The Six Hundred and Fifty-Eighth Attraction
In Froz, inside the lobby of the Falling Flowers Hotel, not long after entering, Adele turned her head with a hint of surprise in her eyes as she looked at a masked man standing before her. Curiously, she spoke.
“You are…”
“This is not the place for conversation. Please follow me, Miss Bruyuz.” The man bowed respectfully to Adele, and upon hearing his words, she chose not to say more.
“Alright, lead the way.”
After Adele’s response, the man nodded silently and turned to walk deeper into the hotel, with Adele following closely behind.
Following the man, Adele ascended the hotel stairs, going up several levels. After reaching a certain floor, he turned and entered a room. After a few left and right turns, they arrived at a neat corridor carpeted in red. When the man reached the end of the corridor, he took out a key and opened the door, stepping inside. Adele followed without hesitation.
Once inside the room, Adele was not met with a typical hotel guest room, but rather a large reception room. Big windows let in plenty of sunlight, illuminating the intricately patterned carpet on the floor. The edges of the room were decorated with vases and sculptures, and on the wall hung a huge landscape painting, surrounding the room’s center which was filled with a ring of comfortable single sofas.
At that moment, around ten different figures were seated on the sofas. There were men and women, old and young; some were poorly dressed, appearing as though they came directly from the street, while others were well-dressed, clearly wealthy. There were also those in flamboyant attire, as if they had stepped out of a play. Each of these people displayed various expressions—some were tense, some calm, some impatient. Almost all of their gazes converged when the masked man and Adele entered the reception room.
“You’ve finally returned… Is everything alright now?”
Seeing the man who entered, a fat gentleman seated on one of the sofas impatiently spoke up, to which the masked man respectfully replied.
“Everything is alright, Mr. Dupon. This Miss Bruyuz is the last one to arrive. Now that she’s here, we can officially begin.”
The masked man said this and then turned to Adele.
“Miss Bruyuz, please find a seat.”
“Okay, thank you for leading me.” Adele, wearing sunglasses, lightly responded and walked over to an empty single sofa in the room. After seating herself, she began to quietly observe her surroundings. The masked man, seeing that Adele had taken her seat, let out a slight sigh of relief and walked to the center of the reception room. After scanning the crowd, he raised his voice.
“Esteemed guests of noble bl**d, thank you for your patience. I am thrilled that you all have accepted my invitation to gather here from afar. I am Mr. F, the one you have been corresponding with through letters, and I have served the true masters of this country since birth.”
‘So he is Mr. F…’ Adele thought, observing the masked man introducing himself at the center of the reception room. Honestly, the presence that this Mr. F projected was far weaker than she had anticipated.
“Ladies and gentlemen, no matter your current circumstances or how you live, noble bl**d flows through your veins. This lineage ties back to the people my family has long served, the true masters of this country. A hundred years ago, this bloodline was ruthlessly trampled by the mob. Those ungrateful folks forgot the history of Faraluo and who rescued their ancestors…”
With his arms spread wide, Mr. F began his speech, appearing somewhat agitated. The various men and women sitting around him reacted differently to his words; some well-dressed individuals displayed indifference or even outrage, while many of the less affluent individuals showed clear impatience. One youth, dressed poorly and resembling a lout, impulsively waved his fist and spoke loudly.
“Hey! Cut the fluff and get to the point! We’re here to find treasure, not to listen to you brag about our ancestors!”
Interrupting Mr. F’s speech, the youth spoke with an irreverent tone, which clearly provoked the anger of an old gentleman. He slammed his cane down forcefully and exclaimed sharply.
“Who brought such a rude brat here! This is a reflection on the glory of Bourbon and a condemnation of those mobs, and you dare to interrupt with such comments!”
“Ah… hey… old sir, there’s no need to get so worked up. We’re all here for the treasure, just trying to speed things along. Given that we’re all sitting here, we might as well talk nicely.” The youth shrugged nonchalantly at the agitated old gentleman, further provoking him.
“Relatives? Who’s related to you! Who would be related to sc*m like you, I…”
“Alright, alright, let’s not argue, Mr. Martin, Mr. Luc. Now is not the time to squabble…” Seeing the situation starting to spiral out of control, Mr. F immediately intervened, and after some effort to calm everyone, he managed to restore order.
“Esteemed guests from various regions, we have gathered you here to further unite the scattered legitimate powers of our country. There exists a noble connection among your bloodlines, so let’s refrain from confronting one another and creating divisions…”
Mr. F continued soothingly, and seeing that the atmosphere had stabilized, he finally shifted to the main topic that most people were concerned about.
“The legitimate power of this country still exists, but it is also severely weakened. Our family’s mission is to find ways to restore it. For decades, we have been researching the remnants of Bourbon pious people and objects, trying to uncover the key points to gather power. The clues leading to the treasure we have discovered this time represent our greatest finding and achievement in recent years.
“This treasure is something our family uncovered through extensive research of Bourbon literature. Its legator is King Charles, a figure who made Faraluo proud with countless achievements during his reign. He built many grand projects and is surrounded by numerous legends—he is one of the most renowned kings of Faraluo, and this treasure shines brightly among the many tales surrounding him.”
With a somewhat passionate tone, Mr. F proclaimed to the crowd. After hearing his words, Adele frowned slightly and asked.
