69novels Chapter 274 History is the past of a tower.
Chapter 274 History is the past of a tower.
"Huh? Who is this butler in the clothes that looks a lot like the Night Demon? Have we got a new guest at the mansion?"
As soon as she went upstairs, Officer Jenny noticed the middle-aged man who was alone in the living room on the first floor.
"The maid and the others are not here. Are they preparing dinner? Speaking of which, the guest that Master Meidan is supposed to entertain today seems to be a big businessman. Is it possible that he has already arrived? And this gloomy uncle looks like he is waiting for something. Could he be Hayden's henchman? If so, where is the businessman who is the main guest...?"
As Officer Jenny pondered, the Sinnoh Champion who had been walking upstairs with her had unknowingly left her side.
"Don't overthink it. Just ask him directly."
After leaving those words, Zhu Lan went to find the guests in the living room.
"Hello, are you also a visitor to this Forest Mansion?"
In her everyday state, Zhu Lan showed no airs of a champion and greeted the other party in a calm tone.
However, upon seeing the person approaching, the black-clad steward instantly became alert, involuntarily narrowing his eyes. Nevertheless, he remained polite; although his hand instinctively fell to his side, he did not reach for the Poké Ball hidden beneath his black butler's uniform.
"Are you perhaps the Sinnoh League's Cynthia Champion?"
"Yes, we were commissioned by the Alliance to conduct an on-site investigation of this mansion with Miss Officer Jenny. May I ask your identity?"
The man in the butler's uniform replied, flattered, "I really can't address you as 'sir.' I'm just Mr. Hayden's bodyguard and driver. Oh, Mr. Hayden is that guy from Zhuqing City..."
"The founder of Hayden Pharmaceuticals, we've already heard that name from Mr. Medan. And what about your own name?"
"The company has regulations for security personnel like us," the man said hurriedly. "We can't reveal our real names while on duty, to prevent malicious people from using this against us. You can just call me Aying."
"Wow, is it really that professional?" Officer Jenny muttered to herself.
Zhu Lan nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, Mr. A Ying, it's a pleasure to meet you. Where is your employer now?"
"The master is discussing something with Mr. Meidan."
Manager Aying glanced towards the second floor, then, as if realizing she had broken some taboo, quickly looked away and added—
"However, my employer did not want anyone to interrupt their conversation."
"Is it a private meeting? That makes sense. Master Meidan instructed the maids to entertain the guests before noon, so it must be something very important to discuss."
Zhu Lan glanced at the tightly closed door in the center of the second floor, then her gaze returned to Steward A Ying in front of her.
"Mr. Hayden and the owner of the Meidan Mansion may be conducting some important research in the mansion, but we are not interested in that. What we care about is the Forest Mansion itself. Mr. Aying, do you know anything about the history of this building?"
"To be honest, I don't know..."
The man, who was either a butler, a bodyguard, or a driver, scratched his head.
"Well, I basically oversaw the construction of this building."
"Huh? This isn't right!" Officer Jenny almost jumped up.
"Didn't this mansion appear in the Hundred Generations Forest more than a hundred years ago? We asked Miss Nagisa of the Hundred Generations Gym, and the legend of the haunted mansion in the forest has been circulating since the very beginning of Hundred Generations City. Could it be that we've come to the wrong mansion? Or are you actually an old monster who has lived from a hundred years ago to the present?"
"How could this be?" Aying gave a wry smile.
"This Forest Mansion is indeed the haunted mansion that has been rumored for a long time. However, the staircases, floors, and interior decorations you see now were almost all built by the master two years ago."
"You mean this Forest Mansion was renovated two years ago?"
The champion of Bamboo Orchid frowned with some concern.
The house has undergone renovations, which means that the original architectural details have likely been demolished or altered, and it's uncertain how much of the mythological remnants will remain. Furthermore, after this major renovation, Officer Jenny's plan to investigate traces of Akatsuki's past life is likely to be completely ruined.
"Oh dear, it took a lot of effort when Mr. Hayden ordered us to renovate the mansion discreetly."
As if oblivious to the Sinnoh Champion's predicament, the black-clad steward continued speaking to himself—
"The master's requirements were extremely demanding. In addition to the complete renovation, we could not destroy the surrounding forest that could conceal the mansion, nor could we change the basic interior furnishings. On top of that, we had to add a basement to the mansion. If the company hadn't sent a sufficient number of Pokémon to help us airlift materials and stabilize the foundation, it would have been an almost impossible task."
"But it was eventually completed, wasn't it?"
Officer Jenny looked around at the neatly decorated interior of the Forest Mansion and clicked her tongue in amazement, "They even moved a large number of computer equipment into the basement."
"Yes, that was also purchased to assist Professor Medan in continuing his research."
The manager proudly puffed out his chest—
"In the end, we perfectly achieved Mr. Hayden's intention, allowing the building to retain its exterior appearance while renovating the interior into a clean and habitable state. According to the master, the Forest Mansion we built combines wildness and the refinement of man-made objects, representing the ultimate form of a cabin in the woods, and can be called a great work of landscape art. Alas, it's a pity that a section of the exterior wall has been demolished by someone, otherwise you could see the mansion in its perfectly hidden state."
"No, no, there's no need for that." Officer Jenny said, embarrassed.
Supervising the renovation of the mansion didn't seem to be part of the security personnel's job, and when Aying was assigned to work there, he wasn't asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. Therefore, seeing how interested Cynthia Champion and Officer Jenny in her police uniform were in this matter, Mr. Aying naturally shared everything he knew, boasting about his great achievements.
"So, the real owner of this building is actually your employer?"
As the manager explained, the policewoman became increasingly concerned about the issue of inheriting the ownership of the mansion.
"No, the mansion was given to Professor Medan after it was built. Real estate in such a remote forest could not appreciate much. For a wealthy man like Mr. Hayden, giving it to a partner was just a casual thing to do."
“The founder of Hayden Pharmaceuticals certainly has the capital to be so capricious,” Officer Jenny nodded. “But the key question is, why would that big entrepreneur specifically come to such a remote forest to rebuild such a dilapidated mansion as a gift for a friend?”
"That's beyond my control as a mere manager," A-Ying shrugged, remaining noncommittal.
“I have a question, Mr. Aying.” Zhu Lan, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked, her gray eyes turning toward the wooden staircase leading to the second floor.
"Was the painting hanging on the stair railing purchased after the renovation?"
"Oh, of course not," the butler replied matter-of-factly.
“My employer is a rather strict perfectionist. Since he required us to completely preserve the appearance of the building’s interior, how could we possibly add any new decorations on it without permission? All the furnishings in the mansion were inherited exactly from the Mori Mansion a hundred years ago.”
At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the painting hanging next to the stairs.
It was a half-length portrait of an unidentified man. For some reason, the painter chose to use reddish tones to depict the eyes in the portrait.
Officer Jenny felt a sense of foreboding – when she passed by before, she didn’t think there was anything unusual about the painting, but now, as she looked at it more closely, it seemed increasingly eerie.
It felt as if those eyes held a crimson and insane world hidden within them...
Click, tap.
Just as the atmosphere in the hall was becoming a little strange, a large door on the second floor suddenly opened.
The door that opened was not to the main room in the center, but to the door on the right—the guest room where Miss Venetian was staying.
"Oh no, something terrible has happened!"
For some reason, it was the maid, Qi Na, who came out of the door, with the short-haired owner's daughter following behind her, looking bewildered.
Both girls were pale.
"We were in the room and we heard a very heavy pounding sound against the wall! It sounded like someone was calling for help!"
Qi Na cried out to Zhu Lan in a terrified voice, her voice trembling with tears.