Inside the workshop, candlelight flickered quietly, and a faint scent of medicinal herbs lingered in the air.
Julius gently unfurled the scroll in his arms. On it was the intelligence they had gathered these past few days.
“Selina has confirmed that there really is a new man in a black robe inside the Baron’s residence.”
The boy’s voice was steady, but tinged with gravity. “However, we didn’t rush in recklessly.”
He paused, then explained slowly:
“If we break in, not only might we alert Baron Black and those people… but we haven’t even figured out where the Secret Passage is yet, let alone what kind of traps they might have set.”
At this point, his tone took on a hint of self-reproach: “To charge in blindly would be the same as gambling with our lives.”
Helos listened quietly, her gaze falling on the scroll, but she didn’t respond immediately.
After a moment, she slowly lifted her eyes, her tone unexpectedly resolute:
“Then let’s avoid a frontal confrontation.”
Her eyes deepened slightly, as if she were plotting out a chess match. “If we want to uncover what they’re hiding, we don’t necessarily have to break into the Baron’s residence.”
Julius was taken aback: “You mean—”
Helos’ lips curled in a faint, elusive smile: “Let’s look for the Small Chambers of Commerce that deal with Baron Black.”
“Capital flow, material allocation… these things tell us more than anything inside the estate itself.”
In the firelight, the girl’s eyes gleamed shrewdly. “If we follow the trail of money and goods, we can force them to reveal their own flaws.”
Julius nodded thoughtfully. “Indeed, compared to a frontal assault, this approach is more reliable.”
He glanced at the intelligence on the table, adding in a low voice, “And if there really are secret dealings, there will definitely be traces left in the chamber’s accounts.”
“Hmph, checking accounts, huh?”
Kyle had his hands behind his head, muttering with a look of resignation.
“Honestly, I’d rather have a proper fight with someone than do this sort of thing. At least fighting stretches the limbs. It’s way better than staring at a pile of ledgers till my eyes go numb.”
Selina turned her body slightly and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “If you were the only one checking the accounts, you’d only make things worse.”
She paused, her gaze returning to Helos:
“But Miss Helos is right. Those people in the Small Chambers of Commerce are either greedy or cowardly. Once the money and goods are traced, someone will definitely slip up.”
“Exactly.”
Helos let out a soft snort, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes.
“Since they’re getting anxious, they won’t be able to hide for long—we just need to give them a little push, and they’ll naturally tell us what we want to know.”
“And what if there are those who refuse to cooperate?”
Julius considered the possibility. “Do we use force?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Helos sneered. “You’re all members of the Church—if they won’t even cooperate, doesn’t that prove they’re on the same side as the Abyssal cultists?”
Hearing the girl’s words, the black-haired boy was momentarily stunned, then suddenly looked as if he had realized something:
“Oh, right… I’m still a squire to a Holy Knight.”
Kyle and Selina froze at the same time, both turning to look at him in unison, eyes full of question marks.
Under their stares, Julius grew uneasy and had no choice but to spread his hands helplessly:
“Don’t look at me like that. To be honest, after spending so much time with Miss Helos, I almost forgot I even had that identity.”
“What?! How is that my fault?!”
Helos glared at him suddenly, her silver hair swaying gently in the firelight, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Julius just looked back with a “that’s the truth” expression, hands spread, feigning innocence.
Kyle’s shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter beside them, while Selina simply shook her head speechlessly.
If there had been any outsiders here at this moment, they’d never believe that these two bickering fools—one was actually the dignified Duke’s Daughter, and the other was a Holy Knight’s squire.
In the past few days, they had already visited several Small Chambers of Commerce connected to Baron Black.
Most of the chambers simply shook their heads and denied everything, leaving behind no evidence that could be used.
At this point in the investigation, the trail had almost gone cold.
And the “Green Chamber of Commerce” before them was the last suspect on their list.
Under the night sky, a nondescript two-story building at the street corner still had its lights on.
A wooden sign read “Green Chamber of Commerce,” the characters worn and weathered from years of wind and rain.
Kyle looked up, muttering offhandedly:
“The name’s pretty ordinary. Must be one of those chambers that does a bit of everything, huh?”
Julius nodded. “Wine, grain, medicinal herbs, even carriage transport… I’ve heard they dabble in a bit of everything.”
“But most of their business is concentrated in the lower districts.”
“A place like this is perfect for hiding dirty things.”
Selina added calmly.
The three of them pushed open the door and entered. The air inside was thick with the scent of wooden crates and burlap.
The chamber’s boss was a chubby middle-aged man. His smile looked welcoming, but carried a trace of insincerity:
“Yo, what brings you guests here so late? Looking to buy in bulk?”
Julius didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he casually picked up a bottle of wine from the shelf, asking in a cool voice:
“Your business seems pretty varied. Been busy lately?”
The fat boss laughed heartily:
“Oh, not at all, just scraping by.”
Kyle glanced around casually, his tone easygoing but with a trace of probing:
“Busy enough to even take care of business with the Baron’s residence, I bet?”
The air seemed to freeze instantly.
The fat boss’s smile didn’t falter, but he wiped his hands on his towel with a bit more force than before.
Selina watched his movements, her pale gray eyes narrowing slightly.
The boss forced a smile:
“You’re joking, sir. A small place like ours could never hope to curry favor with Lord Black.”
Julius’s eyes grew sharp as he spoke slowly:
“But someone has seen you visit the Baron’s residence in person.”
At these words, the fat boss suddenly froze, nearly dropping his towel.
He forced a dry laugh, beads of sweat dotting his forehead:
“Th-that was just the occasional social call. Who wouldn’t want to suck up to the nobility? But there’s nothing more to it.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes, his voice cold:
“Oh? Just a social call? Why is it always you?”
The tension in the air tightened in an instant.
Under the dim light, the boss’s smile turned rigid as stone, his lips trembling, but he still dared not answer directly.
Selina slowly stepped closer, her gray eyes coldly fixed on him:
“If it was really just a passing acquaintance, what are you so nervous about?”
The room fell into utter silence.
At last, the boss managed to squeeze out a line: “I—I’m just a businessman, I don’t know anything else. If you want answers, you should go to Lord Black directly, right?”
“Oh?”
A sly curve appeared at the corner of Kyle’s mouth as he looked at the fat boss before him, his eyes full of amusement:
“How are you so sure which Baron we’re talking about?”
“From the very beginning, I don’t recall us ever mentioning Black’s name, did we?”