Mystery: From Celestial Venerable's Backup to Red Priest

Robert Horn is an extraordinary being, and it sounds like he's quite powerful, a piece of information that disrupted Evan's previous assumptions.

Evan previously believed that the destruction of his letter en route might be because Adam or Ince Zangwill didn't want him to leave, so they arranged for the envelope to be burned in order to keep him in Tingen and have some ulterior motive.

According to Helen and Evan's previous plan, Evan should have received a reply from his brother Robert Horn in the next few days, asking Evan to go to Backlund.

In this way, Evan could take his brother's reply and, without arousing suspicion, report to Mrs. Sharon to request to leave Tingen and go to Backlund.

In order not to lose Evan, a newly developed and very useful pawn, Lady Sharon will definitely transfer Evan's relationship to the witch of Backlund.

The witches of Backlund certainly don't know much about Evan's situation, which ensures that Evan can both blend in smoothly among them and gain more autonomy.

But now, Robert Horn, who is in Backlund, has not received the letter, so he cannot reply to Evan, and Evan also has no reason to leave Tingen.

The reason Evan had Mr. Buck contact Backlund again via telegram was to test whether he was actually part of someone else's script.

If so, then whose script am I in? Is it Adam preventing him from leaving Tingen, or is it 008 preventing him from leaving Tingen?

If the telegram goes wrong again, and if the accident happens in Tingen, then it's 008's doing; if the accident happens in Backlund, then it's Adam's doing.

Because 008's influence is limited to a major city, while Adam can influence the entire world, they are not on the same level.

If Adam was behind it, his actions would definitely be outside 008's sphere of influence, to prevent 008 from detecting his interference.

But now that Evan knows that his original brother, Robert Horn, is a Beyonder, and possibly a Beyonder of a high sequence, Evan has more to think about.

Previously, Evan believed that the destruction of the letter was because someone was preventing him from leaving, but now Evan has thought of another possibility: that the mastermind behind it all was actually trying to prevent Robert Horn from returning to Tingen.

While helping Evan mail the letter, Mr. Buck, the butler, also wrote a letter to Robert Horn, who was far away in Backlund. Helen had already discovered the contents of the letter.

After discussing it, Helen and Evan agreed that Mr. Buck's letter might lead Robert Horn of Backlund to believe that Evan was indeed not suitable to stay in Tingen, thus increasing the likelihood that Robert Horn would send Evan to Backlund.

Because Robert Horn clearly didn't want Evan to enter high-society circles and stay away from complicated disputes; he only wanted Evan to live a happy and carefree life in Tingen.

So if he takes Buck's letter at heart, he's very likely to send Evan to Backlund, since Backlund has better psychiatrists, and even if he's seeking treatment, he should choose a better doctor.

But if Robert Horn is an extraordinary being, then the letter from the butler Buck might appear quite differently to him.

In his eyes, Evan met a follower of an evil god at a mystical exchange meeting and was bewitched by him, which is why he exhibited various abnormalities and committed suicide.

Robert Horn, who loves his brother dearly, might immediately rush to Tingen to save him, which could disrupt the plans of the person behind it all. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to prevent Mr. Buck's letter from reaching Backlund and ending up in Robert Horn's hands, while Evan's letter is of little importance and is simply destroyed along the way.

Evan's mind raced; he felt that this line of thought was logical and reasonable.

But this raises another question: what power does Robert Horn possess that allows him to interfere with Adam's or 008's script?

It's worth noting that even the Death Archon, whose true status is that of an angel, Azik Eggers, was transferred away at will by 008. Klein, the master of the mysterious gray fog, couldn't completely escape 008's arrangements either. What right does Robert Horn have to be personally intervened in by Adam or 008, and excluded from the script?

Just as Evan was about to analyze Robert Horn's case more deeply, he was awakened by Dunn's voice.

"Mr. Evan, what are you thinking about? Why are you spacing out?"

Evan snapped out of his daze, looked at Dunn who was staring at him curiously, and without a second thought, explained:

"It's nothing, I just never expected that my brother would actually be an Extraordinary One. I've been searching for extraordinary power for so many years, but I never thought the answer would be right in front of me. It really proves the saying from Intis, 'Far away, yet right before my eyes.'"

Hearing this, Klein, standing next to Dunn, couldn't help but add in his mind, "Emperor Roselle often said..."

Dunn responded with a smile, "Alright, you've brought us all out of the woods, and you know everything you wanted to know. You've achieved all your goals. Considering your youth and ignorance, we won't pursue the matter of you deceiving us this time. Now go back quickly, and don't do it again next time."

Dunn wouldn't have let anyone else off so easily, but firstly, Evan's identity was not simple, and secondly, Dunn had a bit of a good impression of this person who appeared arrogant and rude but was actually very kind at heart, so he decided to let it go gently.

