Deep into the night, in the luxurious main bedroom of the manor…
Shirley’s father paced back and forth gloomily and complained to her mother, “It’s all your good idea! You said that by agreeing to his proposal and allowing the poor boy to get in touch with nobles, he will lose confidence and leave Shirley voluntarily, but what happens in the end? He clutches her even more tightly!”
“I didn’t know he was so shameless!” Shirley’s mother said grimly.
Shirley’s father scorned, “You do not know humans at all. Such poor boys only want to become nobles through marriage. The more we show it to him, the more he would crave for it. How will he leave voluntarily?”
“Why did you agree with me and accept the proposal if you think you know everything?” Shirley’s mother roared angrily. “Tell me, what solutions do you possibly have? It’s like Shirley’s mind has been controlled by magic. It’s impossible to talk sense into her! She even threatens me with her life!”
Shirley’s father turned cold. He chuckled. “Of course I have solutions.”
Shirley’s mother was briefly stunned. “You have solutions? What are they? Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
Her questions revealed her panic and anxiety.
“I sent someone to follow the boy. He’s very interested in herbs and potions, and he often goes to the swamps to search for strange plants.” Coldly, Shirley’s father raised his right hand. “After a while, we’ll ask a mercenary to follow him to the swamps. Then, crack…”
He made a throat-cutting gesture.
“What? Are you going to kill him? Are you not scared that Shirley will hate us for the rest of her life? She often threatens us with her life!” Shirley’s mother asked nervously.
Shirley’s father put on a cruel smile. “How can she possibly suspect us? We are good parents who have been softened by her. If we want to kill him, why would we agree to his proposal?”
“You…” Shirley’s mother suddenly realized it. “That’s why you agreed to his proposal?”
“Of course. Why else would I have given in?” Shirley’s father nodded. “During the dinner, the few young men who are into Shirley seemed quite dissatisfied with that boy. Shirley will definitely consider them as the main suspects. Jealousy is always one of the greatest motivations for crimes.”
“Very good. I do not want to see the boy ever again!” Shirley’s mother smiled in satisfaction. “Honey, you are so smart. When are you going to do it? I need to watch over Shirley.”
Shirley’s father shook his head. “Don’t be hasty. As I said, jealousy is always one of the greatest motivations for crimes. Those young men are all nobles. There’s nothing they dare not do to civilians. So, let’s observe for a while. Maybe they’ll do it for us. In that case, we wouldn’t need to risk looking for a mercenary. That’s the reason why I held this dinner party.”
“You’re always right.” Shirley’s mother nodded with a smile.
……
In a guest room near the main house of the manor…
The three most provocative nobles in the dinner had been secretly gathered.
“Andrew, I cannot hold back my fury,” a noble who had naturally curly hair said angrily.
The young noble named Andrew said gloomily, “Me too! It’s true that I like Shirley, but I will not go crazy if I can’t have her. If she is married to another noble, I will only be sad but won’t do anything outrageous. However, she is going to be married to a civilian who has no hope of activating his blood power! This is an insult to me and the dignity of nobles. How am I going to face other people at parties? ‘Hey, aren’t you the Andrew who was bested by a civilian boy?’”
“That’s right. I only hate that I cannot kill him right now!” Another young man, who had amber-colored eyes, waved his fists hard.
The noble who talked first nodded his head. “I feel the same. However, the boy is Shirley’s fiancé right now. If we do anything, I’m afraid that the Brenzells will be infuriated. They are very influential in the neighborhood.”
He appeared very frustrated. Brenzell was Shirley’s last name.
The room was caught in awkward silence.
Suddenly, Andrew snorted. “In fact, we do not have to do anything in person.”
“Huh?” His friends looked at him in confusion.
Andrew smiled. “I know a night watcher. All we need to do is to accuse the boy as a magic apprentice.”
“He’s a magic apprentice?” the amber-eyed noble asked in shock.
“Maybe, maybe not, but he will be one,” Andrew said coldly.
Oh! The other two nobles, being no stranger to such tricks, immediately understood what Andrew meant.
The noble with the naturally curly hair asked another question, “But what if Baron Brenzell goes to save him?”
Andrew chuckled. “Since the Church occupied Aalto, those sorcerers have been hiding more stealthily. Many night watchers haven’t killed any evils for a long time. It’s said that the leaders of the Inquisition are not satisfied, fearing that the night watchers would lose their value. So, those night watchers definitely wouldn’t let go of leads on sorcerers. As long as we find ‘proof’ before Baron Brenzell rescues him and force the boy to confess, will the baron dare to resist the Inquisition and the Church?”
“If there isn’t any proof, we will let him ‘die’ due to excessive interrogation before the baron saves him. After all, he’s just a civilian. Nobody really cares about it.” The young noble with amber eyes complemented the plan.
