Chapter 371: Chapter 371

“Have you found the Fox-kin?” Marsh asked. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. He was leaning his body against the soiled, damp walls of the dungeon. He was wearing his fine clothes befitting a noble but he was still wearing garments that one wouldn’t treat with negligence. Still, he didn’t mind getting his clothes dirty. There was so much on his mind. Dirty fine garments were the lowest of his concerns and priorities.

As a High Noble, it wasn’t difficult for William Marsh to figure out who the Fox-kin in question was. He needed only to reach out to a few of his acquaintances. In less than an hour, he had all the answers and facts pertaining to the Fox-kin. It was also easy for him to piece the puzzles together once he had the facts in place. The Fox-kin was also the one who was responsible for eliminating Lawson and his men. Twice now, the very same person had intervened in his operations and thwarted his schemes. It was too much to be a coincidence. If it were, there must be some external factors manipulating the course of things.

“I have not found the Fox-kin,” answered the gaunt girl. “She has escaped Limbo.”

“That should not be possible,” Baloc rebuked. “You must be mistaken.”

“I am not mistaken. She’s truly no longer in Limbo. There’s no one else in Limbo, no one alive that is.”

“They shouldn’t have an individual capable of an extraction spell. The royals have all the talents under their eyes and thumbs. They wouldn’t have spared one just for anyone.”

“The Fox-kin isn’t just anyone, Baloc. She’s the saviour of Sephrodia Valley. And she was also the one who stopped the monster horde in Maven’s Creek. It won’t be unimaginable for the royals to help. That said, the royals have not spared anyone. Whoever helped her escape is an unknown individual.”

“Damn it!” Baloc shouted, slamming his fist onto the wall beside him. “We were so close… But now, we have lost everything! Damn it! Dear fucking god. These coming days are going to be… hectic and noisy. We are fucked, aren’t we?”

“We are not fucked, Baloc. This is just a bump in the road.”

“More like a landslide.”

“Maybe, but the road is wide. We can simply go around the landslide. There’s no going back. We have committed too deeply to this path. There’s nowhere else but forward.”

“We fumbled our only chance!”

“It is not our only chance. They know the Saintess is being targeted, but they do not know how, when, or where she will be targeted. We still have plenty of chances. Moreover, they can’t let it be known that the Saintess was nearly snatched by the hands of evil. Therefore, they cannot make it too obvious with their protection of the Saintess. Their need to maintain their reputation will be to our advantage.”

“But how? Sure, we can try the same thing again with a little bit of change in our approach and the setting, but now we know that there’s someone who can open a rift into Limbo too, won’t we simply experience the same failure if she intervenes once more?”

“Not if we eliminate her first before we go after the Saintess again. Ru, can you still track the Fox-kin?”

“The Fox-kin may have escaped Limbo, but the remnants of Limbo’s nature remained on her,” said the girl. “I can still find her.”

“Do it. We need to eliminate her and her companions. They are too big of unforeseen variables.”

“Shall I send the chimaeras?” Baloc asked.

“Can it be traced back to me or any of my affiliates?”

“It can be traced back to me, but they don’t know I exist, much less being an affiliate of yours.”

“How many do we send, William?”

“...As much as needed,” Marsh answered after a short moment of contemplation. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novèlfire.net

“That’s… not an answer, William. I do not know how many is needed to eliminate her. We do not know the extent of her strength and potential. We should probe first.”

“We might make waves if we probe first. We can’t let her be suspicious of her being targeted before our first strike.”

“Might as well send all of them, then. But this is the capital, William. It will certainly raise questions if the chimaeras are released into the city.”

“Of course, we won’t be releasing them into the city. The Fox-kin and her companions are adventurers. They are bound to take on quests that will bring them out of the city. We will release the chimaeras once they leave the city.”

“...What about the transports? Can we… transport all those chimaeras without being… noticed?”

“I can,” the girl chimed in, raising her hand slowly as if she was unsure if she should.

“You?” Baloc scoffed. “The clumsy, forgetful you are, you will definitely be noticed. Your entire demeanour is a flame for moths. You will be questioned by every passing guard, even if you aren’t doing anything wrong.”

“I can transport the chimaeras without being noticed,” the girl persisted.

“She says she can,” Marsh supplemented.

“William, you can’t possibly be genuinely considering her involvement now, are you?”

“How else can we transport all these chimaeras without being detected? She is suspicious but she need not be seen. There are plenty of ways to ferry a person without having the person being seen.”

Baloc sighed. “I suppose you’re right…”

“Ru, are you sure that you can transport that kind of amount?”

“I have moved larger volumes of cargo.”

“Then, why are you here?” Baloc questioned.

“...I heard things that I wasn’t supposed to hear.”

“And what is that you heard?”

“...I can’t tell you.”

“Enough, Baloc. She won’t be betraying us if that’s what you’re worried about. She won’t be able to even if she wants to.”

“How are you so sure? I don’t see a slave collar or an enslavement seal on her.”

“There are far more effective methods than enslavement.”

“Ah, the soul,” Baloc came to a realisation. “Oh, you devil. And here I thought I was the twisted and sadistic evil genius here.”

