The Steam Capital is located in the southernmost part of the Cade Empire, bordering the Sea of Conquest with the most developed shipping system in the Empire, and is also the main port of the Empire to the Ferry Continental Colony, and the two largest naval fleets of the Empire are stationed here, and it is also the most industrially and economically developed city in the Empire.

More than half of the armaments of the Imperial Army are manufactured by the military factories of the Steam Capital, which has a huge economic strength and population base that makes the entire city second only to the Imperial Capital Beante, and at the same time, the huge population and complex human race make the security of the entire city a major problem, so many private detectives are bred to alleviate the lack of police force in the Steam Capital.

Sean, who was riding in a public carriage at this time, was a private detective, and thanks to his handsome appearance and excellent efficiency, Sean had a good reputation in the private detective circle.

Although it has only been less than a month since he moved into the Steam Capital, many cases have already been completed, such as the search for a certain aristocratic lady who ran away from home, and the second case in progress, to find evidence of a rich man's husband's cheating.

Sean, who pursed the corners of his mouth, laughed at himself and thought about his wallet, if he couldn't find a big case to make money, he estimated that he would have to move back to Dirk Town with Anna.

"Or do a few big cases by yourself and then solve the cases yourself and defraud the police department of the bounty. ”

Thinking of this, Sean almost laughed out loud, and quickly covered his face with the newspaper used for decoration in his hand, and it was very impolite to laugh in a public place as a gentleman.

Sean, who had calmed down, looked at the other three passengers in the carriage, two middle-aged men dressed in ordinary clothes, without any ornaments, sitting together and whispering about the structure and design of the steam train, looking like a middle-level employee of a steam engine company, leaving a young man sitting alone on the other side, wearing glasses, carrying a gold chain pocket watch on his chest, holding a briefcase, looking at a newspaper about the new agricultural tax program in his hand, possibly a government employee.

I couldn't help but relax when I found that they were all thinking about their own affairs and didn't notice his faux pas, but at this time, the stop of the carriage and the men and women who came up again attracted Sean's attention.

The two sat on the side of the young man who was suspected of being a government employee, Sean couldn't help but look sideways, the man was wearing a black trench coat and pants, brown hair grew wantonly on his head without a top hat, dark black eyes, the left corner of his mouth always hooked up a smile, he didn't hold a cane, only carried a black suitcase, and the wrist carrying the box wore a simple silver bracelet.

The woman next to her was dressed very strangely, short in stature, dressed differently from ordinary women, dressed more masculine, wearing black trousers, a dark blouse with a stand-up collar, and a top hat with black and red flowers composed of lace on her head, and a hanging veil that covered most of her appearance.

Maybe the man's vigilance was very high, but Sean looked at it for less than two seconds, and the man's gaze was already looking at Sean, and at the same time gave him a rather ugly friendly smile.

Sean was stunned by the man's strange smile on his sudden appearance, and subconsciously nodded to the man in black in return, and then picked up the newspaper in his hand to block the sight of both parties, because he found that the man had not put down the suitcase in his hand from beginning to end, even if he was sitting in the carriage, he was tense, and his other hand was on his separate thigh, as if he was ready to respond to an emergency or prepare to commit murder in the carriage.

"It looks like a killer. Sure enough, voyeurism is the original sin, a normal heart, a normal heart. ”

Sean muttered silently in his heart, buried his head in the newspaper, and stopped looking at these two strange people, so as not to get into unnecessary trouble.

Sean, who arrived at his destination not long ago, got up and was about to get out of the carriage, but unexpectedly found that the man in black was still staring at him, perhaps seeing Sean's gaze, he once again gave Sean a friendly smile, which made Sean suddenly frown, and strode out of the carriage even more, and disappeared into the corner of the street in a blink of an eye.

While witnessing Sean's disappearing back, a woman's pleasant voice sounded in the carriage,

"You seem to be scaring him, Captain. ”

The man spread his hands, "Yes, I'm just doing a polite social interaction for something interesting." ”

When the woman looked at the captain who also showed a friendly smile to herself, she couldn't help but sigh and said, "Don't you think your half-paralyzed face is scary to smile?"

"Is there one?"

