The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

The arrival of Saturday means a kind of unprepared pressure.

They seem to suddenly realize that this Saturday is over, and if they can't solve the problem next Saturday, then they may not have another Saturday.

This hasty sense of urgency made Siles and Cendo wake up 10 minutes earlier in tacit understanding.

They had breakfast and then went to the Lancelot Theatre.

Yesterday they received a message from Ms. Heidi, mentioning the latest investigation progress of Carlos, which really made them feel excited.Since then, the news of Detective Jon also brought a touch of unexpected surprise.

He mentioned that there is indeed a painting in Jeremy Forbes' bedroom, which seems to be just an ordinary landscape painting, and the object of the depiction seems to be the landscape of mountains and rivers in the southern suburbs of La Mifa.

It is indeed not unusual to place paintings in the bedroom, so Jon didn't care about the content of the painting at all.

Now they naturally realize what this might mean, so Jon will investigate the source of the painting and Jeremy's connection to it.

Hope that leads them to the correct result.

And since it is a painting—a painting! ——Then, Siles naturally thought of Atkinya's Paradise.

Emile Harrison once went to a "non-existent museum", which claimed to be the private museum of the Berkeley family, located on Comstock Street in the Theater District, but they did not find the museum on Comstock Street exist.

Siles suspects that this is Atkinya's paradise, a museum.

And he even suspected that this "non-existent museum" was actually located in the Lancelot Theater for various reasons.At that time, he also suspected that the Shadow Believers were hiding in this place.

However, as they later investigated more information, they pointed the finger of suspicion at the sewer, which is the manhole cover next to the Lancelot Theater.

But it should actually be said to be the paradise of "Shadow", which is the product of "Shadow" integrating the power of these old gods.As for Atkinya's paradise, even Huddoka's paradise, Trisley's paradise, they were actually unable to determine the exact location.

As far as the museum that Emil once visited, the location is likely to be in the Lancelot Theater. After all, through the location of the Lancelot Theater, people can indeed see the whole picture of the Const National Theater , which fits Emil's description.

Of course, guessing is one thing, and verifying a guess is another.

Take Akamala's Paradise as an example, if you want to enter the Paradise, you must first bear the pollution of the power of the dream, understand the relevant information and concepts, and then "naturally" enter the deep sea dream.

From this point of view, the reason why Siles can enter the deep sea dream is completely free-riding on the painter Leon.

Other paradises will of course have similar conditions.Now that the old gods have fallen, their paradise can be said to be open to the outside world, as long as the conditions they set in advance are met.

For example, Lygardia's Paradise only exists in the dreams of his descendants, and he needs the help of the successor of Akamala's power to allow his descendants to enter.

Atkinya's museum, if it existed, must have similar conditions... What would it be?

If the painting in Jeremy's bedroom is really the entrance to Atkinya's Paradise—just like Akamala's dream—then what kind of interaction with this painting can enter His paradise? paradise?

All it takes is sleep to enter Akamala's Paradise, but a painting...repainting?

Perhaps there is such a possibility, so how did Jeremy get in touch with Atkinya's power, and how did he stay sane all the time?

These questions are always annoying, but we can wait for the results of the follow-up investigation from Mr. Detective.

...At this point, they had arrived at the theater district.

Compared with the more than a month before the murder happened, the theater district in October has resumed its former prosperity.Especially today is Saturday, people in the theater area are preparing for many plays today, and the staff coming and going make this place very lively.

Except, of course, the Lancelot Theater and the theater opposite it.

The Lancelot Theater is still rehearsing a new play, and they are a small theater company, and they have no time to stage another play between rehearsals.

As for the theater on the opposite side, it was purely because the previous murder case was too big, and people were very upset by the news in the newspaper. Almost everyone knew where the murder case happened, so the audience instinctively avoided it. this theater.

When Siles and Cindo arrived at the Lancelot Theatre, the owner of the opposite theater was squatting at the door, staring at the surrounding theaters with bloodshot eyes.

He didn't even pay attention to the Lancelot Theatre, and the Siles and Cendo who appeared here, he just looked around - those lively theaters.

There was an almost hideous look on his face.

Lady Hattie was standing at the door of the Lancelot Theater to welcome them.She noticed that Siles looked at the owner of the opposite theater, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered: "He has been like this for the past few days."

