Crow's Paradise

Triss followed Ms. Sarina nervously and entered the somewhat deserted small courtyard.

"Come with me."

After walking through the door, Salina closed the courtyard door under Tris' nervous gaze.

"Okay, okay." The other party did not do what Triss thought. He just walked ahead and led her into the somewhat ancient mansion.

Triss, who breathed a sigh of relief, did not completely relax her vigilance. She just slowly followed the opponent while observing the surrounding scene and being prepared to escape in time if anything happened.

If it weren't for the silence, Triss would have thought a grand dance was being held in this room.

Don’t you replace the crystal chandeliers after the dance and save them? It has been hanging on it like this, and there is no dust at all.

Standing in the hall, Triss looked at the quite new crystal chandelier on the ceiling with some confusion, saying that it was just taken out and hung up, so there was nothing wrong with it.

But this room is not very suitable for a dance.

Although she has been separated from her original identity for a long time, Triss has not forgotten the requirements of the ball decoration.

Her eyes scanned the contents of the hall.

The hall is divided into three parts.

One is the staircase leading to the upper floor, located at the innermost side of the hall. There are different plaster statues on both sides in front of the escalator, including statues of knights in armor.

There are two empty spaces at the front and back separated by screens. In front of the screens, there are bookshelves and several seats.

From the escalators carved with complicated patterns, the somewhat shabby decoration on the walls, and the patterns on the empty landscape pots with potted plants placed in the corners, she could roughly realize the value of these things.

This house should be owned by a wealthy businessman or noble, right?

That Miss Sarina is a member of a noble or wealthy business family?

While thinking, she came to the edge of the somewhat wide escalator. Looking up the stairs and handrails in the hall, she saw traces of the wall.

It seemed like there should be a large oil painting hanging there. Maybe it was the portrait of the ancestor with the largest noble title or the earliest ancestor like in her previous home?

Judging from the knight statue, the original owner of this house should be a family of military knights?

Of course, it could also be a landscape painting, or a painting depicting a knight's battlefield.

Then it might be some fans who are obsessed with knights' works, and they cannot be identified.

Leaving the handrail of the stairs, Triss walked around the hall.

Arriving at the corridor near the door, she stood on tiptoe and glanced at the end of the somewhat dim corridor.

Well, that's right, it should have a similar layout to her home, with a corridor leading to the dinner room, underground warehouse, and hot washroom.

But is there a balcony on the first floor?

Touching her cheek, Triss thought for a moment.

It wasn't that he thought about holding a wine glass and standing in front of the railing at the dance party, avoiding the men who approached him to talk to him with motives that were not pure.

It’s not that I missed being able to stand on the balcony with a Phantom Thief novel and watch the servants build flowers and plants in the huge courtyard.

Not to mention the small dances and fencing competitions that were occasionally held at home and could only be attended by her family and close friends. This kind of cumbersome social interaction that required a fake smile on her face at all times, she had been disgusted with since that time. , and it remains the same until now.

What she was thinking about was the "adventures" she had taken many times by jumping in and out of various balcony windows when she was addicted to the Phantom Thief novel.

Although the original intention was to imitate the stealing methods of the strange thieves in the book, in fact, it also brought her a lot of experience.

For example, it can be used to escape in times of crisis.

Triss's vigilance and practical exploration of the Phantom Thief novels allowed her to not miss any detail that could protect her safety.

After confirming that Miss Sarina had not returned, she tentatively walked to the corridor on the left.

There are several windows at intervals on the outside of the cloister, and there are doors one after another on the inside. However, the doors and windows do not correspond directly, but are spaced at staggered intervals.

Why do we need this layout?

After recalling that the layout she made was different from this place, Triss couldn't help but think about it.

She didn't let go of her feet, and occasionally glanced down at the ground, trying to find some clues.

At this moment, she saw a figure approaching from the corner of her eye. She quickly slowed down and assumed the posture of a commoner who had never seen such a quaint big house before, and also controlled her expression.

Soon, Triss saw the person coming. It was not Miss Sarina, but a tall man who was more than a head taller than her.

Triss's eyes suddenly froze and her body tensed.

giant.

Triss had only seen statues of this height in the courtyard at home, so she couldn't help but open her mouth wide and look surprised.

When the man saw him, his eyes froze and he looked at her carefully without making a sound.

Don't you think I'm a thief?

This scrutinizing look immediately made Triss understand something.

At the same time, she also remembered that this man was the man who appeared in the photo she flipped through on the bookshelf.

"I-I'm Triss. Ms. Salina invited me here."

She originally wanted to speak in a civilian manner and act like she had never seen anyone before, but under the pressure of the other person's tall figure, she subconsciously used a ceremonial tone and even started talking to him. The aristocratic accent learned in etiquette class.

"Hello, Prophet."

The tall man said to Triss with a name she didn't expect.

Such a call made Triss stunned for a moment, but she also recovered from the nervousness of being shocked.

It was at this time that she felt something was different about the other party.

Like a burning fire?

No, something's not quite right.

Although Triss had denied her past experiences and the feeling of "burning flames" and thought it was an illusion, she still remembered the specific details.

This feeling is different.

She swallowed, and her heart suddenly picked up, as if it was about to stop.

In her extremely nervous state, she did not wait for the expected follow-up response. After those words, the tall man didn't even speak anymore. He just bypassed her and walked towards the door.

as if

She is not important.

Triss did not think that her inexplicable feeling was an illusion.

She just looked at the other person's tall back and frowned.

At this moment, she saw the tall man glance out the window.

But it was also at this moment that Triss felt the burning heat rising up from her body.

It seemed as if flames had surrounded this ancient mansion.

Sink deep in the memory, but from time to time the experience of the Stairway to Heaven is revealed again as my thoughts are swept up in the sea.