## Chapter 203: Homesickness
**London, Westminster, 4 Whitehall Street, Metropolitan Police Headquarters.**
Arthur sat in his office chair, a white porcelain teacup in his hand, taking a sip of tea.
The warm tea slid down his throat, finally merging with his burning heart, igniting his body that had lost its temperature due to the cold weather.
Arthur looked out at the relentless drizzle outside, reaching out to wipe away the misty haze on the window.
The streets of Whitehall were bustling with traffic outside, even on the sidewalks, there were numerous officials from various departments rushing about with files tucked under their arms, braving the heavy rain.
Seeing their comical appearance, Arthur couldn’t help but sigh, “I thought only someone like me needed to move around after the Whigs came to power. Now it seems most people think the same way as me.”
The Red Devil, leaning against the window, wearing glasses and knitting a sweater to pass the time, just shook his head with a chuckle, “People can sometimes control their own destiny. If we are subject to others, dear Brutus, the fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
Arthur snapped his fingers at these words, “From Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2.”
Agareus, tapping his feet, spoke up, “Arthur, I’m not discussing opera with you. You understand what I mean, you don’t have to go through so much trouble. Solving Rowan isn’t that difficult, especially for you. This time you just got lucky, what were you going to do if Brougham didn’t become Lord Chancellor?”
“Didn’t become?” Arthur leaned back in his chair, “If he didn’t become, I’d just be out of a job, that’s all. Didn’t I tell you? You’ve given me too many ways to make money, a Scotland Yard Inspector is nothing to be nostalgic about, really.
I stayed in this cesspool before because I had to eat. Later I stayed because I felt some people needed to rely on me. Then, it was because the shit from the cesspool splashed all over my face, if I didn’t give some response, I’d be merging with the cesspool.
But you say I got to where I am today by pure luck, and I don’t deny it. But you might not know, an elder in my hometown said, a person’s life, it’s not just about individual effort, sometimes you have to consider the course of history.”
Agareus couldn’t help but mock, “Arthur, you should be thankful humans don’t have tails, otherwise your tail would be wagging now.”
Arthur always accepted the challenge from Agareus, he nodded in agreement, “I’m also disappointed that it wasn’t Beelzebub who made a pact with me, if it was Beelzebub, he wouldn’t have watched me fall into the cesspool.”
“That’s right.” Agareus rarely agreed with Arthur, “If it was Beelzebub, he’d probably eat the cesspool clean before you fell in.”
As soon as Agareus finished speaking, a clap of thunder boomed outside the window, with a deafening roar, the Red Devil shuddered in fright, and actually fell out the window.
Arthur sat by the window and waited for a while, only then did he see a long, thin, black-nailed skeletal hand extend from the edge of the windowsill. The Red Devil stuck out half his head, crawling back into the room, cursing, “Damn it, scared the hell out of me, I thought Beelzebub had really heard me.”
Arthur just nestled in his chair, calmly repeating what the Red Devil had said, “People can sometimes control their own destiny. If we are subject to others, dear Agareus, the fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
“Arthur!” The Red Devil’s head was smoking, one eye suddenly widened, almost pushing Arthur and his chair out of the office, “Stop your damn sarcasm!”
Arthur sat by the door, frowning at the teacup in his hand, displeased, “Agareus, next time be more careful, you almost spilled my tea. You know, this tea is very expensive.”
The Red Devil, with a wet head, climbed back in through the window. He glared at Arthur, while lifting the lid of the teapot and pouring the tea straight into his mouth.
He chewed the tea leaves, spitting foam, “What the hell kind of tea, I can’t tell the difference!”
Arthur shook his head helplessly seeing him so carelessly ruining things, “Maybe. But our new Prime Minister, Earl Grey, loves to drink this tea, and even gave it a name, ‘Earl Grey Tea’. It’s the best-selling tea in London tea shops now, I can’t even buy it normally.”
Agareus raised an eyebrow, “Can’t buy it? Where did you get this then?”
Arthur got up and went to the cabinet in the office, took out the tea can, unscrewed the lid, and pointed it at Agareus.