"He looked malicious," Cinder said.

"Indeed," Hattie whispered, "he's going broke."

"He deserved it. When he was with those guys, he had to think about the result." Qin Duo said almost coldly, with a kind of cold mockery in his tone, "I think he is probably blaming other people in his heart now .”

There was a subtle private emotion in Qin Duo's tone.Given how close they are to the birthday of God, the sentiment is certainly understandable.

It is difficult for them not to blame those who have helped the Shadow Believers, just as Detective Jon said in his letter that he would not remind David Babbitt to study the ritual of "returning himself".

Ms. Heidi also nodded, agreeing with Qin Duo's thoughts.Siles did not express any opinion, but he was always quite silent on these matters.

They went into the theater.On the other side of the stage, the actors were still rehearsing, and Sirius could hear Garland's voice and the clown Arkwright's voice.It seems that these two are playing against each other.

Siles couldn't help thinking of a question, he said, "How is Arkwright's performance?"

"Quite surprising." Heidi said with a slight smile, "It seems that he really has some acting talent."

Siles was slightly stunned, looking at the stage from afar.Arkwright seemed to notice something, subconsciously glanced over, but quickly shook his head casually, and continued rehearsing.

On the contrary, Garland was more attentive than anyone else, and had been seriously immersed in the rehearsal.For this little girl, it seems that this drama performance really made her find something she likes.

They stood at the door of the performance hall for a moment, then went to Carlos' office.

Surprisingly, Carlos's office is almost full of old and yellowed, thickly stacked ledgers.His office was already full of scripts and other materials, but with the addition of these ledgers, it seemed even more crowded.

Carlos seemed to be immersed in researching something, and the arrival of Siles and Cendo made him raise his head subconsciously.

"This is such a coincidence! Professor Noel, Mr. Qindo, can you predict what I just discovered?" Carlos said in surprise, with a slightly joking tone.Of course he didn't think Sirius would know that.

Ms. Heidi smiled softly.

Siles pretended to be a little surprised, and just said, "It happened to be the weekend, so I came over to see how the rehearsal was going. What did you find?"

Carlos obviously didn't pay attention to what Siles said, and he simply said: "We rehearsed well...well, the performance of the actors is also very good...the funds are not insufficient...in short, everything is going well!

"As for what I found, it's a long story. In short, I've been looking through the ledgers of the Lancelot Theater recently, which have been piled up in the warehouse before, and I don't have much time to read them."

While talking, he found three chairs for Siles and the others to sit down on.

His casual tone was tinged with the rather obvious fact that he had never expected the Lancelot Theater to make money for him, and had never cared about the Lancelot Theater's financial problems.

After buying such a theater, a general businessman will of course conduct an audit of the accounts as soon as possible to find out whether the theater has unclear debts or weird expenses.

But Carlos Ranmier is a child of a rich family after all. He bought this theater just to realize his ideal, and naturally he didn't care whether he made money or not.

So, until now, after being troubled by the haze of the Lancelot Theater's past, he thought that he might be able to look through the theater's previous ledgers, trying to find some useful and unexpected information from them.

He was a merchant's boy after all, so the complicated accounts didn't hold him back, and he even got something out of it.

"The account book records the income, expenditure and operating conditions of successive generations of owners." Carlos explained, "To be exact, the Lancelot Theater has experienced four owners in total.

"From the beginning of the Lancelot family, to the acquisition of the famous actress of the Kailan family in the last century, to the businessman, and to me. I don't need to say, the lying businessman who runs the theater The accounts at that time were similar to what he said.

"So what I mainly look at is the situation when the Lancelot family and the Kailan family are running.

"The Kellan family's management of the Lancelot Theater is actually quite... close to the aristocratic aesthetic. I found that in those accounts, there are quite a few donations from noble groups, which means that this theater may Little known, but very popular with the nobility.

"...well, that's probably why the incident happened here 34 years ago, because it has always attracted a lot of nobles.

"The accounts of the Kailan family during the period of operation probably began to collapse continuously after the stage accident 34 years ago.

"Kelan's business model was originally attached to the donations and investments of those nobles. Those nobles regarded it as a social occasion rather than a place to really watch dramas. Therefore, it can be said that the Lancelot Theater at that time was not reasonable. A healthy operating mode.

