Chapter 180: 180
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Valentine felt that his control over her could last long enough, so he didn't have to hurry. It was probably because he was much stronger than her, especially now that he was a President rank.
"What is your full name?" asked Valentine coldly, which was emphasized even more by Rood's cold tone. Right now he didn't have to care about the other party's feelings because of his control.
"Sabine van Aalsburg," replied the woman monotonously.
"How did come to work for Ruben Arnaud?" asked Valentine promptly.
"I was told by an old friend to go to Mr. Arnaud for a job. He accepted me after I showed him my capabilities.
Valentine crossed his arms and looked over his shoulder.
"G, the story checks out. So she wasn't lying to Ruben," he muttered and then turned his attention back to Sabine.
"Do you have any hidden agenda for working for the Arnauds?"
Sabine nodded slowly.
"Yes. I have to watch over Fabien Arnaud," she answered honestly in a monotonous voice that was devoid of any emotions and feelings.
Her statement got Valentine raising his eyebrows.
"Did you hear that, G?" he muttered quietly.
"Why are you watching over Fabien and who told you to do that?" asked Valentine inquisitively. His voice was authoritative, like someone in a higher position asking for an explanation.
"I don't know. I just know that I have to do that," she replied.
Under the effect of Interrogation, she wouldn't be able to lie unless she had some kind of ability to do that. That was why her answer made Valentine even more suspicious.
"Explain more," he demanded shortly.
"I can feel the urge to watch over Fabien Arnaud, but I don't know where it comes from or why it is there," she replied with no change in her flat tone; her expression remained blank and tranquil.
Valentine remained silent. He had a suspicion that she was under some kind of Contractbound ability and the 'old friend' she mentioned before might have something to do with it.
"Who is the old friend that told you to work for Ruben Arnaud? And why did you easily follow their suggestion?"
"His name is Emiel Gompers. I trusted him because has always helped me ever since I was young," she replied.
There was a suspicion on Valentine's face. The name sounded familiar, and going by how the events had transpired lately, it wouldn't surprise him if it was the exact same person as the one he had in mind.
Sabine nodded and replied shortly.
"Yes,"
At that moment, Valentine's suspicion was confirmed. That was Emiel the jeweler, the man who had told him about Paim's antique store!
"G, the puzzle pieces are falling into place one by one now. That is too much for it to be just a coincidence. What's next? Egon the driver is actually Paim in disguise?" he muttered jeeringly.
"Do you know of a woman named Paim?" he asked, just to be sure.
Sabine shook her head.
"I don't know," she replied.
Valentine had got everything he needed to know, but since the Interrogation would still last for a while, he made use of the opportunity.
"Are you a Contractbound?"
Sabine shook her head robotically.
"No, I'm not," she said.
"Thank you for answering all those questions," replied Valentine with a strange smile. He was using Rood's appearance but he didn't have Graham's knowledge about the man's mannerisms, so his smile looked unnatural.
Valentine walked away from Sabine who was still under the effect of his ability and once he was far enough, he used Order that was stored inside Purloin to revert to his original appearance.
"I hereby declare you are no longer under interrogation!" he shouted, as his body was undergoing a transformation process.
Sabine snapped back to reality and had a confused look on her face. She looked like someone who had just been jolted awake from her nap and now knew nothing about her surroundings. She looked around and it came back to her that she was in the alley near the Arnauds house. As to why she was there, she only remembered following Rood, but everything was gone after that.
In a panic, she began examining her body, and only after finding no signs of assault, she calmed down; there weren't even any signs of her being touched anywhere. Without lowering her guard, she returned to the street and resumed what she was initially going to do before she blacked out, slightly limping with her walk.
Meanwhile, Valentine had long been gone from the area and was on his way to Grotemarktstraat, where Emiel the jeweler's store was. He could take the public motor carriage there, but since it was close enough, he would rather walk.
It didn't take him long to reach Grotemarktstraat, which at that time was packed with people crowding the numerous establishments there. Valentine walked past all the other people and went straight to the jewelry store that had the sign that read 'Bron's' above the door. It was the place that Emiel ran, and according to Ruben, Bron was the name of the man's great-grandfather.
The sounds of the bustling street were resounding behind him, accompanied by the smoke from the motor carriages as he entered the jewelry store. Valentine was welcomed by the numerous pieces of beautiful jewelry on display, but there was no sign of Emiel anywhere in the store.
