Chapter 72

"Lady Zara is feeling unwell?" A pot-bellied man asked.

"Yes, Lord Ruuthaven." Cassandra replied as she sipped her tea with a dignified expression.

"I see. What a pity. I was hoping to see her today. Well, it can't be helped." The potbellied man named Ruuthaven was quick to move on from the topic and said, "The reason I am here is to investigate the lack of beasts in the accursed forest. I'm sure Lord Bellick would have already left to deal with it, but I wish to offer my assistance."

The roundabout way of speaking was something Cassandra was very aware of. Ruuthaven was the presiding lord over the area who had about ten towns underneath him, more than ten thousand soldiers, and many, many knights, three of which were with him today.

Ruuthaven was a supremest like Cassandra's father, and the reason he was here was to investigate Bellick's disappearance, likely. Although it had not been announced that Bellick had gone missing, as he was still supposed to be on a hunt, the fact that he was here meant only one thing.

They were aware of the organization's plans. Which meant either there was a spy, or they had some other method of knowing so. The reason Cassandra was so on guard and leaning on the former possibility was because of the assassins who were sent to kill her father, lord Bellick.

The organization had sent some people to investigate, but they found no traces of them. Traces of blood were found here and there, but other than that, there was nothing. No sign of a battle, no corpses, no nothing.

Almost as if everything had magically disappeared.

Until the possibility of a spy being among them was completely taken care of, there was nothing Cassandra could do. Besides, it wasn't like she could stop the lord of the area from coming and doing as he pleased. Of course, the lord would have to remain within certain limits. This area may come under him, but the land ultimately belonged to the king.

A complaint could be filed with the royal, and given that the head of the organization was the heart of the royal court, Cassandra was sure her request would be fulfilled sooner than others.

But the same applied to them as well. As long as the lord was there for a legitimate reason, and he didn't do anything out of his limits, such as abusing his authority over the town to an extreme extent, Cassandra had no justification to report him.

"Since you have come here for such a noble reason after such a long journey, let me prepare a place for you to stay. While you have lunch, I shall have it cleaned and ready for you." Cassandra said with a smile.

"Haha. I feel reassured in the young lady's care. Very well. We shall rest for today and march out tomorrow." The lord replied, and a servant was tasked to lead them to the dining room while lunch was being prepared.

Cassandra got ready to join them, but not before she had to report it to Zara and also...

'I have a feeling I should tell him as well.' Thinking so, she turned to a soldier nearby and said, "Call Squire Jack to Mother's room. It's urgent."

The guard nodded and left immediately to find Jack.

~~

I was still in my thoughts, walking aimlessly, thinking about what I had just discussed with Zara, the implications of such a thing, and what it meant for me in the future, when I suddenly became aware of my surroundings when I felt an energy signature stronger than one I had ever felt before.

I found myself outside the mansion, and before a woman. She was a beauty, for sure, but the cold look in her eyes was more of a threat than a turn-on. She donned a classic knight's uniform, so gauging her womanly features was a little difficult.

However, all things aside, what I was most surprised by was...

[A new quest has arrived]

Before I could even read the name of the quest, let alone the contents, she spoke, her voice as cold as the look in her eyes, "Who are you?"

"..." I remained silent for a while before I replied, "I'm a squire of the lord, Jack."

"Well, squire Jack, it would be better for you to move." She said, her voice as cold as ice. I didn't like her attitude, by the way. She was the one standing in the middle of the pathway, and now that I noticed, she wasn't alone. There were more of them; at least a hundred soldiers could be seen outside.

And she was the strongest among them. And something told me she wasn't a soldier like them, but a knight like the rest of the ten or something people who were standing behind her as straight as a pole.

I kept looking at her, keeping my gaze locked with her eyes, showing my intention of not backing down at all. She didn't like it. The power she was emitting, naturally, of course, was then directed at me, in all of its purity.

Feeling it with my body, I could tell she was stronger than me, in all terms, even in terms of mana.

A B+ rank at the very least, or perhaps a bit higher. I had no way of gauging for sure unless I touched her, but something told me that wasn't going to be a good choice. But the smile on my face only widened as I looked at her.

'There she is. My lucky encounter.'

Instinctively, she took a step back, a confused expression on her face. I realized my mistake and wiped the smile off my face, and was about to turn to leave when a soldier came running to me.

"Squire Jack." He said as he came face to face with me and said, "Lady Cassandra has summoned you. She's currently in the Lady's room."

"I see," I replied and turned to give the knightess one more glance before I left to see what Cassandra wanted. Whatever it was, it must have had something to do with the convoy of this party.

As I arrived, in a grave atmosphere, Cassandra and Zara were already discussing something. As I arrived, they acknowledged my presence and kept talking to each other, their tones grave, which was kinda funny considering there was a vibrating buttplug in Zara's ass.

Anyway, Zara soon turned to me and said, "I need you to be on guard, Jack. Until they leave tomorrow morning, we will be responsible for whatever happened here."

I nodded and replied, "Worry not, Lady Zara. I shall keep my distance."

"Good." She replied and turned to Cassandra, "Make it through dinner, and then leave them at their residence. I shall contact the elder regarding it in the meantime."

"Understood, Mother," Cassandra replied, and with that, we were both dismissed.

"I'm feeling better, so you don't need to be here. Go home for the day and make sure your family doesn't come in contact with them." I was left with these instructions when I came out of Zara's room.

If they were noble supremest, then it wasn't really a good idea for commoners to come in contact with them. Especially commoners who were practically receiving the same treatment as them, considering the houses given to the baron were the same as the ones given to us.

Following Zara's advice, I went home and remained there for the day. But instead of spending time with the fam, I decided to keep my senses open in any case. And so, once it was dark, about an hour before dinner, I sensed a few presences, not the strong woman one, but others, leaving the residence of the soldiers and making their way into the town, undetected by anyone.

Telling my family to remain in their rooms and lock the rooms and doors, so it would appear that no one lived in the house, I followed them as well, shortly arriving at the nearest entrance of the sewers.

Now, either these guys were the ones behind the rat incident, or they knew something about it and came to check. I didn't know which one it was, but whatever it was, I followed them inside further to investigate.

Depending on the results, I might have to personally interrogate them as well.

As I followed them through the filth, undetected with the night demon's footwork, I soon arrived at the portion that led to the outside of the city, closed by sturdy bars to keep someone from coming in via the sewers.

There, I witnessed a few hooded figures already waiting on the other side of the bars, and through the bars, they handed the soldiers in black something.

Something that made my eyes widen.

Okay, now, nothing else mattered. I had to take that thing for myself. Even if it meant having a few headaches come my way.

~~

Sandra character art is here!

I hope you guys like it.

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