Dunn finished speaking and stepped out of the carriage, leaving Silas sitting there in a daze.
After snapping back to reality, Silas carefully examined the details of his body.
Just as Dunn had said, his nails and hair had been carefully trimmed.
Sirius certainly hadn't sent any servants to look after them, and the original Silas had been mad all the time, so it could only have been his sister's doing.
Looking at his clean nails, Silas felt a warm current flowing through his chest.
He couldn't tell whether it came from the original Silas's gratitude toward his sister, or from his own modern self's appreciation for such beautiful humanity.
But whatever the source, it filled him with affection for that adorable, devoted little girl.
Once this whole incident is over, if I can still live with Cecilia, I'll make sure to treat her well.
Silas promised himself.
Looking up, he saw the passengers from the other carriage getting out as well.
The brown-eyed Nighthawk walked in front, with Cecilia and the policewoman following close behind. Silas noticed that the young Nighthawk was carefully holding a burning candle.
The candlelight flickered, and faint murmuring sounds seemed to surround it.
"Klein, how is it?"
Dunn asked with pointed meaning.
"No problems," the brown-eyed Klein answered, gently blowing out the candle.
When the candle went out, Cecilia's body jolted. She looked around in surprise, as if she'd just been spacing out and only now realized she'd gotten off the carriage.
Just as I thought. She was examined in the other carriage too.
The escorting policewoman got back in the carriage and left.
The two groups merged together, and Dunn pushed open the door of Blackthorn Security Company, leading them inside.
The first thing that came into view was a reception hall.
It was furnished with classical sofas, upholstered armchairs, and natural wood coffee tables.
A partition behind the furniture blocked the view of what lay deeper inside.
Directly ahead was a desk, and behind it sat a brown-haired girl who was currently slumped over, her head nodding as she dozed off.
Are all Nighthawks this lax? Though, I guess it is almost midnight now.
Silas thought to himself.
"Rozanne."
Seeing this, Dunn raised his voice, sounding somewhat helpless.
"Huh! No, Captain!"
The brown-haired girl immediately woke up with a start, snapping her body straight like a spring. "I wasn't sleeping, I was just spacing out!"
No, no, no, miss, you still have drool at the corner of your mouth.
Silas complained inwardly.
"Ha ha ha, that's right, Captain, I can vouch for her. Rozanne wasn't sleeping, she was just strolling through the Goddess's divine kingdom, contemplating the meaning of life."
Leonard teased with amusement, holding that peculiar badge in his hands.
The girl named Rozanne glared at him, but he didn't mind at all, still grinning cheerfully.
"All right. Go prepare some tea, and wipe your mouth while you're at it."
Dunn sent the girl off, then turned back to his other two team members. "You two go down to the Chanis Gate and return the Goddess's Gaze and the Quiet Candle."
"Yes, sir."
Klein and Leonard exchanged glances and responded, but their feet didn't move.
Dunn thought for a moment, then added:
"Also, Leonard, call Royale and Frye out from the recreation room."
"Yes, sir."
The two nodded but still didn't move.
Seeing this, Dunn frowned and rubbed his temples with effort. "Oh, right. The Chanis Gate is too dangerous at night.
Let's not put those two sealed artifacts back in for now. Just leave them in my office, and we'll deal with it in the morning."
Only after watching him struggle to remember for so long did Klein and Leonard finally start moving.
But even as they walked away, they kept turning back to check, as if worried Dunn might forget something else.
Is he really that forgetful?
Silas and Cecilia exchanged glances, both looking somewhat surprised.
From the moment they'd met him, this Nighthawk captain had left them with an impression of depth and reliability. But that filter seemed to have faded slightly after this recent interaction.
"Please, have a seat."
Dunn, however, seemed completely oblivious as he gestured for the siblings to sit down.
Just then, Rozanne, who'd been dozing earlier, brought over some red tea. The tea set was delicate and beautiful, and the tea leaves looked high-quality too.
But with their hearts full of anxiety, even the finest tea couldn't taste sweet to them.
"Mr. Dunn, what do we need to do next?"
