Chapter 141: Lady Patti

——【Private task: Investigate the cause of death of the Territory Merchant Feierbosi and identify the murderer. No restrictions on identity or number of people. Generous reward, to be discussed in person, no less than 100 Gold Coins.】

A private task?

Xia Duo took one look and immediately became interested. 100 Gold Coins was absolutely worth him wasting a day to try. If he could determine the cause of death and find the murderer, the cost-effectiveness would be quite high.

Having made his decision, Xia Duo immediately went to the long office table and said to the Apprentice on duty, "I want to accept Task 001!"

As per the usual procedure, his identity was verified and recorded, then handed over to the Mage on duty for filing. Afterward, the Mage on duty gave Xia Duo a task voucher.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard this Mage on duty offer a reminder: "Quit while you're ahead."

Xia Duo did not understand the meaning and wanted to ask a few more questions, but the Mage waved him away and said nothing more. Xia Duo could only leave, though he also realized that this matter might not be a simple murder case.

Fortunately, Xia Duo had not intended to investigate too deeply anyway; he was doing this to complete the task quota for his promotion Permission Level as soon as possible, not because he really wanted to do some Territory Task.

He would be satisfied just earning the Gold Coins.

Because it was a private task, Xia Duo specifically went back to change into the showy Mage Robe he had received at last year's Award Ceremony. With its gold thread and Silver Thread decorations, it made Xia Duo look just like a real Mage.

Of course, he was a real Mage now, not an Apprentice, and changing into this was also to facilitate bargaining.

……

Savile Town, North District.

This was an area of villas that were different in style yet shared certain commonalities. Xia Duo was relatively familiar with Savile Town, so how could he not recognize the Elf style?

However, except for the ten villas by the water at the very north, whose styles and designs were all unique and pleasing to the eye, the rest all looked like imitators of the former; some were so bad they couldn't even copy correctly.

Xia Duo's target this time was, of course, not one of those ten waterfront villas; it was also an imitator, though it had copied relatively well. Only the water diversion channel on the side, which was completely devoid of water, exposed its plagiarism beyond a doubt.

Xia Duo had just seen it in those ten villas, but they were built by the water and could draw water from the Wolfburg River to create fountains and pools.

But this one was a bit forced and unnatural.

This was perhaps the "pretentious affectation" of this other world!

Because Xia Duo's Mage Robe was quite gorgeous and exquisite, with gold thread and Silver Thread decorations shimmering in the sunlight, he could be seen from far away. Xia Duo also received many awe-filled gazes along the way.

He tried his best to maintain an expressionless look. When people came up to salute or greet him, Xia Duo did not stop, only nodding slightly, putting on a full display.

These ordinary people could not tell the reality of this Mage Robe at all, only thinking that some Mage was passing by, and would never imagine it was an Apprentice showing off in public.

Although Xia Duo's current status was still an Apprentice, he had indeed reached the level of an Official Mage, so he was not afraid of being exposed for impersonating a Mage, because he really was one.

It was at the entrance of Feierbosi Villa that two guards were talking in low voices with worried expressions.

As soon as Xia Duo arrived, he looked at the two of them coldly and stated his purpose: "I have come from the Mage Tower to accept the task. Take me to see the master of this place."

The Mage Tower, the task, plus the so-called "Mage's dignity"—upon hearing his voice, the guards at the door immediately saluted respectfully, "Master Mage, please follow me."

A guard led Xia Duo directly to the living room, and a servant brought a hot drink at the right moment. Xia Duo glanced at the black liquid in the cup and did not touch it.

"Master, please wait a moment, the Lady will be here shortly."

"Mm."

Xia Duo took out his Magic Book to read. Before he had even read a few pages, he heard a burst of hurried footsteps. Xia Duo put away the book and looked up to see a young woman appearing from the side, surrounded by four or five male and female servants.

The woman had an outstanding appearance and an elegant posture, but her expression was depressed and her brows were tightly locked, revealing a sickly charm. Xia Duo couldn't help but look twice, but that was all.

A Mage still had to maintain their air of superiority.

"This Master, did you come from the Mage Tower to accept the task?" The woman seemed a bit suspicious, but her attitude was still quite respectful. "May I ask how to address you, Master?"

"My name is Xia Duo. What is your status? And what is your relationship to Feierbosi?"

"Master Xia Duo, Feierbosi is my, my—" The woman could not bring herself to say the final words, and her expression became even more depressed.

At this moment, a maid beside her spoke for her, "After the master's original wife passed away, Lady Patti had been taking care of him, but because the master's son strongly opposed it, this matter was never made public."

Xia Duo nodded to show he understood. He did not ask why Feierbosi's son did not appear, but instead talked about the reward. Talking about money was not shameful; on the contrary, Mages loved talking about money.

"Lady Patti, I have very little information from the Mage Tower. I need you to provide more detailed information. Also, the matter of the reward needs to be agreed upon in advance."

Regarding the reward, Lady Patti did not hesitate at all, proposing 100 Gold Coins for discovering the cause of death, 500 Gold Coins for confirming the identity of the murderer, and if Xia Duo could capture the murderer alive, Lady Patti was willing to pay 1000 Gold Coins.

Even if he caught a corpse, he could still get 700 Gold Coins.

This made Xia Duo very happy, and he wanted to agree immediately, but he still maintained some reserve. However, his hesitation made Lady Patti think he was dissatisfied with the reward.

She actually increased it a bit more, and Xia Duo quit while he was ahead, asking about the specific details of the case. Of course, he also proposed to examine the corpse.

Lady Patti suppressed her grief and agreed, "Master, after Feierbosi's incident, he was not moved and is still in the Study. Please follow me."

……

The Study of Feierbosi Villa was on the second floor. Going up the stairs from behind the living room, Lady Patti introduced the process of how she discovered Feierbosi's death to Xia Duo.

"The day before yesterday morning, Feierbosi and I were drinking tea on the first floor. Afterward, he suddenly said he had some things to handle and returned to the Study. The servants in the house all saw it, but by noon, when I had a servant call him downstairs for a meal, there was no response. That was when we discovered something had happened."

Xia Duo was a bit puzzled. If there were no obvious traces of death, yet it was suspected to be murder, then it was not necessarily required to find a Mage to examine it. Besides, what could a Mage Apprentice find out?

There were too many more professional people; even among ordinary people, there were certainly those who knew more about examining corpses than a Mage!

"Did you not find anyone to look at it afterward?"

"Yes!" Lady Patti wiped the corner of her eye unobtrusively and said, "That very day, we found a Rogue skilled in poisoning, but he found nothing. Later, we found several Adventurers, but they couldn't find any abnormalities either, only saying it was a natural death due to old age."

"Natural death due to old age?"

Xia Duo then remembered that he only knew the deceased was a merchant named Feierbosi, and after seeing Lady Patti, he had subconsciously formed the judgment that Feierbosi was not old.

"How old was Feierbosi?"

"He was 52 years old this year."