"This is rather suspicious," Valentine muttered silently as he looked around.
Walking straight past all the display cases with luxurious jewelry inside, Valentine headed towards the back door and gave the handle a twist. Since it was unlocked, the door opened very easily and the detective let himself into the back room.
The room was dark as the lights were off. There were no windows from which the sunlight can penetrate through, nor was there any glass panel on the ceiling to allow lights to come in. The only source of light was the sunlight coming from behind him.
Valentine's night vision was activated and in an instant, he was able to see clearly in the dark with everything glowing in a yellowish hue. The room itself was normal, but it was full of cupboards and shelves with countless objects on them, making it look messy.
"Welcome, Hymes. It took you a while to find us again," said a voice that came from the other end of the unlit room.
"Us?" muttered Valentine quietly.
It was the bespectacled owner of the store, Emiel, who was sitting behind a table at the end of the dark room. His expression was like that of a child who had won a race and was waiting for the others to catch up.
"I hereby place you under interrogation!" shouted Valentine right away as he approached the man carefully.
Emiel's eyes turned blank behind his glasses as his expression became tranquil as if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Valentine didn't come any closer but stood where he was with his dagger ready. Despite the man being under his control, he could still feel the tension in the air.
"Who are you really?" asked Valentine inquisitively.
Suddenly, there was a creepy smile surfacing on the thin man's face!
"That won't work, will it, Hymes?" said Emiel with a tone that was completely different from usual.
Valentine quickly took a step back and got ready for an attack.
Creak...
Suddenly, the door closed on its own!
"No need to be so tense. You are here to ask us questions, aren't you? Then we will answer. But you don't need to use Interrogation for that, now, do you?" he said and then let out a laugh that sounded like a child's laughter but with an adult's voice.
His words didn't reassure Valentine in the slightest. The detective wouldn't let his guard down, especially not in front of a mysterious person who seemed to have been expecting him. Now that the door behind him was closed, he also had to rack his brain to escape in case he was suddenly attacked by the man.
"Who are you?" asked Valentine again shortly. This time, his voice was colder than before.
The thin man with glasses kept on smiling widely as if trying his best to appear friendly. However, his effort only served to make him look unsettling and creepy in a way, especially in the room that was now devoid of light.
"I'm Emiel, and as you have already heard from Sabine, my last name is Gompers, son of Frank Gompers. Is there anything else you would like to know?" asked Valentine.
As a Denuder, he would feel it if someone was lying, and right now, he couldn't sense any lies in the man's words. It was either he was telling the truth or he was just too strong that his lies weren't possible to be detected.
"What's your real identity? Why are you referring to yourself as 'we'?" asked Valentine without lowering his weapon. Meanwhile, the man was still sitting leisurely on the other end of the room.
"My real identity? I've already told you, hmm?" he replied teasingly, "As for us, we are us, is that difficult to comprehend, Mr. Detective?"
There was still no lies detected in his words, which made Valentine even more suspicious. There was no way in the world that he was just a normal person. However, Valentine felt that he wouldn't get anything useful out of him if he kept asking about Emiel himself.
"Why did you ask Sabine to work for Ruben and watch over Fabien?" he asked a different question this time.
Emiel looked like he would let out an even wider smile if he could, but he couldn't, so his face just looked rather distorted instead.
"How did you know it was us who told her to watch over the young master Arnaud?" he asked teasingly, "How perceptive of you!"
Clap... Clap... Clap! Clap! Clap!!
Emiel clapped very, very slowly, and then suddenly the clapping became very quick as if he was actually congratulating Valentine, which made the detective even more puzzled. He didn't seem to be able to read Emiel's train of thought at all; all his actions seemed very random and bizarre.
"Just answer the question, would you?" said Valentine coldly and calmly. He tried not to be provoked by the bespectacled man's actions.
"Teehee..." Emiel started giggling and squirming as if someone was tickling him, and then his expression became serious while still maintaining his wide smile, "Yes, it was us. Fabien is a very important person for the world. We would do the same if we were you," he said.
Valentine raised his right eyebrow.
"Important how?" he asked.
The smile that Emiel had maintained for so long was suddenly replaced by a frown. He genuinely looked saddened by something as tears began forming at the corners of his eyes.
