As Daniel and Michaela walked past the police barrier and into the crowd, they noticed that no one paid attention to them. The crowd was focused on searching for their loved ones who were lost in the blast. Candles were lit in front of pictures of the deceased as a memorial.
Many people cried as they confirmed the loss of their loved ones. Five days had passed since the blast, but the list of confirmed casualties continued to be updated.
"This is terrible," Michaela said, her heart heavy as she looked at the anguished crowd.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm "I know, and it will only get worse as long as that bastard king sits on the throne," Daniel replied, his eyes filled with hatred.
"Let's go to the Veneziale estate. We need them to update us with the latest news," Daniel added as he led Michaela toward the usual spot where taxis parked.
"My Lord, didn't we already watch the news in the past 5 days?" asked Michaela.
"Yes, but the news we saw on TV or the internet was either censored or approved by the government or the Royal family. They wouldn't let any news that tarnished their reputation to see the light of day," Daniel explained before he hailed a taxi.
The taxi arrived, and the two entered before it sped off and disappeared into the distance road.
_________
– Veneziale Estate –
The expansive estate, with its verdant roof, was heavily guarded by scary-looking individuals who patrolled the gates and the surrounding perimeter. Their tense postures suggested that they were anticipating an attack.
As the taxi pulled up to the front of the large steel gate of the estate, the guards quickly prepared themselves for a potential attack. But when Daniel stepped out of the taxi, one of the Veneziale men showed an expression of disbelief.
"Mr. Magitek! We thought you were dead!" he blurted out in disbelief.
Daniel noticed the relief on the faces of the Veneziale men as they realized it was him. "I'm hard to kill. Are my people and Don Veneziale inside?" he asked.
"Yes! Lord Stenmark and Miss Maria are waiting for you inside," the guard replied with a smile of relief. "I must apologize to her; I shouldn't have doubted her word that you were not dead."
"Make sure you apologize to her. She's the best information gatherer I have right now," Daniel said before turning to Michaela, who had followed him from the taxi. "Let's go, Michaela."
"Yes, My Lord," Michaela replied as she followed Daniel into the Veneziale estate.
In the common room of the Veneziale estate's guest wing, Ragnar paced back and forth in agitation.
"It's already been five days! If you knew where your lord is, why didn't you tell me so I could go and get him?" he demanded of Maria.
"As I said, Lord Stenmark, I can sense that he is still alive, but I don't know where he is," Maria patiently replied, typing away on her notebook.
Suddenly, one of the Veneziale men burst into the room with a smile on his face.
"What is it, kid? If you're bringing me more bad news, I'm going to find something to shut your mouth," Ragnar said, annoyed at the interruption.
"Mr. Magitek is alive!" the man exclaimed, but before he could say more, Daniel walked into the room with a smile.
"Lord Stenmark, sorry to keep you waiting. By the way, where is Wrath?" Daniel asked, scanning the room for her.
Upon hearing Daniel's question, the faces of everyone in the room grew solemn, and they didn't know where to begin.
"Kid… before we talk about this matter, I suggest you sit down and make yourself comfortable first," said Ragnar, trying to calm Daniel down and persuade him to sit.
Daniel didn't have a good feeling about what he was going to hear, given everyone's reaction to his question. Nevertheless, he decided to remain calm and sat down on a nearby sofa.
In the room were several familiar faces, such as Maria, who sat typing furiously on her notebook, Ragnar Stenmark, who appeared agitated and stood up, and Ardito Veneziale, who was silently waiting on the sofa. However, there was one person he didn't recognize, an auburn-haired beauty in a business suit.
"Kid..." Ragnar sat down on the sofa and began to speak. "Wrath killed Victor, and now she's been arrested."
Daniel's eyes grew sharp, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly grew tense. The heavy air hung for a while before slowly subsiding as he brought his anger under control.
"Can you tell me what happened during that time and these past 5 days?" asked Daniel.
