It was snowing.

The good weather didn't seem to last long at all before another snowfall visited Frost. Starting in the morning, gloomy clouds pressed down over the city-state like blocks of lead, and a disordered cold wind blew ceaselessly through the streets. As noon approached, snowflakes began to fall in a flurry, enveloping the entire city-state, from the upper districts to the lower ones, from every high tower to every humble alley, in a hazy, swirling snow.

The sudden snowfall quieted the streets considerably.

The sound of a steam car braking shattered the stillness of the snowy street. A dark gray car stopped in front of the City Hall. Agatha, clad in black, stepped out and walked towards the tall, solemn building with its predominantly light gray facade.

She looked up at the towering main building of the City Hall—this classical structure inherited from the era of royalty still possessed the majestic air of a bygone age. Its soaring pillars, archways, and undulating roofline exuded imposing grandeur, and though its name had changed from "Winter Court" to the current "City Hall," its status in the city-state had never wavered.

It still symbolized one of the "authoritarian bipolarities" of the city-state, jointly sheltering the City of Boiling Gold with the distantly opposing Silent Cathedral—buildings were history books constructed of stone, and the power and figures that flowed through them were merely lines of text in the pages. Whether it was the Queen's era or the current Consul system, both would inevitably become a past record turned over in the history books…

Agatha suddenly frowned, raising a hand to gently pinch the corner of her forehead.

She knew she was daydreaming again, and like a sentimental poet, many emotions sprang up—she had been like this these past two days, unable to stop herself from thinking about things for no reason, or just feeling inexplicably uneasy.

This was not a good sign. As the gatekeeper of the city-state, her mental state had to remain highly controlled. "Daydreaming" was something to be avoided as much as possible.

Footsteps came from the direction of the main entrance, interrupting Agatha's mental activity. She looked up and saw a senior secretary in a dark blue coat walking towards her.

"Ms. Agatha," the young man serving as the Consul's assistant approached Agatha and bowed respectfully. "The Consul is aware of your visit. He is waiting for you in the Dome Office."

"Saving the pleasantries is good," Agatha nodded. "Lead the way."

On the top floor of the City Hall, in a large office with a circular dome, Winston, the current Consul of the Frost City-State, was sitting behind a large, curved desk.

He was a tall man, slightly overweight, wearing a stylish bright blue coat adorned with medals and sashes. Perhaps managing a declining city-state was too draining, as his hair had thinned to a precarious state, forcing him to wear a curly wig to cover his scalp—when Agatha entered the Dome Office, the Consul was fiddling with a delicate brass mechanism placed on the desk.

The complex mechanical device looked like some kind of miniature model, its tightly meshed gears and linkage structure as exquisite as a work of art, and it emitted a crisp sound from time to time as Consul Winston manipulated it.

"I didn't expect you to have time to play with mechanical models amidst such busy government affairs," Agatha's voice came from in front of the desk. "I thought the situation in the city-state recently was enough to keep you extremely busy."

"This is not a mechanical model; it is the next generation of minecart traction mechanism—it saves thirty percent of the power and is more reliable and durable than the previous generation," Consul Winston looked up and said seriously. "The troubles of the city-state come one after another, but we can't stop living and developing because of this."

Agatha remained noncommittal.

Consul Winston was obsessed with mechanics and engineering. During his twelve years as Consul, he had devoted most of his energy to supporting and promoting engineering design institutes and mechanical manufacturing plants. The Consul had ambitious ideas, and he seemed to hope to solve the city-state's current predicament through technological breakthroughs—including upgrading old facilities and seeking new economic momentum.

But how should one put it…

It could only be said that the ideas were good, the confidence was high, and the efforts were numerous—but the reality was full of difficulties.

