Chapter 450: Chapter 450 Nightingale
The setting sun turned the clouds on the horizon a blood-red color as Chen Ke, Jacob, and Little Robut hunkered down at the street corner, staring at the luxurious three-story western-style building in front of them.
It was Sir Howard’s mansion, located in the most bustling area of North Langdon, a property an ordinary person could never afford, complete with a small courtyard of its own. Looking in from the iron gate, the green flowerbeds’ fountain was still spraying water.
Given the house’s location on the main street and the fact it stood at a crossroads with constant carriage traffic, and with the Lady Jasmine Theatre diagonally across, scaling the front wall to get in seed improbable.
They had also scoped out the back just monts before, but due to the tightly constructed spaces between the buildings, there were no alleys to slip through.
It was still light out, so Chen Ke couldn’t barge in with his murderous aura blazing. However, the mansion seed not to hire as many guards as Sean’s estate did. After an inspection with Spiritual Vision, he found the house completely empty, which appeared rather odd.
“Sir Howard hasn’t shown his face for a while,” Robert said. “Ever since he got that suit of armor, he hasn’t left the house. Jerry, the newspaper boy, is always standing at this crossroads selling papers; he wouldn’t lie to .”
“Besides him, has anyone from the house been out and about?” Chen Ke asked.
Spiritual Vision didn’t detect any signs of life. Such a large estate, even if Howard wasn’t inside, surely the servants and housekeepers wouldn’t have left, right?
“There would be so carriages bringing vegetables, at, and wine to the mansion’s kitchen, but since they had just delivered a few days ago…” Robert replied.
“You’re saying sothing happened in that house?” Jacob grasped Chen Ke’s implication, for a big house like that required many people to manage it.
“Look, you can’t see a single person through the windows. Where are they all?” Chen Ke gestured upwards, prompting Jacob to look at the mansion’s windows, where only the curtains fluttered inside.
“Wow… nobody has noticed that sothing’s off with this mansion!” Jacob exclaid in surprise.
“People only care about themselves; grown-ups are too busy,” Little Robut shrugged off-handedly.
“The mansion is too big, and there’s too much bustle around it. There are far too many things nearby to draw attention; no one would notice how quiet Sir Howard’s mansion has beco,” Chen Ke shook his head.
“Perhaps soone will notice in a few more days,” Jacob said.
“Maybe you’re overthinking it? I’ve seen Sir Howard leave Langdon with his family to vacation at their sumr villa to escape the heat or cold,” Robert suggested.
“That’s precisely the problem. What month is it now? It’s not the season for avoiding sumr heat or winter cold. And with such a large house, taking care of it surely requires many people and resources, not to ntion dealing with daily waste,” Chen Ke countered.
“Exactly, exactly… Soone should have co out to take out the trash, and there should be carriages delivering to the kitchen. Robert, have you paid attention to Sir Howard’s house lately when you were around here?” Jacob turned to Robert.
“Not really… Although we realized that Sir Howard’s place has been unusually quiet, given his frequent departures from Langdon, we didn’t pay much mind,” Robert conceded with a sense of helplessness.
“That’s how blind spots in thinking are ford,” Chen Ke sighed.
“If Sir Howard really hasn’t left for quite so ti, then the situation inside might be quite complicated,” Jacob agreed.
“But what does this have to do with the diamonds you’re looking for?” Robert asked, puzzled.
“Kids shouldn’t ask so many questions. Leave this to us,” Chen Ke smiled.
“That’s not fair! This is the most interesting part!” Little Robut protested.
“I’ll tell you about it when I get back, I promise. But for now, you need to head back,” Jacob ruffled Robert’s hair and handed him two copper coins, then added, “This should be enough for you and Jerry to buy a few chocolate drops.”
Little Robut grabbed the coins with a mischievous grin and dashed into the crowd.
“So, are we waiting for nightfall, or shall we just stroll in now? Look, the iron gate probably isn’t locked,” Jacob remarked.
