Chapter 98 The New Master of Riddle House

Riddle House is located on the hillside of Little Hangleton, from where you can see the whole town. Although it is called a town, it is actually no different from the countryside. Modern technology does not seem to have spread to this remote town. It still looks the same as it did decades ago, except that occasionally there is a dilapidated truck driving on the muddy road.

In addition to Riddle House, the oldest things in the town are the Hanged Man Tavern in the town and a cemetery not far away.

Four or five miles further away is Great Hangleton County, which is Cyrus's real destination this time - Gaunt's House. But before going to the old house, Cyrus plans to find a place to stay first.

"Hello, sir."

When Cyrus got off a dilapidated car, an old man seemed to have been waiting here for a long time. He had gray hair, a hunched body, and a lame leg. When he spoke, his voice was trembling.

Not far away, the men and women who were originally going to do farm work stopped and looked at the old man in astonishment, as if he was a ghost who came out of nowhere.

"Frank Bryce?" Cyrus held the gentleman's cane in one hand, the suit jacket hung on his arm, and lifted his hat with the other hand, looking at the old man in front of him.

"It's me, sir..." Frank said tremblingly. He probably wanted to reach out to help Cyrus, but after noticing that Cyrus was wearing an unusually expensive suit, he immediately retracted his hand in fear.

"I think you should have heard that I bought the Riddle House. The government should have notified you." Cyrus didn't pay attention to the road here, and his shiny leather shoes stepped on the soil.

"Yes, sir, yes." Frank nodded hurriedly, and his heart was filled with confusion again. He has been working as a gardener in the Riddle House for fifty years. Now, even the owner of the mansion has died strangely for fifty years, and he still lives honestly in the broken shed in the garden of the mansion.

Now, the mansion has a new owner, and he doesn't know what fate he will face next.

He has not been able to get rid of the suspicion of the strange death of the Riddle family. Will this gentleman continue to employ him? Even if this is put aside, he is very old.

If he is fired, where can he go?

Under the gaze of the people in the town, Cyrus followed Frank to the mansion on the hillside in the distance. Unlike London, the weather here is very clear, and the Riddle Mansion covered with vegetation looks green from a distance.

But when you get closer, you can find that the mansion is completely dilapidated.

The weeds that grow wantonly emerge from every crack, and the creepers on the walls have also invaded the house. The glass of the mansion is broken, and the wooden doors and beams have been in disrepair for a long time, covered with mold, and some have been eaten by insects and ants.

He doubts how long this mansion can last without collapsing.

"Sir, I..." Cyrus gave him a gesture, indicating that he didn't need to say anything more. Frank had no choice but to close his mouth in confusion, and it was unknown what kind of emotions were hidden under his old face.

Perhaps, he was thinking that it would be easier to die like this.

For decades, he had been staying in this small mansion. For him, time had long been stagnant. If he left here, he would be just a person abandoned by the times, with no room for survival.

He sighed, his loose and stiff face moved, and finally decided to say something. But as soon as he raised his head, his cloudy eyes saw that the gentleman actually picked up a delicate little wooden stick.

Then, the stubborn weeds disappeared, the overgrown creepers became obedient, the broken glass and some other things were repaired in front of Frank's eyes like a miracle, and the collapsed sculptures seemed to come alive, jumped up briskly, and posed a beautiful pose.

It was as if the time on them had been reversed, and in the blink of an eye they had returned to their brand new appearance fifty years ago.

The messy yard suddenly became clean and looked much more spacious. The fountains and pools that had been blocked and abandoned in the courtyard also came alive, and the clear water sparkled in the sun.

Frank thought he was dreaming, and rubbed his eyes hard with his fingers that were rougher than dry branches.

"Sir, this..."

He was full of doubts, but before he asked, Cyrus had already pointed the wand at him.

"Oblivion is empty."

The picture in Frank's mind suddenly seemed to be cut off, and then spliced ​​with other messy pictures. Suddenly, in his memory, Cyrus waving the wand had completely disappeared, replaced by a group of unclear maintenance workers constantly repairing the manor.

"Frank Bryce!"

Old Frank was called back from those false memories by Cyrus's shouting. When he came to his senses, he found that he was no longer standing in the manor, but sitting on a beautiful chair. And the gentleman was sitting opposite him.

He suddenly became panic-stricken and hurriedly tried to stand up to avoid being annoying.

"Please sit down, Bryce, no need to be so reserved." Cyrus comforted him and reached out to push him back into the chair. The old man seemed uneasy and looked around the room in panic.

Although he has been a gardener here for more than 50 years, he rarely enters the mansion. Except for cleaning and repairing the windows smashed by the children in the town, he hardly dares to set foot inside the house.

Even so, he clearly remembers all the furnishings and positions in the house, but now everything has changed. The new owner of this mansion has obviously made great changes to it.

Now the whole mansion looks very delicate and not so dim. The sunlight shines in from the huge French windows, giving it a reborn vitality.

"Bryce, I heard that you have been here for so many years. I think you can continue to live here in the future." Cyrus said generously.

"Sir, are you serious?" Old Frank almost cried, his eyes were filled with tears, and if he hadn't been sitting on a chair, he might have immediately knelt down in front of Cyrus.

But even so, he still said:

"Sir, you are a good man, willing to take in an old useless person like me, but you may not have heard some rumors..."

"You mean you were once considered the murderer of the Riddle family?"

"Sir, since you know, why?"

"I think people need to have a certain degree of recognition of unfounded rumors." Cyrus naturally knew the truth. The person who killed the Riddle family had nothing to do with this poor old man. "Since the police have no evidence to arrest you, and you have been so diligent for so many years, I believe you can't be the murderer."

Old Frank probably didn't experience such firm trust, and he wanted to die for Cyrus immediately. But an old man like him couldn't help Cyrus at all.

Cyrus just felt sorry for him, so he kept him.

"I won't stay here often, so there still needs to be someone to take care of it. In addition-" Cyrus stood up and slowly walked to the door of the mansion.

At this time, old Frank saw a huge python coming out from nowhere. He trembled all over. Just when he wanted to warn loudly, he saw the python obediently sticking to Cyrus' feet, with its flat head rubbing against his trouser legs, like a puppy.

Cyrus reached out and gently stroked the giant python, as if greeting an old friend.

"Also, Bryce, if there are other 'guests' here, you should leave first. There is an old house in the town for you to stay in. Don't disturb them." After saying that, Cyrus left with the python regardless of any reaction or questions from Frank Bryce.

"Sir!"

Bryce shouted:

"What should I call you?"

"You can call me Cyrus, or, if you like, you can continue to call me Riddle."

Old Frank stood there blankly, the bright sunshine hitting him, and for some reason, he felt a chill.

People said that he was like a ghost guarding the Riddle House, guarding the terrible and strange murder story, but today, he seemed to have really seen a ghost of the Riddle family.

Now that he thinks about it, this gentleman does look familiar.

He remembered that he seemed to have seen a handsome boy like him one night.