Chapter 20: A Blaze in Summer
In the quiet night, the shouts and screams of the Holmer family rang out with piercing clarity. The sounds carried far into the distance, reaching even Jenny and Keen, who were residing in the castle.
"What's going on?"
Keen ran out in his nightgown, and Jenny followed with her hair disheveled. The siblings exchanged a puzzled glance and headed straight for the castle gate. The highly alert old servant Lambert was already at the gate.
"Madam has ordered that no one is to leave the castle at night."
The two castle guards crossed their long spears, speaking coldly to Lambert.
"What's this? You two, move aside immediately," Keen barked.
The two guards saw Jenny and Keen approaching and exchanged a look. Everyone in the castle knew that Keen was the heir to the city lord's position, but they also understood that Widow Weide would not easily relinquish power.
"Master Keen, Miss Jenny, I'm sorry. Madam has ordered that no one is to leave the castle at night. Please go back and rest for now," one of the tall guards said.
Keen's face turned cold. "Move aside."
The tall guard remained still, speaking with a pained plea, "Master Keen, please don't make things difficult for us. If you force us like this, you're sending us to our deaths. We truly cannot disobey Madam's orders."
Keen felt a surge of anger.
Jenny beside him advised, "Alright, Keen. Don't make things hard for them. They're pitiable enough."
"Thank you, Miss Jenny. Thank you, Miss Jenny," both guards quickly said, feeling grateful to Jenny in their hearts. Jenny looked like a holy angel, and her heart was just as kind.
Jenny asked gently, "May I ask what's happening outside? I could hear those screams, and it sounds very noisy toward the east."
The tall guard lowered his voice and said, "Miss Jenny, just a short while ago, Madam led a group of people out of the castle. Quite a few city guards passed by the castle gate earlier."
"Stepmother? City guards?" Jenny and Keen were both puzzled.
In the dead of night, what was Widow Weide doing leading a large group of city guards out?
"Miss, Master, rest here for a while first," Lambert said, pointing to a stone bench nearby. Keen and Jenny nodded and walked over, and the three of them sat down.
Jenny, Keen, and Lambert were all troubled.
Widow Weide's existence was like a fishbone stuck in their throats, causing them immense pain.
"That wretched woman uses the excuse that I'm not yet of age to force me to wait another two years. Hmph... two years. In two years, I'll probably be dead by her hand," Keen muttered curses under his breath.
Jenny nodded.
The siblings knew very well that they couldn't let Widow Weide continue like this.
"Miss, Master, the Madam has been managing Chier County City for a long time. Whether it's the city guards or the castle's protectors, they all obey her. Her authority is already very high. If Master Keen doesn't inherit the city lord's position, it will be very hard for us to contend with her. After all, here... there are very few people who fully support us," Lambert said helplessly.
Jenny, Keen, and Lambert all fell silent.
In Chier County City, those who supported them were truly very few. Even if someone wanted to support them, they probably didn't have the courage. In Chier County City, Widow Weide was like a local emperor.
"Whoosh."
A sound of wind.
"Who's there?" The two guards looked up alertly, seeing a man in black warrior attire land lightly. On his back was a dark cyan heavy sword.
"It's me." Linley turned back to glance at the two guards.
The two guards immediately fell silent. They had heard of Linley's strength. With their abilities, they couldn't even stop Linley.
"Big brother Lei." Jenny and Keen both stood up.
Linley turned to look.
It was now early summer, and the night temperature was relatively warm. Keen and Jenny were both in simple nightgowns, their hair a bit messy.
"Big brother Lei, what exactly is happening outside? Why is it so loud?" Keen was the first to ask.
Linley said casually, "Widow Weide led the city guards to raid the Holmer family's estate. Do you think it would be quiet?"
"Raid?" Jenny and Keen were stunned.
"The Holmer family?" The old servant Lambert beside them was also greatly shocked.
Linley casually sat down on one end of the long bench and said with a smile, "Just rest here for a while. Wait a bit, and you'll hear some good news."
"Good news? Is that wretched woman giving me the money from the raid?" Keen muttered a curse.
"Boom!"
At that moment, a deafening explosion came from the east. The sound was so loud it was like dozens of thunderclaps. That explosion probably woke up more than half of Chier County City.
"What's that?" Jenny, Keen, and Lambert jumped up in fright.
The surrounding guards, along with some servants and maids, all looked eastward in shock and confusion. There, towering flames were rising into the sky.
"How can there be such huge flames and such a loud explosion?" Linley also looked eastward in confusion.
Everyone in the castle was bewildered. They all waited quietly, waiting for the city guards to return, waiting for Widow Weide to return. Perhaps then they would know why there were such massive flames and such a loud explosion.
After a while—
The sound of orderly horse hooves rang out outside the castle gate, accompanied by continuous shouts. Then came urgent knocking, like raindrops during a thunderstorm.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" ...
The knocking was urgent and piercing.
