Chapter 95: Blackmail

There have been many times when Jonas wished to know of Inquisitor Fox's true identity. Even during this meeting, he had thoughts of tearing that mask and know about this man.

If Jonas knew his identity, then Inquisitor Fox would be forced to make a deal with him. He could even use his assistance to deal with some shady matters.

But never had he imagined that the Inquisitor Fox would reveal his face in such a manner. Moreover, his identity was that of Shun Gordon, the Golden Mayor!

Even though he was greatly curious about Inquisitor Fox's identity, he clenched his fists in frustration at this moment.

He looked at Shun Gordon's face, "You thought of a good scheme, Inquisitor Fox."

Shun spoke with a slight smile, "I have no idea what you mean."

Jonas spoke with a sneer, "You have intentionally revealed your identity to me. Meaning, you have already prepared for this situation. You are trying to trap me and blackmail me using this."

Shun did not deny Jonas's words. After all, it was the truth.

Shun's identity as an Inquisitor under the King was supposed to stay a secret for everyone except the King. But Shun had now revealed it on his own accord.

This meant, if Shun informed the King that Jonas had seen his face, the king would terminate him. However, this was what Jonas had thought before he knew Shun's identity.

Now that he knew Shun's true identity as the Golden Mayor, he knew there was no chance that King would kill such an exceptional man under his services. He wasn't stupid enough to do this.

Moreover, as long as Shun presented the situation a little favorable to himself then he would easily be able to use the King to punish Jonas.

Jonas didn't fear the King in frontal combat. But the thing was, the King didn't need to resort to it.

He just had to make his dissatisfaction towards the Rhodes Family known and other Noble Families would try to deal with the Rhodes Family in an attempt to appease the Royal Family. They might even receive a reward.

Thus, Jonas was utterly angry as he came to know Shun's identity. In fact, when he saw that smirk on Shun's face, he knew that this guy had already arranged for the situation.

If he killed him then the news would somehow reach the King's ears that it was Jonas who killed him.

The King had assigned such an important task to Shun and Jonas had actually killed him. There was no denying that King would punish him heavily for this.

"…Marquis Rhodes, please believe me when I say that I never wanted to use this scheme," Shun spoke with a serious look.

Jonas snorted in frustration as he saw Shun. He sarcastically said, "Yeah, right. You can also believe me when I say that I don't want to cut you into a thousand pieces."

Shun dryly laughed and spoke ahead, "You are well within your right to be angry at me. But remember that we have a common objective, Marquis Rhodes. I was also forced to use this approach or else, you won't give me the information I require. If we continue to waste more time, the demon might leave the Sinyalian Kingdom."

Jonas asked with a frown, "And how do I trust you? As far as I understand, I am in the palm of your hand at this moment."

"You shouldn't think of things from this perspective, Marquis Rhodes. If I wasn't sincere then I could have threatened you without even revealing my face." Shun spoke.

Jonas knew he was right. Shun could have indeed devised a plan to frame him and make him suffer disastrous losses.

"For now, please give me the information I require or I can just contact the King." Shun coldly threatened Jonas.

Jonas didn't like to be on the receiving end of blackmailing. Normally, he had been the one to blackmail others to do his bidding. But today, he felt as if the tables have turned.

Moreover, the one blackmailing him was even weaker than him.

It was frustrating when someone weaker would successfully blackmail you. It made Jonas feel as if he was extremely stupid to fall into this scheme.

He shouldn't have come to this location alone. Or maybe he should have activated the Video Recording Array Stone that would have recorded the entire incident.

But alas, there was no way to turn back time.

"Very well. Speak clearly, what do you want to know. I will tell you. However…" Jonas showered his killing intent at Shun, who continued to face him with a smile.

He added, "If you ever reveal this to my rivals, even I don't know what I will do with you. But living will no longer be a possibility for you."

Shun nodded his head. He didn't doubt Jonas's words. He was sure that even with the King's protection, Jonas would be able to kill him.

"I never had any intention to be your enemy, Marquis Rhodes. I highly respect you. But there was no other choice in this situation. Please allow me to be frank. I do not believe you can catch this demon. Not unless I personally assist you." Shun spoke with a solemn tone.

Before Jonas could even frown at those words, Shun added, "This involves your family in such a deep way that you ignore the clues in front of you. You need my assistance!"

Jonas retracted his killing intent and stared at Shun

Shun understood that this was a sign that Jonas was willing to hear him out. He nodded his head and spoke, "Thank you. Now, I need you to ask the servants in your Estate and gather all the information regarding Edwin. What was he doing when the Elf Princess was captured? And when was Tiana Rhodes last seen in your Mansion."

"Just these two questions. They don't concern the Rhodes Families' secret, I believe." Shun spoke with a confident look.

Jonas spoke, "There is a strong reason behind Edwin's change. And that is his bloodline."

"His bloodline?"

