Old Dunling, Suburbs, Phoenix Estate.

  As a family with distinguished service during the Glorious War, this territory near Old Dunling was gifted to the Phoenix family by the queen, and through generations of management, it had become a hidden grand castle.

  To facilitate travel, a railway connected directly to the heart of Old Dunling, on which ran an armed train modified by the Mechanic Institute—this was the Phoenix family’s exclusive express, capable of covering the vast distance in half an hour despite the separation.

  The man stood at the edge of the balcony, sighing as he looked toward the horizon.

  A classic Inverwegian, with neatly combed silver hair and a now-old-fashioned sheriff’s beard, he must have been a charming man in his youth, though time had left deep wrinkles on his once-handsome face.

  Initially, the Phoenix family had acquired this land for retirement. The then-duke, advanced in years and ailing from war injuries, had sought a place close to Inverweg’s power center yet untouched by its chaos, making this the ideal choice.

  It was indeed a haven—unlike Old Dunling’s perpetual cloud cover, here the sun shone brightly, and the air was free of the coal fumes, a fresh and beautiful contrast to the city, like a fairy-tale paradise.

  But with Old Dunling’s expansion in recent years, the man could now see the towering steam towers on the horizon from his balcony.

  This was no good omen; in a few decades, those cursed clouds might well engulf this land too.

  The man loved sunlight. The longer he stayed in Old Dunling, the more precious such moments became, and in his old age, he desired even more for his descendants to bask in this sunlight.

  In Duke Everard Phoenix’s view, the longer one stayed in Old Dunling, the more one seemed to rot in the dampness, eventually blending into the gray city itself.

  “Such a worry…” Everard Phoenix, the current head of the Phoenix family, uttered a weary sigh.

  “Where is Eve? Has she finally settled down?”

  “The young miss is still in her room, sir. The incident seems to have affected her deeply,” the butler replied promptly.

  “I’d rather the shock persuade her to give up that detective nonsense. Abandoning university for this? If this makes her quit, it couldn’t be better.”

  Clearly, the father was strongly opposed to Eve’s dream of becoming a detective.

  “Perhaps the miss admires you and wishes to follow in your footsteps?” The butler, who had long cared for Eve, ventured to speak in her favor.

  “My footsteps? As a soldier? The Glorious War is over—too many Phoenixes died in that conflict,” Everard said, his gaze falling, his tone serious.

  “War, soldiers, detectives… anything related to weapons is cursed. She should be a proper Phoenix princess, marry someone who loves her, and live out her life in peace. I’ve even saved enough to buy her an island as a dowry, where she can fall asleep by the sunset sea with her children, far from the roar of steam engines, deadly plagues, and smoky air—a real paradise.”

  Though vehement in his opposition, his words were laced with obvious affection for his daughter.

  “That is the life path meant for Eve, not mixing with the riffraff of Old Dunling,” Everard said harshly.

  “Do you know why we are called the Phoenix family? Because we survived the Glorious War. Glory belongs to the living; the dead are nothing but forgotten,”

  Everard said, the memory of the war—which had cost him father, grandfather, siblings, and countless other family members—igniting uncontrollable anger.

  “Inform Su Yalan Hall: they have one month to dissuade her from this detective obsession.”

  Old Dunling had entered autumn, with the cold winter fast approaching.

  Yellow leaves carpeted the ground, forming a golden path in the sunlight—a rare sight in the city. Eve’s mood lifted slightly at the view, and in her lace-trimmed yellow dress, she kicked the leaves like a child, making them flutter in the wind.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  She was the Phoenix family’s ruby, the brightest feather on the phoenix’s wing, a light that pierced Old Dunling’s gloom.

  But the princess was not truly happy. Despite the beauty of the golden leaves, her joy was fleeting. Touching her empty neck, she felt an indescribable irritation.

  The lost necklace was of great significance to Eve—it had belonged to her mother, a wedding gift from Duke Everard, and after her mother’s death, it had been placed around Eve’s neck by her father on her coming-of-age day.

  Thankfully, Everard’s disagreement with her career choice had led to a cold war between them, so he had not yet noticed the necklace’s absence. The Phoenix estate was so vast that two people living there could go a month without seeing each other.

  Her mind in chaos, Eve finally guessed the necklace was lost in the Lower City, but losing it there meant it was likely gone forever—perhaps already dismantled and sold as a new trinket in an Outer City shop.

  Drowned in sadness, she heard the clattering of a bell: a train was slowing to a stop at the small platform outside the estate gates, where guards were gathering to secure the area.

  This was the Phoenix family’s private express, used to transport goods related to the family. Servants often took it to buy provisions, and occasional guests arrived on it, though their carriages were much more luxurious.

  It was a vital link between the Phoenix estate and Old Dunling, carrying both supplies and occasionally unwelcome visitors, hence the guards’ tension during each arrival.

  As steam billowed, a month’s worth of provisions and supplies were unloaded from the platform. Stopped by guards, the workers could only gaze from a distance at the legendary estate, admiring its beauty while feeling awe.

  The once-empty estate now bustled with activity, as the grandeur of Phoenix relied on the labor of nearly a hundred ordinary people who needed to earn their keep.

  Eve watched from afar, unaware that someone had approached until she saw a man in moss-green groundskeeper attire, carrying a folded ladder, with shears at his waist and leaves and twigs clinging to his clothes, sweat soaking his shirt.

  Head bowed, he seemed entirely ordinary until he spoke in a familiar voice:

  “You know, I once conducted an experiment: with a ladder, you can enter most places in Old Dunling. I’ve gotten into Su Yalan Hall, City Hall, cinemas… and now Phoenix Estate. They all assumed I was there to make repairs.”

  Beneath short blond hair, his pale face turned to her, smiling.

  “I learned this at the Royal Academy: people tend to ignore those they consider ordinary. If a window is open and a cup falls, you instinctively blame the wind, subconsciously explaining away the ‘anomaly.’ That’s the principle—ordinary people become the ‘wind.’ With a ladder and shears, you see me as a groundskeeper without question. Your brain justifies my presence as long as the attire and setting match—flawless, as long as I play the part.”

  The sweat was casually dabbed on, the leaves and twigs added by rolling in the dirt.

  The girl’s expression turned to horror, but she quickly composed herself, lifting her yellow dress to draw a pistol from a thigh holster—much to the “groundskeeper’s” surprise.

  “Did you account for this, Mr. Burton Holmes?”

  Eve’s tone was serious. Though a Phoenix princess, she was no delicate ornament. This was her estate; a single gunshot would bring eight thousand guards rushing to tear the intruder apart.

  “Honestly, in my short detective career, I’ve seen stolen goods hidden in skirts, but never a pistol… you’ve given me new insights into criminal tactics,” the groundskeeper said, raising his hands quickly, ignoring the glimpse of her leg.

  “Well, now you have, Mr. Holmes,” Eve said, meeting his gray-blue eyes, sensing that her struggling detective aspirations might yet have a turning point.