Chapter 58: Meeting and Report

While Aron was busy destroying the Rat faction, Father Valarian was walking inside a mansion in the center of Larton town. Reaching the end of the corridor, he placed his hand on the handle of a huge wooden door.

Stepping inside, it looked like a large meeting room with a round table in the middle. Three people sat at the table: two men and a woman.

"Aah! Father, you're here at last,'' one man said respectfully to Valarian.

"My apologies; I had to clean up a mess before getting here." Valarian spoke in a slow and calm tone as he approached the table.

The man glanced behind Valarian as if looking for someone before turning his face to Valarian and asking.

"Where is Lord William? Is he going to be late again?"

Valarian remained silent as he took a seat at the round table. He scanned the three individuals, seeing them perfectly behind his blindfold.

"William is not coming."

"May I ask why? Has he turned his back on his word or –"

"He's dead."

"..."

"I-I'm sorry, what did you just say?" The man's smile threatened to break at any second. He imagined hearing something that didn't sound good to him.

In the same calm tone, Valarian replied, "I said he's dead, killed to be specific."

"WHAT!" the man shouted as he rose from his seat angrily.

"Heh!... Finally," the woman suddenly said with a sly smile on her face.

"This is not the time for that, Isobel."

Isobel snorted at his words, "Oh. Shut up, Ron; we both know that William is a pig. He even tried to hit on me. Disgusting."

Ron narrowed his eyes. "He's not a pig; this is just him enjoying his wealth and status."

Isobel widened her eyes. "Oh! Really, he's not a pig?" Then she turned to Valarian and said, "Please, Father Valarian, tell us how that pig died and why?"

Valarian let out a deep sigh before replying, "He tried to take a free woman as a slave, so her husband or lover crushed his head under his foot."

"..."

Silence fell over the room. Even Isobel, who hated William to the core, didn't expect him to die like this, but for some reason, she felt happy about it.

She glanced at Ron, who stood there in shock. "See! I told you he's a pig, and he deserves to die like that."

BAAM!

Ron slammed his fist hard on the table. "Who killed him? I need to find that man and make him pay."

Valarian's blindfolded gaze remained fixed on Ron as he calmly responded to his outburst.

"You'll die."

"WHAT!"

"I said you'll die. I exchanged a few words with that man, and I can say that he has no problem killing anyone who dares to harm him, regardless of status."

Valarian then flashed a small smile of amusement and said, "He even tried to fight me."

Ron's anger turned to disbelief as he processed Valarian's words. His hand, still throbbing from the impact of hitting the table, slowly lowered. He couldn't fathom the idea of his own demise at the hands of a stranger.

Isobel leaned back in her chair, a hint of amusement playing on her lips. 'A man who can kill anyone without thinking… Hmm?... I need a man like that for my plans.'

"NAHAHAHAHA!" the third man, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly burst into laughter, slamming his fist on the table.

"HAA!... That man seems like an interesting fellow. Valarian, tell me who he is and where I can find him."

"Show some respect, savage!" Ron snapped at the third man, insulting him.

"What did you call me?" Small sparks of lightning danced around the third man as his eyes flashed a neon blue light.

Father Valarian had to step in to stop the two from fighting; this happens every time the two of them are in the same room. Raising his voice with authority.

"Enough!" Valarian's command resonated through the room, momentarily silencing everyone. His blindfolded gaze shifted from Ron to the third man, a stern expression on his face.

"Earl Olaf, I suggest you refrain from approaching the man. I don't know who he is or his location, but I'm keeping an eye on him."

Then he turned to Ron and said, "Don't take any actions, understand? Even I couldn't hold him for long."

Ron clenched his fists, his face flushed with anger, but he reluctantly backed down. Meanwhile, Olaf was now even more interested in the man when Valarian mentioned that he couldn't hold him. Much like Isobel, who starts making plans on how to find and gather information about this man.

Seeing that everyone was calmed down, Father Valarian stood from his seat and said, "Now excuse me, I have more important things to do," then he glanced around before asking, "Where are Lady Adara and Lord Julian?"

Isobel crossed her arms, "Late as always."

"I see. Let's hope they didn't run into trouble, as always."

With that, Father Valarian walked out of the meeting room, leaving everyone lost in their thoughts.

Ron was furious about the death of Lord William, not because he liked or respected the man; it was just business. Lord William owns the largest and most profitable Clothing company in Larton, specializing in selling and making high-quality clothes for nobles.

They even made a few dresses and suits for the royal family of the Kingdom of Avaloria. And Ron was his partner, and now Ron wasn't sure what would come of that partnership after the death of William.

Meanwhile, Isobel and Olaf have a different agenda; while Isobel plans to use whoever killed William, Olaf, on the other hand, is only interested in the man because he loves to fight, his barbaric blood boiling with excitement.

Closing the door behind him, Valarian let out a deep sigh. He shook his head before glancing back at the door.

