Herbert arrives at the famous café Red Windmill on Triumph Boulevard, and today he is dressed in a very low-key manner, dressed in a slightly old outfit and wearing a wide-brimmed hat on his head, the shadow cast by the brim of which obscures half of his face. He walked into the café with a briefcase, and as usual, there were not many customers in the room, and the old woman behind the counter was not there, as if she was preparing desserts in the kitchen behind the small door.

He walked to the corner of the building, found a secluded seat and sat down, and placed his briefcase on the ground next to his seat. It wasn't Herbert's first visit to the Red Pinwheel, he knew very well that the shopkeeper was in a bad temper, and according to his information from the Bureau, the old woman seemed to have some great influence behind it, and even Beria had warned him not to get into trouble with the café.

As the director of the Bureau of Investigation, Herbert lacks curiosity, but he will not investigate in the open, after all, even his immediate boss has warned him like that, and it is obvious that the old woman's backstage is not something he can afford to provoke. However, not investigating in the open does not mean that Herbert is not curious about the background of this café, and he has also made conjectures, combined with the most famous rumor of the Red Pinwheel, Herbert even wondered if the coffee in this café was really loved by Emperor Nicholas I as rumored, so that the emperor secretly provided protection for this café.

Looking at the newspaper in his hand, Herbert was actually thinking about something completely unrelated. He was distracted for a while before the shopkeeper walked from the kitchen to the front desk.

"Please give me a cup of black coffee. ”

The old woman smiled happily on her wrinkled face when she saw Herbert, who was a regular visitor to the place and ordered the signature coffee every time she came, so she was quite familiar with Herbert. But familiar is familiar, the old woman never asked Herbert's name, not even small talk, or rather, the café understood its position from the beginning, the hall was deliberately designed as separate and hidden seats, and the environment was very dark, obviously a good place to talk and meet in secret, so the people here never asked about the guests, especially those who spent money in the store.

Soon Herbert brought the black coffee he wanted, and he nodded politely at the old woman, who smiled at him and went back to the small door behind the counter.

Putting the coffee on the table, Herbert actually didn't like this very strong coffee at all, but ordering this would win the favor of the old woman, and he was here to do business, so every time he came, he would order a cup, but the last sip would not move, and he would pour it all out.

Shortly after the old woman left, another guest walked in. When the door was opened, the sunlight outside the door did not shine in at all, and it was all blocked by the man who entered.

Manfred looked around the room, and although the seats had many bonsai as isolators, these could not block his view in the face of Manfred's height. He soon saw Herbert, and Manfred walked over, but his hard shoes didn't make any noise on the floor.

"Long time no see, Mr. Phil. Manfred sat down in front of Herbert, glanced at the coffee on the table, and asked with interest, "Do you like the coffee here, too?"

"No," Herbert said, shaking his head, pushing the coffee toward Manfred, "if you like, please drink it, I can't stand the taste." ”

"That's a shame. Manfred was not polite, and directly picked up the coffee and took a sip, "This taste is a supreme enjoyment, if you can really taste the taste, you will find that a cup of coffee can also have its own connotation, even feelings." ”

"Forget it, I'm not interested. Herbert was not sensitive, he did not have the same heavy taste as Manfred, "Even as a human being, I can't fully see through it, what do you think about a cup of coffee?"

"You're really unemotional," Manfred laughed and shook his head, "You know, sometimes, a lot of things are much more interesting than humans. ”

Herbert looked at the man sitting in front of him, his tall stature and strange appearance made Herbert feel faintly uneasy, especially when he said this, Herbert felt that Manfred was not simply cynical, but really thought so. Herbert frowned, he contacted Manfred according to Beria's instructions, and the two began to work together because of this secret relationship, but Herbert never knew the details of Manfred, after all, he was a person who belonged to the most mysterious Thirteen Lessons, and Manfred had too many secrets that Herbert did not know.

"Okay, stop talking about coffee. Herbert stopped the topic, he didn't intend to waste any more time on such pointless things, "I heard that His Majesty the Emperor has been in good health recently. ”

"Ah, that's a great way to congratulate. Manfred still looked at Herbert with a smile on his face, this smile made Herbert's scalp tingle, "I hope Your Majesty's body can recover as soon as possible, after all, at such an old age, if it continues to be delayed, I am afraid that the hope of recovering health will be even slimmer." ”

Herbert pursed his lips, although as the hidden director of the investigation bureau of the Ministry of the Interior, this kind of disguise should be perfect, but Manfred's words still made Herbert can't help but feel disgusted. "Your Majesty's illness is something that doctors should worry about, so let's think about how to make His Highness Beria happy. His Highness's father should be in great pain in his heart now that he has suffered such a sin, and we have to relieve him, don't we?"