"Boohoo... we can't tell you!" he said sadly; his voice echoed in the dark room, "You are still not strong enough to know. You are also looking for the Lady, aren't you? She said you have the right to know everything once you've pleased two Presidents..." he paused, "Or four, in your case, hehee..." the tears in his eyes disappeared as he raised his left hand with four fingers stuck out.
"G, he indeed works with Paim, and he seems to know about you as well, just like her," muttered Valentine.
"Yes, G, we know about you," echoed Emiel playfully, which got Valentine surprised and creeped out!
Valentine's body tensed up and lowered. He was in a position to attack at any time, or to defend against a sudden attack.
"Relax, Hymes. We've told you we don't want to fight," Emiel said; the smile came back on his face, "The Lady said that once you've pleased two Presidents, come and find her in the abandoned place where the people's voices reached the sky, during the time when the moon is fully consumed by darkness," he said vaguely.
Valentine didn't react but kept his guard up instead.
"Now now, we told you not to be tense, didn't we? Here, as a token of our friendship, we'll leave something for you two here," Emiel said in a genuinely friendly manner; however, his creepy face betrayed his friendliness.
He took out a piece of paper from thin air that had some kind of map on it. Emiel then placed the map on the table in front of him and then turned back to Valentine, looking straight at him in the eyes.
"This is the location of the hidden basement where your lunatic friends are hiding. Give it to the Police or burn it, we don't care. Now, we have to be somewhere else. It's a shame that we have to abandon this place, but what else can we do? *sob*" Emiel started crying all of sudden.
Emiel stood up from his chair and at the same time, Valentine took another step back. Seeing what the detective did, there was an expression of amusement on the thin man's face. He started hugging himself tightly.
"Relax, relax, I'm going now. See you someday!" he said merrily. His two eyes were looking at Valentine full of expectations.
Emiel's skin suddenly turned paler and paler until it was mannequin-like, and the features on his face began fading. He had completely turned into a mannequin!
The thing that used to be Emiel the jeweler was now nothing more than a lifeless human-like object that was commonly used for displaying clothes. The mannequin was still wearing the same clothes as Emiel; even the glasses were still there. The difference was just the face was featureless and the skin was nowhere near a human's tone.
Not letting his guard down, Valentine carefully approached the table where the bizarre man had left the map while keeping an eye on the mannequin. When the map was within his reach, he quickly snatched it and put it inside the inner pocket of his coat. Valentine then turned back and got ready to leave the dark room.
"Fuck!!"
The mannequin was suddenly standing in front of him! There was a smile painted on its face using a black marker!
He kicked it as hard as he could and then quickly ran toward the door. It was unlocked, so he could easily escape from the creepy back room and returned to the store that was basked in sunlight. He calmed down his heart that was beating fast and controlled his breathing.
"Fuck that man!" he muttered angrily.
At that moment, he noticed that all the pieces of jewelry that had been on display were all gone!
"What a stingy man! We can't even gain anything valuable from this place as compensation for the scare," he complained.
Valentine then left the now empty jewelry store with another goal in his mind; giving the map that he had just received to the Police.
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Valentine felt that his control over her could last long enough, so he didn't have to hurry. It was probably because he was much stronger than her, especially now that he was a President rank.
"What is your full name?" asked Valentine coldly, which was emphasized even more by Rood's cold tone. Right now he didn't have to care about the other party's feelings because of his control.
"Sabine van Aalsburg," replied the woman monotonously.
"How did come to work for Ruben Arnaud?" asked Valentine promptly.
"I was told by an old friend to go to Mr. Arnaud for a job. He accepted me after I showed him my capabilities.
Valentine crossed his arms and looked over his shoulder.
"G, the story checks out. So she wasn't lying to Ruben," he muttered and then turned his attention back to Sabine.
"Do you have any hidden agenda for working for the Arnauds?"
Sabine nodded slowly.
"Yes. I have to watch over Fabien Arnaud," she answered honestly in a monotonous voice that was devoid of any emotions and feelings.
Her statement got Valentine raising his eyebrows.
"Did you hear that, G?" he muttered quietly.
"Why are you watching over Fabien and who told you to do that?" asked Valentine inquisitively. His voice was authoritative, like someone in a higher position asking for an explanation.
"I don't know. I just know that I have to do that," she replied.
Under the effect of Interrogation, she wouldn't be able to lie unless she had some kind of ability to do that. That was why her answer made Valentine even more suspicious.