"Open the gate! Open the gate quickly!" Angry and anxious roars came from outside.
The two guards didn't dare delay and immediately opened the castle gate. Linley, Keen, Jenny, Lambert, and the others all looked outside.
The castle gate swung open. Outside, on the open ground, a large number of knights and brave warriors had gathered. At their head was a golden-haired man holding a long spear.
"Get out of the way." The golden-haired man scolded the two guards.
But when he saw Jenny and Keen, the golden-haired man paused, then immediately said respectfully, "City Guard Deputy Captain Litte, pays respects to Miss Jenny and Master Keen."
Deputy Captain Litte was the second-in-command of the city guards, second only to the captain. He had attended the banquet not long ago and naturally recognized Jenny and Keen.
"Mr. Litte, what happened? Why are you so agitated?" Keen asked.
Litte immediately knelt on one knee and said painfully, "Master Keen, I failed in my duty to protect. Widow Weide and her two brothers died in the explosion just now."
"Oh... ah!"
Keen's eyes widened. Jenny and Lambert were also greatly shocked. Even the surrounding guards looked stunned.
Widow Weide was dead.
Just when Jenny and Keen were at their wits' end, Widow Weide and her two brothers had died so suddenly. Her death only made Keen and Jenny more excited in their hearts.
Keen and Jenny exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with wild joy.
"Tell me exactly what happened. Give me the full account." Keen now spoke with the authority of someone in a high position.
The golden-haired man "Litte" immediately reported, "This time, I led several hundred city guards under the countess's orders to raid the Holmer estate."
"After the raid was complete, the countess had all the looted treasures and carts gathered in the inner hall of the Holmer estate. She then ordered all of us soldiers out, leaving only herself and her two brothers inside."
Hearing this, Keen muttered curses under his breath, "That wretched woman is truly shameless."
Litte continued, "We were outside capturing the Holmer family members when, unexpectedly, the Holmer estate caught fire. As soon as the fire started, everyone immediately moved to rescue the countess."
"But before we could get inside, we heard a terrifying explosion. More than half of the Holmer estate's buildings were completely destroyed."
Litte said painfully, "When we found the bodies of the countess and her two brothers, they were already broken apart by the blast. All three were dead."
"Alright, have someone send my stepmother's bodies inside, and you go back to rest," Keen ordered directly.
"Yes." Litte responded very promptly.
Everyone understood that with Widow Weide's death, the entire Chier County City would fall into the hands of this fourteen-year-old boy.
Seeing Litte and his group bring over the charred, broken bodies, Keen and Jenny finally confirmed... they weren't dreaming. That hateful Widow Weide was truly dead. From today on, they were completely free.
"Big brother Lei." Jenny suddenly came to her senses and looked at Linley. "Thank you."
Lambert also reacted, looking at Linley with gratitude. "Mr. Lei, you told us to wait for good news. This is indeed good news—a life-saving piece of good news."
"What are you—"
Keen was stunned. "What good news? Ah!"
Keen also caught on.
"Big brother Lei, you came in from outside just now?" Keen asked in a low voice.
"Yes." Linley nodded.
"Then you..." Keen's face broke into a smile.
Linley also smiled. "Seeing how restless and troubled you were, I just helped you get rid of that root of your troubles. Alright, get some good sleep and wait to inherit the city lord's position."
With that, Linley turned and walked toward his quarters.
Jenny, Keen, and Lambert exchanged stunned, delighted glances. They really wanted to cheer out loud, but with Widow Weide's three bodies still lying there, it wasn't quite appropriate to celebrate just yet.
"Boss, all taken care of?" Bebe was lying on the ground, his eyelids drooping.
Linley smiled. "Yes, all taken care of."
To Linley, someone like Widow Weide wasn't even worthy of being an opponent. Her petty schemes were laughable in Linley's eyes.
No matter what plots or plans you have, just kill you outright, and it's done.
"How was there an explosion?" Bebe asked curiously.
"How should I know?" Linley shook his head. "I killed Widow Weide and her two brothers, then used a fire-type magic to set the house ablaze. After that... I came back alone. But who would have thought, just as I returned to the castle, I heard that violent explosion."
Linley didn't know that the estate's hidden compartment contained Holmer's experimental lab, filled with all sorts of strange materials and ingredients. When the fire Linley set reached the lab, it ignited some special materials, causing the violent explosion.
"You don't know?" Bebe was taken aback. "Oh, well, let's sleep then."
"Yeah, let's sleep."
Linley casually lay down on the bed and rested.
Widow Weide and her two brothers died like that, abruptly in one night. This event was like a major earthquake for Chier County City, and for Jenny and Keen, it kept them awake all night with excitement.
For Linley, it was just a small matter.
At that moment, the fire at the Holmer estate was still blazing fiercely, and many city guards were still working hard to put it out...
Today's update is complete—the second chapter of the day. It's very late, and I'm truly sorry.