Volume VII: Scarlet Manor

……………

Time is terrible for many things, after all, the passage of time will change many people and things, but only art cannot be changed, on the contrary, time will promote the development of art, such as ......

For example, wax figures are a realistic art.

According to historical records, wax statues originated in the 4th century B.C., is a kind of sculpture art that uses wax as raw materials and restores many things truthfully, belongs to a branch of statues, and is also a hyperrealist sculpture that is called stereoscopic photography in modern times.

Of course, there have been many people throughout the ages who have been obsessed with the art of wax figures, regardless of status, gender or age.

………

Halton Manor is a typical English aristocratic manor, far away from the surrounding villages and towns, located on a pleasant plain, and this manor is also the residence of the Marquis of Meyer, speaking of the Marquis of Meyle, no one does not know that some villages around the manor and even several nearby towns are his territory, not to mention the private income of the Marquis of Mayer, the tax on his territory alone is enough to prove that this man has wealth and power that even the average nobleman envies, so to speak, it is true, In addition, Marquis Mel is only in his early 40s, and he is in the prime of life, which can be said to have reached the peak of his life, but ......

However, the Marquis has been in a state of unease for some time, unspeakably uneasy.

Although he is a marquis, although his status is high, he is not the first owner of this manor, he is the son of the old Marquis Mel, and he has just inherited his father's hereditary title not long ago, since he is a marquis, then the old marquis has obviously died, and the only thing that makes the second Marquis Mel, who has just inherited the title, have a headache is......

Da Da Da ......

In the largest and most magnificent building in the center of the manor, at this moment, footsteps sounded, in the empty corridor on the third floor, a blonde girl dressed in European aristocratic clothing ran out of the room in a panic, ran out of a room like a fledgling, and looked closely, and saw that this girl was not very old at most fourteen or fifteen years old, not only with a cute and beautiful face but also with a luxurious temperament that is rare among her peers, but unfortunately from the current blonde girl can no longer experience the previous temperament, on the contrary, It's more of a rich panic that comes from the girl's messy steps and pale face.

Da Da Da ......

Passing through the unmanned corridor, passing by the second floor, until arriving at the living room on the first floor, the originally panicked girl could not stop running, and her heart was a little relieved, for a while the girl stood in this luxurious living room without saying a word for a long time, she seemed to be a little distracted, no one knew what she had just encountered and no one knew why she would flee from the 3rd floor and return to the 1st floor.

Squeak.

At this moment, just as the blonde girl had not recovered from her panic, the door of the hall was pushed open, and a middle-aged man in a standard red aristocratic dress with a neatly trimmed beard walked straight into the living room.

The appearance of the man made the blonde girl suddenly come back to her senses, and at the same time, the middle-aged man who saw the blonde girl also frowned after noticing the panic on the girl's face that had not yet receded, paused, and took the lead in asking: "Lisa? What are you doing there? ”

"Father!"

Sure enough, as soon as the middle-aged man appeared, the girl called Lisa hurriedly ran to him and hugged the man after calling her father, but when the girl hugged the man, the middle-aged man who was called her father by the girl also obviously felt a little abnormal.

The daughter's body trembled slightly.

Yes, the middle-aged man was none other than Lisa's father and the owner of the manor, Marquis Mel.

A week ago, he and his friend Earl Houghton had led troops to a certain place under the king's orders to suppress the rebellion, and he did not return to the manor until today, but as soon as he returned home, he was the first to see his daughter Lisa standing in the living room with a panicked face.

Getting back to the point, hearing her father's inquiry, the blonde girl Lisa hesitated at first, as if there was something she didn't want to mention, but when she looked up and noticed the serious expression of the Marquis of Mel and the solemn gaze of the other party, she hesitated for a moment, and then the girl replied cautiously:

"I, I just heard it in that room on the 3rd floor...... Someone is talking. ”

Groov!

As soon as Lisa said this, Marquis Mel's heart trembled, and at the same time, his already frowning brow tightened even more, as if his daughter's words had poked at something very secret in his heart.

