Wayne caught the falling maid and carried her sideways; she was very light, possibly not even weighing ninety pounds.
"Was it that easy to resolve?"
Kel looked at the maid Oga in surprise, then at the mushroom bottle in his hand, no longer sure whether the maid was telling the truth or lies.
"She didn’t lie; it was Madam Dana from ten years ago..."
Wayne carried Oga into the next room, turned on the light, and placed her on the sofa, using his fingertips to pry open her eyelids for examination.
Kel stood by, curiously asking, "What are you checking, is she really someone or a ghost?"
"I am quite certain she’s human, only her body contains more than one other soul."
The more Wayne examined, the more astonished he became. Oga’s thinking was extremely disordered; she harbored more than one soul within her body, and apart from her own relatively complete soul, the other souls could only be described as fragments.
Like the Madam Dana who had just manifested, she was a nearly dried-up soul.
A candle flickering in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.
These souls drew on her vitality like parasites, residing within the maid and severely affecting her mental cognition.
During the day, the maid might be herself, but at night it was hard to say—she could be Madam Dana, or someone else...
Wayne explained the results of his examination, and Kel realized: "No wonder her personality is so erratic, and she has somnambulism; so that’s what it is."
Wayne nodded, "Her condition is likely caused by magic; Mr. Bart is no ordinary person, he must be a mage."
Of course, another possibility cannot be ruled out.
Oga possesses a rare magical constitution.
Wayne once heard from Glamor Lady that the Magic World has many strange constitutions, a great variety of them. Veronica’s Dragon Blood is one of them.
A magical constitution can be good or bad, not all constitutions bring enhancement like Dragon Blood—some mutated ones are more like curses, and without treatment and guidance, affected individuals die young.
By the way, Wayne’s pure magic power is considered a mutation by Hefei and seen as a chosen one, one in ten thousand, a descendant of the gods.
Plank holds an even higher opinion of Wayne; he can perfectly harmonize with every kind of Divine Power, an unprecedented phenomenon. Rather than calling it a mutation, it would be more accurate to say it is a reversion to the ancestral form.
Plank believes Wayne has awakened the Protogenos Bloodline from the dawn of myth, a descendant of gods, an ancestor of the primordial people.
A magical constitution is extremely complex, with some being innate and others acquired. Wayne is unsure how Oga’s constitution developed, he can only analyze that due to her unique constitution, her body can house more souls.
This may be a new discovery in the Magic Realm, and as the first one to discover it, Wayne has the right to name it—he has given it a resonant title: The ’Public Bus’ Constitution.
Wayne stood up and said to Kel, "This family is more complex than I’d imagined. If the missing Myron Bart is a mage, it is not ruled out that someone among the family is also a mage. Your mushroom-feeding investigation will definitely be exposed, and if we can’t wrap things up, there may be life-threatening dangers."
Kel pondered for a moment but decided to proceed: "The puzzle has only just begun. As a detective, I cannot give up at this juncture. I despise quitting halfway more than I fear danger."
Wayne thought the same; this mystery was too intriguing.
He was curious as to why Myron Bart would have a body double commit suicide while he disappeared without a trace, hiding or lurking; perhaps other family members could provide answers.
The two exchanged a glance, both thinking of their respective clients: Madam Marina and Hayden, the eldest son, who had invited detectives to investigate from Lundan, and only one month after the suicide case.
This suggests that both knew Bart wasn’t dead and, after searching unsuccessfully for a month, entrusted it to professional detectives.
"Kel, do you know where the lady’s room is?"
"Of course, but let me say one thing first: we’re professional detectives. When it’s time to feed the mushrooms, make sure you don’t put them in the wrong place."
This tasteless joke gave me the urge to facepalm!
Kel might not be the most upstanding person, but as a detective, there’s no doubt his skills are up to par. With a small piece of wire, he easily opened the door to Madam Marina’s room.
So there Wayne stood, watching as Kel took the lead and he provided cover; without knowing who the mage was, such division of labor made it easier for him to take care of Kel’s remains.
The result was disappointing—they found nothing.
Madam Marina’s bedroom was empty, and after a thorough examination, they found no secret passages.
Next were the eldest son Hayden and the second son Steward, who were both utterly dense. After eating the delicious hallucinogenic mushrooms, they spilled everything they knew.
The two young masters of the family were unaware of the family’s true secrets, naively believing their father really died and staying close to the ancestral home only to split the inheritance.
The difference was that the eldest son was somewhat cleverer, suspecting his father’s death was mysterious and possibly related to his beautiful stepmother. He employed a detective from the White Glove Association for an investigation, hoping that if he was lucky, he could catch hold of his stepmother’s wrongdoing—not only would he inherit the family assets, but he could also inherit the stepmother.
If the eldest son had some brains, the second son was the typical dullard of a landlord’s family, simple-minded and physically strong, guarding the house merely to inherit.
This was a blow to Wayne, who once thought highly of the stock of the second son upon learning he was a drop out; he believed that the second son would defeat all competitors and eventually win the silver bracelet.