"Explain more," he demanded shortly.
"I can feel the urge to watch over Fabien Arnaud, but I don't know where it comes from or why it is there," she replied with no change in her flat tone; her expression remained blank and tranquil.
Valentine remained silent. He had a suspicion that she was under some kind of Contractbound ability and the 'old friend' she mentioned before might have something to do with it.
"Who is the old friend that told you to work for Ruben Arnaud? And why did you easily follow their suggestion?"
"His name is Emiel Gompers. I trusted him because has always helped me ever since I was young," she replied.
There was a suspicion on Valentine's face. The name sounded familiar, and going by how the events had transpired lately, it wouldn't surprise him if it was the exact same person as the one he had in mind.
Sabine nodded and replied shortly.
"Yes,"
At that moment, Valentine's suspicion was confirmed. That was Emiel the jeweler, the man who had told him about Paim's antique store!
"G, the puzzle pieces are falling into place one by one now. That is too much for it to be just a coincidence. What's next? Egon the driver is actually Paim in disguise?" he muttered jeeringly.
"Do you know of a woman named Paim?" he asked, just to be sure.
Sabine shook her head.
"I don't know," she replied.
Valentine had got everything he needed to know, but since the Interrogation would still last for a while, he made use of the opportunity.
"Are you a Contractbound?"
Sabine shook her head robotically.
"No, I'm not," she said.
"Thank you for answering all those questions," replied Valentine with a strange smile. He was using Rood's appearance but he didn't have Graham's knowledge about the man's mannerisms, so his smile looked unnatural.
Valentine walked away from Sabine who was still under the effect of his ability and once he was far enough, he used Order that was stored inside Purloin to revert to his original appearance.
"I hereby declare you are no longer under interrogation!" he shouted, as his body was undergoing a transformation process.
Sabine snapped back to reality and had a confused look on her face. She looked like someone who had just been jolted awake from her nap and now knew nothing about her surroundings. She looked around and it came back to her that she was in the alley near the Arnauds house. As to why she was there, she only remembered following Rood, but everything was gone after that.
In a panic, she began examining her body, and only after finding no signs of assault, she calmed down; there weren't even any signs of her being touched anywhere. Without lowering her guard, she returned to the street and resumed what she was initially going to do before she blacked out, slightly limping with her walk.
Meanwhile, Valentine had long been gone from the area and was on his way to Grotemarktstraat, where Emiel the jeweler's store was. He could take the public motor carriage there, but since it was close enough, he would rather walk.
It didn't take him long to reach Grotemarktstraat, which at that time was packed with people crowding the numerous establishments there. Valentine walked past all the other people and went straight to the jewelry store that had the sign that read 'Bron's' above the door. It was the place that Emiel ran, and according to Ruben, Bron was the name of the man's great-grandfather.
The sounds of the bustling street were resounding behind him, accompanied by the smoke from the motor carriages as he entered the jewelry store. Valentine was welcomed by the numerous pieces of beautiful jewelry on display, but there was no sign of Emiel anywhere in the store.
"This is rather suspicious," Valentine muttered silently as he looked around.
Walking straight past all the display cases with luxurious jewelry inside, Valentine headed towards the back door and gave the handle a twist. Since it was unlocked, the door opened very easily and the detective let himself into the back room.
The room was dark as the lights were off. There were no windows from which the sunlight can penetrate through, nor was there any glass panel on the ceiling to allow lights to come in. The only source of light was the sunlight coming from behind him.
Valentine's night vision was activated and in an instant, he was able to see clearly in the dark with everything glowing in a yellowish hue. The room itself was normal, but it was full of cupboards and shelves with countless objects on them, making it look messy.
"Welcome, Hymes. It took you a while to find us again," said a voice that came from the other end of the unlit room.
"Us?" muttered Valentine quietly.
It was the bespectacled owner of the store, Emiel, who was sitting behind a table at the end of the dark room. His expression was like that of a child who had won a race and was waiting for the others to catch up.
"I hereby place you under interrogation!" shouted Valentine right away as he approached the man carefully.
Emiel's eyes turned blank behind his glasses as his expression became tranquil as if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Valentine didn't come any closer but stood where he was with his dagger ready. Despite the man being under his control, he could still feel the tension in the air.
"Who are you really?" asked Valentine inquisitively.
