Chapter 85: Not Following the Script

Just as Louis had said, Stuart was merely playing a joke on Helen. That very afternoon, he dressed himself up as an elderly gentleman—top hat perched on his head, cane in hand, impeccably tailored suit—and leapt out of the mirror. He busied himself fetching tea, pouring water, his face plastered with an obsequious grin—clearly, this former imperial court eunuch was reminiscing about old times. Under his barrage of flattery, Helen recalled the games Stuart used to play with her when she was a child, and amidst their reminiscences, she was moved to tears.

Afterward, when Stuart saw Helen preparing to write her report, he insisted that, as a civil servant, he was more than capable with the pen. “But, Mr. Stuart, Director Triff asked us to write our own reports,” Helen said, a little worried. “You’d better not write it, I can manage. Otherwise Director Triff might get upset.”

“It’s quite alright, Your Highness,” Stuart replied, picking up the report and smiling with measured care. “Let me handle this. Triff wouldn’t dare make a fuss.”

With that, Stuart tossed the two reports into the mirror—and the scene within shifted in an instant, revealing a vast waterbed. There, atop the bed, was a middle-aged, balding director, accompanied by three women. It seemed to be some kind of “screen test,” though clearly not one that followed the script—the real film certainly wouldn’t be anything like this. After all, “Triff’s Dreamworks” was a proper, reputable film company.

Both reports landed squarely on Director Triff’s face. As he looked up, livid, a fountain pen followed suit, hitting him as well. Stunned, Triff glanced up at the mirror embedded in the ceiling, where he saw three figures reflected: a sinisterly grinning grand chamberlain, a curious young girl, and a beaming young wizard giving a thumbs-up.

At that moment, a thunderbolt went off in Director Triff’s mind—his political instincts sharpened by years of intrigue, he realized several things at once. Stuart had returned to the princess’s side; the chances of the Department of Magical Inquisition siding with her faction had just increased.

[Director Triff’s respect for Osicrys +500, now upgraded to “respect”]
[Director Triff’s favorability toward you +20]
[Your respect for Director Triff +20—three starlets... Clearly, this celebrated director is not only well-connected within the Ministry of Magic, but also enjoys quite a reputation in the Muggle world.]

A dozen minutes later, Director Triff had drafted both reports, and even took a special trip via the Floo Network to the Ministry headquarters to submit them to the higher-ups. He didn’t wait for the bureaucratic process to play out, but immediately pulled some strings and retrieved official uniforms, tools, badges, and more for Louis and his companion.

He took the opportunity to inquire at the Ministry about the mysterious Louis “Three of Hearts”—straight to detective? On learning the details, his expression grew even more interesting. He called Louis with a broad smile.

The man was shrewd to the core—Osicrys’s disciple? Why, this was someone with even more powerful backers than Luffield! Backed by an influential group of political donors, supported by the Belief family! Someday, this very person might be his boss.

After the call ended, Louis found the uniforms and other items in the third drawer. He changed into the agent’s greatcoat and felt hat, both bearing the insignia of the Three of Hearts. Surveying himself in the mirror, he was rather pleased with the look. Helen’s eyes sparkled when she saw him.

“Louis, you really aren’t suited for wizard robes!”

Louis rolled his eyes, then found an excuse to send Helen home. She thought Stuart wanted a private word with Louis, and, on her way out, exchanged a few words with Stuart.

No sooner had Helen left than Louis locked the office door and shooed the ingratiating Stuart away, heading off to see Lilith.

Before tackling the major task of dealing with Crowley, he had a smaller assignment to complete first.

He knocked on the door, and Lilith, wearing slippers, answered. The moment she saw Louis in his detective’s uniform, her eyes lit up with countless little stars, but she deliberately closed the door, leaving only a crack, and feigned unfamiliarity: “Detective Louis, what brings you here? Who are you looking for?”

Without ceremony, Louis pushed the door open, flashed his badge, and said coldly, “You don’t know what I’m here for? Official business from the Department of Mysteries!”

With that, he strode inside. Lilith’s eyes gleamed with excitement—she’d been waiting for this moment, longing to be “arrested”! How thrilling! And today, Louis looked... so handsome! He really was not cut out for wizard robes!

She hurried after him in tiny steps, pretending to stall for time. But Louis grabbed her hand without pretense and pulled her straight into the living room.

There, Louis blinked in surprise—Lilith had lied: “No one home”? There were five others! Several little fox spirits were busy either rehearsing “scripts” or dancing, but the moment they saw Louis stride in, their eyes shone with excitement.

Louis’s eyes sparkled as well, and he sneered, “Everyone, on your knees—hands on your heads and ears!”

The fox girls hesitated—hadn’t Lilith already given Louis the script? This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. But when Louis sneered again, they all wagged their tails and knelt on the floor, finding the whole thing wildly entertaining. Their eyes were filled with delight.

“Oh, Detective, forgive us—we’re guilty of lewd public performance. What punishment awaits us?” Lilith prompted, even swatting Louis playfully with her tail.

Louis raised an eyebrow—so bold! “Lewd performance? More like illegal cult gathering!”

At this, the fox girls trembled, and seeing the cold gleam in Louis’s eyes, they thought he might actually be serious and burst into tears and wailing.

Louis ignored them, sat down on the sofa with a sneer, and, amid their tearful protests, beckoned Lilith over with a crooked finger.

Desperate to prove they were only dancing, the foxes put on an enthusiastic performance.

It wasn’t until they saw what Lilith was up to, crawling her way over, that they breathed a sigh of relief and flung themselves into the dance with renewed abandon.

Watching the girls—having spent the whole day preparing, each dressed in a different style—dance energetically before him, Louis toyed with a crystal ball and looked down at Lilith with a smile that never reached his eyes. “Miss Lilith, you’re awfully bold, sending me a recording of your own crime. Do you realize the kind of trouble you’re in now?”

“Mhm, mhm...” Lilith brushed a lock of white hair from her face and threw him a flirtatious glance. She was far too busy to answer.

After a bit of playful chaos, the group finally sat down to discuss serious matters. Louis soon realized why Lilith had summoned him today—they needed car repairs.

Louis was a professional mechanic, always carrying a jack with him.

But Lilith had just discovered a problem—the jack wouldn’t go down.

This set all six fox spirits into a frenzy. None could believe it—so many of them, and still the jack wouldn’t budge?

Surely, just one would be enough.

With Louis’s help, each of the six foxes took turns sitting on it, pressing down with all their might for a long time, but to no avail. Instead, they were all bounced off by the jack, dissolving into tears.

After several hours of hard work, the jack was finally pressed down—if only temporarily. The six little foxes, drenched in sweat and sprawled out on the floor, were exhausted, but managed to smile in relief.

But at that moment, Louis, the mechanic who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up—time to start the real repairs.

The fox girls were dumbfounded; perhaps it was getting too late, and they tried to negotiate to postpone the repairs until tomorrow.

But Louis was nothing if not diligent—negotiations were pointless. Since the owners had called him over, he couldn’t leave until the job was done.

The six little tricycles were each lifted and repaired in turn by the hardworking mechanic Louis. Seeing how industrious he was, the fox girls were moved to tears, hoarse from cheering him on.

He worked tirelessly until two or three in the morning before he was finally satisfied.

The little foxes’ voices were raspy, too tired to shout encouragement anymore.

It would probably be at least a month or more before the six little owners would bother Louis for repairs again.

[You have defeated six witches...]
[Strength +1]
[Experience +50]
[Lilith and her companions are all thoroughly shocked... Clearly, they are completely convinced.]

...

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