Strange

Chapter: 9

"Please continue what you were saying, Mr. Zavi," Albert said gently.

He stood up and walked to a cabinet beside another cupboard, taking out two glasses and a bottle of wine.

He placed the two glasses on the table, opened the wine bottle, and poured half a glass into each. Albert handed one of the glasses to Liam and gestured for him to drink.

Liam was startled. Back when he was still on Earth, he had never drunk alcohol like this before. He let out a small laugh as he looked at the glass of wine in his hand.

"All right," Liam said, setting the glass back on the table. "You mean 'handling' supernatural cases?" he asked, his gaze serious.

Albert chuckled softly. "As I mentioned before… about unnatural deaths." He paused, took a deep breath, then continued, "And that mark, the black spot on the neck. That is not an ordinary blemish."

"What do you mean?" Liam cut in reflexively.

"Sorry. When I say 'blemish,' that black spot cannot be explained normally. You could say it is the work of an evil spirit. Perhaps it could be called a sign."

"I also do not wish to handle the death of someone who bears that mark," Albert said, holding his breath, unwilling to explain further.

Liam fell silent, pondering those words deeply. Half a minute later, he sensed someone's presence near his left shoulder.

He turned his head and saw a shadow between the gaps of the upper corridor railing. Liam chuckled softly. "Look over your right shoulder, Mr. Albert."

Hearing that, Albert turned his head, slipped his hand into his trouser pocket, and looked toward what Liam had noticed earlier. He immediately stood up and quietly moved to investigate.

After climbing the stairs, he saw a familiar figure crouching there, her gaze fixed on the sofa below.

Anastasia had been observing Liam's movements and did not realize that her brother was standing right behind her, watching silently.

She only noticed when she glanced to the left.

"Gone? Where did he go?" she said, confused, because her brother had vanished from her line of sight.

Albert laughed when he saw her panic. "Why are you so flustered, Anastasia?" he asked with a small smile, then took a sip of wine.

"What? How did he know I was here?" she muttered in panic. "It must have been that man who told him I was here." Anastasia stared at Liam, who was still sitting there, smiling at her.

"He's definitely hiding something," Anastasia thought irritably.

Her jaw tightened.

Seeing that mocking smile, her chest suddenly felt hot. She calmed her thoughts, took a deep breath, and turned around.

"Uh, brother. Why are you here?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Go back to your room. Do I need to call the servant?" Albert said in a threatening tone, knowing his sister was afraid of that particular servant.

Anastasia put on a frightened expression.

But that fear was only a façade. She remained silent and obeyed her brother's order to return to her room.

"All right," she replied weakly. After that, she turned and walked unsteadily toward her room.

Albert smiled, then went back downstairs. "I apologize if she made you uncomfortable, Mr. Zavi," Albert said as he approached, still holding a glass of wine.

Liam suddenly stood up. The information he had received was not enough, and he was still curious about what else existed in this world.

As much as possible, he wanted to ask questions related to how he had ended up in this body.

However, he hesitated to press further, fearing it might raise suspicion or make Albert uncomfortable. He straightened his shirt and stepped forward two steps.

"In that case, shall we end this meeting?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"Very well," Albert paused, walked to the table to set down his glass, then turned back. "Would you accompany me to Forn's house?" he asked, hoping Liam would accept.

Liam was surprised, thought for a moment, then replied, "All right."

"Besides, I feel that something is not quite right with Forn. That's all," Albert muttered.

"Actually, I also want to return the money I borrowed this morning," Albert thought, then smiled faintly.

Albert quickly ran upstairs, telling Liam to wait patiently and assuring him it would not take long. Liam nodded, remaining standing as he waited.

Two or three minutes later, Albert came down the stairs wearing a shirt beneath a knee-length black coat, the same round hat as before, and carrying a cane.

In his coat pockets were two gleaming silver revolvers, meant to be used if the situation worsened. He had hidden them and planned to give one to Liam if necessary.

"Let's hurry," Albert said anxiously, hoping Forn was safe.

Liam nodded in confusion and followed Albert from behind. The large door opened, and they walked along the stone path of the estate. From a distance, Albert instructed the two guards to open the gate immediately.

