Click—-
Gineslay gently pushed Louisa, closing the door for the two people inside before leaving.
Silence lingers in the room, a bit awkward, the soft light falls on Louise with a faint blush on her face, she lightly bites her lips, already regretting her brain hot and run over to talk with someone.
"Is there anything I can help you with, Louise?"
Amost's voice is still very gentle, as if he didn't realize that, at night, two single people sharing a room is a very romantic thing.
Maybe it's Amost's gentle tone as usual, Louise's pounding heartbeat gradually recovered the rhythm, she took a deep breath, pursed her lips slightly, her voice slightly hoarse,
"Sorry, Amost, I just—I um, I couldn't sleep, and then—when I saw your room light was still on, I thought I'd find someone to talk to—"
It's normal to have trouble sleeping, and if Louise could fall asleep peacefully, Amost would be surprised.
"Oh, if you don't mind, maybe we can have a drink—"
Amost stood up from the sofa, smiling as he said,
"Taking some alcohol helps to relax the nerves--"
The feeling of two people drinking in the middle of the night is even more strange.
Louise's heartbeat quickened once more, but noticing Amost's unassuming expression, she let out a slight breath of relief and nodded slowly.
Amost walked to the liquor cabinet in the room, scanning through the three levels of bottles, and quickly picked a bottle of half-dry sherry.
Amost, gracefully rolling up his sleeves, deftly opened the bottle of sherry with a corkscrew. Turning around, he saw Louise standing about ten feet behind him, eyeing the couch he had just sat on with hesitation in her gaze.
Subconsciously, Amost nearly pulled out his wand to magically conjure a chair for Louise, but he managed to suppress the instinct in time.
Although he had decided to bring Louise to Italy from the start, Amost was well aware that this Muggle girl would eventually witness true magic. He did not fear this at all, for he intended to erase her memories sooner or later. However, the was deeply rooted in people's hearts, and Amost was instinctively slowing down the time when magic would be exposed.
"Please, just sit there--"
The wine liquid rolled into the crystal glass, Amost handed the glass to Louise, pointing to the couch he had just sat on, and then sat on the edge of the bed.
Taking a sip of the wine, which had a subtle hazelnut scent and an extremely light tobacco aroma, Louise exhaled heavily as if to expel all her sadness and worries from her mind. She did not speak immediately but drank the wine silently, sip after sip, her gaze falling on the bronze clock on the wall, her eyes expressing a sense of confusion.
Amost was very aware of Louise's current mood. Her brother had lost his life under the oppression of terrorists, and her parents were still unaware of this fact.
Although for a relatively short time, her brother's relationship with the family and with her had become strained, in the eyes of her family, Freyzer was probably temporarily blinded by anger and became rebellious. They probably thought that Freyzer would come to his senses sooner or later and return to a normal life. But--
Now everything has turned into a mirage. Freyzer will never have another chance to change his mind. No, he had already changed his mind; he just didn't want to have contact with them to protect them.
And even so, he was still killed by those people.
"You say—"
After a long silence, the confusion in Louise's eyes remained unchanged. She stared at the copper seconds ticking one by one, her voice floating.
"Is there really magic in the world?"
Amost, shaking the glass to disperse the sediment in the wine, paused for a moment, but only briefly, then resumed his movements without providing an answer. He was well aware that Louise needed an outlet for her emotions right now; she didn't need him to explain anything.
"Freyzer was always excellent in his studies, he was very smart, and very few people could deceive him."
Louise's face was full of wistfulness,
"If there is no magic in the world, then the people who killed him must be the most cunning liars of all. Only the most skillful deceit could make Freyzer so obsessed with studying magic."
"If there is magic in the world, then..."
Amost's gaze fell, watching the light through the clear wine cast a swaying shadow on the velvet carpet, he whispered.
Louise looked slightly surprised at Amost, who was looking at her with an air of indifference. She had thought that Amost would not easily interfere with her nonsensical chatter, after all, he was a government agent, and with his keen journalist's eye, she could see that he was a man who was very good at hiding his thoughts.
"If it really exists—"
Louise gave a pale smile.
"That the world is really very unfair indeed"
"Fairness is always relative, magic is not the gift from the gods either. Humans can achieve many incredible things through technology at least—"
Amost shrugged.
"Magic can't help you get to the moon, but technology has already achieved this."
Louise pursed her lips, and looked at Amost in surprise. The man's attitude towards her dream-like question seemed too cautious, as if magic really existed?
After gently shaking her head, Louise pushed the absurd notion out of her mind. As a journalist, she was well aware of the advancement of the media. If magic really existed in this world, how could it not have been exposed?
Perhaps Amost is a man who likes to be precise?
Louise thought about it, she lowered her head, took a sip of wine while her peripheral vision caught sight of the parchment on the side table.
"What is this?"
"We considered that the terrorists who committed crimes might possibly escape from Britain, and perhaps not through normal channels. Therefore, I arranged for Gineslay and his subordinates to obtain a list of people who leave Britain through illegal immigration during the time when packages are sent out."
"You guys are really quick to respond!"
Louise exclaimed in slight surprise, thinking that they truly were exceptional, that's no wonder they are agents; ordinary police officers don't have their level of efficiency. Subconsciously, her hand reached out towards the list, but at the touch, she pulled it back as if it had been scorched.
"I'm sorry, I--"
"I can't think of anyone more qualified to see this list than you, Louise--"
Amost smiled, lifting the glass and gesturing with his hand as if to invite her.
"Parchment"
Louise's fingertip rubbed over the paper, and another wave of surprise swept through her. Nowadays, there were very few people using this kind of ancient material paper.
The list was long, with names written in black ink that made Louise's eyes spin. She looked aimlessly at it; neither Amost nor Louise herself expected her to find any clues in this list of fugitives.
As the gaze shifted downward, a name that appeared in her sight made Louise's brow slightly furrowed. She felt familiar with it, but couldn't quite remember where she had heard it before. Under the influence of the slight buzz from the wine, she quickly moved on to look below.
"What have you found?"
Seeing Louise quietly fold the list and put it back on the coffee table, Amost asked casually.
"Um--"
Louise shrugged her shoulders again,
"Tom Riddle's name appears on the list three times, but I think it's not the classmate with that name in my elementary, high school, and university classes."
"Aha," Amost chuckled, "it is indeed unlikely."
The light jest released the oppressive atmosphere in the room, and some of the gloom in Louise's heart dissipated. Without waiting for Amost to refill her empty glass, she walked over with a slightly unsteady gait and poured herself more wine. "Drinking to forget is indeed a good way to deceive and numb oneself," Louise thought, glancing at Amost sitting there with an upright posture. Louise raised her chin slightly.
"Can I ask you something, Amost·Bryan? You are young and successful."
The light wine has a deceiving taste that dulls the mind, and without realizing it, Louise's brain is numbed, and she can't help but curl her lips into a smile. The soft laughter she lets out carries a hint of seductive charm.
(Chapter ends)
