Thanks to the prosperity of the textile industry, the rivers in Bologna were once bustling with activity, crisscrossing the city. It earned the nickname "little Venice."
However, following the World War between the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, most of the city's canals were submerged into the underground. Only a portion remains, allowing people to catch a glimpse of the once-venetian-like beauty.
Sunlight shone on a winding river with shimmering ripples, flowing through the complex university district with its low-rise buildings.
Among the sparse forests along the riverbanks, there are many young people carrying heavy books, bathed in patchy light and shadow. These muggle teenagers gather in groups, discussing something cheerfully, and their light-hearted laughter sometimes startle flocks of birds.
"Where did you go to university, Amoshta?"
Always traveling along the river, Louisa felt a slight dispersal of the sorrow in her heart, inspired by the relaxed and content atmosphere in the forest. As she remembered her wonderful student days, she saw Amoshta in front of her and asked curiously, "Where did you go to university?"
"Hmm?"
Amoshta blinked, looking somewhat taken aback.
"University -"
Louisa said "university" in a stressed tone, tilting her head to look at his side face. His fair skin and delicate texture made it easy to judge that Amoshta was quite young. However, the man's calm demeanor and deep eyes often make people subconsciously see him as an 'ancient artifact'.
"I guess you haven't graduated more than three years, right?"
"Ah -" Amoshta smiled, "Probably -"
Knowing that such an answer would not be satisfactory, Amoshta pursed his lips slightly, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the students in the forest with youthful vigor, and said with a slight sense of nostalgia.
"Work is busy, to the point where I barely have time and energy to recall the joys of my student days..."
Leading the group, Kingsley also seemed to have some feelings. His steps hesitated slightly. Louise noticed this and felt as if she had come up with something. She kept looking curiously between the two men in front of her.
"By the way -"
Louise raised her eyebrows.
"Amoshta...and Kingsley, you're both in the same government department, but you look quite different in age - this is really unusual, especially in a government department. How did Amoshta become Kingsley's boss? Um. I've heard of a high-ranking official at Downing Street."
As Louise slowly guessed, she observed Amoshta's expression, hoping to find something in his demeanor that might give away a clue.
"There's no use in guessing, Louise -"
Amoshta smiled peacefully at the path ahead, his smile not giving Louise any openings to find a clue, "It's because I have outstanding work ability?"
"Outstanding work ability? In a government department? Hmph-hmph—"
As if she recalled some unpleasant memories, Louise sneered and snorted a few times.
Louise is very interested in this question. She uses some conversational tactics to subtly dig into why Amoshta became Kingsley's superior, and also hopes to use these questions to anchor their true identities.
However, against Amoshta and Kingsley, her professional skills are not enough to support her in achieving her goal, far from it.
After a while, not being able to get anything out of them, she was instead led to say out a lot of her own information. By the time Louise realized she had said too much, she was already following Kingsley to an empty and desolate area.
The river that had been accompanying them gradually shrank into a thin stream, eventually disappearing into an underground river beneath an archway of gray brick. On the other side of the archway, the canal was piled with silt and rotting leaves.
On the other side of the riverbank, there was a red-brick, but already dilapidated monastery with its windows' frames fallen away from the main building.
The monastery faced them, with its exterior wall on their side covered in withered vines. The corners immersed in wet mud were marked by signs of mildew, and at the highest point of the building stood a hollow belfry with a gold-plated cross on top, its dome painted white.
From the various signs, it seems that this old monastery has long since abandoned its original function. Now, it seems to be a paradise for rats in the sewers.
"This is the current residence of Onesto Pastrere, Mr. Bran -" Kingsley stopped at the archway and turned to look at Amoshta, who was examining the monastery.
