Chapter 2345: The Bloody Marquis

“I remember the Hawthorn Family and the Black Family were also suspected of being involved with those cultists, but so far neither we nor the Church have found any clues… Note this down, it’s worth keeping an eye on.”

Mr. Benhart said, looking through the carriage window at the entrance of the passing apartment, where a woman with a headscarf was watching over a child, standing by a cargo wagon filled with their household belongings, waiting for her husband and the porter to settle the payment:

“Did you see that? That family is probably moving out of Moon Bay.”

“I’ve heard some people say that indeed quite a few people plan to leave this city recently, but compared to the city’s large population, the number of people moving is almost negligible.”

Shard also said:

“And even fewer nobles are moving away, not just because they have businesses locally, but most of them seem to believe that even if Moon Bay is destroyed, the Seven Great Families will stand at the forefront, and they will surely find a way.”

The local Mr. Albert looked expressionlessly out the window:

“The Seven Great Families will definitely not leave decisively; staying in Moon Bay is the fate left to them by their ancestors. Although on the surface, the Seven Great Families seem to be just ordinary people, they must be hiding other secrets. As for the other local nobles… rather than believing in the city council and the Seven Great Families, they trust their own luck more. After all, throughout the Southern Domain, besides Velindale City, there is no place as prosperous as Moon Bay City.”

Mr. Benhart added:

“It’s obvious that the local nobles of Moon Bay generally don’t get along with the nobles of Velindale.”

This could also be seen from him; Mr. Benhart, when acting in Moon Bay, was mostly known as Merchant Benhart, and rarely mentioned in front of those outside the same clan that he was a Viscount.

Because the Saint George Stone Bridge had a direct path to the “Silver Stables” outside the city, even rarely, the outer city carriage could always carry the three of them close to the stables.

After getting off the carriage, Mr. Benhart voluntarily paid, and the coroner introduced to Shard:

“This is the property of the Silver Family. Because they repeatedly lost to the Aphrola Family in the maritime business, the previous generation of Viscount Silver wanted to get some other industry for the family. But the other six great families wouldn’t let him encroach on their area of influence, so in the end, the Silver Family didn’t make any breakthroughs. However, this racetrack they built became a well-known social venue locally.”

Shard didn’t know Margaret’s schedule included this place today, but he knew Miss Sylvia should also be here because the badge on his chest was heating up.

Margaret’s presence at the racetrack was naturally for social reasons, and since the Silver Viscountess, as a fellow woman, wasn’t in her own racetrack, Margaret intended to chat with nobles outside the Seven Great Families of Moon Bay.

Therefore, besides Marquis Mosen whom the three of them were looking for, there were also Marquis of Ankara, Earl Feynman, and others. Of course, Shard only knew of these people and didn’t actually know them.

The racetrack seemed bustling, but Marquis Mosen was not there at the moment. After finding the marquis’s seat in the spectator area, a server led the three of them to the stables, and midway, Shard didn’t forget to wave to Margaret whom he saw from a distance.

However, outside the stables, a few grim-looking servants were guarding the entrance. Only after confirming the visitors were with Mr. Benhart did they allow the three inside.

Shard and the other two were extremely sensitive to the smell of blood, and as soon as they stepped through the stable door, they caught a whiff of fresh blood in the air.

After pausing for a moment, the three of them quickly took a few steps and then discovered in a stall on the side of the stable, on the straw-covered ground, lay a red horse that had not yet breathed its last. Marquis Mosen, wearing a white shirt, was kneeling beside it, cutting meat from its body.

His two vampire kind servants, one was handing over tools, while the other held a platter to collect the cut-off pieces of meat.

Blood had flowed all over the ground, soaking the earth and straw. The horse, with its belly cut open, under the effect of some unknown arcane technique, lingered alive for a long time. Even if Shard didn’t understand horse language, he could hear the despair and sorrow in its cries.

The visiting three frowned, and with his back to them, Marquis Mosen raised his hand, signaling them to wait a moment. He carefully continued to cut three paper-thin slices of flesh from the horse’s belly, then removed his gloves and handed them to the servant beside him.

Rising to his feet, the marquis, in his forties, looking tall and slender but with a refined demeanor, smiled and greeted:

“Good morning, Viscount Benhart, and a good morning to you, Mr. Watson, who has come from afar. Good morning, Ptolemy, we haven’t seen each other for half a year, haven’t we? You’re still working at the morgue, have you really never considered coming to work as a veterinarian here? I mean no insult, I truly admire your talent.”