Manfred put down the coffee cup, of course he could hear the meaning of Herbert's words, he looked at Herbert solemnly, and this expression made Herbert feel a lot more comfortable - Manfred's smile was definitely more terrifying than his hideous appearance with his teeth and claws.

"Is His Highness Beria in a hurry?" he leaned down and lowered his voice.

"After all, judging from the current situation, the emperor's physical condition is indeed gradually recovering. Herbert also lowered his voice, although this coffee shop would hardly interfere with the guests, but Herbert still had to be careful, after all, the hidden protector behind it was very likely to be the emperor himself, perhaps, this red windmill was another intelligence department secretly held in the hands of the emperor in order to balance the Ministry of the Interior.

"But I've heard that the emperor's recovery is only a small one, and he can barely speak, isn't he? At his age, it should not be possible to fully recover his health. ”

"This is just your statement, and His Highness Beria can't take your word for it entirely - every doctor will say that his medicine works, but patients don't necessarily see it that way. Herbert's fingers tapped on the table, as if hinting at something from Manfred.

"So-" Manfred sighed, serving someone like Belial is trouble, guys who don't understand the mysteries of magic are always questioning and questioning, not knowing how to trust the experts, "Does His Highness Belial want me to increase the dose?"

Instead of answering Manfred's question directly, Herbert said something else. "There are still some resisting princes in the south, and now that Your Majesty's health is a little better, maybe His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's burden will be lighter. Accepting the surrender of the southern princes requires a member of the royal family with sufficient weight, and now that His Majesty has experienced this catastrophe, he may consider accumulating some prestige for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in advance. ”

Manfred pinched the spoon and stirred it slowly in the coffee cup, his eyes lowered, as if contemplating what Herbert had just said. Obviously, Herbert's reference to "having enough weight in the royal family" should refer to the crown prince Alexander, if Alexander goes to the south to surrender, then the ruler of the imperial capital will be vacant, and Beria should have seen this opportunity and wanted to take the opportunity to seize the succession to the throne.

"Where's the timing?" he picked up the spoon and tapped it lightly on the rim of the coffee cup, shaking off the coffee from the spoon.

"At the end of the month at the latest, do you have the confidence to control the time? Many doctors can do this kind of thing, and we chose you because we hope to use your unique medical skills to control the time accurately and covertly. ”

As Herbert said, many people can do such a thing, a dose of poison, unknowingly enter the emperor's body, such a simple thing Beria does not have to find Manfred, a person of the thirteenth lesson, to do. The reason why he chose Manfred was to do it unknowingly, he knew very well that once something happened to the emperor, then he would definitely be the most suspicious, so Beria had to be more careful and never show a flaw.

"I see. Manfred nodded, and drank his coffee, "Then please give me another chance to enter the Tiamat Palace." ”

Herbert frowned, just now he was still emphasizing that this matter should be kept secret, and now that Manfred has asked himself to help him enter the Tiamat Palace, wouldn't it leave a flaw?" "Can't you use the identity of the Thirteenth Lesson to enter the Tiamat Palace?" Herbert stared at Manfred without deliberately hiding the dissatisfaction on his face, "Just like the last time I met you at the Tiamat Palace, you should be able to enter there by yourself." ”

"But there aren't many opportunities like this, and I can't guarantee that they will arise during the time period that you and His Highness Beria expect. The corners of Manfred's mouth curled slightly, of course he understood Beria and Herbert's intentions, these good conspirators naturally had a good plan, and did not actually come forward to help Manfred, then they could blame Thirteen Lessons and Count Hecate for this crime, and let themselves completely clean up the relationship.

"But I remember that you have just brought back Her Royal Highness Princess Caterina from the Thirteenth Class recently, which is a great credit, and there are many opportunities to enter the Tiamat Palace, right? ”

"Actually, on the contrary, because of the return of Miss Artmis, I was not at all required to be present in matters relating to the Palace of Tiamat. ”

Herbert felt a little irritated, Manfred was really cunning, and now after all, he had a request, and there was no way to refuse Manfred's request. "Well," Herbert finally relented, "I will tell His Highness Beria about this." He stood up and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute. ”

"What's wrong?" Herbert stopped leaving, and looked back at Manfred.

"Please be careful. ”

"Huh?" Herbert was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Manfred meant.

Manfred held out his finger and tapped his ear. Herbert also subconsciously touched his ears and looked at Manfred suspiciously.

"What do you mean ......"

Manfrey smiled slightly, stood up, walked over to Herbert, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered in Herbert's ear. "There's no one else here, but is that really the case?" he said, picking up the briefcase Herbert had left on the edge of his seat and leaving the café.