"That accident certainly discouraged the nobles who originally admired the theater. This part of the sponsorship deficit could not be made up. The Kailan family supported it for another nine years, and finally sold the theater to the businessman... Not surprisingly .”

There was a subtle emotion in Carlos' tone that he didn't like the way the Kailan family operated.Naturally, he prefers the theater to be just "theatre" rather than a social occasion.

Carlos himself realized this, so he cleared his throat, spread his hands and said, "I would like many things to be more pure, and the theater district is just a place to watch dramas, nothing more.

"...Then there is the fact that the Lancelot Theater still belongs to the Lancelot family. I didn't plan to read this part of the account, because it was too long, and the Lancelot family operated the theater for two years. more than a century.

"However, since I have already read the relevant books of the two previous operators, I don't want to miss the original appearance of the Lancelot Theater. It is precisely because of this that I discovered a wonderful thing."

He deliberately paused at this time, but the three people in front of him obviously didn't give much face, just waiting patiently for him to give an answer.

So Carlos had no choice but to continue to say: "In the relevant accounts of the Kailan family, there are many nobles who sponsored the Lancelot Theater, but in the era of the Lancelot family, such financial assistance only came from a family.

"...The Constantine family."

It was a surprising enough noble surname, so Siles and Cindo looked surprised almost immediately.

Although Ms. Heidi didn't know enough about the nobles in Lamifa City, and she wasn't interested, but when she saw the expressions of Siles and Qindo, she immediately realized that there was obviously something wrong with this family—and it was different from what Carlos understood. Too much the same problem.

Carlos was also clearly agitated, saying: "I found out about this yesterday. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but when the surname Constantine appeared in all the accounts, I realized The two families may indeed be somewhat related.

"I know something about the surname Constantine, but not that much, so I went home and asked my father. He said that the Constantine family has always been the most powerful ally of the Constantine family, and is now in charge of The military power of the principality.

"I'm speechless, to be honest. It never occurred to me that the Lancelot family might have anything to do with the Constantine family... I mean, the Constantine family is still high up today, but the Lancelot family has long been Disappeared in the long river of history.

"I really don't know what caused this situation. I asked my father, but he didn't know anything about the existence of the Lancelot family.

"However, he did tell me that the situation of the Constantine family is different from other nobles.

"Other nobles may only be rich and powerful, but the Constantine family holds the vital power of this country and the trust of the Grand Duke.

"He advised me not to continue the investigation, not to wonder why the Constantine family invested in such a theater in those two centuries. This may be meaningless... But, I never think that history is pointless.

"That must symbolize something, but we don't know yet..."

Carlos murmured.

Siles remained silent throughout.

To be honest, he actually agreed with Carlos on this matter.

The Constantine family actually funded the Lancelot Theater, and this funding lasted for two centuries?

This really surprised Sirius.

Although they have also paid attention to the Constantine family for various reasons, they have never been able to find the possibility of this family cooperating with shadow believers.This prevented them from carefully studying the matters related to Constantine for the time being.

The Constantine family seems to have always been on the side of the Grand Duke, just like the Clayton family.

But in fact, they are only loyal to the Grand Duke—it just so happens that the current Grand Duke is this Grand Duke, not Ebenezer Const.

Siles once had an idea, before Ebenezer Const's true belief was never exposed, when Ebenezer let the young man participate in the experiment to reproduce Trisley's power 14 years ago , Has the Constantine family helped?

After all, the present Sir Halston Constantine is an elder of the Historical Society.

When Mr. Xia confronted the group of elders in the salon, Houston Constantine might have been among them.This is a detail that Siles has only belatedly realized now.

The Constantine family seems to have been staying out of the matter. Even though there is an undercurrent in the city of Ramifa, they have never heard of any movement from the Constantine family.

...In a sense, the official attitude of the Principality of Const has always been ambiguous.Of course, as far as the Grand Duke's own attitude is concerned, he really doesn't like Ebenezer Const's reappearance at this time.

However, the Grand Duke's private attitude is one thing. On the surface, the Principality's attitude towards the followers of the old gods has always maintained a subtle view of ignoring them.The Principality has always had a similar attitude towards the power of the Revelator.

