Chapter 28: The Domineering Nightingale Loves Me!

Supported by the maid Liya, Weiluoya stepped onto her family’s luxurious carriage that could be called a mobile work of art.

Don’t think that just because the word “horse” is in the name, it’s actually a horse.

Those were four gleaming brass mechanical creations, called “Steam Horses” by the city dwellers.

They had the outline of fine steeds, their bodies composed of countless precisely interlocking gears and shiny metal plates.

Their limbs were complex piston-and-rod structures, and embedded in their eye sockets were sapphire-blue crystals that pulsed with the rhythm of their internal steam cores.

Weiluoya felt this world’s tech tree was skewed.

Even though technological development was no less than the world she had died in, people still immersed themselves in gold, gems, and gears.

Liya opened the carriage door for her. Weiluoya lifted her skirt and bent slightly.

Her fingers had just touched the brass handle.

Click.

A soft sound.

The handle dented inward under her fingertips.

Weiluoya paused. She looked at the dent, then at Liya standing beside her with an expressionless face.

She extended two fingers, pinched the edge of the handle, and gently pulled outward.

Creak—

The handle came out, even more protruding than the original curve.

Liya silently looked at Weiluoya.

Understanding, Weiluoya pinched the handle and pressed it back in.

Hmm, that was about right now.

“Miss, this carriage was custom-made by the most famous artisan master in the city, using the finest materials.”

Liya reminded softly.

“I know.”

Weiluoya sat into the compartment.

“But it’s not very sturdy.”

Liya sighed, closed the door, and sat down in the seat opposite.

With a hiss of high-pressure steam releasing, the four Steam Horses took synchronized steps. The wheels rolled over the smooth stone road, barely any bumps felt.

Weiluoya leaned back against the soft velvet cushion and looked out the window. The buildings on both sides of the street were primarily white marble, but on the eaves, window frames, and colonnades, large amounts of gleaming brass and crystal decorations were inlaid.

Countless thin pipes wound like vines around the buildings, and metal capsules occasionally shot through them at high speed—that was the city’s pneumatic postal system.

Above, more complex brass tracks crisscrossed, with small steam airships and private cable cars traveling back and forth along them.

The pedestrians on the streets were dressed splendidly; the gentlemen’s top hats had rotating gears embedded in them, and the edges of the ladies’ parasols were adorned with glowing gems.

This was a luxurious city made of steam and jewelry. A city built on wealth and fantasy.

Weiluoya had no interest in the scenery she’d seen countless times.

She pulled a novel from her small bag and began to read with great interest.

Yes, she had always loved reading.

The book was called The Nightingale Lady and My Thirteen Positions.

?

Holding the book, Weiluoya looked bewildered. She didn’t remember buying this book.

But since the title involved a nightingale, Weiluoya still intended to open the cover and find out.

Just then, a gloved hand reached over with lightning speed.

Liya’s expression remained calm and unruffled.

The novel vanished behind her in an instant, and in its place, a new book with a completely different cover fell onto Weiluoya’s lap.

The Domineering Nightingale Loves Me.

⊙_⊙

She looked up at Liya sitting opposite.

“Liya… did you take the wrong book again?”

Liya came back to her senses and looked at the title in her young lady’s hand.

Weiluoya watched as her maid’s cheeks flushed a thin red at a visible speed, spreading from the roots of her ears to her neck.

“Sorry, Miss. That was placed wrong by someone else. This is your book.”

She quickly reached out, confiscated The Domineering Nightingale Loves Me again, and deftly replaced it with a new one.

Shadow of the Fog City.

Subtitle: The Great Detective Herbert and the Vanishing Gear Chamber.

😀

Well, at this point, let’s just read.