Chapter 64: Information
Faced with the pressure emanating from Edward’s body and that emanating from an unknown body in the shadows, Clara had no choice but to bow her head in resignation.
"W-what do you want?" she asked.
It was the first ti in her life that she had lost so miserably. She was used to doing as she pleased throughout the lower strata. This place was practically her own personal territory, where she didn’t have to hide from anyone.
She hit whoever she wanted, forced whoever didn’t obey her, and made the locals pay her for so nonsense, if necessary.
No one had ever opposed her, because they couldn’t.
’Who is he?’ She couldn’t help but wonder, although she couldn’t ask openly.
"What do I want? It’s simple." Edward took out a newspaper and showed it to her. "This man has committed impressive misdeeds on behalf of the Varhat Empire. The normal thing would be to murder his entire family as an example."
The newspaper reported on the misdeeds of an unknown person who had destroyed border towns.
"It just so happens that the man in question has been discovered to be Silas rchant, the leader of rchant Tower. Not only does he cooperate with Varhat to destroy our people, but he also uses his daughter to cause unrest in the lower strata of our glorious Lor. Do you know what that ans, Clara rchant?"
"Those above are willing to let the family live and settle for only Silas’ death, since we are not demons. That is why I am here, and what I want is information that will lead
to the traitor’s location." He dropped the newspaper into Clara’s lap. "Do you understand?" He smiled coldly.
Clara could hardly hear him as she was paralyzed reading the note.
"Massacre in the border towns? An internal traitor? My father?" The ntal shock was strong, but she suddenly looked up.
"I-impossible! My father couldn’t have done that!"
The desperation in her eyes was interesting, so Edward smiled.
"I thought you didn’t get along with your father."
"T-that... It has nothing to do with it! Even if I didn’t get along with him... I... I wouldn’t want him dead!"
"Well said. But I don’t care, he has betrayed the kingdom and will have to die. If you cooperate in this, it will be simple and I will let your family live. If not..." Edward shrugged, he didn’t have to say anything else.
She trembled. "It couldn’t have been my father!" she roared once more.
Edward raised his sword and the newspaper and glanced at her sideways. "Do you have proof? If you don’t, there’s no point in shouting and saying it wasn’t him. The information is quite accurate, you know? Our investigators are really good, they wouldn’t be wrong."
"I-I can prove it!"
ry turned abruptly to look at her lady. "Miss..." She tried to interject, but the determined look on Clara’s face made her hesitate.
ry frowned and couldn’t say anything.
Finally, Edward beca interested. He grabbed the only chair left and placed it in front of Clara. "I’m all ears."
Seeing him like that, she hesitated... She wanted to speak, but hesitated again. After repeating that cycle five tis, she lowered her head.
"You... you have to promise protection for
and my father," she said.
"How do you think I can promise protection for traitors?" He shrugged.
’I don’t even have the authority to promise protection!’ He wanted to roar. He was just a student being sent on a mission...
But he couldn’t do it. Right now, his facade was that of a great Young Master. He had to maintain it.
"If I can... if I can prove that my father isn’t the traitor, will you promise us protection?"
Edward frowned. ’I’d like to say yes, you know...’ He shook his head.
But just then, a different figure materialized from behind them.
"We can do it," she declared, her icy but charming voice bringing a strange glimr of hope to Clara’s heart.
Edward turned to look at her and pressed his lips together, but said nothing.
"O-okay." Clara took several deep breaths and suddenly dropped the first bombshell. "My father no longer runs the rchant Tower. In fact, he is chained up deep in the basent of the mansion."
When ry heard this, she couldn’t help but look at her again. "Miss, aren’t you afraid they’ll be hired by..."
"No, ry." Clara shook her head without looking at her. "That bastard would never hire soone to co to
and get information out of . He has all the information he wants and controls our lives. He wouldn’t do sothing like that."
ry still hesitated, but couldn’t respond.
Edward, on the other hand, was imdiately interested. He didn’t believe the information sent by the academy was false, so... What was going on?