For the Principality of Const, there may be no difference between the enlightener and the follower of the old god in a certain sense.

This is actually not a good thing.Siles still hopes that the principality can help at this time, but... the corruption of the country's high-level officials by the shadow believers is another troublesome problem.

The Fillmore family is an example.The Constantines, though they had always seemed neutral and unbiased, had suddenly become involved with the Theater District.

The Theater District has always been the domain of Shadow worshipers, though this affiliation is unknown.

The Fillmore family indirectly controls the situation in the Theater District through the Kermits.According to their previous investigations, the large and small theaters and troupes in the theater district should all have received funding from the Kermit family.

...but the Lancelot Theater was an accident.

Siles still remembered that the buyer before Carlos had mentioned that the Lancelot Theater had never received funding from the Kermit family.

At that time, they thought it was because of the accident 34 years ago, but maybe... it was also because it was related to the Constantine family?

Of course, this connection is probably very weak now.Rather, it is the Constantine family that is related to the Lancelot family, not to this theater.

Siles also remembered that the ownership of the land on Comstock Street, where the Lancelot Theater was located, had been transferred to the Graves family.

They had done research on the ownership of the lot in the Theater District, and that was not what they expected. The Fillmore family controlled the land in the Theater District through a small investment company that was once managed by Jeremy Forbes.

Even Comstock Street is now back in the company's name.

. . . In Comstock Street, at the Lancelot Theatre, this "exceptional" situation seems to occur again and again.

The theater district is firmly in the hands of the Fillmore family, but ownership of Comstock Street was briefly transferred, and the Lancelot Theater seems to have been secretly controlled by another family.

"...So, what is the relationship between these two families?" Heidi couldn't help asking curiously, "That's why the Constantine family has insisted on providing the Lancelot Theater for such a long time." sponsor?"

Carlos spread his hands: "Good question, Heidi, I also want to know. That is too long a history, I suspect that the current members of the Constantine family may not understand it.

"If it weren't for this ancient account that took me back to that time, then I might never know the history of this theater."

Carlos murmured, and these words made Siles have a special feeling, and even Qin Duo couldn't help but look at Siles, because they thought of it in unison - the flow of time.

Carlos was stunned for a while, then let out a sigh of relief, he said: "Maybe this will be an unsolved mystery. The Constantine family is still going on, but the Lancelot family has long been unknown." Where is it?"

Siles thought to himself, he knew this.

... Chester Fitzroy.

This doctor is likely to be the last descendant of the Lancelot family.However, his surname seemed out of place.

Siles wasn't sure who had given Dr. Chester the surname, but it probably meant something.It's just that they haven't been able to find a breakthrough yet.

However, the unexpected connection between the Constantine family and the Lancelot family did give Siles some special inspiration.

Carlos quickly packed his office, went to the stage, and continued to devote himself to rehearsal work.As for Siles and Qindo, they chatted with Ms. Heidi alone about their previous experience in the circus, especially the role of David Babbitt in the whole thing.

"They are interested in our power?" Heidi showed a puzzled expression, "But... what's the point of that?"

"It's not sure yet." Siles paused, and then said, "Perhaps... it's just because of this power itself."

It was difficult for Heidi to understand this situation. There were very complicated emotions on her face, and it took a while for her to calm down.

She took a deep breath and whispered, "Anyway...thank you for telling me the truth."

These words made Sirius also startled, and he felt a little belated sigh.

Then, they went to the performance hall together.Siles and Qindo also sat under the stage for a while, being the audience for a while, talking in low voices about the news they just heard from Carlos.

In other words, they really need such a relatively quiet space to think about the information they just obtained.

"It reminds me of the Artists Division of the Historical Society," said Siles.

Qin Duo was taken aback for a moment, and then said, "The one established by Josephine Hosier?"

"Yes." Siles watched the rehearsal on the stage absently while thinking, "That organization was established 34 years ago, and it was controlled by shadow believers behind the scenes.

"At that point in time, Ebenezer Konstant hadn't revealed his true beliefs, and some nobles, such as the Constantine family, were naturally willing to provide him with some help.

"... One of the things I am quite concerned about is that ceremony, [kept tight-lipped]."

After thinking for a while, Qin Duo remembered the origin of this ceremony: "It was the ceremony that Qiqi used when the few people from the artist department were brought to interrogation? That made them deaf and dumb, unable to write, and permanently Lost the ability to express.

