After confirming the dark gold coin was indeed a Tudor coin with a "2" denomination, Franca inwardly cursed the Blood Emperor's persecution of those with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Why such a significant difference in patterns when it's just a different denomination?
They're essentially expressing almost the same symbolic meaning!
Niceea, unaware of her superior's peculiarity, continued to describe the origins of the two items, "This brooch is a Gustav family item, made according to their family crest. It's one of Louis Gustav's most valued possessions and a symbol of his identity.
"Normally, he carries this brooch with him, but this time he left it in his original hideout.
"This ancient gold coin and the brooch were kept together and seem equally important."
Under the pull of invisible spider silk, the brooch formed by intertwined snakes flew towards Franca.
Franca was not unfamiliar with the Gustav family crest.
After a quick glance, she confirmed its authenticity and chuckled inwardly.
A DNA double helix structure, right?
Clearly, the current Gustav family crest originated from a "masterpiece" during the late period of Emperor Roselle, not from earlier ancestors.
Niceea looked up at her beautiful, elegant, and natural superior, pleading, "Madame, after you complete the Magic Mirror Divination, can you return these two items to me?
"I stole them from Grouès. If I don't return them promptly, I'll definitely be suspected."
"No problem." Franca's mirror projection took the brooch and coin, retracting into the makeup mirror.
Niceea patiently waited in the current room.
…
"Louis Gustav's mysterious disappearance is related to the Tudor coin." After taking the Gustav family brooch and Tudor coin out of the mirror, Franca conveyed this information to Lumian, who was presumably still asleep, through the mental-linked team communication channel.
A few seconds later, Lumian opened his bedroom door and walked into Franca's room.
Everyone residing in this luxurious villa was a demigod, possessing strong spiritual intuition. They noticed the commotion and threw on outer garments, heading to Franca's room.
The only one who didn't react was Ludwig, who was preparing his second midnight snack in the annex kitchen.
After Franca briefly explained Niceea's feedback, she spoke with considerable gravity, "I plan to first pray to Mr. Fool, then perform Magic Mirror Divination to see if I can determine Louis Gustav's current whereabouts using these two items as a medium."
"I'll do it." Lumian reached out and took the brooch and coin, "I'll first seek Mr. Fool's consent, then use him as the subject for Magic Mirror Divination. This will help eliminate most interference and danger."
"That's best," Jenna agreed with Lumian's choice.
Lumian pressed his hand to his chest and began praying, communicating his request to Mr. Fool.
After receiving consent, he immediately took out a mirror and placed the Gustav family brooch and Tudor coin on the glass surface.
Then, he gently caressed the mirror's surface, reciting the spell in Hermes, "The Fool that doesn't belong to this era.
"The mysterious ruler above the gray fog.
"The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck"
Lumian recited the entire spell at a steady pace, posed the question about "Louis Gustav's current whereabouts", and patiently waited for Mr. Fool's guidance.
Within seconds, the mirror's surface rippled, revealing a figure.
The figure was tall, mimicking Emperor Roselle with chestnut-colored long hair, sporting two beautiful mustaches, azure eyes, and thin lips-the leader of the Emperor Party, Louis Gustav.
This man, claimed to have Gustav family bloodline, stood in what seemed to be an abandoned mine, walking towards a darkness-shrouded exit.
The image suddenly blurred, with Louis Gustav instantly enveloped by darkness, surrounded by shadowy figures hidden in the depths, casting observant gazes.
Louis Gustav walked forward without averting his eyes or stopping, completely indifferent to the gazes from the darkness.
The deeper he walked, the more profound the darkness became.
Later, a slight light appeared on the forward side, and the image became extremely blurry.
Louis Gustav did not approach the light, continuing to move straight ahead.
After an indeterminate time, a door composed of pure light appeared in the distance, resembling an oval mirror.
Louis Gustav approached the door of light and extended his right hand, pressing against it.
He penetrated the door of light, arriving in an area with dense fog-visibility under ten meters-with surrounding collapsed buildings either asymmetrical or stained with blood.
This is... Fourth Epoch Trier! Lumian, Franca, Jenna, and Anthony had all been to Fourth Epoch Trier and were familiar with such scenes.
The only difference they noticed was the excessively dense fog, which felt extremely oppressive.
