Chapter 45.1
“They said she left the castle alone without telling the knights. I don’t know the reason. She must have gone into the forest by mistake and met a wild beast…” Alex began. “When the Grand Duke’s knights found out that she had disappeared, they searched for her, but by the time they found her, it was already too late.”
When Alex finds an opening, he skillfully solves the situation. He smoothly explained the story as if it was second knowledge. Father frowned and mother slightly shook her head.
“It is irresponsible to go out of the castle in an unknown territory without telling anyone,” mother said.
“Is the problem of wild animals that serious in Glouster Territory?” Father asked. Alex answered something and moved on to the Glouster estate. Because I only had the impression that it was a beautiful and prosperous territory, I kept my mouth shut and thought about the murder case that eventually came over to Teresa district.
As expected, a noble was killed, and the nobles, of course, responded by hiring bodyguards and increasing patrols. The first victim was a woman who had many lovers. In fact, she could have been killed by someone in her own house by one of her lovers. It could also have been done before her lover came or after he left. Anyway, at that time, not many servants would have returned yet. Her husband was at the social club, so he probably wouldn’t have returned until later.
A social club for noblemen is just a name, but it’s a place where they can drink, gamble, talk about vulgar things to their heart’s content, and sometimes meet high-class prostitutes. In other words, his wife was cheating on him, and her husband was cheating on her too.
It wouldn’t have been difficult to figure out the two’s schedules. With a little caution and a little bit of money, one could easily figure out when to attack the wife by getting information from the servants. So, now that the killing of the first noble was successful, who would be the next? How will the underground district react? Did that person hear of this? He should be still in the territory. My thoughts suddenly shifted to the last meeting with that person at the Glouster estate…
*
“The Lord asks you to drop by for a moment.” At Archer’s words, I frowned and followed behind. I was in the middle of packing. I will be leaving soon. Finally, I would be able to escape from that man’s grasp! There were some interesting things during my stay, but I didn’t want to run into the princess and I also wanted to separate her from Aaron. I also wanted to get away from that man.
However, it was courtesy to bid goodbye before departure. I should also check the condition of his body.
I entered a room that looked like a study. There was a large desk, a decorative cabinet, and a huge bookshelf. I looked at the bookshelf with astonishment for a moment. Of course, books have become quite common thanks to the invention of paper and printing equipment, but they were still more of a luxury that only nobles and people who are very interested in professional knowledge can afford and read. Even among the nobles, many who had no interest in books at all.
But this place was full with all kinds of books, white papers made of expensive parchment or high-quality fabrics, wooden boards that were now rarely used by anyone. Of course, there were also a lot of paper books that came out recently. There are many books in Wishburn Castle, but it was not grand compared to this. Most of them were collected by father or older brothers. The older materials were only records related to the castle.
“The dukes of Glouster have always loved books. Because books are history. It seems that no matter who got the title of the duke, they steadily continued this collection.” The grand duke approached me. I closed my mouth and turned my gaze to him.
“You’ve always liked books, haven’t you?” he said.
My mind wandered. When he made an appointment with me, I remembered that he was usually reading a book as he waited. There were several times when I was late, all because I was watching him read from afar.
He wasn’t the type to be engrossed in a book. In the middle of reading, he would lift his head, look around and study people. Some would call it lack of concentration, but no, he was being vigilant. Judging by the past few days, that attitude hasn’t seemed to have changed at all. Even when standing and talking with people, he always carefully checked his surroundings without the other person noticing.
“Books are always interesting. You can learn a lot of new things. I’m glad I have enough money to buy books to my heart’s content.” He looked down at me and smiled.
I looked at him and asked, “Assassins, have they been here a lot?”
His gray eyes suddenly became cold. But those eyes quickly disappeared, and a short sigh flowed out. “Did Archer tell you?”
“Why don’t you really hand him over to me? There is no one who is that loyal.” He smiled but didn’t answer. Well, I didn’t expect a positive answer either.
“Don’t underestimate me. Because I can easily recognize signs of that extent.”