"And his daughter, Valeria Pastrere, was the only one who went missing from that magical research society before it disbanded. Before his daughter's incident, Onesto Pastrere ran a small but well-known boot workshop - factory in the local area; it seems he was also a patron of that interest group --"
Kingsley's tone paused for a moment, and he continued,
"--According to my inquiries, after his daughter went missing, Pastrere lost interest in running his factory. He quickly sold all the companies under his name. According to people who knew him, he also sold his house and car. In the end, he donated a large sum of money to charity and chose to become a street beggar --"
For some reason, Amoshta was not at all moved by this story; instead, a hint of coldness flickered in his eyes, which were faintly tinged with a dreamy purple under the sunlight.
"I didn't expect--"
Louise heavily blew her nose, feeling both sad and angry, "I couldn't imagine it--"
"When I first came here, it was Valeria who took me to the basement where Fraser stayed. She was a very pretty and lively girl, and she was also a member of that magical research society. Besides not wanting to talk about the society with me, Valeria was very talkative. Because of her, I even had a change of heart about Fraser joining the society."
Amoshta did not comment on this matter. He looked at the abandoned monastery that was overgrown with grass, his eyes piercing through the dilapidated courtyard wall, scanning the situation within.
"Let's go in and say hello -"
Amoshta said casually, and then, he took the lead, stepping over Kingsley and walking towards the monastery.
The weeds within the courtyard are even more vigorous than those outside. These weeds have caused the original stone bricks to crackle, and because of the clogged drain, half of the courtyard has become a muddy puddle filled with decomposing waste.
Although the sun still shone brightly, Louise shivered slightly as soon as she stepped into the courtyard. The sky was clear, but the horizon was clouded by a strange gloom.
"Mr. Bran..."
The colorful stickers on the broken glass windows of the dilapidated church have not yet faded completely. Under the sunlight, they scatter colors that hint at the church's former prosperity, silently speaking without a sound.
Even Kingsley couldn't help but frown slightly at the chill in the air. He lowered his head and called out softly.
"Evidently, eh --"
What a surprise! Amoshta did not rush to explore this old monastery. Instead, he stood behind the rotten door, closed his eyes, and carefully felt around for something. He listened to the wailing of the wind, and after a moment, he slowly opened his eyes, smiling faintly. But there was not a trace of a smile in his eyes.
"I guess it must be scary here at night --"
Louise didn't understand Amoshta's implication. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she scanned the surroundings back and forth.
"I don't understand," Louise said perplexedly, "Unless he's gone mad, why would he live here?"
"Perhaps he really is mad, this Mr. Pastrere --"
Amoshta shook his head slightly. He didn't rush into the main hall to worship the deity on the cross, nor did he search each room one by one. Instead, he walked quickly along the corridor, heading towards the back courtyard of the monastery.
Standing in the middle of the overgrown grass, was a building that was entirely white. It was once and remains equally dilapidated. This round, pointed roof building is not very tall and is unknown for what it was used for in the past. The thick brick walls had only one small square window about seven or eight feet above the ground, looking like a solitary confinement room or prison.
"Is he there?"
Kingsley's deep voice carried a note of alertness. He spotted a series of uneven footprints on the ground from the end of the corridor, leading to the building bathed in sunlight but still with a dark entrance. For some reason, Kingsley felt an urge to draw his wand, but he glanced at Louise, who was also hesitating at the threshold of the black hole-like entrance, and restrained himself from doing so.
"Let's go, let's pay a visit to Mr. Pas... I'm not sure if it's him, but he should be the 'master' here."
Amoshta said calmly.
Thud!
And just as he took a step, a heavy thudding sound erupted unexpectedly from within the building, causing Amoshta's advancing step to freeze.
Louise's expression changed immediately to one of horror. In a fraction of a second, she chose the one that gave her the most sense of security between Amoshta and Kingsley - she clung to Amoshta's back, holding onto his sleeve.
Thud, thud, thud!
The heavy thudding sounds became more and more urgent, each one faster and more frenzied than the last, as if the person making the sounds was desperately in a hurry to do something.
"Let's go --"
Amoshta's pale purple eyes, which shone slightly, were like a grinding stone turning slowly. He said something that confused both Louise and Kingsley.
"Let's help him."
(Chapter completed)
