Chapter 169: Chapter 169 The Secret of Narcissus Street Chapter 169: Chapter 169 The Secret of Narcissus Street Roger stood in front of the University of Bordeaux, looking at the higher education institution that had a history of more than 150 years.
The university was built during the colonial period of Bordeaux, so the architectural style of the school is quite different from the surrounding buildings.
Century-old trees can be seen everywhere in the school, and walking among them, one could feel the profound history and weight of this institution.
After explaining his purpose, Roger didn’t have to wait long before he was brought to a separate office. He knocked on the door, stepped inside, and at the sight of the man sitting behind the desk, he couldn’t help but pause for a mont.
“Surprised?”
The man behind the desk smiled, a seemingly friendly smile, and yet, for so reason, it sent an inexplicable chill through the heart of the beholder.
“Mr. Dickinson, what are you doing here?”
The so-called history professor turned out to be the Demon Hunter that Roger had t last ti in the Hunters Sub-guild.
“I’ve ntioned before that I have done extensive research on the history of Bordeaux City and the Demon Hunting Families. If your family’s origins lay here, then I would know a bit about them.”
“Please, take a seat, Mr. Roger.”
Dickinson stood up and pointed to the chair opposite his desk.
Although the professor’s true identity surprised Roger, he naturally couldn’t just turn around and leave. Secretly confirming his own identity, Roger felt much more at ease and directly took a seat upon being invited.
“Would you like sothing to drink?”
“Tea, coffee, or just water?”
“No, thank you.”
“I am here because I happened to read a book about the origins of the Bordeaux nobility. There’s one particular family that caught my interest—the Stuart Family.”
Roger stated his purpose directly.
“Ah, the Stuart Family…”
“That truly is a peculiar family.”
Dickinson poured Roger a glass of water and turned to the bookshelves behind him to start searching.
“The Stuart Family is a family of foreign nobles. According to their account, they ca here from Engelman and claim to trace their bloodline back to a certain generation of the Engelman Royal Family.”
“But you know how nobles are, always eager to embellish their own image, so not many people take their word for it.”
“However, this family is indeed very wealthy. They once bought an entire street and nad it after their family crest.”
“Narcissus Street.”
“The buildings along the street don’t seem to differ much from the surroundings, but walking down it, there’s always an inexplicable eeriness.”
As he spoke, Dickinson pulled a book from the shelf.
He placed the book on the table and flipped to a certain page.
“It took quite so effort to find a few scraps of the original architectural manuscripts and recreate a bit of the original structure of Narcissus Street.”
Roger looked down at the illustrations in the book, his pupils narrowing slightly.
The structure looked almost identical to the Narcissus Street he had seen in the Misty World.
“There are no windows on the side facing the street?”
Roger pretended to have just noticed.
“Not only that,” replied Dickinson, nodding. “Look at this page.”
Roger flipped through a few more pages and saw drawings that depicted the basic structure of the houses on Narcissus Street. On the other side of the houses were the sa miniature windows he had once seen.
“Isn’t it odd?”
“Is it so strange local custom?” inquired Roger, feigning interest.
“No, no, no!”
Dickinson revealed a mysterious smile, shaking his head.
“What do these holes remind you of?”
Roger looked closely but still shook his head.
“Sorry, my knowledge is limited. I really don’t see it.”
“It seems you’re indeed not a local of Bordeaux City.”
Dickinson’s smile grew deeper.
He randomly pulled out a book from the desk, and Roger caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye, “Research on the Tombs of the Bordeaux Region.”
Dickinson opened a page in the book, placed two books side by side, and then pushed them toward Roger.
“Now?”
Roger’s face abruptly changed.
Although there were so differences in expression, the patterns in both books clearly represented the sa structure.
“Is this a tomb?!”
Roger looked astonished.
“Yes.”
Dickinson nodded.
“The entire Bordeaux region is a huge marsh, no one knows how large and deep the swamps beneath Bordeaux are.”
“Perhaps what’s underneath exceeds our imagination.”
Dickinson uttered a cryptic sentence.
“I think you should know a little about the burial customs of the Bordeaux region. Because the ground is riddled with large and small swamps, most people living here choose not to bury their family’s remains in the earth.”
“The back-flowing water will rot the bones in the coffins, and it can also attract so unnecessary troubles.”
“Troubles of the Transcendent kind.”
“Therefore, most people in the Bordeaux region build their tombs above ground and choose hanging coffins.”
“Here the climate is humid and the weather is hot; to ensure ventilation, they built large and small vents around the tomb chambers.”
Dickinson pointed at the construction of the houses on Narcissus Street.
“Like this.”
He chuckled lightly, his slender eyes narrowed into a slit, looking just like a snake that had stolen a bird’s egg.
Roger, too, felt a chill.
“The houses they built were never ant for living in?!”
“Who knows?”
Dickinson did not answer Roger’s question.
“According to the research material I have, all the residents on Narcissus Street are so odd folk, partly coming from the Stuart Family from Engelman.”
“The rest were absorbed from the local population.”
“This family is very mysterious and extrely insular. Because of their peculiar housing structure, even during dayti, locals are reluctant to go near that place.”
“After all, nobody wants to pass by a graveyard all day long, do they?”
Roger browsed through the books in Dickinson’s hands.
“Do you know the specific ti period when this family was active?”
Roger asked.
“About 80 to 100 years ago, and then the entire family disappeared. The exact reason hasn’t been found. At that ti, their actions had also attracted the attention of the Hunters Guild.”
“Of course, the Guild was different back then, but I have checked their records in the Guild, and there’s only scant information.”
“It’s as if they were just a typical noble family.”
Dickinson explained.
“Thank you very much!”
Roger stood up, “Mr. Dickinson, may I borrow this book to read through? There’s much worth digging into here.”
“Of course!”
Dickinson’s attitude was completely different from the aggressive deanor he had shown at the Hunters Guild.
His thin eyes sized up Roger, which made Roger sowhat uncomfortable.
“Here is my phone number, Mr. Roger, if you have any questions, feel free to call anyti.”
“Got it.”
Roger put Dickinson’s book in his backpack, and as he walked to the door, Dickinson’s aningful voice ca from behind.
“Mr. Roger, we will et again.”
“Certainly.”
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