The Red Devil glanced at it, only to see a letter hidden behind the lid, signed – Bladen Jones.
Agareus saw the name and immediately broke into a smile, rubbing his hands, he chuckled, “Oh! My dear Arthur, you finally learned to do this. Social graces, accepting some ordinary gifts, maintaining daily interaction between superiors and subordinates, a little insignificant gesture?”
Arthur shook his head, “Actually, I don’t usually take these things. But Jones chose to send tea this time, the act gave me a strange sense of familiarity, and brought back an unpleasant memory. Maybe that’s why you find the tea ordinary, but I taste a hint of memory in it.”
“Hint of memory?” Agareus didn’t know what kind of seizure this kid was having today, he asked, “Are you crazy again? You were still rolling around in the pigsty in the countryside of York when you were a kid, you’d be better off drinking two pounds of mud, how could you drink this high-end tea?”
Arthur wasn’t angry at his mockery, he just said, “Agareus, I know you have good taste in art. I even wrote a little poem about this, are you interested in hearing it?”
“Oh! My dear Arthur. You’ve become confident since you got the gold medal at Cambridge? You’ve started writing poetry?”
The Red Devil grinned, “But you better not flatter me, you think I’m that brainless, arrogant Vice-Regent of Heaven – Lucifer Morningstar? Just flatter me a couple of times, and I’ll be happy to forgive you?”
Arthur looked regretful, “It’s a shame, I thought you were the only one worthy of appreciating it.”
Agareus picked up the knitting needle, sat on the windowsill with his legs crossed, “Let’s hear it.”
Arthur smiled slightly, cleared his throat, and looked out at the heavy rain, sighing.
“When I was a child,
Homesickness was a small can of tea leaves,
I’m on this side,
The leader is on the other side.
When I grew up,
Homesickness is still a damn can of tea leaves,
Jones is on this side,
I’m on the other side.”
As soon as Arthur finished speaking, there was a knock on the door of the office.
A nervous, distorted voice rang out outside the door, “Report!”
Arthur squinted at Agareus and asked, “Which side is it coming from?”
The Red Devil raised his crimson eyes, glowing red, and glanced at the door, “This side.”
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, he sat back in his chair and said loudly, “Come in.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the door to the office was pushed open. Standing outside the door was Bladen Jones, the officer in charge of the Whitechapel Police District in the Tower Hamlets area, who was soaked like a drowned chicken.
Jones was full of anxiety, his slightly trembling hand still held the document about Arthur’s transfer out of Scotland Yard.
Although he had rehearsed countless times in his mind what to say to Arthur when they met, when his eyes met Arthur’s, he couldn’t help but be frightened and his mind went blank.
The beating he received a few months ago was still vivid in his mind, although things had been calm lately, Arthur hadn’t troubled him anymore.
But Jones’ heart was always empty, it was scarier than Arthur reprimanding him in person, like someone was constantly putting a noose around his head, but he could never guess when the execution would be.
Jones’ lips were white, his body trembled for a while, before finally mustering the courage to speak, “Sir, don’t worry. I’m here in Whitechapel, as long as Ms. Fiona and the others follow what you said, they won’t touch any major crimes that have a significant social impact, I can guarantee they won’t be in trouble. Besides, I believe that with your ability, even if you’re transferred this time, you’ll be back in no time. I… no, everyone, we all have faith in you.”
Arthur heard this, just smiled and stretched out his hand, “Don’t be nervous, Jones, have a seat. I’ve never left, what’s there to come back to? Speaking of which, how’s the investigation I asked you to do going?”
Jones took heavy steps towards Arthur and sat down. He trembled as he took a document from the cloth bag he was carrying and handed it over.
“This is the information Fiona and the others got after following Norton, and because time is tight, there are many things we haven’t figured out yet. But if you’re not in a hurry, there will be supplements coming in later. Norton and Mrs. Norton’s address, as well as their recent travel itinerary, what they’ve been doing, are all written on it.”
(End of Chapter)