The noble with the curly hair said in concern, “However, will the night watchers be used to ‘creating sorcerers’? Will we suffer from it in the future?”
“Idiot, we are nobles!” Andrew scorned. “Alright, let’s gather some Thales so that it would be easier to convince the night watcher I know.”
When the three of them were in the middle of the heated discussion, a maid was standing outside their door. She was holding a tray with her right hand, and her left hand was frozen before the door, as if she were about to knock it.
Her face pale, she heard everything they said inside.
She was a human being with special blood powers. Although she never activated this bloodline and became a knight, she had excellent hearing, and she was sent to cater to the guests in this room by the Brenzells for that reason.
Holding her breath, the maid slowly left the door and walked to the main bedroom in a hurry.
“Very good, you’ve done a great job. I’ll take care of it. Don’t tell anything to my daughter in case she worries,” Baron Brenzell said in “fury”.
Hehe. This is a great plan. After tomorrow, there’s nothing I can do to save Vicente Miranda. Shirley, don’t blame me. I wish I could do something… He rehearsed how he would comfort Shirley. Well, after Vicente is captured, this maid should be buried in the garden.
No flaws should be left behind.
The next day in the morning, the maid, who had nightmares all night, woke up early and delivered breakfast for the guests, only to discover that the young nobles, including Andrew, were gone.
They’ve taken action? the maid thought worriedly. Miss Shirley had been treating the servants kindly and never abused them. She would be very sad if her fiancé died. Would there be enough time for the baron to stop it?
Concerned, she reached Shirley’s bedroom without her knowing it. She then heard a happy melody sung by a gentle female voice.
The miss is very happy…
She thought subconsciously and wondered if she should let Shirley inform Mr. Vicente to hide until the baron took care of everything.
In her impression, the Andrews were much more notable than her master, so she was worried that Baron Brenzell could not stop it in time.
She lingered before the door and couldn’t make up her mind. On one side, it was the miss who had been treating her well, and on the other side, it was the baron’s order.
Suddenly, the door was opened, and Shirley looked at her in confusion, not knowing why she was at her door.
After a brief hesitation, Shirley asked gently, “Neece, do you have any trouble? Is there anything I can do for you?” She thought that Neece had come to ask for her help.
Neece shivered and made up her mind. She looked around and said in a low voice, “Let’s talk in the room.”
After the door was shut, Shirley heard the whole story from Neece.
Her face immediately turned pale, and worries surged out of her heart. If it were an ungrounded indictment, she believed that everything would be alright as long as she begged her father. However, there were a few bodies in Vicente’s basement that he had dissected!
If it was discovered by a night watcher, who would believe that he was not a sorcerer except for herself?
Her parents were not satisfied with Vicente in the first place. They might help him under normal circumstances, but they would certainly not vouch for Vicente under such circumstances.
No, I have to inform Vicente and ask him to destroy the bodies or throw them back into the swamps! Shirley paced anxiously and decided to go to Vicente’s house.
She considered asking servants or guards who were faster to send the message, but she couldn’t tell anyone about the bodies!
……
In the new public cemetery…
Oliver and another burial man were left by Baldy George, because the tomb watcher had just been buried in the cemetery today, and no substitutes were found yet. George was asked to supervise it for a couple of days and set off fireworks when there were signs of undead creatures so that the night watchers could come in time.
George certainly wouldn’t stay in the creepy cemetery himself, so he left Oliver here. Now that you are bold enough to seduce my daughter, I’ll let you know that I am the master of your fate!
If he weren’t concerned that Oliver might escape, he wouldn’t have left another burial man with him at all.
Oliver suffered unprecedented sufferings and pain recently. The pride and confidence on his young face were replaced by numbness and endurance. His heart matured.
“Love is the only candle in this miserable world…” he remarked in a low voice. Although George’s daughter was not pretty and not exactly his type, she warmed his desperate mind.
Looking at his companion who always seemed ready for a fight, Oliver decided to take a walk.
“If you dare to escape, I’ll capture you and bury you alive!” the other burial man threatened him.
Oliver was in a bad mood again. He had enjoyed quite some beating recently. After he left the cottage of the tomb watcher, he roamed in the cemetery. The intense stench had little influence on him right now.
“The moon is so beautiful, but I am so miserable…” Oliver raised his head and looked at the bright moon. He was immediately in the mood for poems, but when he was about to write a sonnet, he suddenly stepped onto nothingness and screamed, “Ahhh!”
Pa, crack, crack.
A huge part of the cemetery collapsed, and countless bones and rotten flesh were revealed. The slackness of the burial men had left the earth unsteady
