Stuck in Hard Place-2

How did they know about them? I only told Jarad and Clair about them, not anyone else. I figure that Gizelle wouldn't talk about them either considering Kaisel was pretty damn adamant about staying in the dark. So how do these guys find out about them?

It was a concerning matter, he didn't know what to say, if he was to give out some information about the family, then the chances are that he would be killed by the end of the day. If he doesn't he won't be able to get out of here. But the worst case was these guys had met Jarad, he was a simple man, not strong enough to go through the interrogation from the Royal Order. Considering that they already knew about the family, there was a high chance that they had already met him.

Now, if he lies, Jarad could get into trouble. If he doesn't, then he is good as dead. His life didn't matter much, but Jarad's does. He has two daughters and a wife to support. He could not throw him under the bus. So he devised a plan…

"You mean her Bloodborne family?" He said as if he was stating something obvious.

"Our intel was right, she has got herself into a Bloodborne family," Rupert mumbled. Jojo on the other gave him a look, he wasn't supposed to say that it seems. Rupert's mumbling gave him a clue, they already knew that she was in a bloodborn family. Could Jarad be involved in any of this?

The involvement of Jarad created some complications, as much as he hated that fucker, he couldn't get him involved in such a shitty situation, so he decided that he would give only information that he had told Jarad. This way at least that idiot would stay safe.

Jojo then took charge. "What can you tell us about her family."

"I don't know much about that family. They go by the family name of Ulaspas, and they were very interested in the disputed land between Baron Hubert and Baron Geon. Gizelle asked me to procure that land for her, which I did. In return, she gave me some mana stones that I could use to open my own potions shop. So I am moving to the capital in a few days." Adui said nonchalantly.

"That is it? Or anything else?" Jojo asked.

"Ah… Do you want to know something else?"

It was then Rupert posed a question. "Why are they interested in that land?"

"Don't know. I did ask a friend of mine to snoop around, turns out, before our kingdom, that land used to be occupied by a family bearing the same name. I think they want their ancestral home back,"

Jojo had another question. "Did you meet with any other family members?"

"No. Just Gizelle."

"How powerful are they?" Rupert asked.

"Don't know that either." Adui then chuckled and continued. "I just know that these people are fucking rich and stupid. I mean who the hell gives out mana stones for payment? That is insane."

"This friend that you gave you information about the land, who is he?" Jojo asked.

"Does that matter?"

"In a way, it matters," Rupert said.

"Why?"

"We want to know," Jojo said.

"I would rather not name him. He is a simple man, and I don't create any sort of trouble for him."

"You talk as though we might torture him after we are done with you," Jojo said.

"He is a very simple man. Believe me, if you ever show him your badge, he will fold and might cry as well. He is a weak man, and I don't want to see him get into trouble because of me."

"Alright then, we won't ask you about him. But how can I be so sure that you haven't lied to us?" Jojo asked. Adui couldn't help but chuckle.

"Guys guys guys… look at where we are. I told you everything that I know, without any torture, interrogation, or any sort of reward. I told you this because I hate that bitch. If this gets her into trouble, that is all that I need."

"Do you anything more about the land, could there be any more reason for them to buy that land?" Rupert asked.

"Hm.. I don't know. I had a theory, but is far-fetched at best."

"What might that be?" Jojo asked.

"The land they procured, is situated in the middle of our kingdom. Based on how much money they offered and how much they paid me, I guessed that they might be interested in building a Mage tower."

"A Mage tower?"

"Yeah, it made sense. Based on their riches, that family is obviously more powerful than other families in this piece of land, including the Royal family. If they wanted, they could have just gone and procured the land, I mean who could have even stopped them? But they didn't do so, now did they? They sent a man to negotiate the land. That is not how the things strong mana wielders handle."

Jojo raised one of his eyebrows."How did you conclude that they want to build a mage tower?"

"Think about it. They were being nice to the people of this land, they peacefully negotiated the land from their neighbors and they didn't cause anyone trouble. This shows that they want peaceful coexistence with us. Who in their right mind would do something like that? The only reason that they would do so, is because they plan to settle here, or they might be thinking of building a mage tower here."

"But that doesn't make sense, Mage tower will cost them a fortune to build. Gorgon kingdom does not have the resources to build something like that." Rupert added.

"So maybe they want to settle here, I don't know."

"Thank you, Mr. Hampshire, that will be all," Rupert said while standing up.

"Hey, pleasure is all mine. If you want to learn dirty secrets of that bitch, you just gave me a call, I will come running like a dog to a whistle." Adui said and they all went out together…

After coming out of the tower, he walked all his way back to his home, not knowing what to do next. He managed to keep the existence of Kaisel a secret, but will that be enough? He had to talk to the Ulaspas family about this, but he feared that someone would be keeping an eye on him for now, so how could he even talk to them?

As he got home, he turned the doorknob of his door and walked in. But it was then, he abruptly stopped, he turned around, he then turned the doorknob again, again, again, and then again…

He just had an epiphany. He knew how to solve the puzzle.