Operation Red Book

Chapter 431: Try every possible means to escape from the castle

I don't know when the sun set behind the hills. In the distant sky, a waning moon, appearing and disappearing, wandered silently, floated and sank, and peeked out.

The fog was everywhere, and the already chilly weather became even colder and damper.

Ivy shivered suddenly, but inexplicably got three thick coats that still had the men's body temperature.

Joshua's coat looked ordinary, but you had to bring it close to your nose to smell the scent of soapberry hidden in the crevices of the fabric.

Holmes's coat seemed to be quite old, but fortunately both the inner and outer layers were made of thick fabrics, which would only keep him warmer as he wore it for a long time. It must have been chosen by Mrs. Hudson for him.

Marquis Sebastian's coat looks plain, but it is actually delicate and soft. The outer fur is probably rabbit fur or mink. The overall workmanship and style are many times better than the two next door.

Jacob didn't give it to her, saying that he was cold too, and took the most expensive one without saying a word.

"It's so cold, when can we go out?"

Ivy wiped the water from her nose that was flowing unconsciously, and watched another red leaf fall on Joshua's ugly new hairstyle.

"There's still some movement outside. Hold on a little longer..." Holmes replied softly.

He was looking out through the sparse leaves, his movements as alert as a well-trained police dog.

They met Holmes and Jacob half an hour ago. Thanks to Marquis Sebastian, Ivy and Joshua had a smooth journey to the corridor on the second floor.

This place is very close to Wendy's room. Because there is a patient here, the servants seldom pass by here, so it has become the gathering point for Ivy and others.

Ivy and Joshua waited here for a long time, but there was no sign of the other two. Considering the danger of being discovered by the castle, Ivy and Joshua had to follow the Marquis's footsteps and disguise themselves as personal servants to leave.

But just as Ivy and the other two were about to leave, Holmes and Jacob finally hurried over.

No, they didn't just come hurriedly, behind them, there was a huge group of armored soldiers following.

“Run, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—”

Holmes ran in front, shouting loudly.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-"

Marquis Sebastian was the first to react. He quickly grabbed Ivy, who was still screaming, ran two steps, then turned back and grabbed Joshua, who was still reacting to the current situation.

"What's wrong with you!" Ivy asked Holmes who was running towards her while running away.

"What else could it be? Someone discovered Xiao Ben's body when he went to check it out!"

"Can't Mr. Jacob control time?"

"He lost the watch, damn it! I don't know when he lost it, and I don't know where he lost it, damn it!"

After uttering a series of curse words, Holmes quickened his pace and soon surpassed Ivy and the others.

"Stop! Stop! Don't run... Catch the thieves! Kill them! Kill them! Kill them... "

The armored soldiers behind him each held a sword more than one meter long, and they were chasing him like zombies.

"Here! Everyone, come here!"

After running for an unknown amount of time, Holmes stood at the corner ahead, desperately greeting everyone.

In the blink of an eye, Ivy was suddenly dragged by Marquis Sebastian and handed over to Holmes. Holmes quickly hugged Ivy's waist and threw her out of the window at the end of the corner.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh-"

Ivy was so frightened by the feeling of weightlessness when falling that she screamed continuously. After a dizzy spell, she crossed her arms and protected her face in mid-air.

"Paji!"

Free fall...

Fortunately, there was a pile of withered yellow leaves under the window. Ivy's body suddenly rushed into the pile of fallen leaves, startling a lot of scattered leaves.

"Paji!"

"what!"

Before Ivy could react, a huge heavy object hit her on the back.

The familiar smell of soapberry lingered at her nose. Ivy knew without turning around that the person pressing her down was Joshua, who had also been thrown down.

"Shh! Shh!"

Several adults who followed also jumped down. They landed on the ground like kung fu stars, and the way they jumped down was much gentler and more decent than that of Ivy and Joshua.

"Hide well and don't make any noise!"

Holmes quickly covered the two children with the surrounding leaves.

Ivy buried her head and closed her eyes. She could only hear the rustling sound of dead leaves and the noisy footsteps outside the bushes.

The footsteps come and go, refusing to stop.

