Chapter 12: Reconnaissance
In that final moment before death, Patterson understood everything completely.
Especially since he had attended Linley's father's memorial service, he knew that Linley's father was dead.
How ridiculous that he had just been thinking about leaving alive. Now he fully understood why Linley had done this. Patterson's heart was filled with deep unwillingness. He didn't want to die like this. With his strength as a seventh-level warrior, he could easily live another two or three hundred years.
He still had a long life ahead of him.
"If I die, you won't have it easy either, Clayde." As his soul was being drawn into the underworld, Patterson's heart was filled only with resentment—resentment toward Clayde.
…Watching Patterson die, Linley returned to his normal form.
"Clayde. The person behind it all is actually Clayde." Linley's brow furrowed deeply.
Clayde himself was a ninth-level expert. Even if Linley fully dragonized, he was only just entering the eighth level.
He was on an entirely different level from Clayde. Even if Linley ambushed him, he couldn't possibly harm a ninth-level expert. The gap was simply too vast.
And Clayde's influence was also very strong.
As the king of the Fenlai Kingdom, the foremost of the six kingdoms under the Sacred Alliance, how could he lack subordinates? Over the years, as the king of the Fenlai Kingdom, Clayde had maintained a very close relationship with the Radiant Church. His foundation was far deeper than Linley's as well.
Whether in personal strength or in manpower, Linley couldn't compare to Clayde.
"Perhaps my only advantage right now is that I'm in the shadows," Linley thought, constantly considering how to deal with Clayde.
Doeringham Covert emerged from the Coiling Dragon Ring and immediately urged Linley, "Linley, don't waste time. What you need to do now is quickly eliminate any traces that might reveal your identity. You need to return to your mansion as soon as possible. If you go back too late, when they investigate who killed Patterson, they might suspect you."
Linley was jolted awake.
Right!
His only advantage was being in the shadows. Under no circumstances could he let Clayde become alert to him.
"Destroy the evidence," Linley said. He immediately cast dozens of fireballs in an instant. The dozens of fireballs enveloped Patterson's corpse. With Linley's current mental strength, the temperature of the fireballs he formed was extremely high.
Patterson's body was rapidly incinerated, and a very unpleasant odor spread. After a while, only a few scorched yellow bones and powdery ash remained.
The distinctive smell of burning corpses made Linley frown involuntarily.
"Linley, and your clothes," Doeringham Covert reminded him.
Linley looked down. Sure enough. After 'dragonizing,' his clothes were completely torn and ruined. Linley retrieved his belongings, then without hesitation stripped off his coat and pants. He immediately burned those clothes completely as well.
Linley quickly activated the mechanism.
"Creak~~" The stone door opened again. Linley strode out quickly and then immediately closed the mechanism.
No matter what, it was better to keep the stone door shut. Otherwise, if left open, the smell of burning corpses would likely attract people soon.
"There should be clothes in this building," Linley thought, glancing at his undergarments. The torn undergarments couldn't be worn outside—that would definitely arouse suspicion. Linley immediately stepped into the adjacent room and opened the wardrobe.
Inside the wardrobe hung several sets of clothes.
Linley chose a black set, similar to what he had been wearing when he arrived. After putting on the clothes, Linley used wind magic again to disperse the faint smell of blood and burning flesh around him.
"Better get back early. Can't let anyone become suspicious." Linley leaped up quickly, directly jumping out of the small building's courtyard. In just a few seconds, he reached the front yard.
At that moment, a few noble guests were still chatting and laughing with each other.
"Ah, Lord Linley, you haven't left yet?" Count Juno was also heading outside at that moment. Seeing Linley not far away, he immediately greeted him warmly.
Linley smiled and replied, "Yes, my stomach was a bit uncomfortable. I went to the restroom."
Count Juno immediately walked side by side with Linley.
"Lord Linley, I am a great admirer of your stone sculptures. The three pieces you exhibited and auctioned for the first time at the Pruex Gallery—I bought them," Count Juno said proudly to Linley. Count Juno's proudest achievement was probably buying those three pieces from Linley's first exhibition.
Those three pieces of Linley's, purely from the work itself, were each worth only about six or seven thousand gold coins.
But… Linley's status was different now. He was a master sculptor who had carved 'Awakening from a Dream.' His status was almost comparable to Pruex and Hopkinson. How could the value of the three pieces from such a person's first exhibition be low?
According to estimates, simply because of their significance, the three pieces Count Juno had collected were each worth at least one hundred thousand gold coins!
This was probably Count Juno's most proud collection. Count Juno also decided to keep these three pieces forever. He believed… that as Linley's achievements grew, the value of these three pieces would rise accordingly.
"Lord Linley, take care," the steward at the entrance of the Debs family estate said respectfully to Linley.
Linley nodded, bid farewell to Count Juno, and entered his carriage.
"Let's go back," Linley ordered calmly as he got into the carriage.
"Yes, my lord."
The seventh-level warrior of the Radiant Church bowed in acknowledgment and immediately drove the carriage toward Linley's residence.
"I spent about fifteen minutes with Patterson," Linley thought, taking out his pocket watch and glancing at it.
This pocket watch was one of the gifts presented to Linley by many guests when he was ennobled as a marquis.