Suddenly, there was a creepy smile surfacing on the thin man's face!
"That won't work, will it, Hymes?" said Emiel with a tone that was completely different from usual.
Valentine quickly took a step back and got ready for an attack.
Creak...
Suddenly, the door closed on its own!
"No need to be so tense. You are here to ask us questions, aren't you? Then we will answer. But you don't need to use Interrogation for that, now, do you?" he said and then let out a laugh that sounded like a child's laughter but with an adult's voice.
His words didn't reassure Valentine in the slightest. The detective wouldn't let his guard down, especially not in front of a mysterious person who seemed to have been expecting him. Now that the door behind him was closed, he also had to rack his brain to escape in case he was suddenly attacked by the man.
"Who are you?" asked Valentine again shortly. This time, his voice was colder than before.
The thin man with glasses kept on smiling widely as if trying his best to appear friendly. However, his effort only served to make him look unsettling and creepy in a way, especially in the room that was now devoid of light.
"I'm Emiel, and as you have already heard from Sabine, my last name is Gompers, son of Frank Gompers. Is there anything else you would like to know?" asked Valentine.
As a Denuder, he would feel it if someone was lying, and right now, he couldn't sense any lies in the man's words. It was either he was telling the truth or he was just too strong that his lies weren't possible to be detected.
"What's your real identity? Why are you referring to yourself as 'we'?" asked Valentine without lowering his weapon. Meanwhile, the man was still sitting leisurely on the other end of the room.
"My real identity? I've already told you, hmm?" he replied teasingly, "As for us, we are us, is that difficult to comprehend, Mr. Detective?"
There was still no lies detected in his words, which made Valentine even more suspicious. There was no way in the world that he was just a normal person. However, Valentine felt that he wouldn't get anything useful out of him if he kept asking about Emiel himself.
"Why did you ask Sabine to work for Ruben and watch over Fabien?" he asked a different question this time.
Emiel looked like he would let out an even wider smile if he could, but he couldn't, so his face just looked rather distorted instead.
"How did you know it was us who told her to watch over the young master Arnaud?" he asked teasingly, "How perceptive of you!"
Clap... Clap... Clap! Clap! Clap!!
Emiel clapped very, very slowly, and then suddenly the clapping became very quick as if he was actually congratulating Valentine, which made the detective even more puzzled. He didn't seem to be able to read Emiel's train of thought at all; all his actions seemed very random and bizarre.
"Just answer the question, would you?" said Valentine coldly and calmly. He tried not to be provoked by the bespectacled man's actions.
"Teehee..." Emiel started giggling and squirming as if someone was tickling him, and then his expression became serious while still maintaining his wide smile, "Yes, it was us. Fabien is a very important person for the world. We would do the same if we were you," he said.
Valentine raised his right eyebrow.
"Important how?" he asked.
The smile that Emiel had maintained for so long was suddenly replaced by a frown. He genuinely looked saddened by something as tears began forming at the corners of his eyes.
"Boohoo... we can't tell you!" he said sadly; his voice echoed in the dark room, "You are still not strong enough to know. You are also looking for the Lady, aren't you? She said you have the right to know everything once you've pleased two Presidents..." he paused, "Or four, in your case, hehee..." the tears in his eyes disappeared as he raised his left hand with four fingers stuck out.
"G, he indeed works with Paim, and he seems to know about you as well, just like her," muttered Valentine.
"Yes, G, we know about you," echoed Emiel playfully, which got Valentine surprised and creeped out!
Valentine's body tensed up and lowered. He was in a position to attack at any time, or to defend against a sudden attack.
"Relax, Hymes. We've told you we don't want to fight," Emiel said; the smile came back on his face, "The Lady said that once you've pleased two Presidents, come and find her in the abandoned place where the people's voices reached the sky, during the time when the moon is fully consumed by darkness," he said vaguely.
Valentine didn't react but kept his guard up instead.
"Now now, we told you not to be tense, didn't we? Here, as a token of our friendship, we'll leave something for you two here," Emiel said in a genuinely friendly manner; however, his creepy face betrayed his friendliness.
He took out a piece of paper from thin air that had some kind of map on it. Emiel then placed the map on the table in front of him and then turned back to Valentine, looking straight at him in the eyes.