After all this, the five miserable people could only hide behind a pile of fallen leaves, waiting for peace to come.

"I don't understand why I have to hide too." The Marquis said, looking at the waning moon in the sky.

"When we were discovered, Holmes used the name of the Marquis, and as a result, more armored soldiers with swords came and said they wanted to kill us," Jacob said in a deep voice.

"Aren't these armoured soldiers the more curious thing now?" said Holmes, as he sat back down.

"I have never seen so many castle soldiers. Does Her Majesty know about this?"

"More than just knowing it, he is a thorn in her side." The Marquis sighed.

"The Bruce family has always been wandering around the edge of London. They have continued the family tradition. Starting from Bruce's generation, they have been in charge of this land for a long, long time..."

"Isn't it just the old aristocracy that hasn't been completely eradicated?" Jacob rolled his eyes in disdain.

"But they are so strong that the town of Rye is not only thriving and well-off, but also retains the folk customs of the time when Queen Elizabeth was in office."

"The Tudor dynasty is a thorn in the tiger's foot. It hurts to look at it and it hurts to pull it out. Only by ignoring it can you relax for a moment."

"So Queen Victoria could only turn a blind eye and let everything go as long as it did not threaten the status of Buckingham Palace."

Not understanding, Ivy poked Holmes' shoulder and said seriously, "When we came here, Queen Elizabeth II had already passed away, and the king who succeeded to the throne now is an old bald man who likes to find mistresses."

"Which British king wasn't an old bald man who liked to have mistresses? It's just a Windsor tradition."

After saying that, Ivy and Holmes rolled their eyes together.

"We can't stay here forever, we have to find a way to get out."

Jacob looked outside cautiously. The castle's security was much stronger than before. Countless armored soldiers were patrolling, and all major exits were guarded.

"Maybe I know a place?"

Joshua, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke, attracting the attention of everyone present.

So, everyone crawled carefully in the bushes, trying not to make any noise. After a series of operations, they finally arrived behind the castle.

The security in the rear was not so strict. Jacob quietly opened the window on the castle wall and quickly climbed in on tiptoe.

He looked around cautiously, and only after making sure that there was no one around did he let the remaining four people come in one by one.

"There's a hidden stairwell on the next floor. Ivy and I came in from there. Um... that's right, we changed our clothes there..."

Joshua explained as he walked. Thinking of what happened a few hours ago, his cheeks suddenly turned red. No one spoke behind him, so he immediately lowered his head and stopped talking.

"Don't go there."

Suddenly, a voice unexpectedly rang in Joshua's ear, scaring him so much that all the hairs on his body stood up.

"who!"

Jacob immediately became alert, and not only him, but Ivy and the others also lightened their breathing, ready to suppress that voice at any time.

"Someone is waiting for you there."

There was that strange sound again.

Joshua carefully stuck to the wall and he could hear the source of the sound, which was just behind the corner of the wall.

He swallowed and slowly moved his feet forward. The corridor gradually widened, and Joshua first noticed the lifelike oil painting of the Virgin Mary on the wall.

"Go and take a look!" Holmes urged from behind.

Joshua gritted his teeth and rushed out with a determined heart, but immediately, his expression changed from horror to confusion, and even a little disbelief.

It didn't look dangerous, so Ivy and the others immediately followed Joshua around the corner.

Seeing the scene before them, everyone stopped immediately and fell silent.

In the middle of the wide corridor stood a little girl about seven or eight years old.

She was wearing a cotton nightgown that reached down to her ankles, and her face was as delicate and cute as a doll's.

Her hair was the same flaxen color as Joshua's, but hers was a little darker.

The fluffy curly hair fell to the little girl's waist and was styled smooth and fluffy.

It is noteworthy that one of her arms was in a cast. Similarly, her body was somewhat distorted, and one of her legs must have been bent and unable to stand upright.

Looking at the puzzled crowd, the little girl didn't seem afraid at all, and even looked well-behaved, as if she had known about their sudden arrival.

After a while, she finally smiled, her voice sweet:

"Nice to meet you. My name is Wendy Bruce, and I'm the only daughter of the Bruce family."