This time the woman did not say anything more, and the carriage was quiet again.

......

"Seemingly, I didn't follow. ”

Sean, who deliberately spared a large circle around the destination, found that no one was following him, and his frowning brows couldn't help but relax, looking like he should be overly nervous.

Scolding at the strange man, Sean couldn't help but speed up his steps and walked to Phil's Cafe in another block, after all, he had been delayed a lot of time because of his excessive caution, and it was no surprise that his employer should have arrived, maybe she had already drunk coffee and started waiting for her.

It's not a gentleman's job to make the lady wait, and thinking of this, Sean quickened his pace again.

Phil's Cafe is located in the most prosperous inner city of the Steam Capital, different from the chaos and noise of the outer city, it belongs to the social entertainment place of the city's aristocracy and the upper class, and the more ironic thing is that about half of the police force in the entire Steam City is located in the inner city, and there is even an active army of about 300 people stationed here, such a luxurious configuration is of course not to maintain the stability of the inner city, but to show off the so-called class of the upper class.

"So that's where the middle class sharpens their heads and it's like they're going to get in. ”

Sean secretly laughed in his heart, and began to tidy up his slightly disheveled appearance because of his previous panic.

After finishing the sean, Sean pushed open this café that is known for its perfect service and belongs to the upper class, at a glance it is not the imaginary gold and glory but a relatively low-key and elegant decoration style, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling window structures to ensure indoor lighting, and the windows are hung with silk curtains to show off their identity, which seems to be embroidered with patterns, but unfortunately the curtains are not unfolded so they can't see clearly.

The bar of the café is located in the center, next to a large central stage, on which classical and elegant tunes are playing, but Sean, who does not know any music theory, does not know what is being played, but it does not prevent him from enjoying it.

Overall, he played well, although he didn't understand it.

After listening for a moment, Sean did not forget his purpose and began to look around the café.

All the tables in the café are next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the tables are embroidered with flowers and surrounded by silk tablecloths in the style of lace trim, some are laid out as sit-down sofas, some are individual chairs or sit-alone sofas, and there are partitions between the tables to maintain the privacy of the guests.

Maybe it was still early, and Sean turned his head to look at the café and saw only a few tables of customers.

On the west side, two middle-aged men in suits and leather shoes are sitting on both sides of the sofa, chatting in a whisper, and constantly exchanging paper documents in their hands.

Three tables apart from two middle-aged men were four young women, dressed in the most fashionable low-shouldered backless dresses, with rose-studded decorations on their chests, shoulders and folds, and no hats on their heads, sitting on a sofa with blue or purple blooming charms, laughing and talking quietly.

Judging from the way they dress and behave differently from traditional women, it is estimated that women dressed in this way are the most vigorous women's rights protection incident a year ago, and then the empire had to issue corresponding decrees to allow women to work, participate in politics, and enjoy equal power with men, but they need to pay equivalent obligations.

However, Sean is not looking for them, and the information collected shows that his employer, Maria Terry, is an independent, traditional woman, but in a very different way from tradition, she is a brilliant entrepreneur, or more precisely, an investor, and the large and small businesses in the Steam Capital have more or less her capital injection, but compared to the success of her career, she seems to be a failure in love, especially in a series of marriages.

Perhaps Sean stayed at the door and watched for several minutes, when a woman in a black and white uniform walked out of the bar and walked towards Sean with a clear purpose.

But fortunately, Sean remembered that Lady Mary was a devout believer in the goddess of the Dawn, so it was not surprising to find a woman in a crimson classical elegant dress in the east, with the signature lace stand-up collar, a leg of mutton skirt, and a pleat at the chest and waist that emphasized the curve, which not only had the characteristics of shaping the waist but also highlighted the slenderness and fullness of women.

He was about thirty years old, with a face painted with no light and thick makeup, which well concealed the traces of time, and long millet hair with a white floppy hat wrapped with a red ribbon and embellished with a jeweled veil.

In particular, Ms. Maria's black eyes with lilac eyeshadow exude the charm of a mature woman in the light of the morning sun, and of course Sean felt that it would be perfect if he removed the dissatisfaction with himself in his eyes.