Chapter 131: Neutral Stand.

Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Neutral Stand.

Chapter 131: Neutral Stand.

Regardless of how much influence she possessed, such a discovery would inevitably bring unwanted attention to her family, and given the current state of affairs, she couldn’t afford to give her enemies another reason to target her.

For now, she could only hope that Osborne hadn’t done anything too reckless during his disappearance, although the fact that he had managed to avoid being found for so long already gave her a bad feeling.

"How’s the search going so far?"

Roseline turned her attention back to Guinevere, who had been waiting patiently for her to finish thinking.

"From what I’ve been told, we’ve tracked him all the way into the deep forests, although the lord did his best to cover his tracks while moving through the area, which made it difficult for our people to follow him at first."

Guinevere paused briefly before continuing, recalling the latest report she had received from the search party.

"We eventually sent someone who is adept at detecting magical signatures to assist them, and thanks to that decision, we’ve managed to make considerably more progress than we initially expected."

Roseline nodded slightly, finding the decision reasonable, since Osborne had been studying magic under Julie, and it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had learned a few tricks to conceal his movements or avoid leaving behind obvious traces.

However, what Guinevere said next caused her expression to change.

"His last known whereabouts lead to a sealed-off cave, my lady, and based on the contents we discovered there, it would appear that the lord had a run-in with some bandits and made quick work of them."

Guinevere briefly lowered her gaze to the report in her hands, making sure she remembered the details correctly before explaining the rest of the findings.

"Moreover, judging by the traces left behind, it would appear that his magical abilities have grown considerably during the time he’s been missing."

She delivered the last part with a troubled tone, and although she tried to keep her expression composed, it was clear that the information had given her some cause for concern.

After all, Osborne hadn’t been particularly impressive when it came to combat before his disappearance, at least not when compared to the people who had spent years training their bodies and mastering aura, and the sudden improvement in his magical abilities was something that deserved attention.

Roseline’s expression darkened slightly upon hearing the report, as her thoughts immediately turned toward the possibility that Osborne’s demonification had progressed even further.

Demons were naturally adept at using magic, and while that didn’t mean every demon possessed exceptional magical talent, the possibility that Osborne’s growing strength was connected to his changing body couldn’t be ignored.

If his abilities had improved because of his demonification, then there was a chance that his body had already begun adapting to the demonic energy within him, which would make his current situation considerably more dangerous than she had initially thought.

’That fool, just what exactly are you doing out there?’

Roseline massaged her forehead, trying to suppress the growing irritation she felt whenever she thought about her missing husband, although she knew that getting angry wouldn’t change anything about the situation.

But what irritated her more was recalling that he chose to run when faced with such a situation. If only he had sought help from her first, perhaps she wouldn’t have to be this worried each day.

Unfortunately, Roseline knew that was wishful thinking. As his wife, she hadn’t really been completely supportive to begin with. With all her actions towards him so far, she felt a bit regretful that she hadn’t treated him better; maybe then this situation wouldn’t have happened.

Nevertheless, she pushed those thoughts aside and returned her attention to Guinevere.

"Thanks to her assistance, our search is progressing far better than I had hoped, since she can recognise traces of the lord’s magic more easily than our ordinary investigators, which has allowed us to follow the trail he left behind through the forest."

Roseline let out a quiet breath before leaning back into her chair, her fingers resting against the armrest as she considered the information she had just received.

At least they had managed to find someone capable of helping them track Osborne, and although the search hadn’t yet produced a clear answer about his current location, the fact that they were still making progress was better than wandering through the forest without knowing where to look.

However, that still left the matter of the demons and the Kingdom’s Bureau of Investigation, which wasn’t something she could afford to ignore simply because her husband had decided to disappear.

"So you’re saying it’s best to refrain from requesting a warrant from the royal family until he’s been brought back?" Roseline asked, her gaze settling on Guinevere as she tried to confirm whether she had understood the situation correctly.

Guinevere nodded in response, having already considered the possible consequences of taking the matter to the royal court while Osborne remained missing.

"Yes, my lady, I believe that’s our only reasonable course of action at the moment. While your relationship with His Majesty is neutral, the same can’t be said for the other members of the royal family. Since you’ve chosen to absolve yourself from the royal family’s succession, no doubt they’d make things difficult for you in order to gain Marquess Raven’s support, since he’s also a neutral party... Plus, your actions are no different from stepping over the Marquess’s authority."

She paused briefly before continuing, making sure that Roseline understood the limits of what they could accomplish without official permission.

"We can still send our people to monitor the leads we’ve already discovered, and we can continue gathering information through indirect means, but anything more extensive would be difficult to carry out without risking serious consequences if our activities are discovered."

Guinevere understood that her mistress wouldn’t be pleased with such restrictions, but there wasn’t much they could do about it for now, especially when the people responsible for granting them permission had already made it clear that they wanted the Roosevelt family to stay out of the investigation.