Of course, Marquis Mel's reaction was fleeting, and he was not noticed by others during the period, and regained his composure, first reaching out and touching his daughter's hair, and after a long breath, he said in a slightly complaining tone: "Lisa, didn't I give an order before?" No one in the whole manor is allowed to go to that room on the third floor, why don't you listen? By the way, how did you get in? ”

This is not to blame the Marquis de Mel for having been suspicious, in fact he had given this order to all the servants and guards who had the right to enter the manor a week earlier, before he left the manor, and that this order included his wife and daughter, but who would have thought ...... After he left the manor, his daughter Lisa sneaked into the room on the third floor.

It's understandable that the daughter secretly went to the 3rd floor, although Lisa is the daughter of the Marquis, and she is of noble birth, but anyway, the other party is still just a child after all, and she also has the most vigorous curiosity at this age, and it is understandable that she sneaks into that room while she is not at home and is driven by curiosity, but these are still not the point, the point is ...... Or what he couldn't understand......

Although the order was given, in order to prevent someone from sneaking in, he deliberately locked the room on the third floor with a copper lock after the order was given, so why could Lisa ......

Puzzled, the Marquis immediately inquired about his daughter, but then his daughter's answer surprised the Marquis of Mel again:

"When I went up, I found that the copper lock was just hanging on the door, and there was no lock?"

(What!) ）

Hearing his daughter's answer, although Marquis Mel didn't react much on the surface, there was a storm in his heart! Because, that copper lock was locked by his own hands! The only key is him!

If so, how did the copper lock open?

Thinking of this, and calming down, the Marquis Mel continued to ask, "What about your mother?" "Mother went to visit Lady Molissa in a carriage early in the morning."

I wasn't in the manor before, and my wife wasn't here, there is no doubt that in the absence of both the male and female masters, in this manor with only some guards and servants, her daughter Lisa naturally became the highest status person in the manor, and no one could stop her in how lawless, even the old butler Domus, who was still serving as the steward of the manor all his life, couldn't do anything about this always naughty girl.

Da Da Da ......

"Lord Marquis, you're back."

Before the Marquis of Mel could break free of his thoughts, there was a sound of footsteps nearby, and soon, an old man wearing a butler's dress and a white beard arrived in the living room from the next corridor, first bowed to the Marquis of Mel, raised his head, and saw that the old man looked old and looked at least 60 years old, and it was obvious that this old man was the old butler Domus, who had served the two Marquis before and after.

Seeing that it was the old butler Domus, whom he had always trusted, appeared, and the Marquis of Mel, who usually respected him, nodded slightly, and at the same time, as soon as Domus came over, he had something to say, and the Marquis of Mel instructed his daughter: "Okay, Lisa, don't scare yourself, you go out to play first." ”

As mentioned above, although Lisa is usually a little naughty and curious, she is a noble lady who knows etiquette very well, and when she saw her father's instructions, although she didn't understand a little, she nodded obediently and left the living room of the building.

Poof.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Lisa left, in the living room, the Marquis of Mel, who had been looking as usual, turned pale in an instant, and then sat down on the finely carved wooden chair next to him, but the strange thing is that the master was so out of shape, the old butler was not surprised at all, and still stood beside the Marquis without saying a word, for a while, the two people present were silent, and in the silence, the Count Mel subconsciously turned his head to the front of the living room and looked at the wall...... Look at the largest oil painting in the entire estate......

It was indeed an oil painting, strictly speaking, a portrait of a man, a man in an ornate military uniform and wearing a jeweled sword, and although the man looked a little fat, his rather stern expression still clearly revealed a strong military temperament.

The man depicted in the painting is none other than the first owner of the estate and the territory, and the father of the Marquis de Mel...... The first Marquis of Mel.

Whenever he thinks of his father, the Marquis of Mel can't help but admire, originally their Mel family was just a declining baronial family, but then the Anglo-French War changed the fate of the family, at that time, as the head of the family, his father actually took the initiative to ask His Majesty the King to lead troops to fight against the enemy army when all nobles were often afraid of death, during which he repeatedly made military achievements, and after the war, he was given the title of Marquis by His Majesty the King for his merits, and a down-and-out baron became a noble marquis second only to the prince!

Marquis, this is the apex of the canonization of the nobles of the side branches except for the members of the royal family! Yes, the old Marquis was a hero, and at the same time Marquis Mel's most admired father when he was a child.

However, there is one thing that is not known to too many people, that is, in addition to his glorious deeds, the old marquis also has a relatively alternative personal hobby in private......

His father was very fond of wax art, and could even be said to be obsessed with it.