CH 35

Marquis Sios stiffened at the harsh energy that shot at him.

“…Am I biased towards the Duke? But I just care about the reputation of His Majesty…” Marquis Sios barely parted his lips and said.

“Is there anything left in this world that will spoil my reputation even further? After killing my own father and brother?”

“Sire!”

“Minister, your role is not to report to me about the discontent of the nobles, but to silence them. In recent days, I began to doubt which side you are on at all.”

He no longer had the patience to listen to this nonsense every day.

The Marquis retreated when he received such a warning.

“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. I’ll try to deal with the nobles.”

“This audience is over. You can leave.”

“Yes, sire.”

When the prime minister left, Raymond sighed in despair.

“Sire. The head of the 4th Knight Corps has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

“The Sun of the Empire…”

“Enough. What did you find?”

Raymond got Carter involved.

Officially, the case was against Duke Croft. But in order to find out Ellie’s whereabouts, and to do it without noise and dust, Carter had to be involved.

“I checked all sources of income for the last year. He didn’t receive bribes.”

“Hm.”

“But there is one strange detail, if Your Majesty will permit. I learned that one vague type, Viscount Metas, has suddenly become close to the nobility from that southern kingdom since the beginning of this year.”

“Here you need to dig.”

From the moment it started, a lot of things looked strange.

The strangest moment was a series of situations where all the evidence pointed to the Duke and only him.

The Duke’s seal was on all documents related to trade with that desert kingdom.

He lit up even in matters that the Duke didn’t need to solve.

It seemed that the Duke would not be allowed to get out of the water in any way.

It was like a pre-planned trap to take the Duke out of the game.

“I must talk with viscount. I wonder what he has to do with the Duke.”

After Raymond’s words, embarrassment flashed across Carter’s unfeeling face.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but Viscount Metas, he’s dead.”

“How?”

Raymond raised his eyebrows sharply.

“There will be an official report soon, but they say his body was recently found in the western estate. There were rumors that investigators immediately rushed to the estate and took the body to the capital. You can still find some traces on his corpse.”

“Dead, then.”

Raymond’s face contorted. The man who could have been the decisive witness passed away suddenly, making it difficult for Duke Croft to cleanse himself of his sins.

Something swirled in Raymond’s head.

“Your Majesty, there is one thing that worries me.”

“What?”

“The house of Viscount Metas is too small to have any influence. They say that Count Barten also took part in the conspiracy.”

“And Count Barten is associated with the Marquis Sios.”

“Yeah. Their connection is not yet clear, but this is strange. What to do?”

Marquis Sios and Duke Croft.

Raymond’s quiet voice rang out in the study.

“Find out more details. If Marquis Sios is involved … It will not be easy to make a move.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What about Duke Croft?”

The Carter’s Knights were currently guarding Duke Croft.

He was under house arrest after being charged, but Raymond was uncomfortable at heart.

The Duke was also from the opposition forces, but he was still Ellie’s father.

Ellie was still dear to his heart. If she hears this news, she will have a lot of anxiety.

On the day the Duke was imprisoned in the estate, Ellie was no longer in the empire, so Raymond thought it was even a good thing.

“He seems to be fine. I’m informed that he doesn’t skip meals.”

“Good. If you have any problems, report it to the Imperial Palace immediately. And tell the knights to keep an eye on the Duke.”

If something goes wrong with the Duke, Ellie won’t stand aside.

He couldn’t let her endure such pain.

He struggled to find a way to protect the Duke in a difficult situation.

* * *

Capital of the Lund Kingdom.

Walking along the streets of the city, I found myself in a crowded square.

Behind this square was a street with bars.

Out on this street, I went straight to my goal, without looking back.

I opened the door of a squalid bar with no sign, lost in a back street.

The working day had not yet begun, but the door opened easily, as if they were waiting for me here.

“I’m here, Jed.”

The red-haired man at the table lifted his head.

He was a stern man the size of a bear and with an indifferent gaze.

“Ahh… Ellie? What the… What is the full moon tonight?”

Jed looked out the window with sleepy eyes.

This is because I came here only on the day of the rising of the full moon.

“No. I came to find out something.”

“Is something happened?”

“…I hope nothing.”

Jed’s hazy brown eyes brightened, as if he sensed my dismay.

“Let’s go to the office.”

He casually tied up his red hair and locked the bar’s front door. Then he stopped in front of a large closet with bottles of alcohol.

He turned over the whiskey drawers and pushed the cabinet aside.

It was an impressive sight.

A door hidden behind a cupboard opened, and with that I stepped inside.

At the end of a secret dungeon, a magic circle appeared, driven by mana stones.

“Uh.”

“Jed, are you okay?”

“I hate these portals, can’t get used to it even after hundreds of times.”

Jed turned on the light in the ‘study’.

A spacious office with full-height windows, in contrast to the shabby bar, furnished with expensive wooden furniture and covered with carpets.

And standing in front of a large window, you had a magnificent view of the capital of the Lund Kingdom.

The tallest building in Runt after the Imperial Palace, it was the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, famous throughout the continent.

Order of the Phoenix.

Our organization was founded four years ago, and has grown so much that in just a few years it has opened its branches on all continents.

At the very top of the order were two heads.

The first Head was Jed, who until recently was lying on the table and snoring.

I was his partner at the top of the hierarchy.

When we first met, he had a small bar and I had a small flower shop.

We met the night he was attacked, and he had nowhere to go for help.

Four years ago, Jed ran a small bar and traded information left and right.

There were quite a few information vendors on the streets at that time, and Jed, who was just starting his growth, was a threat to them.

They tried to kill Jed, and I eventually found him lying alone on the side of the road in the dark night.

We wouldn’t have met if I hadn’t wandered into the estate for the valuable herbs.

It was late at night. I couldn’t call a doctor, so I brought a styptic from the flower shop and saved him.

From that moment my relationship with Jed began.

At first, I didn’t think to make my way to the very top of the order.

But I thought it would be nice to earn influence for the sake of my son’s future. And to have influence, I needed money.

However, things went much better than expected.

Usually the information that can be squeezed out from the mercenaries in the bars was of little value. Wherever it happens. But we were lucky.

We have obtained information that some impoverished nobles are suddenly selling land at auction. And the story said that in those lands there is an unexplored mine, bursting with gold.