Chapter 398: Alive?

The discussion with Ashlyn was a brief one, and though I wanted to add more spice to it... doing so could have resulted in outcomes unfavourable for me.

With Arnold’s death, the entire atmosphere in the mansion was a subdued one, which should have been an expected thing, yet for some reason I didn’t quite enjoy the silence.

Walking through the hallway, I read the message that had just popped on the screen of my device.

The visit to the forge... was cancelled.

The students were asked to stay in their room and wait for further instructions.

While leaving Ashlyn’s room, I had seen some maids in the hallway.

Maybe they had come to get Ashlyn ready or something else.

I, on my part, moved towards where Damian was waiting for me, as we had quite a few things to discuss.

***

"You think your brother’s still alive?"

"Yes."

Damian replied with complete confidence in his eyes.

Currently, I was sitting in his room, and looking at Damian... the guy appeared the same as the last time I had seen him.

There wasn’t an ounce of sadness in his eyes, as he sat with an immaculate grace.

"So... where is he?"

Though I had my own suspicions, the confidence with which Damian was speaking made me second-guess everything.

"That... I can’t be sure of, but one thing I can say with certainty is that someone from the authorities should have been helping Arnold, or else he would never have been able to reach Matthew and fight him without being noticed by the surveillance of the authorities, which should have been quite strong around the residence of someone like Matthew Pierre."

Damian’s words made my earlier assumptions even clearer than before.

Someone was trying to weaken the authorities or... increase their own influence in it, or else why would they go out of their way to risk plotting against a person of Matthew’s status.

A single mistake on their part could have resulted in the execution of their entire bloodline at the very least.

History had always been proof that traitors had never been spared.

Death was a mercy for them.

"You seem quite calm for someone against whom the entire might of the authorities is currently plotting against."

After all, irrespective of the facts or whatever had happened at Matthew’s residence, one thing was crystal clear.

The authorities were trying to save their face by portraying Matthew as a martyr.

If at this point in time, Damian was to do anything to spoil the image of their hero, then it was a given as to what consequences the Levaiths might suffer.

"I had submitted a request for detailed investigations into the matter, and the Veltran royal family, despite their caution towards us, would have to respond to it. After all, Arnold or the Levaiths are only under the suspicion of plotting alongside the cults. There is no evidence to prove that, so we could very well claim that it was Matthew who had plotted to kill my... dear brother."

Damian spoke while taking a sip from the cup in his hand, before settling it back on the table before him.

The aroma of the coffee hit my nose, making me look towards the cup placed before me.

What Damian was saying wasn’t something out of the box, as it could be considered as playing by the book.

And that was the main issue in the current scenario.

The authorities would also have an idea regarding the same.

Damian’s move wasn’t exactly a unique one, still... it was better than nothing.

"Is there anything you might need my help with?"

If Damian was confident in handling the situation by himself, then I had nothing to add to it.

Asking the question was just out of formality—

"I was hoping that Syma could invest some money in the duchy right away, so that the people of my territory would feel at ease. I don’t wish for anyone to use the current situation as an excuse to start some sort of rebellion against me."

Sigh.

"Syma was going to invest anyways, still... I will forward your intentions to their leadership."

Completing the sentence, I finally lifted my own cup of coffee, before taking a sip from it.

Silence had now enveloped the room, as I waited for Damian to speak.

"Did your talks with Ashlyn go well?"

Hm?

That wasn’t something of importance, but—

"I have indeed talked with her. As for whether the talks went well, it depends on what your definition of ’well’ is."

I mean... I had performed my role of being an ally to the Levaiths and sharing in their supposed... pain and sufferings.

"That’s good then. Just be sure to look after her in the academy."

Uttering the words, Damian stood up from his seat before walking towards the nearby window and staring at the blue sky suspended above.

"She isn’t going to stay here?"

I thought with her uncle’s supposed death, Ashlyn would spend more of her time in the duchy itself.

"She needs to learn to deal with her pain. In this world, being weak is a sin."

For some reason, Damian’s words echoed in my mind far longer than they had any right to.

"Are you going to search for Arnold?"

Asking the question, I stood up from my seat, before moving towards the exit.

"He might be a brute, but he is in no way a fool. If Arnold is alive, and he hasn’t returned yet, then I am going to respect his wish."

Damian’s words fell on my ears as I closed the door behind me.

Click.

After negotiating the deal with Diana, I had visited a branch of Syma and got to know everything about the situation regarding the Levaiths.

Someone had testified against Arnold, and that was how Matthew had shifted the entire focus of the investigations on the Levaiths.

But for a person to gather the courage to go against the Levaiths... there had to be someone who was backing the witness other than Matthew, and the one who could have encouraged the witness to make the statement.

Sigh.

I wanted to let Damian handle everything, but deep down I knew it.

Everything was already out of Damian’s ability and control.

Well... for the time being, I would have to return to the academy, and then there was the thing regarding Sophie’s admission.

I just hoped that the headmaster wouldn’t cause any trouble.