"Madam Xuelin?" Davenport clearly recognized the widow of Lord Hoy, one of the most prominent society figures in Tingen. Lady Menard, the议员's wife, glanced at the slender woman accompanying her to Black Thorns Security but did not speak herself. The slender woman, dressed in the same black dress and hat, paused thoughtfully: "Yes, Madam Xuelin, the widow of the late Baron Hoy. She, she..." Stammering for a moment, the slender woman suddenly burst out angrily: "She's a whore!" Hearing this outburst, Caine suddenly recalled the "intimate footage" he had seen and the way Countess Scherren had appeared hesitant yet composed—this strengthened his belief in the rumors, and he silently sympathized with the late baron: It wasn't exactly that the countess couldn't marry again, but such a haphazard approach… Oh, there would surely be a patch of green grass growing over the baron's grave. "The frail lady indignantly declared, 'She caused my brother's death, yet her lovers exerted immense pressure on the police, compelling them to conclude that he died suddenly from excessive drinking and prolonged indulgence—when in fact, they too are criminals!'" Dunne remained silent for several seconds, then said, "Well... I have one more question. You seem very confident that we'll be able to uncover something." The slender woman nodded. "We were introduced to you by the tobacco merchant Vicrole. He praised you as the top-tier professionals in the industry—people who can accomplish what others cannot." Vicrole... who exactly was that? Klein instinctively glanced at the captain, only to find Dunne Smith equally puzzled. How foolish of me—why should I expect the captain to remember such a detail? After all, I don't even remember it myself... He sighed quietly to himself. Seeing both elite "mercenaries" still looking confused, the slender woman added, "You rescued his son who had been kidnapped." Ah—so that was him... The kidnapping case had revealed the线索 to me in the Antigonus family's notes. Klein suddenly understood. Dunne also nodded slightly, saying, "I see." "Seeing this, the slender woman put forward her terms: 'You will track and monitor that woman for two weeks. Even if you fail to uncover direct evidence of her crimes, you must document all visitors to her home and all visits she makes to others. We will pay you 50 gold pounds for that.' 'And if you succeed in finding evidence—or even just credible leads—we will add an additional 200 pounds.' That's a substantial retainer... Suddenly, Caine found himself somewhat embarrassed, recalling that he had only paid Henry 7 pounds to gather so many details about the red chimneys. Dunne thought for a moment and said, 'No problem—we can sign the contract right away.' 'You'll need to pay a deposit of 20 pounds.' Captain, we're currently short on personnel, with the large case involving Larnel-Urs still ongoing... Caine hadn't expected Dunne Smith to agree to this assignment, though he himself had been quite enthusiastic. Madame Menard nodded gently. 'No problem.' "I believe in you, and I hope you won't let me down." Duan smiled, said nothing, and turned to Luo Shan, saying, "Go ahead and draft a contract." Once the contract was signed and the deposit collected, and after seeing Madame Menard and the slender lady leave the Black Thorns Security Company, Duan turned to Kline and said, "This task is yours." "Ah?" Kline looked utterly puzzled. Duan smiled and added, "You weren't aiming to learn the skills of tracking and monitoring? This is a perfect opportunity—your part of the Lan'ersu case has just concluded." "Very well..." Kline didn't hesitate. Just as he had agreed, his thoughts began to race: According to the regulations, half of the task fee must be paid to Mrs. Oliviana, half to the team treasury, and the remainder divided equally among the participating members. This assignment, however, seems to be solely mine. Regardless of whether the investigation succeeds, I’ll still have a guaranteed income of twenty-five pounds, plus my regular salary. If I manage to uncover any leads, I could earn a full one hundred and twenty-five pounds! The captain is truly astute. Dunning glanced at him and said, "You went to Leonard and Fley to learn tracking and surveillance techniques this morning, and the combat training was suspended for the afternoon—actually, it’s been suspended all week. I think you’ve grasped it well enough; I’ll send someone to inform Gwain." Learning tracking and surveillance techniques from Leonard and Fley? It feels a bit unimpressive, doesn't it? Caine paused. In his mind, Leonard's only approach would be to play the Fenneport harp, recite beautiful poetry, charm Lady Shelton into bed, then closely observe and monitor her movements. But Fley's demeanor was distinctly unique—cold, somber. Anyone encountering him would naturally draw attention. How could someone so strikingly composed follow and monitor someone discreetly? As he pondered this, Caine responded seriously, "Alright." Dunne nodded gently, then walked toward the partition. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around, and hesitated before asking, "Do you remember the tobacco merchant? What happened in the kidnapping case?" ...Oh, so you completely forgot everything just now—didn't even grasp what was going on! How could you remain so composed and confident? Caine reached up and covered his face. ...According to Leonard's instructions, Caine hadn't immediately set out to follow Lady Shelton, even though he was fully aware of her residence at 13 Olsner Street in the East District. "Until you understand the target's behavioral patterns, hasty tracking efforts are likely to go awry, and single-person monitoring is insufficient to capture all details—unless you're willing to go without eating, drinking, sleeping, or returning home." This was Leonard's exact words. Thus, Klein followed his advice and went to the Hound's Head tavern to locate a mob boss, paying five pounds to have him assign his staff to take turns monitoring Mrs. Sherrin, recording her daily activities. Fortunately, this was reimbursable... yet it still felt like a series of subcontracted layers. On Friday afternoon, Klein received the report prepared by the mob boss. Calling it a 'report' clearly disrespected professional private investigators—the boss's staff couldn't read a single word, relying entirely on drawings and symbols. The report was compiled and explained by a semi-literate, one-year-attending-Sunday-school veteran, whose efforts left Klein's head pounding, requiring him to struggle through it before finally finishing. "According to the surveillance, Mrs. Sherrin has been rarely leaving the house and has had very few visitors of late... it's likely due to the impact of the Mr. Menard's death case... Those mob members are quite capable—how they managed to establish a connection with Mrs. Sherrin's housekeeper is quite remarkable... Well, she's attending a Conservative Party dinner tonight in the city; she might not return home until late, or perhaps not at all... This is a perfect opportunity." Klein made a swift decision to infiltrate Mrs. Sherrin's residence and conduct a quiet investigation that very evening. With the conclusion of the Lanuris case under his responsibility, the suspension of his combat classes, and the resolution of the 'Storm General' Zilings case, Klein now had only two primary tasks: investigating the Red Chimney house and continuing to monitor Mrs. Sherrin. As a result, he had been relatively free of other commitments. ——Two days prior, he had received a reply from Mr. Azk, which contained only one sentence: "I have secured 'The Crawling Hunger.' I have recalled some memories." This finally confirmed for Cline that Zilinger had been killed by Mr. Azk, and that the long-lived, memory-forgotten instructor was indeed a high-sequence strength. Yet he dared not ask the man what he had recalled through the "thirsty hunger," for Mr. Azk clearly did not wish to speak—should he have wished to share, he would have described it directly in the letter. In his reply, Cline offered only greetings and a gentle reminder to Mr. Azk that the "thirsty hunger" would crave the flesh and souls of living people, and that a secure means of sealing it must be found. Furthermore, neither "Justice" nor "The Hanged Man" had yet requested his presence, though Cline no longer worried, understanding that both members were cautious due to the possible surveillance, and thus hesitant to recite their titles openly. He crossed the garden and climbed up the water pipe, brushing past it smoothly to reach the second-floor balcony. For Klein, who had never succeeded in climbing trees since childhood, this was a rather unique achievement. From the pocket of his black coat, he drew out a Tarot card and inserted it into the gap of the balcony door, gently nudging it to release the latch. "The servants are so careless—they didn't even add extra locks. Otherwise, I'd have had to try scaling the windows..." Klein murmured silently as he stepped inside. Based on the information provided by the mob boss, he easily located Mrs. Xuelun's bedroom and turned the handle, entering quietly. With careful attention, he closed the door. Suddenly, he detected a delicate, subtle fragrance—something that evoked the kind of alluring scent that excites a man's blood. Klein felt momentarily dazed, even sensing a physical response. He then settled himself through meditation, quietly muttering under his breath, "Are they using love potions as incense?"