Chapter 246: Caught Something (K2)

Chapter 245 Caught Something (5K2)

36 Lancaster Gate, Bayswater District, London.

Arthur was sitting in his home, he had two machines at his fingertips, one was a wire recorder that was playing recordings, as for the other was a phonograph that was used to burn records.

The Red Devil stood behind Arthur, his snow-white fangs, which were still covered in scarlet flesh, were almost at Arthur’s ear, and he flicked his tongue, drool dripping onto Arthur’s shiny shoulder patch.

“Arthur, what are your scruples? Wouldn’t it be better to take this recording straight to Parliament? Why do you have to make so many backups on a phonograph? You should know that with this recording, the Whigs will be able to completely defeat the Tories in terms of public opinion, and you, as their right-hand man, will definitely be rewarded with a bone. You have climbed to this position now, don’t you want to go to a higher place and see the most fascinating scenery?”

Arthur glanced at him and just smoothed his gloves that were stained with too much gelatinous disk wax, “Agareth, is going down one path your advice? Or maybe you just do it on purpose. Back then, if you had left yourself a way out on the heavenly side, you wouldn’t have been stranded on earth after being kicked out of Hell by Baal and spent your days teasing me.”

Agares didn’t get angry when he heard this, he just folded his hands and smiled, “Don’t be so mean all the time, Arthur, I’m doing this for your own good, why would you give away such a great credit?”

Hearing this, Arthur just picked up his teacup and took a sip, “For my own good, it’s been a while since I’ve heard such familiar words. Then I’ll thank you for your kindness, Agares, but you know, humans have a rebellious mind, I’ll just have to be grateful for your kindness.”

Agareth asked, “Oh, my dear Arthur, look what you are saying. Where are your ideals, where are your beliefs, after all that you have been through, have you still not developed an interest in climbing to the top of the greased pole that is the politics of Great Britain?”

Hearing this, Arthur just laughed, “Agareth, ideals and beliefs are something that individuals have. But if it’s really as you say, one day I climb to the top of that greasy pole, I will never give my life for the so-called beliefs.”

The Red Devil clenched his jaw and questioned, “And why is that?”

Arthur put down his teacup, “Quite simply, because I’m afraid I’m wrong. I have no interest in conducting scientific experiments with the public of all of Great Britain, haven’t we talked about this before? At best, I’d like to be king and not go for God. But everyone knows that kings make mistakes, and only God can have absolute rightness. I’m not God, so I can’t always be right, so I’m not going to experiment, and if someone must experiment, it better not happen on my watch. That’s why I’m going to arrest the doctors who violated the law by using the bodies, the guys who didn’t get the consent of the deceased before doing the experiments.”

When the Red Devil heard this, he just smiled and raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t you a big fan of philosophy? Then you should know that there’s a German named Hegel, are you arguing yourself against his line, ‘The so-called fear of error is actually the fear of truth’?”

“Hegel?”

Arthur just shook his head helplessly when he heard this, “I respect Herr Hegel and would like to wish him a long life, only then he can see with his own eyes what truths can pop out of German soil in the future, I bet that would be a big surprise. But maybe he’ll like that stuff too. After all, when you’re young you worship God, and when you’re mature you start worshiping the State… can’t the Germans live without something to worship?
Why doesn’t he go and make up a National Bible, with some religious stories, just like the Bible says – a paradise full of love, peace, goodness and happiness, free from all pain and trouble, with lots of beautiful flowers and fragrant trees, and a vast, boundless meadow. There is no sickness, poverty, or pain to be seen or even heard crying there. Located in the center of the golden street in the city of paradise is a tree of life, which continues to bear abundant fruit throughout the year, and the leaves of the tree heal all people, so that there is no need to search for cures for illnesses, and every disease can be cured.

Incidentally then tearing down all the churches in Germany and converting them to state churches seems appropriate to me. The only problem now is that God doesn’t mind having multiple gods called ‘rational states’ taking business from him. Oh yeah, you devil don’t mind, I’m sure.”