"They are always like this, caring only about themselves."

Then he wrapped his golden rosary around his hands after he brought them together in a prayer-like gesture.

"I have more important things; I need to find the missing princess."

Immediately after, a golden light covered his entire body, disappearing on the spot. He reappeared in his office in the grand cathedral of the sun.

The room was adorned with sacred relics and illuminated by the gentle glow of stained-glass windows depicting scenes of divine grace. It was a place of solace and contemplation where Father Valarian sought guidance from the heavens above.

He walked toward his desk and sat on his chair. He removed his blindfold, revealing pure, radiant golden eyes. The radiance of his eyes was so bright that they could blind anyone who gazed at them long enough.

He placed his golden rosary on the desk before him. The rosary was intricately crafted with delicate beads, each representing a prayer or a blessing. With a deep breath, Valarian closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of quiet reflection.

"Where are you, princess? I pray to the heavens for your safety."

Knock. Knock.

Valarian kept his eyes closed; no one knew about his eyes except two people, and he also didn't want to harm the people around him. He straightened up in his chair and called out.

"Enter."

The heavy wooden doors to his office creaked open, revealing a young acolyte standing in the doorway. The acolyte bowed respectfully before speaking, "Your holiness, I have something to report."

Valarian nodded slightly and asked the young acolyte to take a seat in the chair close to his desk.

"Your holiness, we had a report from the residents in the northern part of the town that one of the mansions in the area suddenly disappeared."

Valarian raised an eyebrow. "And why are you reporting this to me?"

The young acolyte bowed slightly and said, "Apologize, Father; we usually don't report matters like this to you, but when we went to the place and examined it, I thought you should know what we found."

Valarian leaned and placed his elbows on the desk. "Go ahead, tell me."

The acolyte nodded and began explaining, "Your holiness, when we arrived at the place, we found traces of earth magic, and when we scanned the area using artifacts, we found out that the mansion was buried underground."

Valarian rubbed his chin and said, "Strange, why would someone want to bury a mansion underground?"

"I had the same question, Father. But when we raised the mansion from underground and went inside, we found the reason why."

Valarian kept silent as the acolyte explained more: "We found corpses inside the mansion."

"Corpses?"

"Yes, Father, we managed to identify three of them: Adara Windcrest and Julian…"

"What!" Valerian exclaimed, "Say that again? Adara and Julian are dead?"

"Killed, your holiness. Lady Adara was stabbed in the throat, and Lord Julian had a sword in the chest."

Valarian lowered his head as he let out a deep sigh. "Two more got killed."

"More, Father?"

"Yes, Lord William got killed, although it was his fault."

The young acolyte nodded in silence, then Valarian asked him, "And the third corpse?"

"Oh! Yes, Father… That's the reason I wanted to report this to you in the first place. The third corpse belongs to the famous Dealer."

Valarian's eyes almost widened in surprise. "The Dealer? Are you certain?"

"Yes, Father, his half-blond, half-black hair is well known; also, the mansion belongs to him."

"I see," Valarian thought for a moment, "So the mansion got attacked while the Dealer, Adara, and Julian were having a meeting."

"Yes, this is what we think happened," the acolyte paused, allowing Father Valarian a moment of thought, but then he remembered something.

"However, your holiness, two things appeared to me as strange for some reason."

Valarian raised an eyebrow as he gazed at the young acolyte with closed eyes.

"Strange? Like what?"

"First of all, and by knowing what kind of businesses the dealer is running, we found no slaves, only the corpses of his bodyguards. Also, we found no wealth or journals. In a successful business like that, he must have kept a journal tracking his deals, but we found none."

"Hmm? And the other strange thing?"

"Yes, it's the corpse of Lord Julian. The corpse was in a strange condition. I never saw something like that."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Blood, your holiness. There were none. His corpse was drained of blood, leaving him in a terrible condition. If not for his clothes and the symbol of his household, I wouldn't recognize him."

Valarian's thoughts immediately shifted to another corpse with the same condition. Drained of Blood.

'Could it be? Impossible… But with that type of personality, it's possible.'

Seeing that Father Valarian was lost in his thoughts, the young acolyte hesitated before speaking.

"Your holiness, what should we do now?"

"Hmm?... We should investigate more… No, I'll take it from here. You did well, Acolyte. Leave this matter to me."

The young acolyte stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Father."

When the acolyte left the office, Valarian sat there in silence for minutes before…

"Pfft… HAHAHAHA!" he burst into laughter for some reason.

"HAHA! Not one or two… But three, and…. and the Dealer too… HAHAHA~"

"HAA! I should thank that man for taking out the Dealer for us. He caused so much trouble for her highness, and with his death, the slave trade will crumble for some time."

He then brought out a crystal orb from his desk and injected some of his mana into it.

"Valarian?" A soft, feminine voice came from the crystal orb.

"I have something to report, your highness."