Chapter 317: Roselle Memorial Exhibition
West Borough, 2 King's Avenue, Royal Museum.
Although it wasn't a weekend, there was a long line at the door when
Klein arrived.
According to the descriptions in the newspapers and magazines, he knew
that the world's middle class had fewer ways of entertaining themselves.
Other than reading newspapers, reading novels, listening to opera
concerts, playing tennis and squash, enjoying plays, and holding or
attending banquets, there were only three options: going to a park,
going to an exhibition, and going on vacation. Due to Emperor Roselle's
influence, annual vacations were already common phenomena.
At nine o'clock sharp, Klein, who was wearing a silk top hat, a black
cane, and a long double-breasted frock coat, followed the people in
front of him and entered the museum.
There was a split here, and the different guides led a number of
visitors down different passages.
Klein and nearly twenty people followed a good-looking woman and
listened to her introduction of Roselle's life.
This was of zero value to Klein, who was half a historian, so he was so
bored that he began confirming the location of his wallet.
Since his wealth had soared to 952 pounds, just a step away from a
thousand pounds, his wallet could no longer hold so much cash, and he
could only carry some of it selectively. As for the rest, Klein didn't
feel at ease to just leave them at home without protection, so he threw
them all above the gray fog.
As they walked, they entered the first exhibition hall. The female guide
excitedly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, these are the daily necessities
of Emperor Roselle.
"Look, that's his velvet quilt, and that's the golden glassware he used
to drink his wine.
"That's the toilet he used, the first toilet in the modern sense."
Even a toilet he had used before is being exhibited? Klein
suddenly felt some sympathy for Roselle.
Then, he looked at the toilet with a flushing system behind the glass
wall and saw that it was shimmering with golden light. It seemed to have
a layer of gold foil on its surface, and it was engraved with an
exaggerated and artistic pattern.
How extravagant... Klein no longer sympathized with Roselle.
Separated from the toilet by only a glass layer was Roselle's everyday
clothing, including cuffs, a shirt with pleats at the collar, and so on.
It was obvious that the female guide was rather impressed by Intis's
dress culture.
After the Daily Necessities Exhibition Hall, there was a display of the
original versions of the important documents which Roselle had issued,
including the Civil Code and other extremely valuable historical relics.
At that moment, the female guide pointed at a display cabinet and said,
"This is one of the diaries left behind by Emperor Roselle. It uses his
self-created mysterious symbols that have yet to be deciphered to date.
Many historians and archaeologists believe that these notes contain the
least known secrets of Emperor Roselle.
"As a romantic, I have my own guesses. Perhaps these are the symbols he
had agreed upon with his most beloved woman. They wrote about each
other, but were never able to truly be together."
You're suited for writing novels... The corner of Klein's
mouth twitched. His eyes then turned to the notebook that was spread
open in the display cabinet. On it were the simplified Chinese he was
extremely familiar with.
"6th March. Dammit, I'm almost constipated from eating the food here!"
"17th March. Are the ladies of Intis so open? Did I hit on her, or did
she hit on me? I just find it odd."
"22nd March. It's time to choose a religion. On one side is the Church
of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and on the other is the Church of
Craftsmanship.
"My choice is without a doubt. Praise you, God of All Machinery!
"One day, I will make the Church of Craftsmanship change its name to the
Church of Machinery."
*...It's indeed very romantic... Romantic constipation... This should be
a diary entry written by Emperor Roselle in his early days. It's without
any valuable information... His handwriting is even uglier than
mine...* Klein looked away and tsked.
Of course, he only saw the two pages that were spread open. He didn't
know what else was on it.
*I wonder how the security measures here are. I wonder if there is a
chance of sneaking in and flipping through them...* Klein looked
around and saw that there were quite a few security personnel on the
surface.
*Perhaps there are Beyonders from the Church of the God of Steam and
Machinery...* he muttered under his breath and followed the
female guide as he blended in with the crowd. He entered the next
exhibition hall which was called "The Gentle Roselle."
"This is Emperor Roselle's first love letter. This is his first love
poem he created --- "When You Are Old."[Poem by William Butler Yeats.] The female guide looked at the
manuscript in the display cabinet with glimmering eyes.
Shameless! Yeats's coffin can't be held shut any longer! Klein
couldn't help but lampoon.
"This is a bracelet he made. This is the original manuscript of his
novel..." The female guide introduced with a tone of extraordinary
adoration.
... Klein tried hard not to let his expression change.
Of course, he also believed that Emperor Roselle, who was an Artisan in
his Beyonder profession, was definitely very skilled in his
craftsmanship.