The Red Devil covered his mouth with a wicked grin and said, “Wow! Arthur, what an offense! Why are you so hostile to him though?”

Arthur didn’t answer positively, but asked rhetorically, “You’re the devil, so you should know better than me. I’ve been wanting to ask you since a long time ago, if you suffer piety on earth, will you go to heaven when you die?”

Agareth just smiled all over his face when he heard this, and he neither answered yes nor no.

Arthur asked again, “And if you do evil on earth, will you go to hell after death?”

Agareth remained silent with a smile.

Arthur looked at him in this manner and just skimmed his tea cup, “I knew it, so what’s the point of having two bloated bureaucracies, heaven and hell? I seriously doubt now that you were cut from the establishment by Barr, you used to be a supernumerary like a Scotland Yard police officer, didn’t you?”

When Agareth heard this, he burst into flames, as if someone had stepped on his tail, “Arthur! We’re discussing philosophy here!”

Seeing his look, Arthur’s heart was probably in the right place, and he said soothingly, “But your existence isn’t useless, and you’ve proven one thing at the very least, that the Bible isn’t made up. Coming back to it, it’s better to worship Hegel’s state church than to worship you, the stories in the Bible are still interestingly written, but that’s about it.”

The Red Devil glared angrily, his nostrils spewing sparks of fire for a while before he calmed his fire to another question, “Arthur, I’ll explain to you more slowly about heaven and hell later. But first you must tell me, is it not to your liking what the Germans like to worship? You’re just a king in Britain, but you can be God over there!”

Hearing this, Arthur just took a sip of tea and said, “Agareth, don’t give me bad ideas, I’m afraid I won’t be able to be God when I go to Germany. I’m afraid I’ll be crucified by them in Berlin instead, and although the quality of Scotland Yard’s uniforms is pretty good, it’s still too much to be put up in a museum as a holy relic.”

Agareth shook his head just slightly when he heard this, then asked, “Let’s just turn back to Hegel, then.”

Arthur returned, “There’s not much left to discuss about Mr. Hegel’s theories, so if he’s right and the state is rational, then what is this recording in front of me?”

When Agareth heard this, he couldn’t help but grin a little, revealing rows of sharp little white teeth and laugh.

He snapped his fingers and conjured up a doctor’s hat and fastened it on top of Arthur’s head, practically wishing he could hug and kiss his head twice.

“Whoa! O my dear Arthur! Professor Agares must congratulate you on finally graduating, you bastard! You’ve finally realized what it’s really all about, those guys are nothing at all, and the big boys are just grubbing at this trough. Members of Parliament, the Cabinet, the Prime Minister, everyone is eating from their own hands, and the fact that they’re not eating from your hands only means that they’re just not having long enough claws for the time being. Anyway, everyone is eating, why don’t you follow up and take the next bite?”

Arthur held his chin in one hand, “Because when you’re doing things in Britannia, you have to be more or less disciplined. This is a matter between their two parties, and it has nothing to do with Scotland Yard, nor should it be hooked up. This political balance is hard-won, and breaking it will do no one any good. Britain isn’t Russia, where it’s not fashionable to use a stroke as a cause of death. As the Greeks used to say, remember the lessons of Daedalus and avoid the fate of Icarus.

I’m not interested in experimenting here. And I haven’t forgotten the precepts Mr. Talleyrand gave me. Barbarism is only two steps away from civilization, and it roams around it. The moment it relaxes, it will return. Why would I want to be a barbarian when there are civilized ways to solve problems?

At the end of the day, most people who work in intelligence don’t end up well. If I start a fight against the opposition party with improper intelligence now, how can the Police Intelligence Bureau gain a foothold in the future? The Whigs won’t be happy just because they’ve profited from this place, on the contrary, if they’re going to step down someday, they’ll definitely disband our little organization at the first opportunity. Agares, you’re a learned devil, you surely understand what I mean.”

Hearing this, Agares couldn’t help but applaud Arthur.

