Chapter 75

That same night, in an underground room, a beat up man with a bloody lacerate arm was kneeling in front of a handsome middle aged man. He was trembling and crying on the ground.

"T-that is what she said, my lord." He pleaded.

The handsome middle aged man, stared at him in contempt and disgust. He had tousled, long golden blond hair, which was thick and lustrous. His eyes were a deep green like the old trees in the forest with flecks of earthy brown that dance in it. His face was well defined, like it was molded from granite.

"The eldest daughter of House Castellan, you say." He thoughtfully asked. "Did she say anything else?"

The bleeding man shook his head vigorously.

"No, my lord."

"I see." The middle aged man sighed.

"P-please, save me, Lord Karciel." The kneeling man pleaded, his face becoming paler as blood seeped out from the wound on his arm.

"Why would I save someone who will not be of any use to me?" The middle aged man, Karciel aske with a straight face. "Milia."

A person covered in a black hooded robe and a mask came out of the shadows.

"M-m-my lord?! Plea-"

A quick flash of light and the man who was kneeling did not finish his sentence as the hooded figure slashed his neck. He dropped on the floor and only gurgling sounds could be heard as the man gasp for air staring wide eyed at Karciel. He died with Karciel's unbothered face in his last memory. The hooded figure went back and blended in the shadows.

"The eldest daughter of House Castellan huh?" Karciel lazily spoke, a sinister smile slowly blooming on his face. "How interesting."

Upon waking up the next morning, I burrowed myself into the soft, warm sheet. I reluctantly uncovered my face and started blinking. I rubbed the remainders of sleep from my eyes and stretched my arms above my head, yawning.

Sebastiene knocked on the door and came in a moment later with a basin and wet towels which he placed on the bedside table. He went to the windows and opened the curtains, letting the morning light enter my room.

"Good morning, my lady." He greeted with a dazzling smile that could rival the morning sun.

"Hmmm.. morning." I greeted as I sat up, drag my feet off the bed and rub my eyes with my hands.

"Would you like to wash your face, my lady?" He asked, walking to the side of the bed where my legs dangle above the white fur carpet.

"I told you not to bring water on a basin as I always take a bath in the morning." I reminded him with my raspy morning voice.

"It's a butler's responsibility to always bring one, my lady." Sebastiene answered, his eyes shining.

"Go and prepare my bath." I sighed lightly and walk to my wardrobe to pick out some personal things.

Sebastiene went to the bathroom and prepared the water for me. He also prepared the essential oils and towels. I would only need to lie down on the tub and have Agua help me scrub my back and rinse. After taking a bath, I also dress myself and call for Sebastiene to help me finish up.

"Seb, inform the generals that I want to speak with them after breakfast." I instructed as we walked towards the dining room for breakfast.

"Yes, my lady."

"Is there any news about Karciel?"

"Not at the moment, my lady." Sebastiene shook his head. "But I had some of our knights go undercover and check out the city."

I nodded.

"Keep your ears open for any news and report to me immediately."

"Yes, my lady." Sebastiene answered as he opened the door for me.

I frowned when I saw the dining table empty.

Father and mother were not in the dining room and so are Uriel and Athy.

"Where are they?" I asked as Sebastiene pulled out my chair and help me sit.

"His grace, is still resting as he suffered a hangover from drinking too much wine last night. He grace, had her breakfast early in her office. The younger ladies are still asleep." Sebastiene reported.

"Ah.." I sighed and started eating while Sebastiene told me the happenings within the castle that morning.

After eating, we went to my study and I listened to his report about Karciel and the Black circle.

"Based on that person we interrogated first and the three we accepted into House Castellan, it seems that this Karciel guy has some sort of information system that runs pretty deep. Miss Bloom's ability helped him summarize those information and he either uses those information to blackmail people or sell those information at a high price." Sebastiene read the report. "The slave auction that he runs happens every first Saturday of the month. The slaves auctioned have different backgrounds and races. How they are obtained is still unclear and how they got into Westreon city without the guars noticing, is a mystery."

I frowned at the information.

"Who are the guards that are stationed at the entrance of Westreon?" I asked.

"They are the guards who were positioned there by the mayor of Westreon, my lady." Sebastiene answered with a sly smile.

"Of course!" I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

There was a sudden knock at the door.

"It must be the generals." Sebastiene smiled as he went to open the door.

Haktor and Marionne came in and bowed to me.

"Good morning first young lady." They greeted.

"Have a seat." I told them and they both sat in front of me. I passed them the report paper that Sebastiene had read to me. "There is a little rat running around our territory."

Haktor's face grew darker and darker as he read through the report

"How would you like us to take care of this little rat, my lady?" Marionne asked, her face was unreadable.

"Athy doesn't like rats, so it would be better to eliminate it as soon as possible." I answered with a vile smirk.