“Among the many local legends circulating throughout Faraluo, almost half can be attached to King Charles. Is the rumor of this treasure true? For a king, regardless of how much wealth he possesses, he should be more focused on passing it down to future heirs as d*ath approaches, right? Why would King Charles think to hide a treasure for someone who knows not when to come?”
“Ah, Miss Bruyuz, that’s a good question. Indeed… many of the local legends associated with King Charles’ name are indeed false, but the existence of this treasure is certainly not among them. The clues leading to this treasure stem from our family’s persistent research on Bourbon documents, rather than hearsay.
“Based on other clues found in the documents, we have identified many related items and sent them to you as evidence, while the final and most crucial aspect of the treasure still lies asleep. According to our interpretations from the literature, this crucial treasure requires pure Bourbon bl**d to unlock, which is also a key reason we convened you all here.
“As for why King Charles left behind this treasure… perhaps he foresaw today’s scenario during his reign? This treasure, requiring bl**d to open, is the best gift he could leave for his descendants.”
‘A treasure that requires pure Bourbon bl**d to unlock… Does this imply an extraordinary mechanism that uses bloodline as a medium?’ With Adele’s perception, Dorothy, who was observing from outside the hotel, couldn’t help but ponder at that moment. Just then, a youth who had been eagerly listening with shining eyes interrupted.
“Hey! Stop being vague! Just tell us where the treasure is so we can quickly find and dig it up!”
“Patience, Mr. Luc…” Mr. F said with a slight smile, and after snapping his fingers, a door on one side of the hall opened, revealing a servant dressed somewhat similarly, carrying a long scroll in his arms.
The servant approached a wall in the room, hanging the scroll and unfurling it. What appeared before everyone’s eyes was a large city map—this was the map of Froz.
“According to our investigation, we have confirmed that the treasure is buried right here in Froz.”
As he spoke, Mr. F pointed with a pre-prepared wooden stick to the southern part of the map, far from the city center. After a slight pause, an old gentleman recognized the location and could not help but exclaim.
“That’s… the Palace of the Goddess? Are you sure there’s treasure in a place like that?”
“Please, that’s the Palace of the Goddess, the former center of power for the Bourbon Dynasty. It has been turned upside down by revolutionaries countless times. Could there really be any treasures left behind by Bourbon there?” A fat middle-aged man spoke up, clearly skeptical after seeing where Mr. F was pointing, but Mr. F replied calmly.
“The most dangerous place is the safest place. Don’t forget, the Palace of the Goddess was one of the buildings constructed during King Charles’ reign, and it was personally designed and supervised by him—his most artistic and complex creation.
“King Charles was not only a great ruler but also a great artist, performer, and architect… How could the palace he built be easily comprehended by a gang of mobsters? There must be many secrets within the Palace of the Goddess that remain to be uncovered… These secrets, under King Charles’ wisdom, could bewilder the usurper mob even after hundreds of years. Only the bloodline he truly recognized can unlock them…”
Gazing at the many remnants of the Bourbon Royal Family present, Mr. F spoke with alluring words, and as they listened, many in the room could not help but show signs of eager anticipation in their eyes, seemingly ready to rush to the Palace of the Goddess to search for treasure.
“The Palace of the Goddess… I’ve had the fortune of visiting it once; it is indeed vast and complex. Given our limited numbers, it would be extremely difficult to find anything aimlessly inside…” At that moment, the old gentleman continued, and Mr. F waved his hand in response.
“We won’t be searching aimlessly. We have clues derived from the literature, specifically tips from King Charles.” Upon hearing the mention of clues, everyone immediately perked up and listened attentively, and at this moment, Mr. F continued.
“‘In this palace, there are three stages with seven blossoming lotuses… The one who finds the three stages will uncover the treasure I have left behind.’ This is the hint from King Charles recorded in the literature. If you find yourself lost in the Palace of the Goddess, you might as well try locating those so-called three stages.”
‘Three stages… it sounds like some riddle… but Mr. F’s phrasing of the riddle feels inconsistent, is he hiding something?’ After hearing Mr. F’s words, Dorothy, still in the carriage outside, couldn’t help but think. The phrasing of the riddle being recounted by Mr. F made her feel uneasy.
“Even with hints, searching for items in the Palace of the Goddess would still be difficult; it has always served as a venue for receiving foreign guests and has tight security, so it’s really hard for people like us to mix in.” The fat gentleman voiced his concerns again, eliciting a prompt and confident response from Mr. F.
“Don’t worry, everyone. I have prepared a way to enter the Palace of the Goddess. Starting tomorrow, there will be a New Year’s gathering to welcome officials dispatched from all over the country, lasting about a day and a half. Many people will gather there, and many officials will bring their retinues, making the scene even more crowded than usual.
“I have prepared a set of false identities for you all. By then, you can use these to infiltrate the Palace of the Goddess, enjoying the banquet while searching for traces of the treasure. But be careful not to reveal your true identities.”
Mr. F spoke, after pausing for a moment and scanning the surroundings, he continued.
“Let us venture once again into the great deeds left by the nobles, and seek the possibility of Bourbon’s resurgence there.”
…
Just as Mr. F was capturing the interests of the Bourbon remnants in the Falling Flowers Hotel’s reception room with grand promises, Dorothy sat quietly in a carriage parked on the roadside outside the hotel, seriously recalling the words spoken by Mr. F during the meeting.
“The Palace of the Goddess? It seems that no matter what, I have to pay a visit…
“Is it really possible to find treasure in a place like that? Or is it really treasure that can be found?”
