Another night passed.
Both Xavier and Eulene woke up early and visited Sarah.
The little girl was awake, sitting legs stretched out on the bed. Lady Maisel had changed her to a more comfortable dress. The woman was sitting on a chair beside the bed.
"Sarah!" Eulene exclaimed with a cheering voice- a big smile evident on her face. She walked forth, with her footsteps creaking the wooden floor. "How are you now?"
But the little girl only answered with silence, barely turning to the cheery Eulene.
Her response- or rather, the lack of response- tugged both Eulene and the matron's hearts.
"What happened, Sarah?" Eulene sat on the edge of the bed, right beside the teen and cupped her cheeks. "Tell sis everything. I'll kill those bastards!" She scowled, barely holding back her killing intent.
If this was any other occasion, miss Maisel would have rebuked both Eulene for using such words, and Sarah for teaching them, but now- all she wanted was her daughter to break free from the silence, for her to speak a word.
But alas, Sarah's answer was the same as before- silence.
Xavier- who was standing outside the door with no intention of interrupting the reunion- finally spoke, "She's like the other victims. We need to take her to a psychiatrist."
"Aren't you a physician?" Eulene turned to him. "Can't you do anything?"
"Idiot." Xavier subconsciously whispered.
Eulene's super-sensitive ears twitched. "What did you say?" She raged, but kept the voice low.
"Medicine and psychology are two different fields," Xavier answered.
"What's the point of living that long if you can't even learn something this important?" Eulene was incensed. "Who's the idiot now? Huh?"
The corner of Xavier's lips twitched. "Anyways, we'll take her to a professional psychiatrist tomorrow. She can rest for today." He turned to the patient's mother. "Her digestion system is still weak. Feed her only liquids today."
The woman stood up from her chair and bowed. "Thank you for everything. Law… doc… mister Godwin."
*****
The Sun swam through the blue above and placed himself in a dominant position above the head. The clock tower of the town clanged 12 times.
Xavier and Eulene stepped out of the house and walked past the cornfield in a couple of minutes.
[We are being watched.] Eulene transmitted.
[As long as they don't peer into our residence, they are not breaking any laws. Act natural.]
Soon, they reached the main road. No sooner had they stepped on the concrete than a carriage taxied before them.
Both of them gave the carriage a glance. It was brand new, not anything like the shabby open one they rode before. The new black coach was bigger with a roof, a grand pedestal and a door to welcome the passengers. The purple curtains hid what was behind the window, while silvery steel frameworks gave it an aristocratic vibe.
It would not be an exaggeration to call it a carriage only the electal lords or people of similar standing could use.
But the one driving the carriage was the dear old Wilbur, whose smile seemed to grow an inch wider.
"Good afternoon, young sir and young miss!" Will hopped down and took out his hat in respect, bowing to the both of them.
Eulene smiled in response. "Good afternoon! What a beautiful carriage! You bought it?"
"Yes." Wilbur donned his hat back on and puffed out his chest. "It has always been a dream of mine to get her." He caressed the wooden wall of the coach before opening the door. "According to the plan it would have taken at least a couple more years to save enough for her." He bowed again to Xavier. "But thanks to your contribution, I was able to buy her early."
"I am sure I did not hand you two years enough of savings," said Xavier.
"This…" the smile on Wilbur's face dwindled.
"Speak."
Will rubbed the back of his head, and forced the smile back. "I reckoned you were doing something dangerous, but chivalrous. It went against my consciousness to taxi you in an open carriage where you will be visible to everyone. Sooo…"
"You took out a loan?" Xavier smirked.
"Ye.. yes." He bowed again. "But young sir, don't blame yourself. It was a decision of my own."
"Blame?" Xavier chortled, and flicked another coin to Wilbur. "Only the incompetent blames themselves. Just serve me well." He stepped on the metal pedestal and got into it.
That was khool. Eulene nodded inwardly and hopped in as well.
Wilbur, on the other hand, lost his smile for the first time in hours. Shock was written all over his face, with his mouth and eyes opened agape. On his trembling hand lay a coin. It was not silver like the ones he received before- but gold- pure glittering gold.
As a coachman who roamed around the city and heard passengers talk all the time, he had a general idea of what the exchange rate was.
Despite his shock, his work ethic caused him to compose himself in seconds. Having passengers wait was a crime.
He thanked Xavier with all his heart before closing the door. He pocketed the gold coin carefully, checking multiple times whether it was torn or not. Once assured, he jumped back to his seat at the front and beckoned the horses to trot forward,
Inside, Xavier sat opposite Eulene, on the comfy leather-covered bench. He slid open the small window at the front- the one that connected him to the coachman.
"I assume you found what I asked for."
"I found two- a minor one and a major one."
"Good. Take me to the latter."
"About that…" Will turned back and forced a smile, "I believe it will be really difficult to meet him."
"Why?" Xavier asked. "Is he a messenger of God?"
The natural smile on Will's face returned. "Understood." He whipped the reins. The horses whinnied and rushed the carriage through the roads.
After a fifteen-minute drive, the carriage reached its destination.
"We are here- the Electal Lord's mansion." Wilbur stepped down and opened the carriage hatch.
The duo stepped out of the coach.
Before them was a grand metal gate, designed with floral and geometric shapes. Behind the gate, lay a straight concrete road that led to a white three-storeyed mansion- white without a spec of any other colours. Even the door was white, along with the curtains that covered the windows.
The garden in front of the mansion, unlike the building, was colourful- with blue hydrangeas, pink peonies, lavender orchids, and yellow marigolds.
But the beautiful garden could not measure up to the huge orchard filled with tens of ginormous oak trees, with hundreds of acorns hanging from each of them. The sheer quantity of the acorns almost clouded the green of the leaves. Clearly, these were special variants with unusually high production rate.
"Looks like we are at the right place." Xavier smiled.
"Let's meet our first suspect, shall we?"
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