Read Novel Full Chapter 589: Corrupt Nobles?
Chapter 589: Corrupt Nobles?
"Ya guys, I think we should go down this path!" Millis called out, briefly shooting Crystal a glance; the woman was wrapping herself around her arm.
Reph raised an eyebrow at this.
He first glanced at Crystal, who seemed quite comfortable with her arms around Millis’s, and looked to where Millis was pointing - it was a dense area of bushes and trees.
"For what reason?" Reph asked.
Millis smirked, "I think I saw Red Eyes walking down a path in that direction, I think we should go and see! I also wanna meet up with Lillian, if possible."
Silvia Von Silversteel had a curious glint in her eyes as she looked at the servant behind her, having already figured that the prince beside her and the butler behind were well acquainted.
"Red Eyes? May I know who that is?" Silvia politely asked Millis.
"Well, of course, my dear lady!" Millis said, "But I think it’s better if ya would figure it out for ya self, it is part of the event, ya know?"
Crystal smiled nervously, "A-are you sure we should be spying on her? I think it would be best if we leave her alone, miss Millis..."
"Bah! Not like she’ll do anything to us." Millis waved her hand dismissively, pulling Crystal along with her as she led the way, "Let’s go!"
Both Reph and Silvia glanced at each other.
The silver-haired woman asked, "Is it wise to follow that attendant?"
She had only known Millis for around an hour, and while she didn’t find the Heroine to be bad, maybe a bit eccentric, she wasn’t keen on the fact that Millis was leading them to possibly some isolated area.
Reph just shrugged his shoulders, already long used to Millis’s antics - every antic that he followed Millis on always turned out fine and harmless in the end.
Plus, if it really was Marionette that Millis spotted, it would give him a good chance to figure out the current standing the Roselle had with his family.
"This event so far... Is rather boring. I’m sure we’ll get... Something fun to watch if we follow her." Reph answered, lazily pausing in between his sentences.
Deciding to follow after Millis, they were taken in between the trees; walking along the grass and completely missing the path, much to everyone’s - except Millis’s - displeasure.
Luckily, everyone’s clothes were enchanted with the ability not to get dirty easily - otherwise, they would’ve stopped before entering what seemed to be a forest.
The area that the Darkhound’s home covered was larger than they expected.
Soon enough, they came to a stop.
"We might wanna hide, ya guys." Millis muttered quietly, sneaking behind a tree and pulling Crystal close to her - sparking a shy blush on the girl’s face.
Reph and Silva, initially confused, followed Millis’s words.
When they all found a tree to hide behind, they looked around the thick brown trunk and at a group slowly making their way into their vision.
Walking around a corner of a path, Marionette continued to linger with the three noblemen; her face still and taciturn - unmoving against the honeyed words the three tried to entertain her with.
The nobles found excitement in the idea of bringing a beautiful woman like Marionette to an extremely isolated and quiet area. Maybe this event might be more worthwhile than they thought.
Marionette sensed a look in their eyes, but paid them no attention, giving them no more focus than if they were shit on the side of the road. She only gave light and brief inputs to their words.
Right now, her focus was actually on the three servants around her - each lingering behind their respective noble.
Unlike someone of the 3rd Tier, who would be granted the ability to deduce a mage’s Tier, she could only analyse, estimate, and guess her opponent’s current level.
She knew for a fact that the three nobles were weak, no more than a Tier 1, and that their bodies didn’t seem capable of anything above mediocre combat.
They seemed to be people who would indulge in their family’s wealth; too lazy to put in any effort to either get stronger or make a name for themselves.
Marionette was no stranger to these types of individuals; she came across a lot of them when she was sent on missions constantly back when she was a Tier 1.
Anyway, despite not giving them her full attention, Marionette did make an effort to chime in and comment - just enough to where she could receive a bit of their trust.
Her time with Lillian improved her abilities in conversations.
When she had gotten to know about them a bit more, and had managed to pull them to a more isolated location, far enough that echoes and noises can’t reach those back in the garden.
But also to where the stares she received from the darkness subsided; the gazes from the Bloodhounds of the Darkhound family.
They must’ve thought nothing bad was going to happen.
Sensing this, Marionette felt a chain around her wrist unlock for the moment - it shouldn’t take long for what she was about to do. Although she had now sensed a few other gazes on her, they came from behind the trees.
She narrowed her eyes at this, but found the gazes to be familiar in some way. She would deal with them later.
Marionette took a look at the three nobles’ attire and managed to catch a glint from deep within one of their shirts; it was shiny.
Marionette narrowed her eyes; it wasn’t jewellery or anything like that, in fact, it felt more like the lens of a very small camera.
Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to tell from this angle.
Shifting her eyes away from it, Marionette turned her head to look at one of the nobles.
"Do correct me if I’m wrong, but the Alderwick family runs a side business in the form of a charity, correct? To assist children in need in more rural areas?"
The son of the Alderick family smirked as he placed his thumbs beneath the lapels of his suit; smug to hear that the beautiful lady was knowledgeable about his family.
"Yes, we do! In the area that my family owns, whenever we have an event going on, we would always spend some time to gather funds from our town’s people. It’s merely our way to say that we believe even the children way below that of lower class are capable of many things." He then sighed, "The thought of those pure children having to sleep on dirty streets and alleyways brings sadness to my eyes."
Marionette nodded, her face remained unchanged. She turned to the son of the Fenlow family.
"I’ve heard the Fenlow family have a strong business in the pharmaceutical and medical industry. Apparently, one of the towns your family owns seemed to be undergoing quite the crisis... What was it again? A plague?"
The son of the Fenlow family scratched behind his ear, embarrassed; his eyes shone with a worried light.
"Ah, yes... That plague that struck countless ailments on the townsfolk, from large black pus under their armpits, severe coughing and headaches, to more... Right now, we are doing our best to contain and cure it, while gathering funds to achieve it. Currently, we have yet to discover where the plague originated from..."
"Mhm." Marionette nodded briefly, her face remaining unchanged again as she turned to the son of the Marris family. "Your family is a family of law, am I correct?"
The son of the Marris family nodded slightly, "You are quite right. My family is a proud family of judges and lawyers; purposed to give the commonfolks a chance against nobles, who use their wealth to cheat."
Marionette listened to each one of the nobles’ answers and found herself internally cringing at them. The way they spoke so highly about their family in tones that spoke volumes made her ill.
The Alderick family that ran the charity, which assisted poverty-stricken children, was a front for a profitable slave business by taking children off the streets and selling them in the darker areas of the Underworld.
The Fenlow family - that specialised in medicine and also illnesses - was actually the origin of where the plague came from, having engineered it for the purpose of raking in money by supplying the suffering commonfolk with medicine.
As for the Marris family... The man spoke the truth; it indeed was a family of truth and fairness. However, there were also rumours surrounding their reputation.
Some said that one of the three sons of the Marris family was the extreme believer in elitism, the belief that the wealthy were inherently superior, and had made false judgments that got innocent people punished.
That elitism-believing son was actually the man walking right beside her.
Marionette soon paused in her step, leading to one of the men to bump into her and apologise. They found her sudden stop to be perplexing, and even worrying when they realised she had fallen completely silent.
They then watched as the woman summoned black latex gloves from thin air before putting them on, confusing them even more.