Chương 62: Investigation - Part 1

Adolin followed behind the butler as they headed toward one of the last buildings on the left side of the manor. It was the same as every other building, built from white marble. The only difference was that it wasn't as tall. They entered, and the interior was warmly decorated... he wasn't sure how else to describe it. The luxury of the previous buildings was gone, replaced by black wooden furnishings and decorations.

He liked it better than the others; the dark wood contrasted quite nicely against the white marble walls. It smelled of fresh bread and hearty stew, which quickly stirred his appetite again. He was sure that if he asked, he would get a portion for himself. But he stopped himself. He was on official business, and he could always get something to eat once he found the cursed object. They stopped in front of a door near the entrance of the building, and the butler knocked.

A moment later, he opened the door and stepped inside, with Adolin following behind. The door closed quietly behind them. Inside, a woman in her forties sat behind a desk covered in scattered sheets of parchment. Her hair was a mess, and dark circles hung beneath her eyes.

"Nicholas," Lady Luna said.

"What brings you here?" She glanced at Adolin and bowed her head slightly.

"Lord." At least he had learned the butler's name and could address him more easily. And Lady Luna looked exhausted, like she had only slept a few hours over the course of an entire week. He was quite familiar with going weeks on minimal sleep.

"Lady Luna," Nicholas said.

"How are you faring with the additional people?" Luna exhaled audibly.

"A nightmare. More and more arrive every week. Just as I manage the supplies for them, another group shows up. The cleaning schedules don't work anymore, as every residence on the estate is filled with new guards who lack both manners and hygiene." She glanced at Adolin and bowed her head slightly.

"My apologies for the rant, my lord. I'm just... tired and..." She trailed off, only to launch into another complaint while Adolin and Nicholas listened in silence. Adolin almost chuckled, but it felt inappropriate. At least she made the investigation easier. There was no chance she was the one who had cursed the Count or done anything against him. She didn't look like she had time to relax, and her personality didn't seem suited for that kind of work. Then again, he could be completely wrong.

It wasn't like he was an expert, and all of this could be an act. He was the one his party pointed at when something needed to be reduced to rubble—the good old days, before things got too loud and took too long. Still, he needed to at least try to investigate and ask a few questions, but his mind turned blank. What was he supposed to ask to uncover her motives? He wasn't that good at talking. Even that was an understatement unless he was pissed off. Then it came a lot easier.

He could just ask her outright if she held any ill will toward the Count or the estate. But that would be a bad idea. People liked to talk, and if he asked a question like that, directly or indirectly, it would spread through the estate in no time. The culprit might start causing more trouble, or worse, flee altogether, leaving them with little chance of ever finding the cursed item. When she finally stopped complaining about her increased workload and the hygiene issues around the estate, she apologized again.

"What brings you here? Did you need my help with anything?" Luna asked.

"There are a few questions I need you to answer," Nicholas said. Luna nodded.

"Go ahead." Adolin didn't waste any time and cast Trust a spell for discerning truth. The name of the spell was quite ironic, but it wasn't his spell; he had gotten it from his mentor, and even he didn't know where the spell had come from, but they respected the wishes of the creator and used the name he had given. He also kinda liked the name. The spell worked similarly to the Truthseeker he had avoided once, but it was much more complicated, and fooling it was impossible.

Well, impossible if you didn't have the opposite spell Faith created by the same mage. He didn't want to comment on that. It had given him a good laugh when his mentor taught him the spells. The creator of the spells was an interesting fellow. He focused the spell on Luna, and this one didn't need adjusting on true and false before working properly like the Truthseeker artifact.

"Do you have any ill will toward the Count?" Nicholas asked. His expression didn't change at all. He remained as stoic as ever. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Adolin wanted to facepalm. Was the butler even worse at this than he was? Nicholas had always acted confident, like he knew exactly what he was doing. And, to be fair, he had done everything correctly so far. So what was this?

"What?" Lady Luna blurted out, her eyes widening. She stared at him as if he had just accused her of murder.

"Please answer the question," Nicholas said calmly.

"No!"

"Do you have any ill will toward the estate?" Nicholas asked, his tone just as calm as before.

"No!" She threw her hands into the air.