“Smart, calm, and even beginning to understand the world. Arthur, this little villain of yours is really mixing up more and more, and my expectations of you really weren’t wrong. However, have you ever thought that there are other ways to solve problems? You should know that every math problem has many different ways of solving it, and the derivation process is different, and the degree of difficulty in understanding it is naturally different. The way, the way is the key to the work, only buried in the work is just a blindfolded donkey. Arthur, I’m sure you have the ability to seize the moment and the artistry to demonstrate success. Or, perhaps, you have a little something to offer your soul.”

Hearing this, Arthur was about to pull Agareth in for some more conversation, but this time the Red Devil wasn’t sure if he was pissed off from before or if he had learned to be shrewd.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he turned into a wisp of faint dust and left with the wind, Arthur raised his eyes and looked at the window sill covered with a thick layer of dust, and a line was written on the dust – Closed today and tomorrow, overtime service needs to be charged for an additional two souls.

Arthur just pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it: ”5:30 p.m., this should be considered an early dismissal, right? A freelance profession like the devil does live capriciously.”

As soon as his words fell, a knock sounded outside the house.

Arthur stood up and pulled the door open, speaking without thinking, “Alexander ……”

But before he could finish his words, his brow furrowed first, “Hmm?”

It was no wonder that Arthur was puzzled, because standing outside was not the fat Frenchman who had recently indulged in giving reviews of major restaurants in London, nor was he the suspect of vandalism who had posted marriage advertisements all over the place, but rather, it was a moving lady with a compact parasol.

Fiona put away the parasol and handed it into the hands of the junior who was following behind her, lifting the hem of her skirt and slightly saluting, “Mr. Hastings, why does your expression look so disappointed? This can be too sad for me, don’t I look more pleasing to the eye than that fat Frenchman?”

“That is not true.” Arthur returned, “I just assumed that you had made a special trip and were supposed to have fished him out of the Thames.” Fiona shook her finger, “No, no, no, Mr. Hastings, you haven’t paid me yet, so it’s better to let him soak in the river for now. That said, could you bear to watch such a petite and tender lady standing outside the door?”

Arthur looked around for a moment before stepping out of the way, “I’m not in the habit of refusing a lady, but I should make it clear in advance that I don’t serve laudanum here.”

Fiona sniffed and just gave him a blank look and hummed softly, “Quit long ago.”

“Coffee then?”

“Too bitter.”

“Black tea?”

“Only Ceylon.”

“Carbonated water?”

“Drinking and burping is not considered by a lady.”

Arthur slammed the door to his room with a bang, “You’re here to pick a fight, aren’t you?”

“Whoa! Mr. Hastings, couldn’t you have behaved a little more gentlemanly?”

Fiona covered her mouth with a lace glove as she moved backward with fake sadness and took a look at the comfortable seat she had long picked out as her favorite and leaned back, “I have some great news for you, is this how you treat meritocracy?”

“That’s not true.” Arthur lifted the teapot and re-brewed a bit, “I just handed out a small house to the Bureau’s meritocracy this morning, and if you’re interested, I can prepare one for you as well.”

But Fiona obviously wasn’t as gullible as Wheatstone, and she covered her chest in pain, “That doesn’t sound like much. Don’t you have any rewards that are a bit more straightforward? Like a …… ticket or something ……”

Arthur put the teapot back on the coffee table and spoke, “Fiona, don’t speak in a big breath, it’s not like you don’t know what will happen if you play this trick on me, just like when we first met, the one who ends up in bad luck will definitely be you.”

Hearing this, Fiona disbelievingly pulled her skirt downwards, “Mr. Hastings, are you trying to pull out a gun again?”

Before the words fell, a snapping sound could be heard, and a flintlock pistol was instantly added to the table, Arthur nodded slightly as he lifted his teacup, “That’s smart, you guessed it right.”

“Take it back take it back!”