Evan opened his mouth as if to say something more, but in the end he said nothing. He also knew that Dunn had been lenient with his actions, so he took off his hat, bowed to Dunn, and finally left the room.

Leonard, who had been clutching the sealed artifact—Quiet Hair—had just breathed a sigh of relief when he tilted his head again, as if listening to something, and then watched Evan leave with a slightly furrowed brow.

After Evan left, Dunn remarked with a sigh:

"Tinggen was too complacent compared to Backlund. Although we were on high alert, we were too careless and were easily tricked out by an ordinary person who came to our door. This shows that our vigilance was not high enough and our sense of secrecy was insufficient. We need to improve our own qualities. I will make a self-criticism to the Holy Church for this matter."

Everyone fell silent. It was indeed a bit unreasonable for the night watchman, a secret police officer, to be so easily tricked into revealing himself. In the end, it was Old Neil who spoke up to comfort him:

"You've done very well. After all, who would have thought that someone would be so bold as to cause trouble at the church? Wild extraordinary beings would stay away from the church as fast as they can, let alone ordinary people with other intentions. So it's inevitable that everyone would be deceived."

Even if you've considered the possibility of someone faking trouble, you can't afford to be completely unprepared. After all, there's always a chance of something going wrong, so don't be too hard on yourself.

Dunn nodded, then sighed and shook his head, but ultimately said nothing more. Instead, he turned to Klein and said:

"You just took a magic potion today, practiced your 'spiritual awareness' all morning, and then came to help evacuate the crowd. Your mental energy is greatly depleted, and you look terrible now. You should go back first. We'll handle the rest, so you don't need to worry about it."

Leonard and Old Neil both agreed and urged Klein to leave first. Klein did indeed feel drowsy and unsteady on his feet, so he took off his priest's robe, handed it to Old Neil, and then left the church with unsteady steps.

After leaving, Evan did not linger outside the church to get closer to Klein Moretti and the Great Fool. After all, he knew very well that today was the day Klein was to drink the "Diviner's" potion, and he had also clearly seen that Klein's complexion was really bad.

After leaving the church, he quickly hailed a carriage by the roadside and sent it to the nearest post office.

Evan is now eager to verify his conjecture: where did the train that delivered the letter to Backlund crash? This would allow Evan to determine whether he was actually in the script, and whose script he was in!

Soon the carriage carried Evan to the nearest post office—the North District Post Office of Tingen.

Evan handed the driver a one-pound note and casually said, "Wait a minute," before hurrying into the post office.

There were many people coming to the post office to inquire, probably because the post office had temporarily suspended mail delivery to Backlund.

But being handsome still has a big advantage. The busy receptionist glanced at him casually and immediately noticed Evan in the crowd, and asked him warmly what help he needed.

Evan politely inquired of her where the mail carriage that had the accident a few days ago had occurred and what caused the accident.

After receiving a satisfactory reply, Evan thanked the receptionist and then left the post office amidst her blushing face, boarding a carriage.

Inside the carriage, Evan took a deep breath, confirming his suspicions, and now all that was needed was confirmation.

Thinking of this, Evan took out his pocket watch from his chest, checked the time, and then instructed the coachman to head towards his home in the Golden Phoenix District.

Back home, just in time for lunch, at the table, Evan asked Mr. Buck, the butler:

"By the way, did you send someone to the telegraph office to send a telegram to Backlund?"

"After breakfast, I personally drafted the telegram and sent it to the telegraph office. I expect Mr. Robert will reply soon."

As they were talking, a servant greeted Mr. Buck and whispered something in his ear. Mr. Buck frowned, dismissed the servant, and came over to report to Evan:

"Mr. Evan, the telegraph office sent someone to inform us that they did not receive a reply to the telegrams they sent to Backlund this morning. They later learned that their telegraph machine malfunctioned, so they did not receive our telegrams. They asked if we should continue sending them."

Telegraphs were relatively expensive, especially long telegrams, so people generally only used them in urgent situations. Often, even a slight delay could render a telegram useless. Therefore, if a telegram failed to be sent, the telegraph office would send someone to inquire whether it should be resent.

This news confirmed Evan's suspicion that the accident on the mail train was not a real accident, but rather that Adam or 008 were intervening.

Evan knew that continuing to have the butler send that telegram that would attract Robert Horn would only harm him, so Evan gently shook his head and said:

"In another month, the parliament will be in recess, and my elder brother will naturally come back for vacation. There's no rush, so there's no need to write to Backlund anymore."

Mr. Buck, the butler, nodded and added a little more of the crystal-clear, blood-red wine—Tears of the Moon—to Evan's glass.

This is a product of the Horn family's vineyard outside Tingen. It is the only one of its kind, and it sells well throughout the continent. Even Emperor Russell praised it after drinking it.

Evan picked it up and took a bite. He found it to be fragrant, delicious, and unforgettable, and couldn't help but squint his eyes to savor the taste.

However, a glint of shrewdness still shone from his narrowed eyes.