"This is the location of the hidden basement where your lunatic friends are hiding. Give it to the Police or burn it, we don't care. Now, we have to be somewhere else. It's a shame that we have to abandon this place, but what else can we do? *sob*" Emiel started crying all of sudden.
Emiel stood up from his chair and at the same time, Valentine took another step back. Seeing what the detective did, there was an expression of amusement on the thin man's face. He started hugging himself tightly.
"Relax, relax, I'm going now. See you someday!" he said merrily. His two eyes were looking at Valentine full of expectations.
Emiel's skin suddenly turned paler and paler until it was mannequin-like, and the features on his face began fading. He had completely turned into a mannequin!
The thing that used to be Emiel the jeweler was now nothing more than a lifeless human-like object that was commonly used for displaying clothes. The mannequin was still wearing the same clothes as Emiel; even the glasses were still there. The difference was just the face was featureless and the skin was nowhere near a human's tone.
Not letting his guard down, Valentine carefully approached the table where the bizarre man had left the map while keeping an eye on the mannequin. When the map was within his reach, he quickly snatched it and put it inside the inner pocket of his coat. Valentine then turned back and got ready to leave the dark room.
"Fuck!!"
The mannequin was suddenly standing in front of him! There was a smile painted on its face using a black marker!
He kicked it as hard as he could and then quickly ran toward the door. It was unlocked, so he could easily escape from the creepy back room and returned to the store that was basked in sunlight. He calmed down his heart that was beating fast and controlled his breathing.
"Fuck that man!" he muttered angrily.
At that moment, he noticed that all the pieces of jewelry that had been on display were all gone!
"What a stingy man! We can't even gain anything valuable from this place as compensation for the scare," he complained.
Valentine then left the now empty jewelry store with another goal in his mind; giving the map that he had just received to the Police.
Valentine felt that his control over her could last long enough, so he didn't have to hurry. It was probably because he was much stronger than her, especially now that he was a President rank."What is your full name?" asked Valentine coldly, which was emphasized even more by Rood's cold tone. Right now he didn't have to care about the other party's feelings because of his control."Sabine van Aalsburg," replied the woman monotonously."How did come to work for Ruben Arnaud?" asked Valentine promptly."I was told by an old friend to go to Mr. Arnaud for a job. He accepted me after I showed him my capabilities.Valentine crossed his arms and looked over his shoulder."G, the story checks out. So she wasn't lying to Ruben," he muttered and then turned his attention back to Sabine."Do you have any hidden agenda for working for the Arnauds?"Sabine nodded slowly."Yes. I have to watch over Fabien Arnaud," she answered honestly in a monotonous voice that was devoid of any emotions and feelings.Her statement got Valentine raising his eyebrows."Did you hear that, G?" he muttered quietly."Why are you watching over Fabien and who told you to do that?" asked Valentine inquisitively. His voice was authoritative, like someone in a higher position asking for an explanation."I don't know. I just know that I have to do that," she replied.Under the effect of Interrogation, she wouldn't be able to lie unless she had some kind of ability to do that. That was why her answer made Valentine even more suspicious."Explain more," he demanded shortly."I can feel the urge to watch over Fabien Arnaud, but I don't know where it comes from or why it is there," she replied with no change in her flat tone; her expression remained blank and tranquil.Valentine remained silent. He had a suspicion that she was under some kind of Contractbound ability and the 'old friend' she mentioned before might have something to do with it."Who is the old friend that told you to work for Ruben Arnaud? And why did you easily follow their suggestion?""His name is Emiel Gompers. I trusted him because has always helped me ever since I was young," she replied.There was a suspicion on Valentine's face. The name sounded familiar, and going by how the events had transpired lately, it wouldn't surprise him if it was the exact same person as the one he had in mind.Sabine nodded and replied shortly."Yes,"At that moment, Valentine's suspicion was confirmed. That was Emiel the jeweler, the man who had told him about Paim's antique store!"G, the puzzle pieces are falling into place one by one now. That is too much for it to be just a coincidence. What's next? Egon the driver is actually Paim in disguise?" he muttered jeeringly."Do you know of a woman named Paim?" he asked, just to be sure.Sabine shook her head."I don't know," she replied.Valentine had got everything he needed to know, but since the Interrogation would still last for a while, he made use of the opportunity."Are you a Contractbound?"Sabine shook her head robotically."No, I'm not," she said."Thank you for answering all those questions," replied Valentine with a strange smile. He was using Rood's appearance but he didn't have