“I don’t want to wait any longer, let’s go in now. Are you sure you want to co along?” Chen Ke stood up.
“If we run into those things, I’ll just slip away quietly; you don’t have to worry about ,” Jacob assured.
Chen Ke humd in response and walked across the street with Jacob.
The large iron gate was indeed unlocked. Chen Ke, providing cover, watched as Jacob used his hidden blade to fiddle with it for a mont, and then the gate opened. They pushed the creaking gate open, walked in nonchalantly, and casually closed it behind them.
After entering the mansion, Chen Ke took special care to look outside, where neither the King’s carriage nor passersby seed to notice them.
“We’re in, where should we start?” Chen Ke asked.
Jacob didn’t answer.
Chen Ke turned his head and saw Jacob standing motionless, facing the mansion in silence.
“Haven’t you ever stolen from a mansion this size before?” Chen Ke asked again, but still, there was no response.
At this point, Chen Ke sensed sothing was off. He walked over to Jacob’s side and noticed that the other man’s eyes were bloodshot, and he wore a dazed expression as if he were a wooden stake planted in the ground.
“Jacob…?” Chen Ke waved his hand in front of the man’s eyes, but still got no reaction.
It seed there was indeed sothing wrong with the mansion, perhaps a barrier or so kind of tic infection that was confined to the premises of the estate and hadn’t spread. It was unclear whether it was by design or accident.
Jacob was an ordinary man; left here, he would probably not last long before dying. Chen Ke dragged Jacob out of the yard and propped him against the wall. Only then did Jacob suddenly wake up.
“Oh… my eyes hurt so much… What happened?” Jacob asked.
“You’d better not go back in there. There’s more than just those things…” Chen Ke said.
“I went in just now? Damn it, my eyes…” Rubbing his eyes, Jacob’s fingers ca away covered in blood.
“Can you still see? Maybe you should go back and wait,” Chen Ke suggested.
“I’m fine… well, actually, I really can’t see very well…” Supporting himself on the wall, drops of blood fell from his eyes to the ground.
“With your eyes like that… you probably can’t walk back on your own… should we…” Chen Ke expressed his concern, fearing that Jacob might go blind.
“No, no, no… I can call so kids to co help. Don’t let waste your ti,” Jacob protested, waving his hand.
“Damn, I don’t want to be responsible for you going blind,” Chen Ke said, supporting Jacob as they crossed the street, searching for a public bench where he could sit. However, 19th century London was clearly not like the 21st century United Federation.
“Damn, there’s not a single bench! What a shitty city,” Chen Ke cursed irritably.
Chen Ke’s angry curse attracted the attention of a lady, who looked at Jacob with a concerned expression.
“Sir… is he unwell?” the lady approached. She was in her early thirties, dressed in a black dress.
“His eyes just suddenly beca uncomfortable…” Chen Ke evaded, not wanting the stranger to get involved.
“Let see, sir, let take a look…” The lady took the initiative to carefully inspect Jacob’s eyes.
“We’re going to see a doctor right now, ma’am,” Chen Ke tried to pull Jacob away.
The lady slapped Chen Ke’s hand away and looked earnestly into his eyes, saying, “I am the head nurse at the Langdon Charity Hospital. If you’re looking for a doctor, I can help.”
Chen Ke was at a loss for words. Jacob squinted at Chen Ke, then glanced at the lady and exclaid in surprise, “Oh… my goodness, it’s you… Ms. Nightingale!”
“Nightingale? Is this… the renowned nurse known as the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ from the 19th century?” Chen Ke realized in astonishnt.
“I’m all right. You go on with your business. Ms. Nightingale will handle everything. Trust ,” Jacob insisted, gesturing with his hand.
Chen Ke felt it inappropriate to argue and bowed slightly to Nightingale before walking across the street.
Of course, he would not enter the mansion’s courtyard in front of Nightingale. Instead, he waited until Nightingale assisted Jacob onto a carriage before initiating his own action.
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