709 Unexpected Encounter (2/2)
Although the voice sounded weird, Yakov felt that the voice was so familiar and soft that it sounded both from the Lord he worshiped and the girl he secretly loved. Therefore, without any resistance, he replied in adulation, ”What question?”
”What's your relationship with the sorcerer who died here? Why did you investigate this place?” The voice came again.
Yakov subconsciously wanted to refuse to answer, but the uncanny state of submission and admiration made him admit frankly, ”In may, I happened upon an official sorcerer and cooperated with him for a while.”
”I provided intelligence for him and led him to search for resources, and he offered me files about blood power in return. Thanks to those files, I corrected my mistakes and found the way to become a knight. Then, I went to the frozen land on another mission. When I returned, I was told that the sorcerer was involved in demon worship.”
”Fearing that I might be involved, and since this is a critical moment of my knighthood, I came here to search, hoping to destroy all the clues that may still exist.”
Katrina was stunned. ”Why would you be involved? Was he alone when he worked with you?”
The sorcerer was already dead, and he certainly did not have Yakov's items, or Yakov would be interrogated the moment he was back. What was he concerned about?
”Yes, he was alone.” Yakov replied honestly as if she were his liege whom he pledged loyalty to.
Alone? He came to Calcate City with a few partners, but he left them and worked with Yakov… Katrina crossed her arms and asked, ”What about the other question?”
”Because… Because our cooperation was facilitated by Duke Duda. Before I went to the frozen land, that sorcerer gladly told me that Duke Duda invited him for a private party, and that it was a great chance for him to join their circle.” After a brief hesitation, Yakov admitted honestly, ”I don't know what circle it is exactly, but Duke Duda has always been strong and mysterious as the master of Calcate City's underworld. I fear that the sorcerer's death was related to him…”
”If the Church found out about him, the mercenaries who were in touch with the sorcerer like me would certainly be killed. I happen to know that the sorcerer had the habit of leaving secret marks. So, I came and planned to destroy the marks.”
Pondering for a moment, Katrina asked, ”Is Duke Duda still alive?”
”Yes, as alive as ever. I saw him in the city hall this morning.” Yakov said, his body trembling, as if he was very scared of this Duke Duda.
Katrina inquired again but didn't get any other valuable information. Therefore, she asked Yakov to tell her the secret marks of the sorcerer. Then, she vaporized her body and left the hall, returning to the hotel.
In the hall, Yakov 'accepted' Katrina's order and stood there in a daze, until a chilly wind from the wind shivered him and woke him up. He felt that he just had a dream in which he told someone else his deepest secrets.
”This… This is terrifying… Was it the fifth-circle spell, 'Dominate Humans'?” Yakov speculated what happened to him. ”Has the Congress of Magic sent investigators?”
”Thankfully, the powerful sorcerer only needed clues and did not want to kill anyone. Otherwise…” Yakov thought in fear. His life could've been taken away easily.
”I thought that I was finally an expert after I activated my blood power and became a knight. I didn't know until right now that knighthood is just the beginning. There are too many dangerous people above me. The fifth-circle sorcerer just now was already way stronger than me, not to mention those sorcerers and radiant knights…”
Calming himself time, Yakov hurried to leave. Under the freezing wind, he realized that his clothes had been wet by the cold sweat on his back.
......
On the second day, Yakov, pretending to be normal, went to the guild of adventurers for his business, and Katrina asked about the dead knight and the place where he was buried with Anna.
When the night fell, Katrina entered the clean but creepy graveyard according to her intelligence and found the tomb of the dead knight.
Right when she was about to open the tomb with magic, a magnetic male laughed from the crown of the tree on her back. ”An investigator from the Congress of Magic?”
”Who is it?” Katrina turned around warily. She didn't notice anything wrong when she checked the surroundings just now, which suggested that the man was better at hiding than she was.
A gold-haired handsome man, wearing a black shirt and a red coat, stood on the top of the tree. Holding a cup of wine that did not quite agree with the atmosphere, he greeted, ”Good evening, beautiful lady. You may call me Viscount Carendia.”
”Viscount Carendia? You're Mr. Rhine's grandson?” Katrina associated the male before him with the vampire viscount that her teacher described before.
”Huh?” Viscount Carendia rubbed his face and appeared rather surprised. ”Am I a celebrity now? Who's your teacher?”
”My teacher is Mr. Atom Controller.” Katrina was more or less relieved since it was someone she knew.
”That monster… No, I mean…” Viscount Carendia blurted out. Chuckling to cover himself, he said, ”Your teacher is a real genius that I admire very much. Right, I'm here to investigate the unusual death of my descendants. I believe that we share the same purpose.”