The guards stood straight, saluted with their right fists clenched over their left chests, then opened the gate.

The gate opened, and the two of them went out. Albert did not forget to give the guards a small smile. They returned their master's smile as they closed the gate again.

Now they searched for a vehicle that could take them to Forn's house as quickly as possible, located at Navana Street No. 12. After searching for quite some time, they finally managed to board a horse-drawn carriage that happened to pass by.

Fifteen minutes passed, and they arrived on the road leading to Forn's house. Liam got down first and stood beneath a streetlamp, waiting.

Albert stopped at the carriage door. "How much is the fare?" he asked.

"Twenty Zen, thirty Sen, sir," replied the pale-faced conductor without expression.

Albert nodded, took out two banknotes and three silver coins, then handed them over.

The conductor remained silent, his expression indifferent as he counted the money in his palm. After about ten seconds, he nodded, turned around, climbed the small steps, and sat beside his companion, the driver.

The phrase "twenty Zen, thirty Sen" was a common everyday term used in markets, steam train stations, and horse transport services. For small purchases, Zen could be combined with Sen.

However, for large sums or official transactions, such as tax payments, document processing, certificates, letters, and expensive purchases like houses, Sen was no longer used. All values had to be stated directly in Zen to ensure clarity and compliance with city administrative standards and bank regulations.

Zen was a high-value paper currency, equivalent to two gold coins. Meanwhile, one Sen was worth two silver coins.

This system had been in place for a hundred years, established by King Rerise De Norn as a major reform, replacing several coins with paper money for efficiency, while silver coins were retained as a form of respect for the ancestors.

Meanwhile, they walked calmly toward their destination, crossing a bridge beneath which a swift current flowed, seemingly unaware that the house they were heading to had already been burned to ashes.

After crossing the small bridge and turning right, there was a ten-meter stretch of road. From a distance, they saw a crowd of people gathered as if watching something, with murmurs drifting toward them.

Something felt off. Liam knew exactly what the people were looking at, a house, so he hurried forward and froze in shock when he arrived.

"What is this? How could this happen?" he said, confused by the situation.

They had not even noticed it while crossing the bridge, even though they should have been able to see the house from there.

Albert followed behind and froze as his eyes scanned the scene. Before them were only the charred remains of a building, including burned cabinets, sofas, and other belongings.

Strong gusts of wind scattered scorched clothing and fabric everywhere, causing anyone who inhaled the smoke to cough and feel pain in their chest.

People there were bewildered as to why a house that had been perfectly fine had suddenly burned down. Several police officers had already arrived to investigate whether there were any victims of the sudden fire.

During the investigation, the police found no source of ignition. Only a pool of blood was discovered among the remaining evidence.

Meanwhile, firefighters continued extinguishing the remaining flames to prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring houses.

"Hey, Zavi," Albert said. "What actually happened? Weren't you here earlier?" He was clearly confused by what he was seeing.

"I don't know… Everything was fine before, I swear," Liam replied, panicked and unsure what to say, afraid of being blamed.

Meanwhile, one experienced police officer, accustomed to handling strange cases in Moran, stood not far from a fresh pool of blood beneath a small flame among the wooden debris.

"Captain, look at this!" he shouted, still standing in the same spot. And this was the first time he had ever found anything so strange.

An unsettling feeling? Fear? And sudden whispering voices?

That was what the experienced officer felt, familiar with cases such as unexplained deaths and citizen reports of supernatural events, seeing objects floating in their homes, or knives moving on their own and stabbing their owners.

The captain and his three subordinates approached the spot. When they got there, they were shocked. The three policemen, including the captain, could not believe their eyes when they saw the pool of blood creating a small, barely visible flame.

"Is this happening again?" the captain asked. "Hah, I almost want to give up dealing directly with something I cannot understand." His expression tightened.

Then he continued, "I'll leave this to you, my senior, Frederico." The captain gave a faint smile.

"I'm not sure," Frederico replied.

The two officers who heard him were confused and asked at the same time, "Why are you not sure?"

Frederico fell silent for a few seconds, staring at the pool as he considered his next move. Then he spoke to satisfy their curiosity. "I don't know. Perhaps we need to find the cause first."

The captain and the officer beside him nodded.