Chapter 175.
Chapter 175: Suspicious Clouds
After Quiller saw off the captain of the Southern, he saw his father’s carriage slowly approaching before he even entered the door.
He stood still in the doorway, waiting for his father to get out of the carriage.
The carriage stopped at the door and Marquis Foster stepped out.
“Father!”
His second son came forward to greet him.
“Father?”
The Marquis seemed to be thinking about something and didn’t respond until his son called twice.
“Oh, Quiller! Why are you standing outside the door.”
“The ship dispatched by Paul has arrived, and I have invited the captain of this vessel to dinner, and have just sent him away.”
“Oh, that Count Greiman? Then you will entertain him for the next few days, after all, he is our partner. I’ve already had dinner, so I’ll go to my room first.”
The Margrave’s attitude made Quiller wonder, he had previously valued the cooperation with the Northwest Gulf, and he had planned to introduce a few merchant representatives for him to meet.
Seeing that his father had a worried look, could it be that something was bothering him?
He suddenly remembered a big event that happened recently, and followed up with the Marquis and asked, “Is there still no clue about that matter in the Duchy of Eaton?”
The Marquis looked at Quiller with a sad face, and he decided to confide in his son about his current troubles.
“Alas, there is not the slightest clue! This time the upcoming agreement between the two countries will 80% go down the drain.”
The so-called Eton Duchy’s affair was referring to the disappearance of the Grand Duchess of Eton’s sister.
A week ago, His Highness the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Eaton brought his wife and his wife’s sister to visit Fort Ness and held talks with the alliance’s top brass, however, just as the two sides were about to reach a series of political and economic agreements, the Grand Duchess’s younger sister, the Duchess Fanny, who was only eleven years old, was taken captive while she was touring the city of Fort Ness.
According to the recollection of the attendant of the Duchess Fanny, at that time, the Duchess led them to wander in the central avenue, in front of a jewelry store, the shopkeeper of the store took the initiative to come up to sell their own goods, originally, the guards wanted to drive away the shopkeeper, but the Duchess Fanny suddenly came to be interested in going in to have a look.
So together with the guards and attendants, a large group of people flooded into the store.
This group of attendants and guards were later found unconscious in the jewelry store, and there were several people lying in the jewelry store’s barn who were confirmed to be the store’s real owner and shopkeeper.
While a few of the unconscious guards clutched their already drawn weapons, most of the guards’ weapons were left undrawn, and a handful of traces of a fight were found in the store, as well as a strange odor that, according to the speculation of the alchemists involved in the investigation, would have been a potent form of ecstasy.
But what happened next was bizarre, when the unconscious people woke up, it seemed that they had collectively forgotten a few hours of their memories, the shopkeeper and the clerk could only recall the experience until they opened the door in the morning, while the entourage and the guards of the Duchess could only recall the experience until they walked into the doorway of this store.
Did they collectively conspire to avoid culpability? Or were they originally in league with the thieves? But those who could be chosen to be the royal guards and attendants were all loyal and reliable people.
Anyway, no one believes their words now, and the attendants, guards, shopkeepers, and bosses are now all in the prison, living a life of endless interrogation every day.
What happened in the territory of the alliance, the alliance naturally can not be blamed, the Convocation ordered a nationwide search, the Duchy of Eton also mobilized a large number of forces to investigate, however, a few days down the road without any clues.
Now they have been burnt to the point of issuing commissions in the Adventurer’s Guild to seek the help of civil forces.
As a member of the Convocation, Marquis Foster has been feeling a lot of pressure lately. Originally, he had already negotiated several agreements with the Duchy of Eaton, but after this happened, these agreements that had already been negotiated were put on hold indefinitely.
Under such circumstances, it was no wonder that he didn’t have the heart to care about business cooperation with Gleeman. ……
The next morning, Lardy led her mother and Lisa to the docks of Nisborough, and after a few inquiries about “strange ships with no oars and tall, thick masts”, they quickly found the berth of the Southern.
The sailor on duty at the gangplank recognized “Mr. Dirac” at once – the counselor had changed into a man’s dress, and a pair of moustaches had been added to her lips.
Captain Quick immediately stepped off the ship to greet her.
“Mr. Dirac, these are your family members?”
Quirk had long been prepared for the presence of female family members, and even though he wasn’t too happy about it in his heart, it was an order from the Lord Lord, and he couldn’t disobey it.
Lardy introduced him, “Greetings, Lord Captain. This is my mother, Xyla Sertia, and this is Lisa, my family’s clerk, who is accompanying us on this trip to the Northwest Bay.”
Quirk gave what he thought was a gentlemanly salute.
“Greetings, Mrs. Sertia, I am Captain Quirk of the USS South.”
This Xela Sertia was still a great beauty despite her middle age, and she had more of a mature style than those young girls, so it was no wonder that she was able to give birth to such a handsome son as Mr. Dirac.
But behind the beauty, Quake vaguely felt that the other party also has a kind of unspeakable temperament.
Xela returned the salute as she replied in Aldorian, “Greetings, Captain Quirk. My boy is in your care, and I’m sorry to say that we’ll have to continue to trouble you for some time to come.”
Quirk waved his hands, “No trouble, no trouble. Picking you up in the Northwest Bay was part of our mission.”
Lardy asked, “Captain Quirk, how many days will the Southern stay in Nisborough?”
Quirk thought for a moment.
“The date of return is uncertain, but I would think at least five days, those merchant representatives look like they will not stop until they have investigated the markets of the South. Are you in a hurry to get back?”
With a sigh of relief in her heart, Lardy waved her hand and said, “I’m in no hurry to get back, it just so happens that I have a few errands to run, but it’s just for the next few days.”
“Captain Quirk, what do you think about this? I’ll find a hotel for Mom and Lisa to stay at around here, and I’ll take them aboard when the Southern departs, and in the meantime I’ll go ahead and run some personal errands.”
Quirk agreed flatly, “That’s fine, Mr. Dirac.”
After all, it did seem a bit inconvenient for two women to live on a ship, so it would be better to have them on board when they departed.
So the three of them bid farewell to Quirk for the time being and went forward to find a hotel.
After settling Xyla and Lisa, Lardy said to her mother with a slight sense of guilt, “I’m sorry, mom, I’m going to have to leave you guys for a little while.”
Xyla stroked her head with great understanding, “You’re as caring as ever. Go on, Lardy, after all, you’re very close to her and it’s only right that you go and help. Even if you can’t help much, you should go and comfort her. Always remember to do what you can though.”
“Well, I know the measure.”
So the female counselor said goodbye to her mother and Lisa and left the hotel towards the embassy district in Nisborough.
(End of chapter)