Chapter 1 Snowfall

It was snowing.

The good weather hadn't lasted long at all, it seemed, before another snowfall descended upon Frost. Starting in the morning, gloomy clouds, like blocks of lead, had pressed down upon the city-state, and the chaotic, cold wind blew ceaselessly through the streets. As the time approached noon, snowflakes began to fall in a flurry, enveloping the entire city-state in a hazy, fluttering curtain, from the upper districts to the lower, from every tall tower to every humble alley.

The sudden snowfall brought a noticeable quiet to the streets.

The screech of steam brakes shattered the tranquility of the snow-covered streets. A dark gray vehicle came to a halt in front of the City Hall. Agatha, clad in black, emerged from the car and walked towards the grand and solemn building before her, its facade dominated by light gray tones.

She looked up at the towering main building of the City Hall—this classical structure, inherited from the era of kings, still possessed the imposing air of a bygone age. Its soaring columns, arches, and undulating roofline were impressive at any time. Although its name had changed from "Winter Throne" to the current "City Hall," its position in the city-state had never changed.

It still symbolized one of the "bipolar authorities" in the city-state, jointly sheltering the City of Boiling Gold along with the remotely situated Great Cathedral of Silence. Buildings were history books piled up with stones, and the power and figures that flowed and changed within them were merely lines of text recorded in the pages. Whether it was the Queen's era or the current system of consuls, they would eventually become a record turned over in the history books…

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

She knew she had drifted off again, indulging in sentiments like a melancholic poet—she had been like this lately, unable to help but let her mind wander and feel inexplicably uneasy.

This was not a good sign. As the Gatekeeper of the city-state, her mental state had to be kept under strict control, and "drifting off" was a situation 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 already walking towards her.

"Ms. Agatha," the young man, who served as the consul's assistant, said as he reached Agatha, bowing respectfully, "The consul is aware of your visit. He awaits you in the Dome Office."

"Spare me the formalities," Agatha nodded. "Lead the way."

At the top of the City Hall, in a large office with a circular dome, Winston, the current consul of the Frost city-state, sat 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; 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 an exquisite brass mechanism on his desk.

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

"I didn't expect that you would 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 busy."

"This is not just a mechanical model; it's the next generation of minecart traction mechanism—it saves thirty percent of power and is more reliable and durable than the previous generation," Consul Winston said, looking up with a serious expression. "The city-state is facing one trouble after another, but we can't just stop living and developing because of that."

Agatha remained noncommittal.

Consul Winston was obsessed with machinery and engineering technology. During his twelve years as consul, he had focused most of his energy on supporting and promoting engineering design and machinery manufacturing plants. The consul had ambitious ideas, seemingly hoping to solve the current predicament of the city-state through technological breakthroughs—including upgrading old facilities and seeking new economic drivers.

But how to put it…

One could only say that the ideas were good, the confidence was high, and the efforts were considerable—but the reality was full of difficulties. "Technological advancements allow us to complete the renovation of mining facilities at an acceptable cost, and more practical new machines can also be exported to other city-states—Frost cannot rely solely on selling boiling gold forever," Winston noticed the Gatekeeper's lukewarm reaction and couldn't help but say a few more words. "The boiling gold mine is the foundation of Frost's survival, but a 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 forgot," Winston raised his hand, putting the mechanical model on the desk aside as he looked up at Agatha. "Then let's get down to business, Ms. Agatha. You seem to have something to say about the exploration of the Second Aqueduct?"

"The exploration team found traces of modifications in a portion of the pipe branches at the bottom of the central second district's connecting shaft, the Boiling Gold Mine, but the gate leading to the next connecting section was blocked—I ordered the exploration team to use violent means to destroy the obstacles in the Second Aqueduct, but my people reported that they saw the City Hall's lead seal and plaque on the gate."

"…The City Hall's lead seal and plaque?" Winston was visibly stunned, his surprised expression seeming genuine. "Are you sure?"

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

"That's the Second Aqueduct, abandoned for half a century—the last time it was put into use was during the era when the Frost Queen ruled the city-state!" Winston raised his hands, his expression a little exaggerated. "Even if there is something left by the City Hall—Ms. Agatha, do you think I secretly sealed that gate? What's the point of that? Storing treasures deep underground?"

"…You indeed have no reason to do so," Agatha nodded slightly. "If you really wanted to store some treasure, 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 things," Winston waved his hand, but his expression had become serious. "Doesn't the plaque have things like dates and the names of responsible parties? Proper plaques should have such things; you should be able to easily determine who locked the gate based on that."

"Unfortunately, all the writing is too damaged to read clearly. The plaque and lead seal have suffered considerable corrosion. In fact, even the gate itself is extremely fragile—we suspect that the acidic environment of the strata near the mine has caused accelerated aging of the metal," Agatha shook her head. "We can only be certain that the gate was indeed locked by the City Hall—the Queen's era would not have had that kind of lead seal format."

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

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

"It's also possible that early chaos led to the loss or damage of some information," Winston waved his hand. "But no matter what, it's very abnormal that there is an area sealed off by the City Hall deep underground in the central area of the city, and that this area is part of the Second Aqueduct… Ms. Agatha, this matter must be investigated thoroughly."

"Of course, that is my duty," Agatha nodded, her expression relaxing a little. "Although I didn't get the answer I wanted, getting your support is just as good—the exploration will continue, and I will figure out what's behind that door as soon as possible. The church will communicate with the City Hall in a timely manner regarding any new developments."

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

"Then I won't disturb you any longer,"

Agatha said, "There are still many things in the Second Aqueduct that I need to supervise personally."

She politely bid farewell to the consul, then turned and left the Dome Office.

The Gatekeeper's figure disappeared from the room, leaving only the sound of her cane and heels tapping on the ground gradually fading away. Winston let out a soft breath after a long time, then frowned slightly with a hint of confusion.

"…Ms. Agatha didn't say 'Gray Wind, make haste' today…" The slightly overweight middle-aged consul looked up at the direction Agatha had left, muttering softly, "So she can walk in and out of the door normally after all?"