Chapter 104: Denouncement
“Who would be so bold to come to my manor and wreak havoc?”
Camille looked unhappy. She placed the wine gla.s.s on the table at the side and walked behind the male servant. “Get the guards in the manor. When we caught the crazy woman outside, I’ll let her have a taste of torture.”
She looked forward to a beautiful future as she thought about building a good relations.h.i.+p with Blackmoon Castle. Nothing made her angrier than an interruption at that time.
Ten minutes later.
In Vermilion Manor’s hall.
The ground was littered with the guards’ corpses. Each of them was missing an arm or a leg. Blood flowed through the cracks in the floor, and the air was filled with the smell of blood. Among the high pile of corpses, a woman in a black robe and a rabbit mask stepped on Camille’s bloodied face; she rubbed Camille’s face against the ground and listened to her screams.
“No, don’t kill me. I’ll give you anything you want! I have money and priceless red wine in the cellar. If you spare me, then these are all yours.”
“If I kill you, aren’t these all mine as well?”
The black-robed woman bent downward as blood dripped from the rabbit mask, and she held a ledger in her hand that told her that the manor had sent gifts to Blackmoon Castle a few days ago. “You seem to have a connection to Blackmoon Castle?”
Blackmoon Castle?
Camille seemed to have grasped onto a life-saving straw. “Yes, I’m their ally. I’m warning you—Blackmoon Castle is a new faction at the border, and they’re connected to the border count! They have dozens of silver-tier warriors and countless treasures in the castle. If you dare to treat me like this, they won’t let you off so easily.”
“I didn’t ask you that many questions.” The black-robed woman broke one of Camille’s arms.
Argh!
“Who are you? Why are you treating me like this?” Camille screamed in pain. What did she do wrong?
“I’m Lady Gluttony, one of the seven great sins of the Demoness Bandit Gang, or you can call me Lady Gluttony. Blackmoon Castle has killed many of my Demoness Bandit Gang members. In return, I want to prepare a small gift for them. However, that’s not why you’ll die. I’m just too hungry.”
Lady Gluttony stroked Camille’s snow-white neck. One could hear it as she licked her lips behind the mask before she bit down hard on the flesh.
“I’m going to start eating. If you don’t want to feel too uncomfortable, don’t resist me.”
One could only hear the sound of chewing in the manor. The sun had set, and it left a strange red trace in the silent manor.
..
“Young Master Watson, something terrible has happened! Three manors were attacked last night, including the Vermilion Manor. No one survived the attack, and there were traces of gnawing on their bodies. Some people said that they had encountered a magical beast!”
Early the following day, Watson had just woken up when Alan, dressed neatly, stood beside him and gave him a report.
Watson held a homemade toothbrush in his mouth before he cleaned his mouth with salt. A moment later, he took a sip of water, rinsed his mouth, and spat it out through the window. “It’s winter, but it only snowed lightly yesterday. The magical beasts are out already?”
That was the first time he had experienced winter since he came to that world. He had heard rumors that after the heavy snow sealed the mountains, the magical beasts in the Misty Forest would wander outside due to the lack of food.
However, that was when the snow was at its peak. It had not reached that stage yet.
“Young Master, I suspect that it was not the magical beasts that killed the people, but—” Allen looked out the window thoughtfully. After he was sure that there was no one under the window, he began to speak. Then, he hesitated.
“What is it?”
Allen said, “I suspect that it was a human. Do you still remember Lady Gluttony who escaped yesterday? When we found her, she was biting the Shabby Bandit Gang leader, Sven. If we hadn’t arrived in time, that old man would have been eaten. Do you think she was the one who did that last night?”
When Watson did not respond, Allen continued to say, “The other manors are saying that the Vermilion Manor ended like this because Blackmoon Castle had angered the bandit gangs, and they wanted revenge! A few of the owners are waiting in the hall right now. They want to seek an explanation from you. Do you want to meet them?”
“Yes, why not?”
Watson put the toothbrush back on the cabinet by the bedside. He pinched his face and revealed an innocent smile that was unique to children his age.
..
In the hall on Blackmoon Castle’s first floor.
Three gorgeous people were sitting on the sofa. They included a middle-aged man with light yellow hair and a high forehead, a black-bearded old man in a boat-shaped hat, and a gorgeous woman in sultry clothes.
“The master of Blackmoon Castle is really arrogant. He made us wait for half an hour. How much longer does he want us to wait?”
The middle-aged man with yellow hair and a high hairline held a gla.s.s of red wine and gestured for the maid behind him to fill it up for him. “However, the environment here is quite comfortable. I have been to the kingdom’s famous n.o.ble territory as a guest before, and the environment there was only average in standard.”
After he tasted the wine, the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes comfortably. “If I’m not wrong, this gla.s.s of wine should be the top red wine produced by the Vermillion Winery ten years ago! The taste is mellow, and the aftertaste is quite profound. A bottle is worth at least 50 gold coins. I didn’t expect that Camille would be willing to send one here. It’s a pity that they were ma.s.sacred last night. I’m afraid I won’t be able to drink this kind of wine anymore.”
“Morgan, don’t be so hypocritical here. You also run a red wine business. Now that there’s one less compet.i.tor, you should be happy, right?” A woman dressed in sultry clothes spoke with disdain; she had wavy brown hair, and her body emitted a strong scent.
The black-bearded old man was called Jack. His family traded in the magical beast business. At that moment, he took a pipe from his pocket and lit it with a match. After he took a puff of smoke, he laughed and leaned against the sofa.
“Christine, you’re right. Logically speaking, without compet.i.tors, we can occupy a favorable position in the deal with Blackmoon Castle! However, there’s a prerequisite—they have to protect us. Otherwise, other people might kill or hate us because of them, and we won’t be able to do anything.”
How could they make money if they were already dead?
Morgan and Christine were quiet when they heard what the older man said. They had heard about the Vermilion Manor, and their hearts trembled. That was why they had chosen to go to Blackmoon Castle to ask for an explanation. They valued Blackmoon Castle for its strength and resources.
As a manor allied to Blackmoon Castle, how could they be at ease when several manors had been ma.s.sacred before any formal transaction had even begun?
“Don’t worry. Even though it was not Blackmoon Castle’s fault, I will still give everyone an explanation.”
A tender voice echoed as Watson led Allen down the stairs.
When three manor owners saw Watson, they stood up at the same time to show their respect.
Morgan sneered; he looked a little dissatisfied. “It wasn’t Blackmoon Castle’s fault? Does Young Master Watson think that it was our fault then? If you didn’t provoke the bandits, they wouldn’t have targeted us. Blackmoon Castle may be powerful, but we are not afraid. It has been hard on us—the small manor owners.”
“Shut up! How can you be so disrespectful toward Young Master Watson? Besides, how can you blame him for this? Even if Young Master Watson didn’t do anything, won’t the bandits still kill people?” Allen growled.
Jack and Christine did not say anything because they knew that Allen was right. They were not there to blame Watson but to take advantage of the opportunity to get some benefits.
“Allen, I understand the feelings of these manor owners. It’s normal for them to be afraid when a manor has been attacked. Don’t be too impulsive; it’s not good to scare the guests.”
Watson smiled elegantly and waved his hand. “It just so happens that we destroyed two bandit groups yesterday. We seized a lot of things! Allen, please bring those things here as an apology to the manor owners.”