"Ok, here it is," nodded Ragnar, and began to tell Daniel about everything that had happened during these past 5 days.
What Daniel heard from Ragnar was strange, very strange, in fact. He knew how cautious Victor was when it came to his own safety, but he came in front of Wrath without Klause to protect him and only brought normal soldiers, despite being a mage and knowing that those people couldn't hold a candle to a mage.
It was as if that guy was not the Victor he knew.
After that, he learned that Lucien Blackscar, the new chancellor, was taking the reins of the country since Victor died without a successor.
It appears that the only one who gained from this incident was Lucien. Did Lucien lure Victor to go there to die? Or was there something hiding behind this conspiracy?
Daniel's mind was reeling with the information he had just learned from Ragnar. The fact that the royal family and the Willow family were the ones imprisoning Wrath was shocking enough, but the use of an artifact weapon to bomb the area was even more unsettling.
As someone who knew the taboo against revealing the existence of the Curtained World to the masses, he couldn't help but feel disturbed. Was the Hightower not caring about revealing the magic and the existence of the Curtained World to the masses anymore?
"Lord Stenmark, where is Wrath being held now?" Daniel asked, trying to focus on the present situation.
But instead of Ragnar, the auburn-haired woman answered, "She's being held in the Willow family's underground prison, which is the most secure location."
"Excuse me? Who are you?" Daniel inquired, curious about her identity.
"I'm Greed, Wrath's employer, and her friend," she introduced herself, extending her hand towards Daniel.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Greed," Daniel replied, shaking her hand before asking, "By the way, what do you mean by being her employer?"
"I hired her to be my bodyguard," Greed explained.
Daniel nodded before turning towards Ragnar. "Lord Stenmark, didn't the Hightower say anything about the use of the artifact weapon? If Lucien is the current Chancellor of Tessia Kingdom and also a mage, he should know something about it," Daniel inquired.
"My lord, please pardon me for interrupting, but I have found something," Maria interrupted, placing her notebook on the tea table and turning it towards Daniel.
She pointed at the screen that displayed an order paper from Lucien to the Willow family, instructing them to change the bomb from a normal high-yield bomb to the artifact weapon called "Mana Blast Bomb."
"This is the order from Lucien to change the bomb to 'Mana Blast Bomb,' the latest Dwarven invention in magic warfare," Maria informed them.
"This is convenient, but is this paper genuine? Would Lucien leave such a significant piece of evidence for us to catch him?" Daniel doubted.
Then, Michaela's eyes narrowed and she materialized her sword out of thin air, pointing it menacingly toward the entrance.
"Show yourselves now or I'll assume you're intruders and deal with you accordingly," Michaela growled, her voice low and dangerous. Her stance was aggressive, ready for any potential threat.
The door suddenly opened, and two uninvited guests entered the room. Don Veneziale quickly drew his gun and pointed it at them.
The first was a man with neat black hair, wearing a long black coat over his formal black suit, with a serious expression on his face as if he had never laughed or smiled in his life. The second was a girl who appeared to be around 17-18 years old, with black hair, pale red eyes, and a face of perfect mixed-race beauty. It was Koyuki's face, the former idol known as Wrath.
"Koyuki?!" Daniel blurted out her name but then stopped. "No...you're not her. Who the hell are you?" Daniel said warily, preparing to unleash destructive spells toward the uninvited guests.
"Mr. Magitek, I believe you remember me. I've come to make you an offer," the man with black hair, Klause, said solemnly.
"Klause..." Daniel uttered the man's name. "What kind of offer do you want to make?" he asked, still on guard.
Klause turned towards the girl beside him and nodded. The girl walked in front, wearing a casual shirt and jeans, a common get-up for people who don't want to be noticed.
"I can help Miss Wrath to be released, and I've prepared a lot of evidence to help her in her case. The only thing I ask is for you to promise me one thing," said the girl with Koyuki's face.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter