Raphael sat down on a chair, crossed his legs, took out a metal cigarette case from his jacket pocket, and pulled out a cigarette.
His subordinate, Carter, took out a match and stepped forward to light it for his boss.
When she knocked on the door of this apartment, Audrey truly felt that the two kidnappers in front of her were two scoundrels.
Under their coercion, Markel, the disabled owner of the apartment, had no choice but to agree to let them use his home as a hideout for their hostage.
However, when the kidnappers just now instructed Markel to buy food, Audrey observed that there was no unwilling expression of being forced on Markel’s face, and the two kidnappers also felt at ease letting Markel go out to shop by himself.
Audrey guessed that Markel was very likely their accomplice.
…
Townt Street.
Nighthawks Senior Deacon Oliver was investigating the primary crime scene.
At this time, the horses and the coachman had all woken up.
The coachman was vomiting in the corner because he had eaten a lot of tree bark.
However, compared to the pain in his stomach, the coachman was more worried about whether he could keep his job.
Just then, a carriage bearing the Hall family’s emblem arrived and stopped in front of the scene.
Several men and women in formal attire descended from it.
Walking at the very front was a man who appeared to be in his thirties, with an indifferent expression.
This was Noel, the Beyonder bodyguard leader of Count Hall’s family.
When he saw Senior Deacon Oliver, a slight smile finally appeared on his face: “Any progress?” “My colleagues have already gone after them with the portraits,” Oliver replied, “but they found their getaway carriage, as well as their clothes, fake beards, and other items in an alley on Morning Street, leading us to believe they have changed their disguises and escaped.” And Miss Audrey’s dress was also found in that rented carriage.
Noel frowned and said, “They are truly a group of madmen, daring to commit such a crime in Backlund.” Then he looked at the other two Nighthawks members not far away and said to Oliver, “Please step aside to speak.” The two walked a distance away from the scene.
Noel took out an envelope from his pocket, which contained a thin layer of paper, and handed it to Oliver: “Count wants this matter to be kept confidential.
“He will publicly announce that Miss Audrey has returned to her East Chester County fiefdom due to urgent matters.” Oliver pushed back the envelope: “Don’t worry, the Nighthawks are not reporters; we will keep it confidential.” Noel, however, handed the envelope back again: “Inside the envelope is Count Hall’s letter of recommendation for Worsethorn Grammar School.” Oliver was stunned for a moment.
Worsethorn Grammar School was a famous aristocratic school with extremely strict requirements for its students.
His child had tried twice but failed to get in.
However, with a letter of recommendation from a school board member, one could be admitted without an exam.
Count Hall was one of the school board members.
Oliver took a deep breath before accepting the envelope and saying, “We will never reveal a single word to anyone!” He had just put away the envelope when a carriage with the “Darkness Holy Emblem” sped over.
The carriage door opened, and a Nighthawks member in her twenties, Eugenia, said, “Deacon, all my ‘Seer’ attempts have failed.
I need to apply to use a Sealed Artifact for further investigation.” This was a team member of the Seer Pathway.
She glanced at Noel beside her and did not mention the Sealed Artifact’s number.
Oliver, however, knew which Sealed Artifact she wanted to use.
He tipped his hat to Noel in farewell, then handed the scene over to a Nighthawks captain.
Oliver got into the carriage and returned to the Nighthawks headquarters with Eugenia.
After submitting an application to His Grace the Archbishop, and accompanied by a Bishop, they retrieved the “1-46” Puppet Pendant they needed from behind the Door of Chanis.
This Sealed Artifact was a pendant that constantly changed its appearance.
One moment it was embedded with gems, the next it transformed into a golden pendant.
Just now it was in Loen style, and then it would become Southern Continent style.
All divinations had to be completed within 15 seconds, and the pendant had to be resealed, otherwise, one would become a puppet of this Sealed Artifact.
Eugenia took out Miss Audrey’s ornament found in the getaway carriage and divined the noble lady’s current location, but she saw only a rolling gray fog.
Eugenia was startled, but she quickly took out the clothes left by the bandit and divined their location.
The result was still only a rolling gray fog.
Subsequently, the Nighthawks concluded that a member of a high-Sequence secret organization must have been involved in this case, otherwise, even demigod-level divination would not have failed to reveal anything.
…
Bridge District, in a dilapidated apartment.
Raphael was cooking, while Carter was washing dishes and utensils, then carefully wiping them dry and placing them on the dining table.
Markel wanted to help but didn’t know what to do, so he looked like he was pacing around the room.
Audrey, sitting on a chair, was a little strange, somewhat confused as to why the leader of the kidnappers would personally cook.
This was mainly because Raphael had certain requirements for food.
After transmigrating to this world, what made him extremely unaccustomed, besides the lack of internet and electronic products, was the issue of diet.
He found that the diet in this world seemed to have two extremes: the food of nobles and wealthy people was very exquisite and delicious, while the food of ordinary people was very crude.
The bread was not as soft as he remembered, being hard and dry.
The usual dishes were either very greasy or very bland, with no concept of balancing meat and vegetables.
If Raphael wanted to eat comfortably, he would have to go to a hotel and order a set meal with appetizers, main courses, and so on, but such a meal would not be cheap.
So Raphael started cooking himself.
Carter knew his boss’s habits, so he only helped out and was very much looking forward to the food his boss would cook.
Raphael first boiled the noodles, then poured a little oil into the pot and stir-fried garlic slices and cabbage.
Bean sprouts were out of the question; in over three months since transmigrating, Raphael had never been able to buy bean sprouts in Backlund.
After the cabbage softened, he added the cooled noodles.
Unfortunately, there was no place to buy fresh noodles in Backlund, otherwise, the taste would be even better.
Then he seasoned it with salt and soy sauce, and sprinkled a little cumin when it was served.
The taste made even the top noble, Audrey, unable to help but glance over.
Raphael stir-fried enough for four people in two batches.
After serving the noodles, Carter and Markel immediately began to devour them.
Audrey initially didn’t want to eat.
For her, a dinner without even pre-meal soup and aperitif was far too humble.
But the noodles on the plate did smell good, so she used a fork to twirl some noodles and put them in her mouth.
A little noodle soup perfectly blended the aroma of cumin with the other seasonings onto the noodles.
Taking a bite of the springy noodles, the complex yet perfectly balanced flavors burst on her tongue, an experience completely different from eating Fenepot fried noodles.
Raphael, who had poured some vinegar into his noodles, noticed Audrey’s somewhat astonished expression.
He thought to himself: “Noble food is quite ordinary too.
She’s in her twenties and hasn’t even had a decent plate of fried noodles.”