Jonas paused for a couple of seconds. He wasn't sure about revealing this information to anyone else, "…My son Edwin had low-class talent. No matter how hard he worked, the results were abysmal. I had even lost hope for him to succeed me and become the next Head of the Family. But nearly 2 months ago, Edwin unlocked the Celestial Bloodline in his body. His cultivation skyrocketed and he has reached the peak of the 4 Star Rank. I believe his status as a hybrid gives him a strong motivation to grow more powerful."

Shun remained entirely silent as he heard this information. It was somewhat inconsistent with his theory that Edwin was following a demon's orders.

A demon wouldn't know the way to awaken the Celestial Bloodline in Edwin's body.

"My son went to Kloras Town and assisted in the fight against the Beast Raid. He gained valuable combat experience and returned. And more than a month ago, he asked me that he wished to be the Mayor of the now-demolished Kloras Town. I talked to the King and received the permission along with being exempt from the taxes for 3 years. The formalities took a long time. And once I returned, Edwin took the necessary papers and took off for Kloras Town. During this time, the Elf Princess had already been abducted from the prison by that demon. It had been a couple of days since the Silent Death Organization and Merchant Union's men were acting tyrannically in the city."

The more Shun heard this information, the more puzzled he was. It felt as if the profile he had come up with was flawed.

However, Jonas soon answered his other question, "On that same day, I received the info that Tiana couldn't be found in her room. There was a message in her room that the Snow Ice Palace found her physique suitable for their cultivation and took her away."

As soon as Shun heard the information regarding Tiana, he smirked.

Jonas frowned at Shun's chuckle and asked him, "What is it?"

"It's nothing, Marquis Rhodes. I am now completely sure that Tiana Rhodes' abduction has something to do with the Elf Princess. In fact, if we find Tiana Rhodes then we should find the Elf Princess as well." Shun replied with a confident look.

"I now understand why the Elf Princess and Succubus stayed in their cave for 2 days. It's because whoever rescued them required these 2 days to get Tiana out. In fact, he was rather daring. He actually abducted your wife on the day you returned." Shun spoke.

"What?" Jonas was utterly shocked as he heard Shun. All this time, he had thought that abduction occurred a day or two earlier. But to think it happened when he had returned. This was just insane.

"Also, isn't it quite a coincidence that your son was riding towards Kloras Town? I wonder if he carried a few extra people along with him." Shun spoke with a hint of amusement.

'Finally found a solid lead. The price was truly worth it!'

"Marquis Rhodes, are you willing to accompany me on a trip?" Shun asked Jonas with a smirk.

Jonas knew where Shun planned to go.

"Very well. Let's see whether your guesses are correct or you are just speaking nonsense." Jonas spoke to Shun, "But let's go tomorrow. For now, I have some other tasks I need to assign to my subordinates."

"As you say, Marquis Rhodes. I will stay in a hotel for today." Shun spoke as he put on his mask and walked away.

Jonas stayed on his spot for a couple of seconds as he sighed out.

He didn't want Edwin to be the culprit or someone involved with the culprit. That would mean he had a hand in abducting Tiana.

Jonas wouldn't be able to forgive Edwin for this and kill him.

'If he truly made a deal with a demon then just how disappointed was he with the family to have done so.'

In reality, Jonas didn't blame Edwin for this. Even though he knew how much Edwin had been bullied since the death of his mother, he couldn't help him a whole lot.

Favoring one child over the other would just make things more complicated in a Noble Family. Edwin would be targeted even more heavily and he wasn't strong enough to survive any assassin. But he never thought it would reach a point where he was willing to betray the family and make a deal with a demon.

Even though Jonas didn't blame Edwin a lot for this but he had to put an example that he was willing to kill even his own child if they dared to take any actions against the Family.

"I truly hope Shun Gordon is wrong, Edwin. But if he is right, then forgive me, Dina." Jonas muttered slowly.

Dina was the name of Edwin's mother. After Josephine, she was his dearest wife and was greatly spoilt by him.

An assassin who had been sent to kill Jonas targeted him, she blocked the blow with her own body. The poison in that attack soon killed her.

Jonas was absolutely furious at that assassin and he caught the man soon enough.

After torturing that man for some time, he found out that this man was hired by the King of the Glerian Kingdom.

During that time, there were rumors that the Glerian Kingdom was planning to assault the Sinyalian Kingdom. This assassin sent by them just further proved those rumors right.

The Glerian Kingdom was probably planning to deal with the most troublesome opponent they would encounter once they attack the Sinyalian Kingdom.

Since Jonas' territory was the closest to the borders of the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom, it went without saying that he would be joining the battle as well.

The Glerian Kingdom had faced multiple defeats through Jonas's hands and probably wanted to deal with him first. But unfortunately, the assassination failed. And it just made Jonas angrier which caused the Glerian Kingdom's soldiers to bleed in terror.

Jonas went to his room to assign some tasks to his subordinates. He then entered Josephine's chamber. She was the only one who could get him back to his feet. Josephine's remarks helped him think clearly whenever he was stressed.

He didn't actually inform her of the entire situation but he mentioned to her that he was going to Kloras Town.

But Jonas had no idea that his wife whom he loved most dearly was under the control of Azaroth.

Once Jonas closed his eyes, Josephine sent this information to Azaroth through their mental connection.