The coroner tightly gripped the strap of his satchel with his right hand and his lips twitched as he briefly met eyes with the horse that had black eyes:

“Thank you for your kind offer, but I really like my current work… Why do you treat it this way?”

“Treat who? Oh, you mean it.”

The marquis looked down at the horse, shaking his head:

“It just fell on the field and fractured its bone, and ordinary means can no longer heal it. I don’t want to risk getting detected by the Church using power for a horse in such times. But waste must be utilized, right? Do you like horse sashimi?

We could have a drink together at noon, I’ve been under a lot of pressure since that incident last weekend. Not only because I’m worried about being scrutinized by the Church, but also because of the internal situation in Moon Bay… what are those looks on your faces?”

Mr. Benhart also asked:

“Thank you for the invitation, but we have other matters at noon. However, I think Ptolemy’s meaning might be, why not kill it first and then…”

“Viscount, this isn’t something you should say. We’re all connoisseurs of blood, we should know the taste of blood from a corpse is different from that of a living creature.”

Marquis Mosen said seriously, taking out the pocket watch from his white shirt pocket and glancing at it:

“Since you don’t want to stay for lunch with me, then quickly say what you have to say. I need to quickly process its blood and flesh, otherwise it won’t be fresh soon.”

“We want to talk to you about the threat letter.”

Shard finally spoke, facing the Marquis who was a High Ring Sorcerer:

“Mr. Benhart probably mentioned in the letter that the letter might not be a prank or mere threat. We divined similar letters received by Mrs. Jude and discovered that those letters pointed to a Relic. Also, some corpses received at Mr. Albert’s had similar letters, which I think is very dangerous.”

“Divination isn’t always correct, moreover I doubt the level of the diviner you found.”

Marquis Mosen said casually, gesturing to the three:

“Thank you for informing me of this, I know you mean well. But can you give me fifteen minutes to deal with it first? Every minute you delay will make my lunch taste worse.”

Shard glanced at the two Vampire Kind behind him:

“Can you sell it to us?”

“Why, want to be the good guys?”

The Marquis raised his eyebrows, sizing up the three in turn, then suddenly laughed:

“I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t mind at all. You’ve come at a good time, I’m in a good mood today, how about we make a wager?

If you win, the horse will be yours, and I’m willing to discuss the letter matter with you right away. If you lose, not only won’t you bother me anymore, but you’ll also stay for lunch with me. I’ve prepared a fine Huntington wine, and we can discuss your ‘urgent matters’ then.”

“May I ask what the wager is?”

The Coroner continued holding the strap of his satchel and asked, the Marquis took off his coat and threw it to the servant behind:

“It’s a racecourse, what else can the wager be?”

His whole body was suddenly enveloped in blood-red light, and everyone, including the servants, retreated. Then the dark red light wriggled and transformed. When the glow faded, before them stood a chestnut horse.

The horse flicked its hooves, seeming to adapt to its body, and in its eyes was a sharp glimmer of high intelligence:

“Come on, the three of you can enter the arena together, you can use any means, just make sure not to get caught. As long as any one of you can beat me, I’ll concede that you’ve won.”

The three exchanged glances, the Marquis Mosen’s Transformation Spell – the horse effects were very impressive, and racing against this horse was never advantageous. But a three-on-one might offer some chance of victory.

“Okay, but we haven’t prepared a horse.”

“No problem, you can pick any horse from the stables here. Gentlemen, I’ll meet you in the arena in ten minutes, as for it…”

The chestnut horse glanced at the horse on the ground, with a flash of blood, the horse with its belly slit shut its eyes and began to be encased in solid ice:

“We’ll come back to decide its fate. Although frozen taste is somewhat dull, exercising before eating makes the meal feel better.”

Shard, Mr. Benhart, and Mr. Coroner Albert, of course, could ride, with Shard even having won a horsemanship competition. But this race was different from previous ones. They followed the servant to choose a horse, whispering their plan, and finally each chose a suitable steed.

The oddly-natured Marquis Mosen entered the arena transformed as a horse, though races need riders. Shard had thought being mounted after transforming into a horse would be humiliating for the Marquis, but surprisingly, he casually let one of his servants act as the rider.

Everything was ready, and the three led their horses to meet the Marquis, together appearing in the waiting area of the course. The summer sunlight outside was almost dazzling, Shard held the reins in one hand and shaded his eyes with the other, again seeing Margaret wave at them.