Silas asked proactively.
"Stay here and accept our protection."
Once seated, Dunn instinctively reached for his pipe. But seeing Cecilia sitting across from him, he stuffed the pipe back and took a sip of tea instead.
"We'll set out immediately to arrest Sirius's accomplices, interrogate them, stop their insane actions, and bring this whole incident to an end."
That's not what I was asking. I wanted to know what will happen to me after the incident ends.
Silas thought to himself, but since the other party didn't seem inclined to discuss it now, he wisely refrained from asking further.
After a few more sips of tea, it wasn't long before Leonard appeared from behind the partition with two other Nighthawks.
"Leonard and Frye, come with me. Royale, you stay here and protect our guests. Klein, do you want to go home? I can have the carriage drop you off on the way."
Dunn quickly issued his arrangements, stood up to put on his hat, and asked Klein.
"No need, Captain. Catching them is more important. If I go home now, I'll wake up my family." Klein yawned. "I'll just rest in the lounge for a bit."
"All right."
Dunn nodded, then said to Silas, "If you need anything, you can ask Royale.
If any emergency arises, you must listen to her."
Seeing that Silas understood, he hurried off with his two team members, leaving the Londor siblings and Ms. Royale staring at each other.
This was a woman who appeared quite aloof.
Her long hair was smooth and black as lacquer, her eyes large, her eyebrows slender and fine. She didn't initiate conversation, merely studying the siblings quietly.
Her gaze seemed to linger a moment longer on Silas's face.
"Um, Ms. Royale, good evening?"
"Good evening."
Seeing Silas greet her, Royale nodded slightly and spoke calmly. "Let's go to the back. There's a lounge there."
"All right, thank you."
"Follow me."
She turned and led the two toward the area behind the partition.
Silas and his sister quickly followed.
Before leaving, he glanced back at the front desk. Sure enough, the brown-haired Rozanne had her head drooping again, starting to doze off.
Let's hope she doesn't get caught by Dunn when he comes back.
Silas thought to himself as he stepped behind the partition.
Behind the partition was a short hallway with what looked like three offices on each side.
Royale led them into the second room on the left. Inside were several sofa beds that looked very soft, and newspapers piled on a table.
The Nighthawk called Klein had already arrived first and was lying on one of the sofa beds. Seeing Silas come in, he smiled and nodded at the two of them.
Silas returned the smile.
"Sit wherever you like. You can also sleep if you're tired."
Royale gestured toward the sofa beds.
She picked one for herself first, then smoothed her already sleek black hair, turned to pull a newspaper from the table nearby, and started reading it to herself.
She didn't seem inclined to continue the conversation.
Silas had originally wanted to take the opportunity to extract some information, but seeing her aloof demeanor, he gave up the idea.
He looked at Cecilia beside him and asked quietly, "Are you tired?"
"No."
Cecilia said softly.
"Then let's just sit for a while. Do you want to read the newspaper?"
Silas asked.
Seeing her shake her head, he simply took a newspaper from the table himself, taking a glance at its name in passing.
The Tingen Upstanding Citizen... what a distinctive name.
I wonder what the upstanding citizens of Tingen are concerned about.
With this thought, Silas picked up the paper. He suddenly felt a bit regretful.
He should have brought the tea in with him. After all, isn't drinking tea while reading the paper the classic combination? He lowered his head and casually browsed through it.
Citizens across the nation rejoice at the complete abolition of the Corn Laws...
Tingen steel magnate Baron Henry publicly professes his love for Lady Sharon at a banquet and gets into a brawl with three gentlemen...
Popular opera house actress exposed for having long-term affairs with both the theater owner and his stepson...
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Truly news that upstanding citizens would be concerned about.
Quite stimulating indeed.
Klein lay down fully clothed, quietly resting with his eyes closed.
Royale flipped through the newspaper, occasionally glancing at Silas and Cecilia, seemingly taking her bodyguard duties seriously.
Cecilia sat leaning against Silas. At first she seemed uneasy, but before long, she started getting drowsy beside him.
Time slowly passed.