"...By the way, the murderer in the attempted murder of the trade fair is also in the same state. This ritual seems to be related to shadow believers."

"Yes." Siles nodded, "However, the Historical Society also investigated this ceremony at that time... Carroll's letter mentioned that this ceremony was initiated by the war in the early years of the Duchy of Constance. What was born, is now the exclusive property of some great people."

Qin Duo blinked, combined with some information that Siles just mentioned, he showed a subtle expression.He said, "Could it be that this ceremony came from the Constantine family?"

"It is said that everyone in the army of the Principality of Constance is a revelation, and they have mastered some special rituals that are only passed down in the army." Siles' tone was very light, almost without any personal feelings, "It sounds very It fits the description of the ritual [keep your mouth shut]."

Siles and Cendo were silent for a moment at the same time.The rehearsals on the stage are still going on, and the actors repeat the same repertoire, the same lines and stories day after day.

Is it fresh?

Never fresh.

After a while, Qindo breathed a sigh of relief, and said in a low voice, "The Constantine family may not be in league with the shadow believers."

"But the identity of the former Ebenezer Const is a big problem." Siles said, "That's why No. 1 Erskine Street was infiltrated by shadow believers, so the theater district is still shrouded in shadow, So the Constantine family may have provided some secret information without reservation."

After all, at that time Ebenezer Const had already confirmed that he would be the future Grand Duke, wasn't he?

The Constantine family has always supported the Grand Duke Const, so Ebenezer wanted to ask them to do a little favor, and then Sir Constantine might agree.

For example, Ebenezer claims that he wants to establish an organization within the Enlightenment, and needs a ceremony that can keep people secret... Will Sir Constantine provide the ceremony of [Secret Secret]?I'm afraid it will.

After all, this is not a big deal, and Ebenezer will know sooner or later-Sir Constantine must have thought so at the time.

…No one would have thought at that time that Ebenezer Const had become a believer in "Shadow".

Moreover, the officials of the Principality of Const have always maintained a subtle vigilance against the power of the Enlightenment. If Ebenezer wants to establish an organization of his own within the Enlightenment, then there is a high probability that he will get the support of those nobles.

In fact, the power inheritance of the Revelation in the aristocratic system is completely different from the teaching methods of the Church and the Historical Society in the past.In a sense, the extraordinary power among the nobles is still more inclined to the inheritance of blood and the power of the patron.

The nobles of the Principality of Const still retain a...subtle nostalgia and dependence on the old gods, including their power.

This is of course not in line with the future trend of this era, but the change of the era cannot be achieved overnight.

What Siles is facing at the moment is this kind of self-contradictory and complicated embarrassing situation.

If his idea is right, then...

Are the Constantines siding with the shadow believers?No, never; but did the family do anything to help the Shadow Cultists?I'm afraid so.

Siles couldn't help feeling a headache.

What's more subtle is that it must be impossible for the Constantine family to admit this.Of course, they couldn't take the initiative - friendly - to tell Siles what they did and what led to the current situation.

In fact, this is exactly a problem that Siles has been helpless for a long time.

If they could know the past story of the Lancelot Theater earlier, if the group of high-ranking figures were a little more frank, how many detours could they avoid?

But he can only warn himself that this is probably the only way to go, there is no need to complain about this and that.

Soon, Sirius calmed down.

The Constantine family is related to the Lancelot Theater-well, it is related, and on the bright side, at least the Constantine family does not have the embarrassing situation of Jonathan Bryant-but, for the situation they are facing now As far as the situation is concerned, what is the impact?

Constantine and Lancelot...

The first question that came to Siles' mind was that the Constantine family probably knew about the existence of Chester Fitzroy because of the Lancelot family.

Josephine Hosier and Cogichel Lancelot have a child.Regardless of whether the two were married when the child was born, Chester did not bear the surname Hosier or Lancelot after all, so this was an illegitimate child.

Perhaps this is because the shadow believers were causing trouble, but that was 34 years ago. At that time, Ebenezer Const did not have such deep and devout beliefs, and the shadow believers could not have a strong influence.

So, why didn't Dr. Chester follow his parents' surname?

