused unrest in Faraluo’s political situation for a time.
“Nowadays, although the power of the Royalists in Faraluo has weakened due to several suppressions and has almost completely withdrawn from Faraluo’s political arena, it doesn’t mean they have completely disappeared. There might still be residual Royalists active today.”
Adele continued to explain to Dorothy. Due to her background, she had always paid close attention to various information about Faraluo, and knew much more about the situation in Faraluo than Dorothy.
After hearing Adele’s words, Dorothy also began to recall the current political system in Faraluo. The current system in Faraluo was called the Five Executive Officials System, where the main power of the state was concentrated in the hands of five chief executives. These five executives were elected by parliament, including one chief executive and four deputy executives. The chief executive was the head of state of Faraluo, while the four deputy executives were responsible for various important functions of the country. If the former Royalists in Faraluo had the ability to become executive officials, it clearly showed their influence.
“How much do you know about the Bourbon Dynasty, especially its secret history?” Dorothy continued to ask Adele. After listening to Dorothy’s words, Adele responded after sipping some red wine.
“Not much. I only know roughly that Bourbon became king and established the dynasty over six hundred years ago when the Duke of Bourbon defeated domestic competitors and the Pruit intervention army during the Succession War in Faraluo, with support from the Church.
“Legend has it that at that time, the Pruit Shouting g*n Dynasty took advantage of the chaos in Faraluo. King William claimed to be the legitimate successor to the throne of Faraluo based on his marital relationship and led troops across the sea to invade Faraluo.
“When the local princes of Faraluo could not resist, the forces of the Duke of Bourbon won several miraculous victories. The Duke claimed that the Three Saints gave him revelations and led to victory in the battles. The Holy Seat of the Church personally endorsed this after the fact and officially entered the fray to fully support Bourbon against the Shouting g*n, ultimately leading to Bourbon winning the war, unifying Faraluo, and driving out the Pruit. Since then, the Church firmly established itself in Faraluo.”
As Adele recalled, she continued to speak to Dorothy. After listening to her words, Dorothy frowned slightly and continued.
“So, the establishment of the Banquet Wine Dynasty was supported by the Church from the beginning? Then, why didn’t the Church help Bourbon overcome the difficulties during the Cold Moon Revolution?”
“Well, it seems that the Church didn’t. As far as I know, the Church watched as Bourbon fell during the Cold Moon Revolution without any involvement. The revolutionaries also didn’t target the Church. Instead, after the new government was established, the Church promptly recognized it, and the new government maintained the special status of the Church in Faraluo. Therefore, it’s hard to say what role the Church played during the Cold Moon Revolution.”
Adele continued to explain to Dorothy. Hearing her words, Dorothy couldn’t help but stroke her chin and ponder.
From what she knew, the scale of the Cold Moon Revolution wasn’t particularly large; it was a short-term revolution limited to the capital city of Froz in Faraluo and didn’t reach the national civil war level of the Adus Revolution. Such revolutionary events might occur in Dorothy’s original world, but in this extraordinary world, such a situation seemed peculiar. Considering that the Bourbon Royal Family had the highest combat strength in the country with Tranche Tier extraordinary beings, it would be impossible for the revolutionary side to easily overthrow Bourbon without corresponding extraordinary power. Thus, the true situation of the Cold Moon Revolution back then must not have been simple.
Back then, how many Tranche Tier extraordinary beings did the Bourbon Dynasty have? How many Tranche Tier extraordinary beings did the revolutionaries have? What extent of intervention did the Church conduct? These were unknowns hidden in the secret history. Although Bourbon fell due to excessive taxation and plundering, if they tightly controlled the country’s high-ranking extraordinary beings and the Church’s support remained unchanged, how could greed matter?
Based on the current situation, it appeared that the original Bourbon Royal Family might have lost the Church’s support, leading the Church to remain inactive or even covertly assist the revolutionary side during subsequent revolutionary events. Why such a situation occurred remains a mystery.
“Given the current situation, the Mr. F who wrote to you seems suspicious. Although Faraluo has a tradition of Royalists, he cannot prove his loyalty as described in his letter. Everything he says is just his word. Going into this murky water carries risks disproportionate to the potential gains, Adele. You shouldn’t be in urgent need of money, right?”
Putting the letter back on the table, Dorothy looked at Adele very seriously and said, implying that she did not recommend Adele respond to this letter and go to Faraluo. After hearing this, Adele slowly responded.
“Yes, I don’t lack money, but there may be something more attractive to me in that treasure than money.”
“Something more attractive to you than money… What is it?”
“The clues to the Faith of the Goddess of Abundance…” Adele said seriously. Then she looked at Dorothy, whose expression revealed a hint of confusion, and continued.
“You should know that my path of Desire was inherited from my teacher Dalena’s exploration of her faith, which she believed in since childhood. She was a remnant of the Faith of Abundance in this era. The secluded sanctuary she guarded was located in the Duchy of Bourbon in Faraluo. Her research indicated that Faraluo was once a prosperous region for the Faith of Abundance.
“After studying the newly discovered materials of my teacher and organizing her memories, I found that there are many organizations in Faraluo researching the remnants of the Faith of Abundance. The largest of these was the former Bourbon Royal Family. It seems they secretly devoted themselves to uncovering the secrets buried beneath Faraluo’s land for a long time and achieved considerable results…”
“Your speculation is that the Bourbon Royal Family once secretly studied the remnants of the Faith of Abundance hidden in Faraluo?” Dorothy said to Adele, and the latter answered directly.
“It’s not speculation, but a fact. Look at this.”
Adele said as she opened her bag again and took out a small silver fork, showing Dorothy the handle’s end where a simple pattern of a seven-petaled flower was engraved.
“This pattern is called the Seven Steps of the Lotus. It’s called a pattern, but it’s also a diagram illustrating the steps of a dance. This dance involves jumping seven steps to form the image of a lotus, and then continuously jumping to form seven lotuses. This lotus dance is one of the sacrificial dances passed down since ancient times, and the deity being worshipped is the Goddess of Abundance. The lotus dance is also a practice step for the Desire Dance Method. This symbol has significant symbolic meaning for the entire Path of Desire.
“This fork is one of the Bourbon court relics that the so-called Mr. F sent me. He claims it’s some of the scattered treasures they initially found. If this is true, and if the Bourbon legacy contains important symbols of the Path of Desire, it proves that Bourbon might indeed hold key clues to the Faith of Abundance and the Path of Desire. If I could obtain those treasures, they might help my advancement.
“I’ve been stuck at Chalk for quite some time… Now I need a method to take the next step.”
Holding the fork in her hand, Adele continued to speak seriously to Dorothy. Listening to her words, Dorothy understood why Adele valued these letters so much.
“You… believe that there might be methods for Tranche Tier advancement in the so-called Bourbon treasure?”
“Yes, although the probability is low, I still want to give it a try. After all, I haven’t made any progress in other areas, so I can only take a chance here,” Adele continued. Then she changed the subject and looked at Dorothy.
“By the way, little detective, you’ve been searching for clues related to the First Dynasty and the Star Number Repair Association, haven’t you? The First Dynasty once flourished in North Ufeiga, and the Star Number Repair Association was a continuation of the First Dynasty, also having extensive activities in North Ufeiga. The colonial superpower that had the most colonies in North Ufeiga, had the deepest influence on North Ufeiga, and plundered the most cultural relics from North Ufeiga is Faraluo. If you follow me to Faraluo, you might also find what you’re looking for there.”
Adele said with a tempting tone. Hearing her words, Dorothy couldn’t help but stroke her chin and start deep thinking.