Graham's knowledge about the man's mannerisms, so his smile looked unnatural.Valentine walked away from Sabine who was still under the effect of his ability and once he was far enough, he used Order that was stored inside Purloin to revert to his original appearance."I hereby declare you are no longer under interrogation!" he shouted, as his body was undergoing a transformation process.Sabine snapped back to reality and had a confused look on her face. She looked like someone who had just been jolted awake from her nap and now knew nothing about her surroundings. She looked around and it came back to her that she was in the alley near the Arnauds house. As to why she was there, she only remembered following Rood, but everything was gone after that.In a panic, she began examining her body, and only after finding no signs of assault, she calmed down; there weren't even any signs of her being touched anywhere. Without lowering her guard, she returned to the street and resumed what she was initially going to do before she blacked out, slightly limping with her walk.Meanwhile, Valentine had long been gone from the area and was on his way to Grotemarktstraat, where Emiel the jeweler's store was. He could take the public motor carriage there, but since it was close enough, he would rather walk.It didn't take him long to reach Grotemarktstraat, which at that time was packed with people crowding the numerous establishments there. Valentine walked past all the other people and went straight to the jewelry store that had the sign that read 'Bron's' above the door. It was the place that Emiel ran, and according to Ruben, Bron was the name of the man's great-grandfather.The sounds of the bustling street were resounding behind him, accompanied by the smoke from the motor carriages as he entered the jewelry store. Valentine was welcomed by the numerous pieces of beautiful jewelry on display, but there was no sign of Emiel anywhere in the store."This is rather suspicious," Valentine muttered silently as he looked around.Walking straight past all the display cases with luxurious jewelry inside, Valentine headed towards the back door and gave the handle a twist. Since it was unlocked, the door opened very easily and the detective let himself into the back room.The room was dark as the lights were off. There were no windows from which the sunlight can penetrate through, nor was there any glass panel on the ceiling to allow lights to come in. The only source of light was the sunlight coming from behind him.Valentine's night vision was activated and in an instant, he was able to see clearly in the dark with everything glowing in a yellowish hue. The room itself was normal, but it was full of cupboards and shelves with countless objects on them, making it look messy."Welcome, Hymes. It took you a while to find us again," said a voice that came from the other end of the unlit room."Us?" muttered Valentine quietly.It was the bespectacled owner of the store, Emiel, who was sitting behind a table at the end of the dark room. His expression was like that of a child who had won a race and was waiting for the others to catch up."I hereby place you under interrogation!" shouted Valentine right away as he approached the man carefully.Emiel's eyes turned blank behind his glasses as his expression became tranquil as if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Valentine didn't come any closer but stood where he was with his dagger ready. Despite the man being under his control, he could still feel the tension in the air."Who are you really?" asked Valentine inquisitively.Suddenly, there was a creepy smile surfacing on the thin man's face!"That won't work, will it, Hymes?" said Emiel with a tone that was completely different from usual.Valentine quickly took a step back and got ready for an attack.Creak...Suddenly, the door closed on its own!"No need to be so tense. You are here to ask us questions, aren't you? Then we will answer. But you don't need to use Interrogation for that, now, do you?" he said and then let out a laugh that sounded like a child's laughter but with an adult's voice.His words didn't reassure Valentine in the slightest. The detective wouldn't let his guard down, especially not in front of a mysterious person who seemed to have been expecting him. Now that the door behind him was closed, he also had to rack his brain to escape in case he was suddenly attacked by the man."Who are you?" asked Valentine again shortly. This time, his voice was colder than before.The thin man with glasses kept on smiling widely as if trying his best to appear friendly. However, his effort only served to make him look unsettling and creepy in a way, especially in the room that was now devoid of light."I'm Emiel, and as you have already heard from Sabine, my last name is Gompers, son of Frank Gompers. Is there anything else you would like to know?" asked Valentine.As a Denuder, he would feel it if someone was lying, and right now, he couldn't sense any lies in the man's words. It was either he was telling the truth or he was just too strong that his lies weren't possible to be detected."What's your real identity? Why are you referring to yourself as 'we'?" asked Valentine without lowering his weapon. Meanwhile, the man was still sitting leisurely on the other end of the room."My real identity? I've already told you, hmm?" he