Chapter 45.1
“They said she left the castle alone without telling the knights. I don’t know the reason. She must have gone into the forest by mistake and met a wild beast…” Alex began. “When the Grand Duke’s knights found out that she had disappeared, they searched for her, but by the time they found her, it was already too late.”
When Alex finds an opening, he skillfully solves the situation. He smoothly explained the story as if it was second knowledge. Father frowned and mother slightly shook her head.
“It is irresponsible to go out of the castle in an unknown territory without telling anyone,” mother said.
“Is the problem of wild animals that serious in Glouster Territory?” Father asked. Alex answered something and moved on to the Glouster estate. Because I only had the impression that it was a beautiful and prosperous territory, I kept my mouth shut and thought about the murder case that eventually came over to Teresa district.
As expected, a noble was killed, and the nobles, of course, responded by hiring bodyguards and increasing patrols. The first victim was a woman who had many lovers. In fact, she could have been killed by someone in her own house by one of her lovers. It could also have been done before her lover came or after he left. Anyway, at that time, not many servants would have returned yet. Her husband was at the social club, so he probably wouldn’t have returned until later.
A social club for noblemen is just a name, but it’s a place where they can drink, gamble, talk about vulgar things to their heart’s content, and sometimes meet high-class prostitutes. In other words, his wife was cheating on him, and her husband was cheating on her too.
It wouldn’t have been difficult to figure out the two’s schedules. With a little caution and a little bit of money, one could easily figure out when to attack the wife by getting information from the servants. So, now that the killing of the first noble was successful, who would be the next? How will the underground district react? Did that person hear of this? He should be still in the territory. My thoughts suddenly shifted to the last meeting with that person at the Glouster estate…
*
“The Lord asks you to drop by for a moment.” At Archer’s words, I frowned and followed behind. I was in the middle of packing. I will be leaving soon. Finally, I would be able to escape from that man’s grasp! There were some interesting things during my stay, but I didn’t want to run into the princess and I also wanted to separate her from Aaron. I also wanted to get away from that man.
However, it was courtesy to bid goodbye before departure. I should also check the condition of his body.
I entered a room that looked like a study. There was a large desk, a decorative cabinet, and a huge bookshelf. I looked at the bookshelf with astonishment for a moment. Of course, books have become quite common thanks to the invention of paper and printing equipment, but they were still more of a luxury that only nobles and people who are very interested in professional knowledge can afford and read. Even among the nobles, many who had no interest in books at all.
But this place was full with all kinds of books, white papers made of expensive parchment or high-quality fabrics, wooden boards that were now rarely used by anyone. Of course, there were also a lot of paper books that came out recently. There are many books in Wishburn Castle, but it was not grand compared to this. Most of them were collected by father or older brothers. The older materials were only records related to the castle.
“The dukes of Glouster have always loved books. Because books are history. It seems that no matter who got the title of the duke, they steadily continued this collection.” The grand duke approached me. I closed my mouth and turned my gaze to him.
“You’ve always liked books, haven’t you?” he said.
My mind wandered. When he made an appointment with me, I remembered that he was usually reading a book as he waited. There were several times when I was late, all because I was watching him read from afar.
He wasn’t the type to be engrossed in a book. In the middle of reading, he would lift his head, look around and study people. Some would call it lack of concentration, but no, he was being vigilant. Judging by the past few days, that attitude hasn’t seemed to have changed at all. Even when standing and talking with people, he always carefully checked his surroundings without the other person noticing.
“Books are always interesting. You can learn a lot of new things. I’m glad I have enough money to buy books to my heart’s content.” He looked down at me and smiled.
I looked at him and asked, “Assassins, have they been here a lot?”
His gray eyes suddenly became cold. But those eyes quickly disappeared, and a short sigh flowed out. “Did Archer tell you?”
“Why don’t you really hand him over to me? There is no one who is that loyal.” He smiled but didn’t answer. Well, I didn’t expect a positive answer either.
“Don’t underestimate me. Because I can easily recognize signs of that extent.”
