CH 42

Chapter 42 Third Knight Order

Translator: Tseirp

Royal Castle of Ashbury. North tower.

“You, come over here.”

A person called the ‘Administration Manager’ handed over the documents related to the conduct of the Marquis family to his subordinates.

“We can end this now. The son’s behavior was pretty bad, too.”

“Yes. The incident at the evening party triggered an investigation, but we are fortunate to be able to learn about the behavior of the Marquis and his son.”

The Administration Manager made a sour face.

“Why doesn’t the Marquis understand that his actions only bring about the anger of the commoners and antipathy toward the nobility? Even though he is so capable at work.”

“His son also has a lot of problems. Not only does he go gambling, but he also owes money to underground people. And it’s a ridiculous amount of money. I wonder if the son was used as if he had inherited his parent’s position.”

The manager listened while twisting the glass pen with his fingertips.

“Probably that’s why he’s gambling. I guess they made him win big by cheating at first. Even though the son is capable at his job too. Why are both the son and parent like that?”

It is the height of stupidity for a nobleman to buy the antipathy of commoners. How many royal families do you think disappeared after the people’s anger piled up?

“So you still haven’t found that red-haired woman?”

“Yes. No matter how much I look into it, the man only attacked him out of a personal grudge, so it’s unclear what the intentions were in helping him escape from prison. That’s why we can’t narrow down the scope of the search and it’s hard to find him.”

“I see.”

“Perhaps someone with a grudge against the Marquis saved him. Also, we can’t find his sister’s whereabouts. There are testimonies from neighbors that she was mentally exhausted, so in the worst case, she may not be alive anymore. It’s also possible that she’s with her brother, but there are still no clues.”

The manager stopped his finger on the desk.

“I see. Okay. That man did have leeway for his extenuating circumstances. However, the place where the crime was committed was the issue.”

“Yes.”

The department supervised by the manager is assigned to the northern tower, which receives less sunlight than the royal castle. There was a distance from the glamorous departments such as the Foreign Affairs Department, the Internal Affairs Department, and the Finance Department.

There are three departments in the north building.

The ‘Repair Department’ occupied the second floor, the ‘Information Management Department’ occupied the third floor, and the ‘Institution Maintenance and Management Department’ occupied the fourth floor.

However, the three departments were actually one, and those who knew of its existence only by rumor called it the ‘Third Knight Order’. Not the official name.

The identity of the Third Knights Order is top-secret, and the number of people who know the true identity can be counted with one hand. Even the ministers are not informed of the details. They only know there is such an organization.

The head of the Third Knight Order is the Prime Minister, but the one who actually runs it is the manager of the ‘Institution Maintenance and Management Department’.

While the heads of other departments are called ministers, the head of the ‘Institution Maintenance and Management Department’ is called the ‘Administration Manager’ or ‘Manager’, and is thought of by the public as a head of department that is coldly treated by other departments.

The current Administration Manager is a genuine civilian who was chosen for this position due to his clarity of mind, high ethical standards, sharp insight, and personality that does not cause trouble with anyone.

Because of his skill in socializing, the first prince says, ‘If there’s something you want to know about social circles, it’s quickest to ask the Manager’. He was probably serious, not joking.

And his insight is so good that the Prime Minister calls it ‘creepy’.

The person himself says, ‘It’s a pitiful department where all the troublesome miscellaneous affairs are forced onto it’, but despite complaining, he works enthusiastically.

Back to the present, when there were no people around, the man took out an envelope with ‘Restricted’ written on it from a locked drawer and took out three documents from inside.

One was the investigative report on Victoria Sellars, which His Majesty ordered to investigate, the other was the report on the mysterious woman at the evening party, and the last was the report on the jailbreak.

“They’re all young women, huh… and it all happened after she entered the country.”

The man rubbed his glossy silver hair mixed with gray and let out a sigh.

Victoria Sellers is innocent, if reports from the Kingdom of Randall are to be believed. But the report on Victoria Sellers contradicts what he knows personally.

Victoria Sellers’ parents, who are listed as ‘missing’ in the investigative report, are said to have died in a fire. If there was a ‘fire’ and their death were confirmed, even if there was a mistake, it was unlikely that they will be listed as ‘missing’.

Regarding horses, it seemed that she said, ‘I learned from my military brother’, but the ‘real’ Victoria Sellers does not have an older brother.

“You’ve let your guard down, Victoria.”

The manager looked at the document with a troubled face.

And one more thing. His intuition suggests that the red-haired woman who helped the man escape from prison was Victoria Sellers. But there was no evidence at all.

Even so, assuming that these three cases were all done by Victoria, why did she come to this country? And why did she do something that doesn’t benefit her, like breaking out a death row inmate?

“I want to ask her directly.”

He told his cousin’s husband, Count Anderson, “If Clark’s language skills aren’t improving, how about hiring Victoria as a language teacher? Until uncle’s injury heals, her income will decrease and it will be difficult for her”. Because he wanted to keep her as visible as possible.

He likes Victoria. She is a great benefactor who pulled his brother out of the prison of his mind. He wants to support Jeffrey and Victoria’s relationship if he can. But there were too many unclear things.

Maybe she’s running away from something. Depending on the reason, he wants to protect her, but at the same time, depending on the reason, he must hand her over to the country.

If she’s guilty of something, he wants to avoid a situation where countries fight because of a single foreigner.

“Hmmm,” Edward Asher decided, after groaning, (I will not tell the Prime Minister my speculations just yet).

Until now, he often expressed his thoughts to the Prime Minister and His Majesty, saying, “Please keep this possibility in mind.”

“But that Prime Minister is an impatient man. He might say, ‘Make a suitable reason to deport them.’”

When he thought about it, he ran his fingers through his hair from front to back.

Then he put the three documents back into the original envelope, placed it in a drawer, and locked it. Even though he knew such a tiny lock didn’t matter to the people there, if there’s a lock, he’d lock it. That’s his nature.

So he called another subordinate this time.

“What happened to Mr. Miles’ report? Oh, I see. It’s going well. Then leave him alone. Good job.”

How much does his brother know? At the very least, he should have realized that she’s not just a commoner.

(I hope Jeff doesn’t act prematurely.)

And, for a moment, his face changed to the worried face of a brother, worried for his younger brother who was too kind and too earnest.

Victoria continued to nurse Nonna.

Nonna seemed to have caught a cold. She had a high fever and a bad cough.

She was sleeping with a bright red face and panting. She had no appetite and only takes a few sips of water or diluted fruit water. I remembered what Eva told me about the common cold in the past and was almost swallowed by a dark imagination.

(It’s okay. Nonna has physical strength.)

I kept telling myself that, but it was the first time I’d ever taken care of a sick child. I had no idea if she will get worse or if she will recover. I placed a cool cloth soaked in cold water and wrung out on her warm forehead, or change her clothes if she was sweating. I was anxious because that was all I could do.

“I’m sorry, Vicky.”

“Why are you apologizing? There’s no need to apologize, Nonna. It can’t be helped that you’re sick. Sleep well so that you can recover quickly.”

“Yes.”

The fever and cough were persistent. But after about the fifth day, her fever subsided and she showed an appetite. The wet cough and raspy breathing were still present but were becoming calmer.

“Nonna, it looks like you’ve beaten your illness.”

“I’m not in pain anymore.”

“Really? That’s good. Later, if you’re hungry, eat well and sleep and you’ll be fine.”

“I want to eat apple pie.”

“Please wait a little longer. We don’t want to upset your stomach.”

Ten days after the fever, Nonna had completely recovered.

(But it’s still impossible to travel by horse)

Victoria decided.