Josephine Hosier may have been alone, but at the time Koggischer was still a member of the Lancelot family.The Lancelot family had indeed declined at that moment, but at least they were once nobles.

Considering the information they have received now, that is, the Constantine family has provided funding for the Lancelot Theater for a long time, this family may have been a subordinate or collaborator of the Constantine family.

To the extent that the high-ranking members of the Principality of Const are closely related to the nobles, after the decline of the Lancelot family, the Constantine family should also give some help.

In other words, under such circumstances, 34 years ago, after the birth of Josephine and Cogichel's child, with the acquiescence of the Constantine family, if the Lancelot family was willing to accept the child at that time. Then there's probably nothing the Shadow Cultist can do about it, kid.

But the truth is exactly the opposite.Doctor Chester had never known that his own life experience was so complicated.

...Perhaps it was because the elders of Kojicher always hoped that they could restore the family's former glory.

To the Lancelot family, Josephine Hosier was a woman from a foreign land, of unknown origin and purpose.Siles believes that their feelings will be hindered by the Lancelot family.

Moreover, Josephine Hosier does not seem to intend to reveal her identity, perhaps because she is still facing the pursuit of shadow believers from the north, which may implicate her loved ones.

The Mistress of Middleton might have been of noble birth, but she did not give it away.

Another question is, 34 years ago, whether Josephine knew that the group of people in Lamifa City were shadow believers, which is also a subtle detail.She probably didn't realize it at the first time, thinking that this was just a group of followers of the old gods, or a secret organization within the Principality.

But the shadow believers realized Josephine's identity immediately, perhaps through the clay bowl, or through their internal information transmission.

So they took her for her handle, her weakness -- her children.

At that juncture, she herself was unable to protect her child, her husband seemed to be completely absent (they were not sure what happened to Cogichel Lancelot at that time), and her husband's family also separated her from her family. The children were turned away, and the church of the past seemed to know nothing about Josephine's existence...

At that moment, no one reached out to her and her children.

...Everything went on another path at this time.

Siles could not help thinking of Josephine's sister, Elizabeth Hosier.

If this Ms. Elizabeth develops according to the story of the running group script, she will eventually face the dilemma of adhering to her beliefs or betraying her beliefs.

This is almost exactly the same as what happened to Josephine in the Duchy of Constance.

They all seem to have reached a turning point in their fate at some point, and Elizabeth seems to have been helped, but Josephine has not.

Although, in the long river of time, Sirius has seen her ultimate fate.The fact is that Josephine did not completely succumb to the threat of shadow believers until the end. She wrote a letter at the end of her life.

That letter will go to the right person after 14 years.That became an arrangement of fate.

...is that all?

Silas suddenly thought.

Josephine may have been a quiet presence among the shadow cult for as long as 20 years.It's a long time.

Josephine became the one who established the Academy of Artists, with the help of a ceremony from the Constantine family, which proves that she may still have some status among the shadow believers... based on her possible "surrender" behavior.

During these 20 years, did Josephine simply write a nursery rhyme at the last moment of her life?

If she never really betrayed, if that nursery rhyme really came from her hand... Then, she obviously has more time to do something, to do something inside the shadow believer.

She must not have gained all the trust of Ebenezer Const, because Ebenezer chose to kill Josephine when he left Lamifa City.But... a full 20 years!

It is her child's complete process from baby to adulthood!

Josephine Hosier will definitely do something, will definitely prepare something in advance, after she realizes her predicament, after she realizes the ambition of the Shadow Believer...

...and she will definitely leave corresponding clues.

That nursery rhyme?That nursery rhyme may be one of the clues.But that nursery rhyme clearly points to Shadow's plans.

That means that the nursery rhyme was created after "Shadow" contacted the shadow believers.And before that, Josephine might have done something.

... Chester Fitzroy.

Who exactly chose the last name for the doctor?

Sirius' eyes moved slightly.A possibility occurred to him.

He didn't consider this possibility for the time being, but turned to Qindo and asked, "Is there any progress in the investigation of the Lancelot family from the Praia family?"

Qin Duo shook his head regretfully, he said: "They tried to find the current members of the Lancelot family, but they couldn't find them. Those people seem to have disappeared completely, and the last clues were broken three or forty years ago.

"...Perhaps it can be said that the list in the church in the past is just