replied teasingly, "As for us, we are us, is that difficult to comprehend, Mr. Detective?"There was still no lies detected in his words, which made Valentine even more suspicious. There was no way in the world that he was just a normal person. However, Valentine felt that he wouldn't get anything useful out of him if he kept asking about Emiel himself."Why did you ask Sabine to work for Ruben and watch over Fabien?" he asked a different question this time.Emiel looked like he would let out an even wider smile if he could, but he couldn't, so his face just looked rather distorted instead."How did you know it was us who told her to watch over the young master Arnaud?" he asked teasingly, "How perceptive of you!"Clap... Clap... Clap! Clap! Clap!!Emiel clapped very, very slowly, and then suddenly the clapping became very quick as if he was actually congratulating Valentine, which made the detective even more puzzled. He didn't seem to be able to read Emiel's train of thought at all; all his actions seemed very random and bizarre."Just answer the question, would you?" said Valentine coldly and calmly. He tried not to be provoked by the bespectacled man's actions."Teehee..." Emiel started giggling and squirming as if someone was tickling him, and then his expression became serious while still maintaining his wide smile, "Yes, it was us. Fabien is a very important person for the world. We would do the same if we were you," he said.Valentine raised his right eyebrow."Important how?" he asked.The smile that Emiel had maintained for so long was suddenly replaced by a frown. He genuinely looked saddened by something as tears began forming at the corners of his eyes."Boohoo... we can't tell you!" he said sadly; his voice echoed in the dark room, "You are still not strong enough to know. You are also looking for the Lady, aren't you? She said you have the right to know everything once you've pleased two Presidents..." he paused, "Or four, in your case, hehee..." the tears in his eyes disappeared as he raised his left hand with four fingers stuck out."G, he indeed works with Paim, and he seems to know about you as well, just like her," muttered Valentine."Yes, G, we know about you," echoed Emiel playfully, which got Valentine surprised and creeped out!Valentine's body tensed up and lowered. He was in a position to attack at any time, or to defend against a sudden attack."Relax, Hymes. We've told you we don't want to fight," Emiel said; the smile came back on his face, "The Lady said that once you've pleased two Presidents, come and find her in the abandoned place where the people's voices reached the sky, during the time when the moon is fully consumed by darkness," he said vaguely.Valentine didn't react but kept his guard up instead."Now now, we told you not to be tense, didn't we? Here, as a token of our friendship, we'll leave something for you two here," Emiel said in a genuinely friendly manner; however, his creepy face betrayed his friendliness.He took out a piece of paper from thin air that had some kind of map on it. Emiel then placed the map on the table in front of him and then turned back to Valentine, looking straight at him in the eyes."This is the location of the hidden basement where your lunatic friends are hiding. Give it to the Police or burn it, we don't care. Now, we have to be somewhere else. It's a shame that we have to abandon this place, but what else can we do? *sob*" Emiel started crying all of sudden.Emiel stood up from his chair and at the same time, Valentine took another step back. Seeing what the detective did, there was an expression of amusement on the thin man's face. He started hugging himself tightly."Relax, relax, I'm going now. See you someday!" he said merrily. His two eyes were looking at Valentine full of expectations.Emiel's skin suddenly turned paler and paler until it was mannequin-like, and the features on his face began fading. He had completely turned into a mannequin!The thing that used to be Emiel the jeweler was now nothing more than a lifeless human-like object that was commonly used for displaying clothes. The mannequin was still wearing the same clothes as Emiel; even the glasses were still there. The difference was just the face was featureless and the skin was nowhere near a human's tone.Not letting his guard down, Valentine carefully approached the table where the bizarre man had left the map while keeping an eye on the mannequin. When the map was within his reach, he quickly snatched it and put it inside the inner pocket of his coat. Valentine then turned back and got ready to leave the dark room."Fuck!!"The mannequin was suddenly standing in front of him! There was a smile painted on its face using a black marker!He kicked it as hard as he could and then quickly ran toward the door. It was unlocked, so he could easily escape from the creepy back room and returned to the store that was basked in sunlight. He calmed down his heart that was beating fast and controlled his breathing."Fuck that man!" he muttered angrily.At that moment, he noticed that all the pieces of jewelry that had been on display were all gone!"What a stingy man! We can't even gain anything valuable from this place as compensation for the scare," he complained.Valentine then left the now empty jewelry store with another goal in his mind; giving the map that he had just received to the Police.
