Chapter 215 - 215 72

Words : 1329 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

215: 72. Letter from Anna 215: 72. Letter from Anna The rainy season’s 10 AM felt like 6 in the morning. The day had just begun to brighten, and it was a bit cold. After breakfast, the atmosphere in the Detective Agency became as relaxed and lazy as a typical afternoon. Rainy days always made people feel lethargic, cocooning in bed without moving an inch. Lu Li only ate half of his meat soup, not letting himself be fully satiated. For less than delightful food, the subtle difference between hunger and not feeling hungry made it taste better. Who knew that Anna would mistake sugar, left in the kitchen for who knows how long, as salt and put it into the meat soup? The bag of sea salt that was obviously bought was placed in a very conspicuous spot. An encounter at the laundry and the food gave the day a bad start, but regardless, the crisis had momentarily passed, allowing some tranquility for now. Although it was only temporary. The morning passed without incident, except for the newsboy who appeared with today’s paper. The headlines still focused on the hurricane, which had affected the entire Earlen Peninsula Duchy. Towns were maintaining law and order, nobles were inspecting their lands and properties, peasants were repairing their destroyed homes, and the Elders’ Council was busy naming the hurricane. Next was the disappearance of the Kodasselson. Strangely, the contact with Tillage Garden was also lost. The disconnect was not only with the Immortal Giant but also with the entire continent of Tillage Garden. Conspiracy theorists believed that Tillage Garden was plotting a war, while pessimists thought it had been overtaken by ghosts, with no survivors. Currently, the Lennon Archipelago Duchy, closest to Tillage Garden, had dispatched naval ships following the Kodasselson’s route, expecting to arrive at Kodasselson’s last known location in two days. The dispatched ships might carry members from the three major organizations. Lu Li thought. The world was full of bizarre and strange occurrences that could turn even the most staunch materialist’s views, especially in a world where industry was just beginning to sprout. Even with the two significant news stories dominating, news about Baron Joseph’s entertainment persisted strongly on one section. The report stated that the trial had moved into the evidence presentation phase, and the evidence provided by the plaintiff was very unfavorable to Baron Joseph. This was probably why she hadn’t had the time to bother Lu Li these past few days. Probably. Knock, knock, knock— The sound of knocking interrupted Lu Li’s reading. He exchanged glances with Anna, who was lying at the foot of the bed reading a book. Lu Li put down the newspaper, stood up, and walked over to open the door. A postman in a dark green uniform delivered three letters. After closing the door and returning to the desk, Lu Li opened the envelopes. The senders were, respectively: Baron Joseph, Mrs. Slav, and Anna. Lu Li raised his dark eyes to glance at Anna, who was engrossed in her book on the bed, then looked at the three letters laid out on the desk. The contents from Baron Joseph and Mrs. Slav were easy to recognize. The former had folded a few 100-shilling notes with Macdonald II’s face into a heart shape, while the latter had sprayed her letter with perfume and filled it with ornate, cheesy love words. What would Anna’s letter contain, an apology for the dreadful taste of the food? Thinking so, Lu Li pulled out the letter. The paper was strange, as if it had been torn from a notebook, with uneven edges, and something hastily and clumsily written on the back. Lu Li turned to the back of the page and looked at those few lines of scribbled handwriting. [...the adults said there seems to be a swamp ahead... What is a swamp?] [April 12. I’m so sad... I don’t know what happened, my father and mother rushed in, holding me as they ran. They took me into the forest, the ground was wet—could this be the swamp? There are so many bugs here, but luckily, we found a house before dark. It was also a family of three, and they had a little boy!] The diary broke off here for a few days, and the handwriting began to change afterward. [April 15. Mom told me this is called a diary and I can write words on it, I can write down whatever I think. I want to eat a big...] Familiar content brought Lu Li’s memory back to that cabin deep in the swamp. The content on the paper was from Little Rainer’s diary, and the handwriting was the same. Perhaps it was torn from that very diary. Wordlessly, Lu Li turned the paper to the front and looked at the first line. The elegant handwriting was connected together, allowing one to feel the urgency of the person who wrote it down. [Lu Li, if you receive this letter, definitely do not read it around “Anna”!] Lu Li’s gaze moved away from the letter, toward the open bedroom door. Anna lay on the bed, oblivious, casually swinging her legs, seemingly considering something. [Run quickly, escape to a place where no one can find you! Especially a place where “I” can’t find you!] [Once you are safe, then look at the content below. Remember, definitely do not let her... no, it’s “I”... Definitely do not let “I” see the content of the letter!] [You’re so smart, you must have guessed... yes, I am Anna. I... I was left here, in that cabin in the swamp.] [I don’t know why it happened like this, do you remember when you were resting because of the storm? You were resting then, your back turned to me. Then suddenly something rushed at me, I was thrown out, saw my own ghost... I don’t know how to describe that scene, it was as if... I died again, and then I became a ghost of a ghost. But this time was far more terrifying than the last death because I saw my ghost... had consciousness.] [That’s definitely not me! I saw a fleeting red light in her eyes and brutality, very unfamiliar... She... is she the Mother of the Marsh!?] [I don’t know who the ghost that took over me is, but she didn’t harm you, I realized when you woke up, she was getting near you, she was pretending to be me!!!] [I tried hard to call out to you, but you couldn’t hear anything...] [I watched, powerless, as the entity occupying my body left with you and returned, rested for a few hours, before leaving again before dark.] [You didn’t discover anything, you thought “I” was me, leaving me alone in the cabin...] [The beaked woman saved me, she could actually see me, I asked them to send this letter out, I think they will agree, the beaked woman is actually a good person.] [I know you trust “me” a lot, I have a way to make you believe what I am saying is right. Remember? Our past, and what you told me. The sculpture’s arm broke when it was helping us in the gallery, you told me the “door” was affecting you, there’s a blood-colored tentacle in your head, we went to the Shadow Swamp to resolve the tentacle issue. The most important goal was to find Richard, to find a way to rid of the “door” and the “tentacles”.] [Never come looking for me. By the time you read this letter, I might have already been sacrificed to the Mother of the Marsh. I... I don’t know what else to say. I thought I would be panicked because I am going to die again. I thought I would be calm because I have already died once before.] [Lu Li, I don’t want to leave you...] [I am so lonely...] [Please, don’t come looking for me.]

Chapter 215 - 215 72

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