Fiona shivered in shock, “Damn! Where the hell did you learn this from, with such an athletic body, why don’t you go into street boxing? I’ve recently opened a boxing ring in the East End, and I’m short of capable fighters like you!”

“You came to me just to talk about this?”

“Of course not!” Fiona said angrily, “I was so scared of you that I forgot about business. We caught a gringo at the pier at noon today.”

“Oh.” Arthur nodded, “I knew it, Alexander must have fallen into your hands. Just release him when he sobers up, he’s such an adult he should recognize the way home.”

Fiona covered her chest with one hand to press on her thumping heart and returned, “It wasn’t the fat one! It was some other gringo, an artilleryman!”

“An artilleryman?” Arthur cupped his chin and pondered for a moment, “That’s still Alexander.”

“He’s a relative of the Emperor!”

“A relative of the Emperor?” Arthur thought for a moment, “There aren’t many emperors in the world, the Romanovs of Russia? Or maybe the Habsburg-Lorraine of Austria? Bourbon of Brazil? It can’t be Aisin Gioro, can it?”

Fiona wrapped her arms around herself and nestled into the sofa chair, sulking, “It’s from the previous dynasty!”

“From the former dynasty?” Arthur thought for half a day, then hesitantly asked, “Surname Zhu? It’s not right, there’s no crooked neck tree in London either!”

Fiona gave him a blank look, “Mr. Hastings, in your preverbal state of mind, you’re actually telling me that you don’t have a stash of laudanum in your house? His last name is Bonaparte, the Bonaparte of Napoleon! If you don’t want it, I’ll go and have him drowned in the Thames. Anyway, he’s a stowaway, he doesn’t even have a passport on him to enter the country, so it’s no big deal if he dies.”

“Bonaparte?” As soon as Arthur heard this surname, he immediately became interested: “How old is he, and also, have you guys figured out where he came from?”

Fiona said disdainfully, “A young man about your age, but far more understanding, a few casual words of praise from one of my girls got him to tell the whole truth. He said he originally went to military school in Switzerland, and after graduation ran away to Italy for high ideals to join the Charcoal Burners’ uprising in Rome, but the uprising was brutally suppressed by the Papal States and Austrian army. He was wanted in all the countries of the Apennines, and in order to return safely to Switzerland, he had to take a ship by sea and return to Switzerland by way of London.

He disembarked from the West India Docks in London this morning, and had thought of leaving after a meal in the neighborhood and a few days’ pleasure in the way. But the aura of a fat sheep released from him made the people under my hand keep an eye on him from the very beginning. What happened later, you can probably imagine, after some classic drama he tied his hands. Unfortunately, this kid did not have a few dollars on him, we gave him a bit of a hard time, forcing him to find someone he knew to raise money, and then he spit out his last name Bonaparte all over the place.

Originally we did not believe, but he said his uncle lives in London, and also gave us a copy of his uncle’s address. As a result, when we checked, it really matched. This kind of thing, we definitely don’t dare to arbitrarily decide, so that’s why we thought of coming to find you ……”

The more Fiona said, the more she felt unsettled in her heart.

In fact, although she said on her lips that she had brought Arthur a surprise, in reality, she knew very well that this was completely a hot potato.

Bonaparte family people fell in their hands, they are put also not, kill also not, can only come to find Arthur to give them peace.

When Arthur heard this, he also understood the little plan in Fiona’s heart.

He opened his mouth and asked, “That Bonaparte, what is his full name?”

Fiona hurriedly returned, “Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte.”

Although Arthur already had a guess in his heart, he couldn’t help but suck in his breath when he heard this, “You guys really captured an emperor back for me! Who says a woman is inferior to a man, Fiona? Your Cambridge’s little brother can almost be put together with the Duke of Wellington.”

Fiona was on the verge of despair as she sniffed, and she begged bitterly, “Darling, just do something for me, at the very least, I’ll give you back the hundreds of pounds I took from you earlier.”

Hearing this, Arthur pondered a little, and just sighed, “That’s just it, leave this to me.”

(End of chapter)