"Technological advances allow us to complete the renovation of mining facilities at an acceptable cost. More practical new machines can also be exported to other city-states—Frost cannot rely on selling Boiling Gold forever," Winston noticed the gatekeeper's lackluster reaction and couldn't help but say a few more words. "The Boiling Gold Mine is the foundation for Frost's survival, but the pillar formed by a single industry is too weak…"

"I am not an official in the economic or technical field," Agatha had to remind him tactfully.

"Oh, well, I overlooked that," Winston raised his hand, putting the mechanical model on the desk to the side as he looked up at Agatha. "Then let's talk about business, Ms. Agatha. You seem to have something to say about the exploration work on the Second Aqueduct?"

"The exploration team encountered trouble below the connecting shaft in Central Zone Two," Agatha said directly. "That passage is close to the bottom of the Boiling Gold Mine, and some of the pipeline branches show signs of being modified, but the gate leading to the next connecting section is blocked—the order I gave to the exploration team was that they could use violent means to destroy the obstacles in the Second Aqueduct, but my people reported that they saw the City Hall's lead seals and nameplates on the gate."

"...City Hall's lead seals and nameplates?" Winston was obviously stunned for a moment, and his surprised expression did not seem fake. "Are you sure?"

Agatha observed the expression on the Consul's face. After a long time, she said softly, "It seems you know nothing about this."

"That's the Second Aqueduct that has been abandoned for half a century—it was last put into use during the era when the Frost Queen ruled the city-state!" Winston raised his hands, his expression a little exaggerated. "Even if there are any lead seals and nameplates down there, they must have been left over from the Queen's era. How could there be anything left by the City Hall—Ms. Agatha, do you think I secretly locked that gate? What's the point of that? Storing treasures in the depths of the earth?"

"...You indeed have no reason to do so," Agatha nodded lightly. "If you really wanted to store any treasures, any place in the city-state would be more reliable than the out-of-control Second Aqueduct."

"I don't want to hear you seriously hypothesizing such a thing," Winston waved his hand, but his expression had become serious. "Isn't there anything like a date and the name of the person in charge on the nameplate? Regular nameplates should have such things. You should be able to easily determine who locked the door based on this."

"Unfortunately, all the words are illegible. The nameplate and lead seal have suffered considerable corrosion. In fact, even the gate is extremely fragile—we suspect that the acidic environment of the strata near the mine caused the accelerated aging of the metal," Agatha shook her head. "We can only determine that the door was indeed locked by the City Hall—the Queen's era would not have had that kind of specification and form of lead seal."

Winston stood up, the expression on his face slightly agitated. He paced back and forth behind the wide curved desk. After an unknown amount of time, he stopped and muttered, "If it was really left by the City Hall, it could only have been a long time ago—even possibly the first or second city government after the end of the Queen's era…"

"It seems your predecessors did not transfer all the information to their successors," Agatha said.

"It is also possible that the early chaos led to the loss or damage of some of the information," Winston waved his hand. "But in any case, it is very abnormal that there is an area in the depths of the city's central area that was ordered to be sealed off by the City Hall, and that this area is also part of the Second Aqueduct… Ms. Agatha, this matter must be investigated clearly."

"Of course, this is my duty," Agatha nodded, her expression relaxing a little. "Although I didn't get the answer I wanted, it's just as good to get your support—the exploration will continue, and I will find out what's behind that door as soon as possible. If there is any new progress, the Church will communicate with the City Hall in a timely manner."

"That's for the best," Winston nodded. The atmosphere in the Dome Office relaxed slightly.

"Then I won't bother you any longer," Agatha said. "There are still many things about the Second Aqueduct that need to be supervised by me personally."

She politely said goodbye to the Consul, then turned and left the Dome Office.

The gatekeeper's figure disappeared into the room, leaving only the sound of her cane and heels tapping on the ground gradually fading away. After a long time, Winston gently exhaled, then frowned with some doubt.

"…Ms. Agatha didn't use 'Grey Wind, hurry' today…" The slightly overweight middle-aged Consul raised his head, looking in the direction Agatha left, and muttered softly, "So she can also walk in and out of the door normally, huh?"