Chapter 785 INSIDE THE MANOR

Chapter 785 INSIDE THE MANOR　　MR. Harcourt was the person who sent Luo Yan the letter and from the information given to this role he's playing, he's also the owner of Magnolia Manor. Before anything, he wanted to meet this person and see what he's on about. 

"Of course, sir," Gilmore said. "In fact, Mr. Harcourt has also been waiting for you. Please, follow me, sir."

This time, Luo Yan didn't cut off the other and just obediently followed the butler inside the house. The interior of the house was as beautiful as the outside architecture. Full of grandiose and yet it didn't feel tacky at all. And just like the outside, it seemed that everything here – from the lights to the furniture – seemed to be all new. 

"A wonderful manor," he commented as they climbed on the winding staircase. "Although one would think there would be a ton of magnolia trees here because of its name."

He was truly expecting at least two or three magnolias around the manor. But when he noticed that the car was travelling into a mountainous area earlier, especially after seeing that the most likely location of the manor was on the mountain top, he knew he wouldn't be seeing any magnolias. And as he expected, there wasn't any.

Mountain tops were hardly the best place to grow magnolias. That's why he found it weird that this was the name of the manor. So, he thought of asking the butler about it in a roundabout way.

"It's because this is not the original manor, sir," Gilmore answered. "The original Magnolia Manor burned down in a fire two decades ago. It was such a tragedy. Mr. Harcourt loved that place. So, when he was finally able to, he started the construction of this new manor that was based on the original."

Luo Yan raised one brow. Now that explained why he felt that the place was new despite the old architecture style. It was indeed newly built.

"From what I've heard, the original Magnolia Manor was surrounded by beautiful white magnolia trees. Thus, the name. It's truly such a shame that it's now gone," the butler added.

Luo Yan thought so as much. How could a manor named 'Magnolia' didn't have any magnolias around it? But more importantly, a fire 20 years ago that destroyed a beautiful manor, that seemed to be a very important information. Not only that, there was also something the butler said that caught his attention. 

That Mr. Harcourt began construction the moment he was able to. Did that mean if he wasn't able to before? What happened in the years between this and that? Was he incapacitated in some way? If there was a fire 20 years ago and he was caught it in, being heavily injured, that could definitely impede him from building a new Magnolia Manor. Especially if he wanted to be involved with the construction.

Asking that directly to the butler would be too rude. So, he guessed everything would be much clearer once he met Mr. Harcourt face to face. 

[Ding! Your detective talent found two important points from what the butler had said.] 

Luo Yan almost missed a step because of that sudden alert. Again? From the two times that it 'alarmed' in his head, it seemed that this 'detective talent' wouldn't work at all unless he first found something suspicious. It's like it worked more as a confirmation rather than a foolproof way to find important clues.

That meant that if he missed something, then that would be it. Wouldn't it be much better if this 'talent' worked in a way where once he heard or saw something it would sound a notification in his head telling him that this and that were important clues? With how things were, it seemed pretty useless, wasn't it?

Well, it's probably better than nothing anyway.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" 

The butler's question brought his focus back. He looked at the other and smiled. "Nothing. I was just thinking that Mr. Harcourt must have really loved Magnolia Manor for him to built an exact replica of it."

"Oh, quite, sir," Gilmore agreed. "Magnolia Manor was purchased by Mr. Harcourt from a viscount. It had a long history. Mr. Harcourt had always taken pride in being its owner. But alas, he only owned it for five years before tragedy struck."

"Yes, that is indeed very tragic," Luo Yan could only say. "By the way, have the other guests arrived?" 

He didn't ask that just to change the subject. He knew there would be others who would be here aside from him. After all, what's a good mystery without a good cast ensemble? 

Besides, there's a good chance the other four were one of those guests. Or maybe he had already met one of them in the guise of Saunders or even Gilmore. 

"Most of the other guests had arrived this morning," the butler said. "You'll meet them at dinner, sir."

"I suppose I will."

He wanted to ask who the guests were but it might come off as suspicious. If he would meet them during dinner anyway, then he only had to wait for a few more hours. For now, it's much more important to meet Mr. Harcourt.

It didn't take long before they arrived in front of the master's bedroom. 

Gilmore knocked on the door. "Mr. Harcourt! Sir James Payton is here to see you!" he called.

"Let him enter, Cian," a slightly hoarse voice said from inside.

Cian? Was that Gilmore's name? That's not a very English-sounding name. But the more surprising thing was the fact that the master of the house called the butler by his given name. At this era, servants were usually called by their surnames. So, it was quite a surprise that a servant would be called in such a close manner. 

But that's not enough cause for suspicion. He needed to observe more, see how the two interacted with each other.

Gilmore opened the door and gestured for him to come in. 

Luo Yan stepped inside to finally meet Mr. Harcourt.