latelenovela Chapter 251: Melodi Family Birthday Party (Part 1)
Chapter 251: Melodi Family Birthday Party (Part 1)
"A birthday party? The Melody family's?"
On the way home from school, Sonoko and Xiaolan talked about this matter that had been widely circulated in the upper class circles. The head of the Melodi family seemed to be holding his own birthday party and had invited many celebrities.
"But this kind of thing has nothing to do with us." Xiaolan said helplessly as she walked.
Sonoko said nonchalantly, "Hey, since they're inviting celebrities, maybe your father will get an invitation too. This time, our Suzuki Group received an invitation, you see."
Sonoko took out the black envelope with the Melodi family crest embossed in gold on it.
Conan pretended to be curious and asked, "Um, Sonoko-san, can you show me the invitation?"
Yuanzi smiled proudly: "Hehe, I knew you would be interested in this. Here, take it and have a look."
Conan first carefully observed the envelope. The emblem on it was indeed the snake-shaped family emblem of the Melodi family. The letter paper inside was also black, and the words on it were gold-plated.
"Dear Suzuki Group, thank you for your long-term cooperation."
"The Melodi family will host a birthday party for the current head of the family, Mr. Dexi Melodi, at the Melodi family's temporary residence next Saturday."
"Your consortium is specially invited to participate."
Xiaolan also turned her head to look: "Wow, a birthday party, how old is this master this year?"
Sonoko didn't know the answer to this question either: "I don't know, but that gentleman looks very young. But I already have Ah Zhen, so I don't need to worry about the twists and turns between these big families."
Conan pondered, "Why would the Melodi family hold a banquet at this time? It seems suspicious no matter how you look at it. But a banquet of this level, without an invitation, I'm afraid there's no way to get in. What should I do?"
After thinking for a long time, Conan decided to go to Delos Manor and ask the composer what was going on.
In the reception hall of Delos Manor, Conan looked at four almost identical invitations placed on the table and suddenly felt that the atmosphere was very heavy.
The novelist frowned and looked over his invitation letter again and again, trying to find some clues from it.
The composer standing by frowned, picking up and putting down the coffee cup in his hand. His invitation letter seemed to have been crumpled once, with many creases on it.
The explorer held his chin with his hands, staring blankly at the contents of his invitation letter. The entomologist sat with him, and their eyes met from time to time, as if they were communicating something across the air.
Conan tried to break the awkward atmosphere: "Um, Uncle Frederick, do you know what the hidden purpose behind the birthday party that the Melody family is going to hold this time?"
"See for yourself." The composer looked very angry and pushed his invitation directly in front of Conan.
Conan picked up the invitation and began to read it.
"The Honorable Mr. Frederick Kreiburg."
"Thank you for your strong support for the Melodi family's cause during this period. The Melodi family will always remember the great sacrifice you have made."
"The Melodi family will host a birthday party for the current head of the family, Mr. Dexi Melodi, at the Melodi family's temporary residence next Saturday."
"You are specially invited to participate. Unknown surprises are waiting for you."
The novelist spoke up: "Frederick, this really isn't some kind of Hongmen Feast, is it?"
The composer was a little annoyed: "I have no idea what that guy is up to. I'm really annoyed now."
The composer's invitation letter was indeed very special, as it mentioned "unknown surprises", while the invitation letters of the other three people looked very normal. The novelist was naturally invited as a well-known mystery and suspense novelist, and the prospector and entomologist were invited as a mining director and a well-known professor of zoology and botany, respectively.
"Isn't it strange?" the entomologist said. "If this birthday party was meant to connect with prominent figures, did the Melody family really need to make such a big fuss, and use such a lame excuse as a birthday party?"
The explorer continued the entomologist's words, "Unless this guy has other motives, who they are or how many people they are may not be the important point."
The novelist nodded. "So, this banquet might indeed be a conspiracy of the Melody family, right?"
The composer corrected the novelist's mistake: "It's not 'possible', it's 'definitely'. Desi Melodi, this cunning and venomous snake, must have ulterior motives for doing something so ostentatiously."
The entomologist's eyes, hidden beneath her veil, turned toward the novelist. "And this time, all four of us were invited. Is this a coincidence?"
The explorer seemed to have thought of something and suddenly looked up at everyone: "Could it be that the Melody family knows something?"
The entomologist was stunned for a moment: "Are you referring to the Delos family?"
The novelist was also stunned. He turned to look at the composer: "It can't be that you leaked the information."
The composer flatly denied it: "I never told anyone about what happened between us, but I did learn some special information from Melody."
Conan also became interested: "What's the news? Is it about the Melody family?"
The composer nodded. "Whether this news is true remains to be verified. I heard that the Melodi family has always had only one son in each generation. For hundreds of years, they have never had a second child, and even if they did, it was always an adopted son."
The explorer raised his eyebrows and said, "This seems to be just a coincidence?"
"No, no, the key point is what comes next," the composer continued. "Historically, a rival family has attempted to assassinate the heir of the Melodi family. But even if the assassination attempt was successful, the assassinated heir would still reappear in public view a few days later."
"Maybe it's a substitute cultivated in the family?" the entomologist speculated.
The composer nodded. "That's a possibility, but the strange thing is, if the current head of the family is assassinated and he doesn't have a body double to protect him, the Melodi family will directly announce that the heir will take over the position of head of the family."
"This is totally unreasonable. The heirs all have substitutes to protect them, but how could the head of the family not have one?" The explorer widened his eyes in disbelief.
"So, there's a rumor that the head of the Melodi family has always been the same person. He's an old monster who lived for hundreds of years. When his body reached sixty years old, he 'died,' and a young heir took over the position of head of the family."
"It's a cycle every sixty years. If there's an assassination attempt, it will happen earlier. It sounds like the beginning of a horror story." The entomologist pulled his veil uneasily.
Although Conan did not believe this statement at first, the incident at the Golden Rose Theater forced him to re-examine the technology possessed by the Oritis Organization.
Conan suddenly thought of something: "If the rumor Uncle Frederick told is true, then how long has the Oritis Organization existed? Hundreds of years?"
At first, Conan thought that for an underground organization like the Black Organization or the Orientis Organization, having a history of several decades was already very impressive. Now that this rumor has come out, the history of the Orientis Organization has suddenly been extended to hundreds of years, which is really unbelievable.