It was time to stop. It was always better to see than to hear. This kind of thing could only be changed slowly. Roland changed the subject, “Nana has been safely sent back, right?”
“Ah yes, but she got spooked.”
Roland sighed, it couldn’t be helped, after all, it was midnight when she had been woken up by Nightingale. When she was brought to the scene and saw the battle place, she almost threw up. Nightingale gave him a short account about the things which happened, and then he told her to get Nana. Usually, Nana had to only heal chickens. But now, when the little girl saw people covered in blood, she immediately fainted. After a short while, she woke up and began to heal the person from the town patrol with her face full of tears.
In order to keep Nana’s family in the dark, Nightingale was also responsible for taking her back.
When everything was settled, it was almost daybreak.
“How was the investigation? Could you figure out which of my good brothers or sisters sent them?”
Nightingale shook her head, “They were all people of your own patrol, with only one exception, but he also didn’t carry any identity-related evidence with him. With enough money, anyone could hire them. But I think that this perhaps isn’t related to your siblings.”
“Why?”
“Because it was extremely unorganized. During multiple occasions, the team actually had a lot infighting. And immediately after their failure they didn’t commit suicide, leaving at least two people alive. And then, they had no professional performance. In general, they were just street punks. This is unlike the style of your brothers and sisters, it is more likely that it was a layman’s plan. I think that even if I wasn’t here there was no way their assassination attempt would have succeeded. Don’t forget that Anna is sleeping downstairs. ”
Nightingale reached for Roland’s cup, she didn’t seem to care about drinking from the same cup as him, and then said, “No matter what, your knight had asked for the truth of what happened in the sewers, and I bet he will soon know the truth — compared with the former piece of your sister, that guy is much less professional. If I hadn’t left, he would still kneel before me begging me to not to kill him.”
“That seriously injured patrol member, it seems that he is the one I summoned not too long ago.”
“Really?” Nightingale tilted her head, “I think that you’ll have to reward him. If he hadn’t stood up against the other guys, I would not have found them so quickly and they would have slipped into the basement of the castle. Although it is still not clear why he did that, but the enemy’s enemy is our friend, right? ”
Yes, Roland thought, but the important part was not if he is a friend or foe, but rather that Nightingale said the two words.
– “Our friend.“
Chapter 32 Knight
When Brian woke up, the first thing that caught his eyes was the white ceiling.
The sunlight shining through the window was somewhat bright, so he had to close his eyes a little. Then when his eyes got used to the sunlight, he opened them again, only to find the scene in front of him unchanged.
Feeling that it wasn’t a dream, he thought, I’m… still alive? He tried to move his body, but soon noticed that he could only lift his fingers a little bit. It seemed that his whole body’s strength was gone.
Then he heard someone shouting, “He woke up! Go and inform His Highness!”
His Highness? Brian felt like his brain was filled with paste and that his thought process was many times slower than usual. By the way, what happened after I fainted? I can only remember that Viper pierced my chest and that I was dying, and in my last moment I could see a ghostly woman who defeated all the enemies in an incredible way…
Soon a maid arrived to help him up so that he could sit in the bed. Then another maid came holding a basin and sat down next to him and immediately began to help him clean his face. In his whole life Brian had never experienced such comprehensive personal service, plus the maids were all young women, which made the situation really awkward for him.
Fortunately, the situation did not last long. As soon as the 4th Prince entered the room, everyone else left.
Brian could feel a surging heat within his heart. He had too much to ask, but then, when he tried to open his mouth he didn’t know from where to begin. But contrary to what he had expected, Roland nodded and said, “I already know of all your past achievements, and Brian, you are worthy of the title of a hero.”
Hearing the word “Hero”, Brian suddenly felt his eyes begin to tear up. He began to sob and his voice choked, “No… Your Highness, my friend…is the real …”
Roland patted him on his shoulder so as to comfort him.
It was exactly like Nightingale had predicted. After Fierce Scar was dragged into the torture chamber, he began to tell everything he knew before the warden even put his hands on him.
The one behind this group was not his sister or any other of his siblings, but Longsong Stronghold’s Elk family. Count Elk got in contact with his distant relative Hiller Dmitry. Afterwards, Fierce Scar gained control over most of the town patrol with the lure of a reward. In addition, he also sent an assassin to replace one of the members in the team to prevent an accident from occurring in the course of action. The purpose of this group of people was not to assassinate Roland like he had thought, instead they intended to burn the food reserves so that he would obediently go back to the stronghold.
Their conspiracy resulted in the death of an innocent person — Greyhound. He tried to stop Fierce Scar when he heard of his criminal intent, but he was stabbed to death with a dagger by one of his own subordinates. The whereabouts of the patrol member who was replaced by Viper was unknown. When he didn’t see fire on the castle ground and noticed that Fierce Scar failed to come back, he probably realized that the plan was discovered and fled..
To help stabilize Brian’s mood, Roland promised him, “Your friend Greyhound, he’ll get a funeral fitting for his sacrifice, and his family will be properly cared for, they will no longer need to worry about food in the future.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Brian took a deep breath, “I have to know. Fierce Scar… is he dead?”
“No, he is still alive.”
Brian painfully closed his eyes. He would rather have had them not rescue Fierce Scar so that he would have been dragged to hell than both of them staying alive. But now, the chance to fulfill his wish became slim… There was no doubt that Fierce Scar was guilty, but the sins committed by nobility could always be redeemed with money. As long as his uncle was willing to protect him, it was very likely that Fierce Scar wouldn’t die. It was most probable that he wouldn’t even need to go to prison.
Roland could naturally guess his thoughts, “Hiller Dmitry, the uncle of Fierce Scar, is also a distant relative of the Elk family in Longsong Stronghold. The head of the family is Luke Dmitry, a vassal under Duke Ryan, but the fact that he is the distant uncle of Fierce Scar…” here he paused for a little moment, “will not affect the final verdict. Fierce Scar has been sentenced to death by hanging, and there are only three days left until his execution. If you can restore your body by then, you’re invited to witness it if you wish to. “
Brian became startled, “But… But Your Highness, members of the nobility can have their freedom bought, this rule you cannot offend — “
Roland waved his hand dismissively, indicating Brian shouldn’t concern himself with it, “He is a Noble? Maybe for you, he was born in a branch family of the Elk family, so the status you and he have are as much apart as heaven and earth. However, it’s a fact that he has neither a title nor a any land, so he simply cannot be considered as nobleman. In addition, even if he were a nobleman, to lead an invasion into the prince’s temporal royal residence and attempt to burn the food stocks, ignoring the fate of the two thousand people in Border Town, carried enough guilt. Adding these three sins together, he could simply not be forgiven.”