Chapter 44： Suspicious fire case

Jingyao Castle, the capital of the Aldo Kingdom, is still shrouded in a tense atmosphere. Although it has been a while since the royalist army took back the capital, the degree of martial law has not diminished at all. In Bu Yigang, it often happened that the patrolling soldiers suddenly stopped the suspicious person in their eyes, and then questioned the situation of the 18th generation of ancestors in detail.

The noisy taverns in the past are very deserted. Customers come in and buy wine and then leave, coming and going in a hurry. Occasionally, a few people sat down to drink, and they just chatted a few family stories, and there was no such thing as the usual situation of being unrestrained and giving pointers when they got drunk.

One or two carriages galloped towards the palace, and a tall, thin man with a mustache sat in the carriage. This man was Earl Merlin who was in charge of the kingdom's intelligence system.

At this time, Earl Merlin was closing his eyes and recuperating. It seemed calm to outsiders, but in fact he was extremely depressed.

On the night when the princess led the army to recover the capital, a large-scale fire broke out at the location of the granary in the capital, and nine out of ten of the large amount of grain and grass hoarded there were burned. The fire caused serious consequences and directly disrupted the royalist army's plan to go south to suppress the rebellion.

Fire prevention has always been the top priority in the daily management of granaries, and the measures are very strict. Even if there is a fire, it is impossible for almost all the warehouses to be completely destroyed.

Obviously, this is a provocation, this is a serious provocation, the traitor Giles is clearly slapping the royal party in the face-you think you have won, but I still have some tricks to deal with you, right under your nose, can't you think of it ?

One can imagine how angry Her Royal Highness Catherine was. At the emergency meeting after the fire broke out, the princess pulled out her sword and cut off the table in front of her emotionally, swearing that she would never live with Giles.

As the head of intelligence, Earl Merlin was ordered to investigate the truth of the fire, but the more he investigated, the more confusing he felt. He sorted out the information he had obtained so far in his mind over and over again, thinking about how to report the case to His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness the Princess.

The current king of Aldo, Rodney XVI, finally got rid of the entanglement of illness. After being taken back to the capital by his daughter, his body gradually recovered, and he is now able to manage the government.

Earl Merlin entered the palace after being carefully searched by the royal guards. Even he, a core member of the royal party, was no exception in this extraordinary period.

He hurried to the door of Rodney XVI's study, the attendant informed him of his arrival, and His Majesty the King immediately allowed the earl to enter.

After Earl Merlin entered the study, he found that Princess Catherine was already in the study.

"Mr. Merlin, how is the investigation of the fire in the granary going?" His Majesty waved his hand to stop Earl Merlin from saluting, and hurriedly got to the point. Rodney XVI, who is nearly forty years old, is a kind-faced monarch on weekdays, but because he is busy with state affairs day and night, he is not very old for the noble class, and he has gray hair on his temples. At this time, the king looked sad, and there was obvious worry lingering between his brows.

"Your Majesty, this subject is incompetent, and there has been no substantial breakthrough in the case."

Although he was saddened to hear such bad news after His Majesty recovered from a serious illness, Earl Merlin finally chose to report the truth after repeated struggles.

Princess Catherine, who was standing beside the king, asked, "But we encountered difficulties."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness. Your Majesty, please state something." Earl Merlin took out a roll of parchment and began to report on the information he had so far.

"According to the sentry on duty, the fire broke out after Fowler Butt, the warehouse supervisor, went in. When Fowler Butt went in, another soldier offered to go in to help him illuminate, and he went in together. At other times No one else has been in there."

"So? The prisoner is between these two?"

The earl nodded: "Let's talk about this soldier first. We have collected his information. He has a clean background and has served under Viscount Klein for more than three years. Everyone who knows him has a good impression of him. Even Ke Ryan knew this person and did not believe that he was a spy. These people did not remember any suspicious behavior by this soldier. You must know that the military camp is relatively closed compared to other places, and it is almost impossible to hide it from everyone. possible."

Catherine said: "So it is less likely that the prisoner is this soldier. What about Bart?"

The count continued: "The supervisor of the warehouse is indeed very suspicious. You should know this supervisor."

Catherine replied: "Yes, in my impression, this person is very talented and dedicated to his work. During his tenure as a supervisor, there has never been any theft or embezzlement in the warehouse."

"We asked everyone on his network, colleagues, friends, superiors and subordinates did not say anything unusual. This person is also quite loyal to the royal family on weekdays. During the Hals rebellion, he was also made things difficult by the rebels. Pass."

"So, does he have any relatives?" The princess noticed something was missing from the identities listed by Earl Merlin.

Earl Merlin nodded again, "Your Highness is wise, according to Fowler Bart's wife, this Mr. Executive is a bit unusual."

"What kind of unusual method?"

"Bart has no doubts about other aspects of his supervisor. Because of his identity, he sees many grain merchants from all over the world every day, and it is difficult to check whether there are any suspicious people among them. But his biggest doubt is—his recent mental problems."

Catherine was slightly annoyed: "Don't you mean that Director Bart is actually a psychopath, so it is reasonable to suddenly go crazy and play in the warehouse?"

The Earl of Merlin hurriedly replied: "That's not what I meant, Your Highness. Director Bart's spirit has been normal before that, and his family has no relevant medical history. The suspicious situation began nearly two months before the fire broke out. "

"The time around when Giles started his rebellion?"

"Yes, Your Highness. According to Mrs. Bart, her husband suddenly started to suffer from insomnia during that time, and he couldn't sleep all night. He tried all kinds of drugs that help sleep, but still had no effect. After a miserable and exhausting day, Director Bart was finally able to sleep, but began to talk in his sleep, but Mrs. Bart swore that she had never heard her husband talk in his sleep after sharing the same bed with her husband."

Catherine Daqi: "What did Bart say?"

Rodney XVI, who had been sitting quietly behind the desk, also sat up straight waiting for Earl Merlin's answer.

Earl Merlin looked down at the documents and replied, "Most of them are vague babblings. I have recorded a few that Mrs. Bart can hear clearly."

He held the scroll in both hands and placed it on the king's desk. After the king and princess finished reading, they saw the following sentence recorded on it:

"Who are you? Stop following me?"

"Where am I? Why can't I transfer out?"

"I don't want to listen to your nonsense, get out of my mind quickly."

"I have done everything you asked for, and put everything away so that no one can find it. Please leave."

"I won't do it! It's going to be hanged."

"Let me go! Please let me go!"

…

"Master, master, I will continue to listen to your hadith, do not abandon me."

"Your servant will swear to the death to complete the mission, my supreme master!"

The Earl of Merlin added on the side: "The words in the last two weeks are particularly suspicious. The last sentence is the last dream that Mrs. Bart heard. Although she suffered from insomnia for a while, the supervisor still has the habit of going to bed early. , Mrs. Bart was worried about her husband and stayed up all the time. His husband woke up shortly after he finished saying that, saying that he wanted to go out for a walk to get some air, and then...the warehouse caught fire."

Catherine and Rodney XVI looked at each other, and they both saw the question in each other's eyes: "What is this?"

Looking at the puzzled king and princess, Earl Merlin, who was also confused himself, suddenly had a strange idea: Has Director Bart suffered some kind of magic or witchcraft?

He shook his head quickly, driving out the idea that even he thought was ridiculous.