Because he liked the style of the watch, Linley kept it close to him.
"Fifteen minutes. Count Juno and the others were probably among the last guests to leave. If they don't investigate carefully, no one should suspect me," Linley mused. "There's also the issue that Patterson said his steward knew he was meeting someone but didn't know who it was."
Linley frowned. "But I can't fully trust that. Maybe Patterson's steward knew that Patterson was meeting me. Patterson might have said that deliberately to put me at ease."
Linley considered this possibility.
Patterson's steward!
That was indeed a loose end.
Also… if they investigated thoroughly, others might discover where Linley had gone during those last fifteen minutes. But at the time, the nobles were chatting casually, leaving in a scattered, disorderly manner. Under those circumstances, figuring out someone's whereabouts would be difficult.
"At least no one saw me meeting Patterson. The servant who saw us was killed by Patterson," Linley thought, calming himself.
At most, others might suspect him, but they wouldn't have evidence to act against him.
"Boss, what are you thinking about?" Bebe lay on Linley's thigh, lifting his little head to look at Linley.
"Nothing," Linley replied, stroking Bebe's head. He had completely calmed down.
"My lord, we've arrived."
Linley lifted the carriage curtain and looked up at the endless night sky. The sky was filled with stars. Linley felt a surge of relief in his heart, and his resolve to kill Clayde grew even stronger. "Patterson died today. Next, it's Clayde's turn."
For the first and second day after Patterson's disappearance, apart from his steward, no one noticed anything amiss.
In the living room of the Debs family estate, only Bernard and a middle-aged man with blue hair were present.
"Bernard, on the night of Kalan's engagement ceremony, did the Duke leave your estate?" the blue-haired middle-aged man pressed. This man was Patterson's steward, 'Lodi.'
Bernard was filled with frustration.
Your Duke is missing, and you're asking me?
Bernard knew that on that night, Patterson hadn't even told him who he was meeting, nor had he said anything before leaving. How could Bernard possibly know?
"The Duke left. He wasn't at my estate," Bernard replied directly.
The day after the engagement ceremony, Bernard had sent someone to dispose of the servant's body. His men hadn't found any trace of Duke Patterson in the small building.
"Oh." Lodi frowned, then looked at Bernard. "Bernard, if you find any trace of my master, you must tell me. This matter could be minor or major. If it's serious, it might even expose the Debs family's smuggling operations."
Bernard's face changed color.
"Alright, I'll be going now." Lodi left, his mind heavy with worry.
Watching Lodi's retreating figure, Bernard felt uneasy and decided to visit the small building where Patterson had gone.
Inside the hidden small building of the Debs family estate.
Bernard entered alone. The body of the servant who had died at the entrance of the small building's living room had long been disposed of by Bernard's men. Bernard looked at the building, frowning. "Duke Patterson said he was meeting a guest here, but he never returned. Could it be…"
Bernard thought of a possibility.
The secret room in this small building was known to only a few people in the Debs family. Naturally, the men who cleaned up the bodies wouldn't know about it or go in to check.
Bernard had told Duke Patterson about this secret room, even mentioning that discussions inside it would be completely private, with no chance of being overheard.
"Impossible. That kind of thing couldn't have happened." Bernard strode quickly into the living room and immediately went to the mechanism for the secret room, activating it.
"Creak~~"
The stone door, which looked like a wall, slowly opened again. A smell of blood and the stench of burning corpses rushed out.
Bernard's face turned ugly.
He walked quickly into the secret room. On the marble floor were several cracks, along with traces of blood. Nearby was a pile of scorched yellow human bones and powdery ash.
"Someone died," Bernard realized clearly.
But the person had been burned to ashes, making it impossible for Bernard to identify who it was.
"A ring!" Bernard suddenly noticed a grimy silver-gray ring among the ashes. The style of the ring looked very similar to the one Duke Patterson often wore on his hand.
Bernard's face lost all color.
"Patterson… is probably dead." Bernard's mind went into chaos.
This time, the Debs family had invested over half of their family's funds and a large number of personnel, cooperating with Duke Patterson to start the jade ore smuggling business. This venture was very important to the Debs family. But if the business were exposed… it wouldn't just be a financial loss. The enraged Clayde would likely have the entire Debs family raided and destroyed!
The entire Debs family might be finished.
"No, he can't be dead. Duke Patterson was a seventh-level warrior. How could he die so easily? With his cautious nature, he would never secretly meet someone stronger than him alone," Bernard couldn't accept this outcome.
Indeed, Patterson was very cautious. Unfortunately, he hadn't accurately assessed Linley's true strength.
…The entire city of Fenlai remained calm. Linley continued to cultivate quietly in his mansion. But half a month after Duke Patterson's disappearance, King Clayde, who had been silent, finally issued orders. First, he directly arrested the Duke's steward, 'Lodi,' and then launched a large-scale investigation into the matter.
In the living room of Linley's mansion.
"Lord Linley, His Majesty has ordered you to come to the palace."
Looking at the palace attendant before him delivering the command, Linley felt uncertain. What did King Clayde want with him?
"Please wait a moment. I'll change my clothes and head to the palace immediately," Linley replied with a smile.