Separated from Victoria, Rogge did not immediately return to the hall to meet the Marquis of Hochersky, but first went to the guard room of the castle in the inner city, where he found the guard Yuri mentioned by Victoria, he was a burly and sturdy young man with a cheerful personality, and after hearing about Rogge's intention, he readily expressed his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.

"What was your mission on the day of the crime?" asked Rog and Yuri, standing in the doorway of the guard room, looking at the soldiers in a hurry.

"I'm in charge of patrolling the corridors near the ballroom, there are four of us, and I'm in charge of the corridors in all four directions of the ballroom, and the area I'm responsible for includes the area from the ballroom to the kitchen. Yuri replied without hesitation.

"Where did you meet Victoria?"

"I remember it was a corridor away from the ballroom, about a few dozen steps from the ballroom, and it was already very close. ”

"Did you tell her, 'The master is coming from behind'?"

"That's right," Yuri smiled, and said, "I was walking past the kitchen dressing room door, and I saw the old man coming out of it, so I saluted him, and then walked on, and when I saw Victoria and Valentina, the old man was only half a corridor away from them. ”

"Did they have anything in their hands?" asked Rogge, smiling with interest.

"I see," Yuri replied after a moment's thought, "but nothing special, Valentina with a broom in her hand, Victoria with a plate, and the two of them talking about something." ”

"The lid of the plate is covered, isn't it?" Rogge asked nonchalantly, "Did you hear what they were saying?"

"I remember it's covered," Yuri nodded without hesitation, "I don't know what they say, but Valentina likes to ask about other people's affairs, and she also likes to tell others what she hears, and she often can't stop talking about it, and this time it's the same." ”

"I see, thank you buddy!" Rog thanked Yuri on the shoulder, said goodbye to him, and turned to leave the guard room.

He wandered the corridors of his castle, asking the squires and maids he met along the way about Valentina's whereabouts, and eventually found Valentina cleaning her room in a room on the third floor.

After introducing himself, Rog asked Valentina what she was doing at the party, and Valentina told him that she didn't attend the banquet that day, and was still in charge of the daily cleaning, and that she had met Victoria on the way to work.

"Victoria told me that you two talked for a long time after you met, and it didn't end until Yuri interrupted you, and I wonder what you girls are talking about, and you seem to keep talking and losing track of time?" asked Rog with an interested smile.

"Actually, it's nothing," Valentina said with a slightly embarrassed smile, "It's all rumors, I told Victoria the other day that the head chef of our kitchen had gone out the night before, and Ivanov, the guard guarding the door, told me that the guy hadn't come back all night." ”

Speaking of this, Valentina's expression revealed a trace of the disdain that girls are accustomed to when they gossip about others, and whispered to Rogge: "That fat man has gone to gamble again, and the money that the master sends him every month is basically used by him to gamble, and a forty-year-old person doesn't even have a wife, so he won't do anything else except gambling." ”

"The army has besieged the city, and that guy still has the heart to gamble, is the casino in the city still open at such a time?" asked Rogge, a little disbelieving.

"He doesn't care about that!" Valentina frowned contemptuously, and said with a disgusted face: "That guy is addicted to gambling, when he has no money, he will not care if he has money, even if the sky falls, he will not care, those gamblers are like this, who cares about the outside of the city!"

"You're right. Rogge smiled approvingly, feeling that he had almost asked, and was about to say goodbye and leave, but Valentina grabbed him and said, "Your Excellency, you wait first, I haven't finished yet!"

Rogge looked back at her curiously with a mysterious look, and heard her say: "That fat man has become more and more unseemly recently, not only has he run out every day recently, but he is also drunk when he comes back, and he listens to the kitchen helper who said that he still has a woman's lipstick on him, and he has gone to some unsightly ghost place!"

"Do you lords know about this?" asked Rogge, frowning.

"Neither the lord nor the lady know," Valentina shook her head decisively and said, "The fat man's job is to make lunch and dinner, and breakfast is not needed for him, so he comes back after dawn in the morning, and goes back to his room to get up before lunch, and there is no time for him, as long as the lord and the lady do not delay their meal, how will they know?"

"Do you all know that if he does this, no one will report it to the lord and the lady?" Rogge looked at her suspiciously, Valentina shrugged her shoulders and said helplessly: "No way, we have reported it before, but the lord and the lady like his specialty dishes, and others can't do it, so they just reprimanded him a few words, which is useless, but offends him." ”

"It's embarrassing!" Roger smiled, nodded at her and said, "Well, thank you for your help, I'll come back to you if there's anything, goodbye." ”

He left the room and walked through the corridors, rubbing shoulders with the marquis's attendants or guards, observing the crowd in the corridors along the way, and found that there was a considerable flow of people in the castle, and people passed him from time to time, which made Rogge feel reassured.

As he walked, a black bird suddenly landed on his shoulder, and Rogge didn't look at the little furball, but looked ahead and asked, "How is it?"

