Why it never ends

Chapter 269
Sophie sat down next to Hesta, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Very well," replied Hesta. "I've hung the paper fox over my bed, thank you."

Sophie bowed her head in embarrassment, "You're welcome."

"By the way, is it convenient for you to share your book list?"

"……book list?"

"It's the books you were referring to the reply letter the night before yesterday," Hesta said softly, "I seldom read publications in Habitable Land before, but it seems that there have been more new books published in the past two years... What do you have? Any interesting book recommendations?"

"Yes! Of course there is," Sophie replied immediately. She smiled and looked at Tanglar who had just seated opposite her. "I knew that Uncle Tanglar would not be allowed to put it back just now. I'm going to help you—"

"Let's talk after dinner," Hesta pressed Sophie's wrist, "I'm not in a hurry."

"OK."

What Hesta did not expect was that after carefully asking about her reading preferences, Sophie planned to jump out of the scope of reading the night before and customize a recommendation list for herself. After that, she still had to follow Sophie to the big study on the first floor.

Although the books here have not been read for a long time, the servants who take care of the study always carefully wipe off the dust on the spine and upper edge of the books, so that each book still looks like new.

Sophie took out books of different thicknesses one after another from the bookshelf, and intimately shared her impressions after reading them. Hesta took some of them, and they put some back on the shelf again.

"Enough, enough." Hesta hugged a stack of books, "I just read to pass the time—"

"It's just killing time, so I need to prepare more books. I don't want to read every book. As long as I lose interest in reading, I can change it immediately."

"but--"

Before Hesta finished speaking, both of them heard some strange movements in the living room, followed by a series of screams and growls from Tanglar.

When Sophie and Hesta rushed to the living room together, they saw Villefort kneeling beside the bookshelf by the window in the living room. Blank photo paper was scattered on the floor. The book "Selected Short Stories of Ernest".

Sophie was a little dazed, and an ominous premonition vaguely appeared in her heart: "This is... what's wrong?"

"Death notice! Sophie!! Your uncle is going to die!" Tanglar spit, his face turned red with excitement again, "It's the assassin... the assassin is coming! The assassin is staring at you!" Watching us, the assassins are always here watching us—"

"Take him down." Victoria ordered in a low voice.

"I won't go!" Tanglar waved his arms angrily, "I want to be with the Duke at this critical moment, and no one can separate us—"

"Teresa, come here."

The living room quickly regained its tranquility.

Sophie's face was slightly pale, and she approached Villefort in a daze, wanting to bend down to pick up the photo paper on the floor.

"Don't move." Zoe said coldly.

A few mercury needles wore gloves and collected all the evidence scattered at the scene—no more, no less, exactly twelve pieces.

Villefort was helped to sit on the sofa beside him, and the servant of the manor brought him a cup of hot tea with a worried expression, but he held it in his hand and didn't drink a sip.

"Uncle..." Sophie who was sitting on the side called softly, "You..."

"What's going on." Victoria also sat down, "Where do these photo papers come from?"

Villefort woke up like a dream, he lowered his head, and his breathing became heavier, "Please... please don't tell my wife what happened this morning."

"Can you hide it, such a thing?"

"...Let me go and talk to her in person, is that okay?"

"Okay," Victoria nodded, "But we can't control Tanglar's side, so hurry up."

Villefort bent down and put his hands firmly on his forehead. He adjusted himself for a long time before he began to repeat what happened this morning to others. Everything is actually very simple. The servant who has been on duty in the living room has already described it to the mercury needles. What happened - After breakfast, Tanglar sat on the sofa chair by the window for a while, because he felt that the furniture in this area blocked his sight, so he asked the housekeeper to help move the coffee table, sofa chair and bookshelf.

"I was just going downstairs," began Villefort, "and I saw Danglars talking with some servants there, so I went over to say hello to him, and he said he had just heard that Alvira and I were having a meeting. Donate books to the orphanage and the city library, and ask me if I can bring him too, there are too many books in his manor, and it is a waste to leave them alone..."

Villefort's voice dropped, and Victoria asked, "And then?"

"Then...we started discussing this matter," Villefort looked down at his fingers, "he asked if there were any restrictions on the categories of books, and I said yes, he asked what the restrictions were, and I told him the details...then he asked me Help me to see how many books on the bookshelf here meet the standard, I just... I just saw this book."

Villefort raised his hand, the volume of novels was still clutched in his hand.

"I gave this book to him back then." Villefort's voice sank again, "I, I couldn't help it, I took it out and read it, and then, those photo papers—"

"Has this book always been there?"

Villefort narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "I...I..."

"No!" Sophie clenched her hands, "I took the book back to my room the night before yesterday."

"Did you pay attention to the book—"

"There were no such papers at the time."

"you sure?"

"I'm very sure!" Sophie answered resolutely, but her voice was trembling, "Because I accidentally dropped the book on the floor the night before, and a few photos fell out of the back cover, and my aunt put it away."

"What picture?"

Sophie frowned, "I didn't look carefully, but I remember, it seemed to be, um, it seemed to be..."

"It's a commemorative photo of a child." Not far away, Hesta suddenly replied, "Birth, [-]th day, first birthday, etc."

Victoria turned around, a little surprised: "...are you there too?"

"I couldn't sleep that night, and I happened to meet Sophie in the corridor, and she invited me to talk about the saints." Hesta replied, "I remember that it was Suzy who was on watch that night, and I talked to them before I went back to the room." I said hello."

"At that time, my aunt and Eureka chatted for a while," Sophie recalled with difficulty, "Eureka said that she liked a story in it—"

"It's not that I like it, it's the Duke." Hesta corrected softly, "He talked about a short story in this book in the early hours of November 11th, when Ende was there."

(End of this chapter)