Chapter 66: Dungeon Exploration and Goodbye to Stellan
In the tavern at the edge of the forest, guests were arm in arm, drinking from their glasses, creating a lively atmosphere.
Lei Luode sat in an inconspicuous corner, and the beer unique to the small village went down his throat, which was more spicy than the wine in Laqigo.
His eyes were heavy and unhappy. Was that person a magician? It seemed that she had met many people when he was not paying attention.
They were clearly the most alike, so how could she treat him like this? He gripped the wooden cup tightly, his face gloomy. Who was that magician? How dare he interrupt him and Vefiya?
I don’t know what he was thinking about, but he suddenly smiled sweetly, as if he was thinking of his lover while in love.
He stood up and walked towards his temporary room upstairs in the tavern, but when he opened the door, a man wrapped tightly in a black robe came into his sight.
Seeing this, he not only did not panic, but instead gently closed the door, leaving a gap, and walked over leisurely, keeping a certain distance from the black-robed man: "You have come uninvited, is there anything you want?"
The black-robed man didn't mince words and said calmly, "Tomorrow is the funeral of the Marquise of Kesley. Don't you want to go?"
Upon hearing this, Reilold suddenly laughed. He had come prepared. His eyes cast a sharp scrutiny on the man in the black robe. "Before this, shouldn't you have taken off your hood and let me see who wants to cooperate with me?"
The air froze for a moment as the black-robed figure brushed back his hood. Raylord's face was momentarily filled with surprise, but soon, his eyes were filled with amusement. "I'm curious, how did you manage to find me?"
The black-robed man put his hood back on and spoke devoutly, "All of this is God's guidance."
At this moment, Raylord didn't care about whether it was a god or any guidance. He just thought maliciously that if he suddenly appeared at the funeral of the Marquise of Kesley, would Vifia like this surprise?
——
Vifia tightened the invisibility robe that Hefa had taken from Isidore. While Letitia was still making trouble and trapping the Marquis in the study, and while Vaholian was busy with the arrangements for tomorrow's funeral, she decided to go to the dungeon to take a look in person.
She walked skillfully through the rooms and buildings, a place where she had lived seventeen times. She didn't need the instructions of the necklace map; she could find every place here with her eyes closed.
Finally, she stopped and looked up. The walls of the west house were mottled, with only the rose window still having a little color.
Vifiya looked back at the way she came. Fortunately, the invisibility robe could not only hide her figure, but also hide her traces, leaving no footprints on the snow.
She walked in without hesitation. There was a passage in the abandoned West House that led directly to the dungeon. She accidentally discovered this when she became the Marquis in her tenth life and designed to lure Valhorian to the West House in order to capture him.
She was sure that even the Marquis himself didn't know about this passage. After all, it had been abandoned for at least three hundred years. It was said that the reason the West House was only abandoned, rather than demolished and rebuilt, was because a mad lady who once lived there dragged the then Marquis of Casely and all the knights and servants inside and burned them alive inside.
Too many people died, even the Marquis and his wife, so no one dared to move.
But what does this have to do with Vifia? She pushed open the dusty door and stepped onto the rickety stairs. The winter light shone through the rose window, a little bit mottled, and even that little light became gloomy and cold.
Vifiya didn't care and went straight to the place she remembered.
In the dilapidated bedroom, Vifiya endured the smell of decay, found the dent behind what looked like a dressing table, and pressed it.
A door slowly opened beside the burnt bed, but it was so old that it opened as slowly as a piece of rusted iron.
Before the door was fully opened, Vifia squeezed in. Before leaving, she took a last look at the many carbonized objects in the room.
As soon as I entered the passage, a smell of corruption hit me in the face. If I smelled it carefully, I could even smell the scent of old blood.
The bracelet on Vifiya's wrist emitted light, illuminating her way forward and allowing her to clearly see the intermittent rust color around her again.
What happened in the past was irrelevant to Vifia. It was the story of the past Marquis of Kesley's Mansion, a past that could not be changed. What she could do now was to change her future.
When they were about to reach the dungeon, Vifiya's silver bracelet went out.
She stuck her head out. Although she knew that no one was here, she still carefully checked until she was sure that there was really no one around, and then she came out of the passage.
She quickly glanced around. There was only a small window far away on the thick stone wall. The inside was no different from before.
The dungeon was divided into three sections, one for common prisoners, one for prisoners of a certain status, and finally, the place where Stellan was imprisoned, a place where people could be locked up in solitary confinement.
This passage is very close to Stellan's solitary cell.
She quickened her pace, missing the patrolling guards and standing by the door to the solitary cell area.
She was waiting for the knight stationed at the door to open the door and go in for a patrol as usual.
Not long after, the knight opened his pocket watch and saw that the time was almost up. He took out the key and opened the iron gate. Vifia seized the opportunity and followed him in.
The knight who entered glanced around vigilantly. He just had a strange feeling, but there was no change in his surroundings. There was confusion in his eyes. Maybe he was too tired from working for several days in a row and had hallucinations. This is how he comforted himself.
Vifiya did not act immediately, but stood in a relatively safe position, waiting for the knight to come out.
It was not until the knight's figure disappeared outside the door and the iron gate was closed again that Vifiya took any action.