"What kind of question is that?" Luna looked pissed. Quite a bit, in fact. But she was telling the truth. There was no way to fool the spell; of that, Adolin was certain. Maybe there were ways to cheat the spells and artifacts of this world, but he was using a foreign spell created by a mage lost to the annals of history. It might function differently from the spells used here. He still needed to learn a spell from this world to be certain, but he hadn't had the time to do so.

Maybe that would be the smart choice after all the business with the Count was settled. He needed to understand how this world's spells functioned before he could teach the mages at Revel's estate. He cut the thought off. He was in the middle of an... investigation.

"What's all of this?" Luna demanded. Nicholas adjusted his monocle again.

"It's for the investigation into the Count's condition." Luna immediately calmed down at that.

"Please keep this matter between us until the culprit is found," Nicholas continued. Luna nodded.

"I... yes. How can I help?" The butler looked at Adolin.

"Lady Luna is not the culprit," he said.

"You have my word on that. Do you have any questions for her?" Why did the butler have to put him in such an awkward situation? He had confirmed it himself, but it still felt awkward to start asking questions after being put on the spot like that. What was he even supposed to ask?

"Please, ask away," Luna said.

"I'll tell you everything I know." Adolin scratched the back of his head.

"Umm... anyone acting suspicious?" The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Immediately. The head maid launched into another rant, and this one was much longer and much harder to endure.

"I saw Emily and Guardsman Vascant sneaking out at night multiple times. When I confronted them, they avoided every question like they had rehearsed their answers beforehand. And that man in the dark blue robes? He looks suspicious. He's always wandering around the main building, and his eyes are constantly darting everywhere. Then there's Lien. She started seeing Visen again after he finally recovered from the illness that took him..."

The rant continued for more than fifteen minutes, and Adolin found himself wanting to hide somewhere. He didn't get any new information regarding the issue at hand. The only thing he gained was a mountain of gossip. Nothing else of value came from the rant. Maybe the whole thing would even make their investigation harder, with all the gossip already influencing their opinions of certain individuals.

By the time she finished, Adolin could have sworn Luna looked visibly lighter, as if a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. They said their goodbyes and left the room as quickly as they could. Even Nicholas was walking faster than usual to escape, which was odd for the butler. It seemed he wasn't fond of long rants either. When they left the building, they stopped together outside. Adolin was curious about how Nicholas had determined Luna was innocent.

Well, other than the long rant and the personality that would make her the worst spy to have ever lived.

"How do you know she's innocent?" Nicholas twisted his mustache.

"I'm quite good at catching lies," he stated.

"A gift?" Nicholas shrugged. Well, at least there were gifts in this world as well. The spark he saw in other people's eyes was a gift he'd had since childhood. It was why his mother had pushed him toward the healing arts. Yet somehow, he had ended up going in the exact opposite direction.

"What now?"

"We visit the next name on the list," the butler said. That was definitely the only path forward for now.

"What's the next name on the list?" Adolin asked.

"Guardsman Coal," the butler replied.

"Where do we find him?"

"He should be patrolling the back gardens." They started moving.

"How can you be sure Lady Luna will keep it a secret?" Adolin asked.

"She didn't lie."

"That doesn't mean anything. She could mention it by accident, and that might alert the culprit."

"She won't." The butler was something else. The confidence with which he answered every question was... hard to question. He was one confident middle-aged man. And competent. Disturbingly so. Maybe he could kidnap him, the same way Eduard had kidnapped him. Make things even. That wasn't the worst idea he had ever had. He would get himself a butler and finally get even with Eduard. And maybe accidentally drop a lit match in a certain inn on his way out of the capital.

"Why the blind trust from Eduard?" Adolin finally asked. It did feel strange that they trusted him so much. Well, maybe not that much. He was still being followed wherever he went. He had simply decided to ignore the people tailing him, pretending they didn't exist. It made him feel better that way. The butler didn't answer immediately.

"I advised him to trust you," he said with the same confidence and stoic expression he always wore. Adolin snorted.

"Is that because you always know when someone is lying?"

"Precisely." The butler was one annoying man. Adolin decided he didn't like his confidence quite as much anymore. It was getting old. He wanted to press him further, but they had already arrived at the back gardens. Nicholas pointed toward a pair of arguing guards.

"That's him," the butler said.