"You know, my information clearly says Silas rchant. I don’t think the informants in my organization are stupid, you know?"
"I don’t think they’re stupid." Clara shook her head. "But they did make a mistake. My father has been chained up for 25 years. I was still a child then."
Edward shrugged. "So there’s a Silas rchant double doing the dirty work for him, huh? I’m sure I’ve heard that excuse before."
"He’s not a double." She shook her head again. "My father isn’t actually from Linnava. He’s a native of Varhat who emigrated because of a family feud. But he has a brother."
Edward’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he noticed sothing. "Twins, you an?"
"Identical twins," Clara declared. "His na isn’t too different; it’s Scylas rchant. He’s the one who currently runs rchant Tower... If anyone has betrayed Linnava, I’m sure it’s that damn bastard. He... even killed... my mother."
Her gaze carried genuine pain, a wound she had carried for many years. But it also carried a thirst for revenge that gnawed at her inside.
That was interesting.
This ti Edward didn’t smile, nor did he reveal any interest, even though he was interested.
"If you can give
realistic information that will lead
to find out about this and catch the traitor, then perhaps your father and you can be saved. Besides, I’m sure those above will be satisfied with the result and send people to protect you, so you won’t have to worry about what the Varhat people might do," he replied seriously.
Clara nodded. She was afraid; since she was little, she had been forced by her uncle to work for him. Her neck was constantly under threat, and talking about this was dangerous, but she was sure of one thing. The man in front of her was not playing gas.
The two in the room were too powerful for her or her organization.
They were only a strong organization in the lower district, they had few rcenaries who were Beast Masters, facing two masters as powerful as them was a death sentence.
Not to ntion the organization behind them... She had her theories, and the most terrifying one sat atop the Governnt Castle to command the entire province. They were like a speck in the desert compared to such colossi.
She had no choice but to talk.
-
Edward struck Clara and ry with his sword on their left shoulders. The sword pierced their flesh, and they both felt a burning fire pressing against them.
"Agh..."
"Since we’ll be working together, I hope you’ll accept this mark. I can’t trust you, after all. I need to keep an eye on you." Edward laughed and put away his sword. "I look forward to working with you. My team and I will prepare for tomorrow, so I hope you’ll do your job well," said Edward.
Clara nodded, enduring the pain and keeping her head down.
"I’ll do well," she replied.
Edward didn’t say goodbye to them, he just turned around and left with Aurora.
When they were outside the inn, Aurora spoke.
"Can you really cast mark spells?" she asked, quite surprised.
He laughed. "How could I? I’ve barely managed to learn a few attack spells. I don’t have enough ti or talent to learn spells from that group."
"Then..."
"I simply misled them." He shrugged. "Neither of them is a beast master, so they won’t be able to figure it out by tomorrow."
Aurora nodded, but she was still pensive. "I saw that the fire was still burning..."
"My fire is a little special, Aurora." He replied. "It burns longer than you could imagine."
’Even I’m surprised,’ he thought.
He understood that his beast’s fire was special, but his magic too? Even he didn’t understand what his talent and magic really were. He could only... be grateful and continue to strive.
They had already made an execution plan, so they ran back to tell Arnold and Lander.
The four of them gathered at the top of the restaurant on the corner of rchant Mansion.
"Since we have to move tomorrow, let’s analyze the new plan of action," Edward said when everyone was gathered in front of him.
"What has changed? Since you said we have new allies," Arnold asked imdiately.
"They can’t really be called allies. But they will be working to help us. The only thing that has changed is that we will use a different way to get into the mansion."
Arnold imdiately beca interested. "Who are they?" he asked.
"Silas rchant’s daughter, Clara rchant. They have agreed to take us inside the mansion. If they refuse or it’s a trap, I have an equally effective plan B. If it turns out she’s serious, then we can resolve this without any problems. I’ll start by telling you that Silas rchant may not be the original perpetrator. So the target may have changed, although that’s not a fact."
"Let’s start talking about the plan."
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