Her eyes swept across the identical heavy wooden doors. As was the Marquis's custom...
Her gaze stopped at the door in the corner and she took a decisive step forward.
There was a faint smell of blood in her nose. Vifiya looked down at the door lock. It was a kind of lock with a key turn hole called "circular opening". Fortunately, she had prepared it in advance.
She felt around and pulled out a hard wire with a curved top. She carefully turned it left and right, and with a small sound, the door opened.
She stuck to one side of the door, slowly opened the wooden door sideways, and looked inside.
The first thing that caught my eye was the red on the ground, and then Stellan's figure collapsed on the ground.
After confirming that Stellan's eyes were really closed and he was unconscious, she quickly stepped sideways and gently closed the wooden door.
The crimson eyes were indifferent, yet a little complicated when she looked down at him.
Stellan's hands and feet were tied, his body was covered in blood and whip marks.
Vifia was very familiar with these scars, after all, the Marquis had whipped her like this before.
This scene strangely gave Vifiya a sense of expectation.
Could it be that the Marquis could not suppress his anger and beat Stellan so harshly at this time?
Vifia looked at the disheveled Stellan without moving. This made sense why the Marquis stopped the Haihefu siblings from seeing him. How could a man who was severely injured and unconscious after being whipped accept the interrogation of the Haihefu siblings?
She stared at her twin brother, and somehow, she suddenly thought of another possibility. There was surprise in her eyes. Perhaps, the Marquis did it on purpose.
Stellan is unconscious. From other aspects, the so-called truth is only what the Marquis says. She and Vaholian will not refute him. What charges he wants to put on Stellan and what price Stellan needs to pay are all decided by the Marquis. When Stellan wakes up, there will probably be no room for him to change his words.
At the same time, it is also a good way to prevent Stellan from throwing things around and suddenly blurting out something he shouldn't say.
Vifiya stroked her chin, her eyes filled with thought. Did the Marquis really treat Stellan as a pawn? How could he be willing to abandon one of his sons? If her guess was correct, Stellan was a true scapegoat.
"Marquis." Leticia's voice came from outside the door, "Are you guys in Kesley used to not locking the door?"
Vifiya was startled. Letixia came faster than she expected. She quickly retreated to the corner by the door and saw Letixia's brother and sister and the Marquis push the door open and enter.
The door was now wide open, but Vifiya was in no hurry to get out.
Balkas gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, his eyes gently looking towards the corner of the door and glancing at Leticia.
Leticia exchanged glances with him calmly, and Balkas understood and relaxed the strength in his hands slightly.
Leticia looked at the scene before her. The whip wounds on Stellan's body overlapped with her childhood memories. Her face darkened. "Marquis, won't you explain?"
The Marquis was well prepared. He spoke calmly, "Since Stellan was reluctant to give in, I asked the knight to take some action. I didn't expect the new knight to be so reckless."
Upon hearing this explanation, Leticia couldn't help but sneer. "Really? If that's what you said, he's the murderer of my aunt." There was a bloodthirsty look in her orange eyes. "Is it okay for me to take him back to the Dukedom of Haihefu?"
The Marquis paused for a moment, seemingly because her words were unconventional. He then quickly said, "Stellan is, after all, the second son of the Kesley family..."
"Oh, I see." Letixia raised her hand and moved her finger slightly towards Balkas next to her. Balkas quickly stepped forward, picked up Stellan, took out a bottle of potion from somewhere, and poured it directly into his mouth.
Facing the questioning look in the Marquis's eyes, she smiled maliciously and said slowly, "He looks like he's going to die anyway, so why not go and atone for your sins in front of my aunt and the goddess? If we set off now, maybe we can catch up with my aunt."
The Marquis didn't expect her to make a decision so quickly, and when Letixia saw that he was serious, she squinted slightly, with a playful look in her eyes: "You must be joking. How can you let him die so easily, right, Marquis?"
There was no change on Vifiya's face as she listened to their conversation quietly. In fact, the deal between her and the Heihef siblings was not valid, just like they could successfully meet Stellan without relying on her. As for the truth about Yotina's death, Vifiya had no intention of telling them the real situation from the beginning. This was her guarantee of Yotina's cooperation.
How much they can guess from just a few words depends on the ability of the Haihefu brothers and sisters.
She admitted that she was not sincere in seeking their so-called cooperation. She had made doubly preparations, and even she herself felt that the probability of being rejected was greater.
But Ledixia still agreed. Why?
It is impossible for someone like Leticia not to notice her perfunctory attitude, but she is still willing to cooperate with her and is also seriously fulfilling her requirements.
This made Vifiya herself wonder what she was thinking.
The only thing that is certain is that they only care about things related to Yotina.
"From today on, we will send people to keep an eye on Stellan." Letixia gave the order without question. She looked at the Marquis, "Of course, your people can also keep an eye on him."
She turned around and stood on tiptoe toward the door. Balkas followed her movements. Letitia said, "Find a doctor to treat Stellan. Don't let him die so soon."
Seeing that they were about to leave, Vifiya stepped out of the wooden door with a few light movements and returned along the same route as planned.
Leticia's gaze drifted to the corner beside the door. As she left the dungeon with Balkas, a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
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