"This is the basic education textbook that he improved to educate his
children. Each word has its own corresponding picture... It was a little
game he had invented for his children, similar to Intis chess, but
somehow it didn't become popular... These are the toy blocks he
invented; these were also for his children..." the female guide said in
a gentle tone without even realizing it.
*Isn't this fucking Chinese Chess... Furthermore, Lego wants to collect
the licensing fees from you!* Klein could only smirk to hide his
other emotions.
With a single glance, he noticed that there was a woman over 1.7 meters
tall standing in front of this display cabinet.
The lady had chestnut hair that fell to her waist, and she had a
perfectly proportioned figure. She was neither fat nor thin.
She wore a yellow layered dress which had the vibes of a young girl, but
she wore a black, out-of-fashion bonnet, with a fishnet veil hanging
down and concealing her face.
She stood in front of the display cabinet and stared at the items inside
for a long time without leaving.
Even when Klein and the others followed the guide to the next exhibition
hall, she remained rooted to the spot.
After passing through a few more exhibition halls, the female guide
pointed ahead and said, "The next thing you will see is Emperor
Roselle's restored study.
"Of course, it's only a part of it."
As she spoke, Klein and the others entered the exhibition hall as the
area before them opened up.
It was almost like a library, lined with shelves which were two stories
high. There were ladders sitting beneath them and aisles between them
leading to a three-dimensional book park.
"You can imagine how the owner of this place had once climbed up and
down the ladder in search of the book that he wanted to read..." The
guide painted a vivid picture.
*No, Roselle would definitely send his servants to seek it out for him.
He wouldn't do it himself...* Klein silently refuted.
In the center of the row of bookshelves were desks, chairs, brass
lampstands, and the like. They were all protected under the cover of
glass and were blocked from making contact with the outside world.
With a single glance, Klein found a stack of manuscripts which were all
yellow in color.
The stack of manuscripts weren't spread out, so one could only see the
contents of the first page.
It was a drawing of a rectangular object with a detailed description:
"This is a portable, miniaturized application of the telegraph. Through
it, one can connect to the person holding the same item and receive and
exchange information. You can even converse with them directly.
"This requires better positioning. I think we can boldly cast our sights
to the sky. There are no obstructions in the sky, and it would allow for
better transmission of signals."
Emperor, you aren't even letting go of a cell phone... Klein
couldn't help but facepalm.
At that moment, the guide introduced the stack of manuscripts.
"...These record the wonderful ideas of Emperor Roselle. They record
inventions which he was unable to turn into reality in time. They record
the glory of what our human civilization is capable of!"
Klein didn't pay any attention to the flattery and instead casually
sized up the other things.
Suddenly, he noticed a bookmark in a hardcover book on the desk.
The exposed part of the bookmark depicted a drawing which was randomly
drawn by a child.
Emperor Roselle isn't good at drawing... Just as Klein was
mocking inwardly, he suddenly thought of something---Roselle had once
disguised a Card of Blasphemy as a bookmark and placed it inside a
certain book!
Could it be this one? Klein carefully observed for a few
seconds, but he didn't find anything amiss.
*That's right. He had mentioned before that the Cards of Blasphemy
possess anti-divination and anti-prophecy characteristics. Under normal
circumstances, there's no way to discover their uniqueness... If it were
so easily recognized, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery would
have long taken it away...* Klein cast his gaze away and began
scrutinizing the other books. He discovered that many of them had a
bookmark in them, and all of these bookmarks were of different shapes.
He pondered for a moment, and using his Clown's ability to control his
facial muscles, he curiously asked, "Are these all books that Emperor
Roselle has read before?
"Sorry, I mean, are these the original books?"
The female guided nodded firmly.
"Yes, these are all the items from Emperor Roselle's study from back
then. They include, but are not limited to, books, manuscripts,
bookmarks, lampstands, ink bottles... But even more were destroyed
during the several conflicts."
Klein nodded slightly and studied the bookmarks again.
*Roselle had said in his diary that he was going to put the Card of
Blasphemy in a very valuable book so that no one would ever think that
the most valuable thing in that book was actually an obscure bookmark...
Well, which of these books are valuable?* Klein began
eliminating books as he recalled the details written in the diary.
"Glorious Era," doesn't look like it...
"The History of the Intis Kingdom," doesn't look like it...
*"Geography of the Northern Continent," this might be possible, but it
isn't very likely...*
*"The Improved Principles of Steam Machinery," just like
before...*
Klein scanned the books, one by one, when his eyes suddenly came to rest
on the first pile of manuscripts he saw.
They were recording objects from Earth objects which Roselle had wanted
to invent but lacked the conditions to do so.
There was also a bookmark in it, and on it, there was a depiction of
Roselle in royal Emperor clothes.