Marsh chuckled. “Twisted, sadistic, and evil, you are certainly all of those things, but where did the genius part come from?”

“Oh, you bastard. You are drifting away from reality. Perhaps a hard slap will bring you right back.”

Before Marsh could offer a witty retort, his attention was pulled away. His expression hardened.

“Troubles?” Baloc inquired as soon as he saw the shift in Marsh’s expression.

“An unexpected and important guest,” Marsh said and immediately took his leave of the dungeon.

“Your Highness, what an unexpected surprise!” Marsh greeted his guest with great enthusiasm and spirits the moment he entered the parlour. He stopped momentarily just in front of the doors and dropped to his knees. He bowed deeply with one hand on his chest and his head lowered. Marsh was a High Lord but even so, one had to show their respect and fealty to the crown prince of the Yorun Kingdom, Leorick Yorun.

In contrast to Marsh’s bright and welcoming nature, the crown prince had a dark and brooding expression. Despite his comely appearance that was further accented by his luxurious and tasteful garments, they did nothing to conceal the displeasure on his face.

“Oh, where are your escorts, Your Highness?” Marsh was mildly surprised to find that the parlour room was devoid of any other presence from him and the princess. It was extremely unusual for the crown prince to be without his guards and escorts outside of his personal chambers. Not to mention, the servants weren’t even around.

“I have excused them.”

“Did you, now?” Marsh sighed. “Even if I’m your friend, Your Highness, you shouldn’t be so careless. I appreciate your trust but this is certainly not—”

“Enough with the bollocks! What have you done, William?”

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

The crown prince sighed and showed a small parchment in his hand with runes drawn on it. “This room is secured. As long as this parchment remains intact, nothing gets out of this room even if I scream at the top of my lungs. So, drop the pretences.”

“Alright, as you say. What are you asking, Leorick?”

“The Saintess. It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Why are you asking a question that you already know the answer to?”

Leorick grimaced. “Have you gone insane? How can you go after the Saintess? Are you not aware that you are already under so much scrutiny and you still tried something so bold?”

“As they say, the darkest place is under the lamp. They can suspect me and point fingers at me all they want. They won’t have evidence.”

“Do you think they need evidence?”

“As long as I am the close friend of the crown prince, they certainly do.”

The crown prince sighed. “Damn you… Why the Saintess of all people?”

“I would target the elven princess, but the Fae embassy already has her in their protection. I would target your siblings but… that would be too overly obvious. The other noble children are… inadequate and inefficient. They are more trouble than they are worth.”

“So, you decide to target the Saintess?”

“Shouldn’t you be thrilled about this? After all, the Saintess has been very vocal about her opposition to your title as the crown prince.”

“Thrilled? Are you being serious right now?”

“I almost succeeded, you know? I was so close.”

“Now, you will never succeed.”

Marsh frowned. “Maybe I have been remiss, but when did your confidence in me drop so low?”

“Ever since the Scarlet Blade arrived in the capital.”

Marsh froze for a second and his brows rose as high as they could. “The Scarlet Blade is already in the capital?”

“Just around two hours ago.”

“...Impossible. How did she get here so fast?”

“From what I heard, her Wyvern mount is currently undergoing intense treatment. It won’t be flying for a week and it won’t be flying extensively for a month and more.”

“Fuck…” Marsh muttered and slumped down on the sofa.

“William, if this gets out—”

“It won’t get out,” Marsh said in a resolute and firm tone. “Not unless you choose to speak of it first.”

“As if I would. I will suffer a fate worse than death.” Leorick groaned and also succumbed to gravity, slumping down on the sofa across from Marsh. “Well, what do you intend to do about this?”

“What’s there to be done? There’s nothing to be done. I’m no criminal. I have done no wrong. All they have are suspicions. They can do nothing, not even the Scarlet Blade. Her presence will be an inconvenience or a hindrance, but she is not an absolute obstacle.”

“You tried to grasp the Saintess. She won’t just let this transgression go. She will stop at nothing to uncover the culprit.”

“Then, let her be. If we tried to stop her, we would only be outing ourselves as the perpetrators. I don’t doubt that you and I will be prime suspects in her investigations but the stronger the light, the harder the shadows will be underneath our feet.”

“...You think too little of Ruva's Grand Apostle.”

“And you think too highly of her. I don’t deny her skills, talents, and competency, but she is not a perfect being.”

“No one thinks of her as a perfect being but she has repeatedly proven herself with results. We are right to think highly of her. Those that didn’t, they were no longer heard from again.”

Marsh chuckled scornfully. “I’m well aware of her story and background. She has proven herself, aye, no doubt about that. But she isn’t someone to be feared so… extensively.”

“I was told that you and she have met, but I’m not aware that you are familiar with her.”

“I am not familiar with her, but I am familiar with people who are very much like her. I’m very knowledgeable about people of her… status. More often than not, they are less intimidating and capable than they actually are. It is our gossip and our fears that fuel and inflate their presence and authority. I will give her none of that. She will fall if she tries to get in my way, that I can assure you.”