"Is this the depths of Fourth Epoch Trier? Is the Blood Emperor's divine corpse affecting this place, bringing widespread Fog of War?" Lumian quickly speculated.
Franca recalled, "But when we were there, we could see the collapsed palace with the Blood Emperor's divine corpse, and the fog wasn't this dense..."
"Did something change in Fourth Epoch Trier after the Hostel incident? Or is this triggered by Louis Gustav's approach?" Jenna proposed possible explanations.
At that moment, Louis Gustav in the mirror stopped.
Before him, less than ten meters away, a human shadow was cast on the blood-splattered street stones.
The black shadow was stretched long by the light, seemingly cradling an infant.
Almost simultaneously, the image suddenly collapsed, rippling like water, with Mr. Fool's guidance ending.
Lumian furrowed his brow, muttering to himself.
"Madame Pualis and the infant Omebella?
"Are they in Fourth Epoch Trier?
"Did Louis Gustav enter Fourth Epoch Trier to meet them?
"Did Louis Gustav enter Fourth Epoch Trier through the special mirror world? Were the Mirror People covertly watching him? Is the slightly lit area he didn't approach hiding a great terror of the special mirror world?"
No one could answer Lumian's questions.
After a few seconds, Jenna organized her thoughts.
"We cannot handle this matter.
"Since it potentially involves Madame Pualis and infant Omebella, we must strictly follow Mr. Fool's guidance: calamity needs to keep away from the Mother."
"Hmm, I'll report the conclusion to the Demoness of Black and let them investigate. No matter how much she urges me, I won't budge, I'll just say I'm not capable!" Franca mumbled, "And I'll notify 007 too. Such a matter is best handled by official Beyonders. They hold many secrets of Fourth Epoch Trier and might be able to send strong individuals to enter there without using the special mirror world, eliminating Louis Gustav, Madame Pualis, and infant Omebella."
Lumian nodded. "Okay."
He then reminded Franca, "The operation to eliminate targets in Fourth Epoch Trier should not be led by Eternal Blazing Sun Church Beyonders. Have you forgotten? The mystical father of infant Omebella is the Eternal Blazing Sun."
"How could we possibly forget something like that?" Franca signaled Lumian and the others to leave her bedroom.
Then she took out a mirror, "sending" the results of the Magic Mirror Divination along with the brooch and coin to the mirror corresponding to the Demoness of Black, and reminded her to return the mediums, otherwise Nicaea would be in trouble.
Shortly after, the Demoness of Black responded to Franca, "If Louis Gustav returns, inform me immediately."
Accompanying the response were the brooch and coin, which flew out of the mirror surface by themselves.
Not letting me investigate deeply, just waiting for Louis Gustav's return? How strange. Isn't this unrelated to the Demoness Sect? Is this not their trap? Franca was puzzled, and again projected herself through the mirror world to Niceea's room.
She relayed the Demoness of Black's words to Niceea and returned the Gustav family brooch and Tudor coin.
Niceea quietly sighed in relief.
She then had the mood for casual conversation.
"Madame, I visited the Lavigny Docks recently and found that the Church of The Fool there now has a patron saint named Franca Roland.
"Her name is the same as yours."
Niceea originally didn't think this was related to her superior. Throughout Trier, there were hundreds of women named Franca. But the patron saint's honorific title included "the Demoness Accompanied by Strife and Catastrophe."
Franca was slightly embarrassed, not because her subordinate knew the honorific title, but because her "side job" in another organization was discovered.
She responded with an air of profundity, "In this world, everyone has multiple identities for certain purposes."
In other words, neither denying nor confirming.
Niceea didn't dare ask further, seriously considering whether she should openly convert to Mr. Fool to get closer to her superior.
Privately, everyone was still the Primordial One's children.
After Franca's mirror projection disappeared, Niceea packed away the makeup mirror, brooch, and coin, merged into the darkness, and silently returned to the master bedroom.
She didn't rush to lie back in bed, first placing the brooch and coin in a hidden compartment of the desk.
After completing this task, she glided back to the bed like a shadow in the night, lying down without making a sound, pulling the blanket over herself.
Suddenly, a low voice sounded near her ear.
"Where did you just go?"
Niceea instinctively turned her head, seeing Grouès. who had been soundly asleep, now had his eyes open, his blue eyes deeply and darkly fixed on her.