Herbert, who remained where he was, was still in deep thought with his head bowed, and after thinking for a while, he raised his head and glanced at the small door behind the counter. He walked slowly to the counter, the owner of the red windmill still hadn't come out, Herbert glanced at the empty counter, and finally, he stopped his gaze on the lost and found cabinet on the side.

The locker was still stuffed with strange things, children's shoes, cacti, these things were still placed inside, but the briefcase that Swain had seen before was gone. Herbert stood at the counter for a few moments, but the old woman never came out, and Herbert kept staring at the door behind the counter, as if trying to see through the wall and see what the shopkeeper was doing.

But such a wait did not make much sense, and after waiting for a long time, Herbert finally chose to leave.

Stepping out of the red windmill, Herbert turned into a small alley, and although it looked like he was coming in disguise, his men had been waiting near the red windmill.

A tall, thin man stepped out of the depths of the box, walked up to Herbert, and bowed his head slightly to greet his superior.

"Keep an eye on this café for me. Herbert took off his old coat and threw it to his men, "Also, go check the background of this shop for me, I will see the results in three days." ”

The tall and thin man took Herbert's coat, but he was still slightly stunned when he heard the order of his superior. "But isn't this store specifically ordered not to investigate?"

Herbert waited fiercely for his men, and frightened the tall and thin man into lowering his head. As the director of the Bureau of Investigation, Herbert's methods have always frightened people, and even his subordinates have to be on constant alarm. "This is my order, you just have to obey!" he grabbed a new coat from the tall and thin man's hand and put it on his body, "Do you understand? Even if it is the Emperor's order, it must be behind me!"

This sentence is obviously a big rebellion, but now that the emperor is on the hospital bed, Herbert is no longer so jealous, even if the protector behind the red windmill is really His Majesty Nicholas I, there is no way to do anything with him at this time.

"Yes. Under Herbert's pressure, the thin and tall man didn't dare to say anything, the Investigation Bureau under Herbert's hands had been turned into an organization that was completely under his orders, and even Beria couldn't surpass Herbert's control over this department. Of course, in front of Beria, Herbert is still respectful, at least Beria still trusts Herbert quite a bit now.

Herbert left no longer care about his men and continued to walk forward, passing through the alley. After walking through the alleys, Herbert came to the Duke's Quarter of Mali, east of the Boulevard de Triumph, which is famous for the Golden Grotto, named after the famous spy chief of the Pallian Diophilos Carlotos during the time of Bag II. This famous master spy came to power during the reign of Bag II, and built the largest theater in Germany, the Grand Theater of Faustus, and then gradually formed an entertainment area for the entertainment of the aristocratic and wealthy around this theater, and was named after the Duke of Mali after the Duke of Diophilos Carolotos, forming the current Duchy of Mali.

As the famous prodigal son of the imperial capital – at least on the surface Herbert looked like a gentleman – the Duchy of Mali was a frequented place. In the Theater of Fostous, there was also a box dedicated to him, where Herbert often hung out with his group of fox friends. This once gave Wood a headache, but over time, he no longer cared about Herbert's private life, after all, he couldn't control it, as long as Herbert didn't cause a big incident, Wood would go with him.

Of course, in fact the Phostous Theater is often used as a front for Herbert, and this is where he often meets people in his capacity as director of the Bureau of Investigation. After his meeting with Manfred, he had another appointment at the Grand Theater of Fostous.

As always, he walked into his own box, and the person he wanted to see was already waiting here.

Seeing the old man sitting in front of the stands, concentrating on the opera, Herbert couldn't help frowning slightly. Originally, it was Swain who contacted him to meet him, but it seems that Swain himself did not come, but sent another person to come. This attitude made Herbert not very happy, he had been deliberately keeping his identity secret, although I don't know where Swain learned about his identity as the director of the investigation bureau, but the fact that Swain faction people came to meet showed that he told others his identity.

Putting down the dissatisfaction in his heart, Herbert put on a smile again, he would not put his thoughts on his face so simply. "How's the opera today?" he asked, sitting beside the old man, in a brisk tone.

"It's wonderful, you don't see such a wonderful opera in Midnight Castle. ”

Herbert glanced at the stage, where the great dramatist Barnes's masterpiece "Karazan Nights" was being staged. "If you like it, that's great. The actors on the stage were performing hard, and Herbert was watching with great interest, "You said you couldn't see such a wonderful play in Midnight Castle?"

"Let me introduce myself," the old man said, turning his head to look at Herbert, "and below is the head of the Jericho family, Baron Tim Noe Deniz. ”