"The rabbit went into the hole and came back. The little furball tilted her little head and looked at Rogge and said, "Why does the stupid rabbit run back, isn't she afraid of being eaten by wolves?"

"Because we have something else to eat, you little fool. Rogge said as he stopped in front of a door, and the little furball smelled a scent wafting out of the room, and her eyes sparkled into the door, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, it's the kitchen!"

"Don't mess around, be careful of falling into the pot, I don't think you'll want to wait a while to see us on the plate, right?" Rogge raised an eyebrow at her, and walked into the fragrant kitchen, where the cooks were busy, and when he saw Rogge come in, a cook hurriedly greeted him and asked him what he meant.

"It's nothing, I'm just here with Captain Antonio," Rogge said with a casual smile to the cooks, "I've just passed by here, smelled the smell of here, and came in to see if there's anything to eat to feed my birds." ”

He pointed to the little furballs on his shoulders staring at the fragrant meat and cakes on the large table in the center of the kitchen, and smiled at the cooks, one of whom looked at the little furballs and said, "We don't know what this little guy can eat, so you might as well choose for yourself." ”

"Thank you then. Rogge smiled gratefully, took a small plate of cake and placed it on the edge of the table, put the little furball next to the cake and touched her little head with his fingers, letting her eat it by herself, and walking past the chefs by herself, looking curiously at the food they were processing.

At this moment, a fat man walked in from outside the kitchen door, saw the little hairball standing in the corner of the table eating cake, frowned and shouted, "What's the matter? Where did the birds come from to steal the cake here, are you all blind? No one found out?"

The cooks hurriedly turned around and were about to explain, but Rogge stepped forward and said, "I brought this little guy, my name is Langaro, and I am a friend of Captain Antonio. ”

"Oh, it's your pet!" Seeing this, the head chef's face changed, and he nodded with a smile and said, "I'm sorry, I offended just now, please take care of it, if you need anything, just ask!"

"Thank you, you're supposed to be the head chef, right?" asked Rogge, smiling as he walked up to him.

"That's right, my name is Joseph, and I'm the head chef here, so it's an honor to meet you!" Joseph said with a smile and a bow to Rogge.

"I've heard the Marquis talk about your specialty, and I'm glad to have the opportunity to see your cooking here today. Rogge looked back at the busy chefs, smiled and asked Joseph, "Maybe I'll have a chance to see with my own eyes how you turn these ingredients into delicious?"

"Of course, as long as you don't think it's dirty and messy!" replied Joseph with a courteous gesture.

He tied his apron and began to cook the food, Rogge stood beside him and watched him cook, from the knife work, heat, seasoning all aspects are very exquisite, so that Rogge secretly admired in his heart.

Not only that, Joseph was very strict with his chefs, and would severely reprimand them if they were not satisfied, and the chefs handled each ingredient carefully, so that the food was beautiful, delicious, and exquisite.

"You really live up to your reputation, and your craftsmanship is an eye-opener for me!" Rogge complimented with admiration.

Joseph shook his head with a modest smile, and suddenly heard Rogge say, "I wonder if you can also make beetroot soup?"

Hearing Rogge's words, Joseph was stunned for a moment, and after a little hesitation, he replied, "Of course, do you want to order this dish?"

"That's right, I've heard that this is a famous dish in Erus, and if I have the opportunity to try a famous dish made by a chef like you, then my trip to Erus will definitely be worth it. Rogge smiled expectantly.

Hearing Rogge say this, Joseph immediately started to make it, and Rogge stood by and watched him every step until he put the soup in a bowl and placed the bowl on his plate.

When he picked up the silver lid of the plate and was about to close it, Rogge suddenly asked, "Please wait a minute, don't you need to wipe the inside of this lid?"

Joseph was stunned for a moment, looked at Rogge in surprise, looked down at the silver plate lid in his hand and said, "These plate lids have been washed and wiped in advance, and they can be used directly and will not contaminate the food, please don't worry." ”

"Do you all do that here, and don't wipe the inside of the lid before you close the lid on the plate?" said Rogge, looking at him in amazement.

Joseph and the cooks in the kitchen looked at each other and shook their heads in surprise, and Rogge smiled when he heard this: "It seems that the custom is different, we all do it in Italy, and the lid of the plate will be wiped again before the lid is closed." ”

When the cooks heard his explanation, Joseph turned around and was about to wipe the lid of the plate with a napkin, but Rogge grabbed him and smiled: "Don't bother, since I am a guest here, I have to follow the customs here, thank you." ”

Joseph smiled and nodded, and after closing the lid, he asked the cooks to hand the plates to the waiters outside the door to carry them to the dining room, and Rogge also said goodbye to the cooks and left the kitchen, leaving the kitchen with a well-fed little furball and returning to the castle hall.

Just as Rogge was walking and bowing his head in contemplation, a cold person suddenly walked out of the intersection on the side of the corridor and crashed into his arms.