Chapter 165: Hunting Grounds Outside the City (Part 2)
Andre stared at his brother's mask silently for two minutes, then he rolled his eyes very slowly and sincerely.
——Oh, man.
Andrei's mocking glance at his brother's obvious pursuit of his wife was seen by the knights of the kingdom behind the chief clerk as a sign of dissatisfaction with Baron Neumann. A rustling noise immediately broke out in the ranks, which was silenced by the Winchester clerk.
"There's no time to lose," the chief clerk said. "Don't keep the Baron's guests waiting."
Andrei said nothing more. He turned his horse and headed straight for the City Lord's Mansion. Two teams of Kingdom knights followed him in a sparse, murmured manner, with the expression "disobedience" clearly written on every face.
Andrei wasn't surprised by this. Most of these knights were natives of Neumann Territory, having never left the land. They were naturally extremely loyal to their lord, Baron Neumann, so it was only natural that they wouldn't treat him with favor.
Not to mention that Andrei had just arrived and had already eliminated a bribed vice-captain, which inevitably aroused the Kingdom's knights' sympathy, a common hatred, and a united front against the enemy. These Kingdom knights might not necessarily agree with the actions of the gray-handled vice-captain, but they clearly did not want to follow in his footsteps and become a whetstone for Andrei to establish his authority.
Before, Winston, pretending to be Winchester's clerk, advised Andre in the carriage not to act rashly and cause a bloody storm, because he was worried that Andre would become the target of public criticism as he had just arrived.
However, Andrei wasn't afraid of this. He had seen it all before. Rather than spending time slowly and carefully wearing down the knights' defenses, Andrei preferred to aggressively intensify conflicts, disrupting the enemy's position and looking for opportunities.
In a stagnant and calm environment, it is not easy to find any evidence against the Baron. However, if the water is stirred up, the fish in it will inevitably seek shelter or a way out eagerly, and will naturally leave clues.
Diego stopped in front of the city lord's palace and turned to face the main force. Andre glanced at the team, noting the few knights who still looked resentful and complained the most. He shouted sternly, "Line up!"
No matter how unwilling they were, the knights quickly lined up and formed four neat columns, looking presentable.
Servants had already entered the City Lord's Mansion to report. At this time, the door opened and nobles dressed in dashing hunting suits came out one after another.
These ladies had rarely discarded their layers of puffy skirts and changed into breeches and high boots. On the upper body, they often wore ruffled shirts, brown suede vests or short deerskin hunting jackets, and wore deerstalker hats or berets on their heads. At least from the appearance, they were indeed ready for hunting.
A long line of carriages drove up and stopped at the gate of the city lord's mansion. The knights, called out by the Winchester clerk, came out one after another and led their horses to the left and right sides of the nobles' carriages.
"Andre!" A female voice that hadn't been heard for a long time but still sounded familiar rang out. Andre shuddered suddenly, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The wound from being beaten in childhood - which had actually healed long ago - suddenly began to ache slightly.
He turned to look at Vivian, who was standing on the steps at the entrance of the City Lord's Mansion, wearing a pink suede hunting suit. He dismounted with a blank expression and saluted, saying, "Long time no see, Miss Marquis Vivian."
"What a coincidence! I didn't expect you to be transferred here." Vivian looked surprised, yet also a little delighted. She waved her folding fan, snapped off the Baron Neumann's son who was pestering her with his attentions, and walked quickly to Andrei's side. She extended her hand to Andrei's arm and said with a smile, "Since we're acquaintances, you can be my bodyguard!
"With this distinguished viscount at your service, there's no need to trouble my young lord." Vivian turned around and smiled proudly at the baron's son.
The man's eyes passed over Andre's well-developed arm muscles, then he looked down at his own arms that looked like boiled chicken, and replied tremblingly, "Okay, okay."
Andre turned his head quietly with a look of despair, and when no one was paying attention he gave Winston a look - save me!
A smile flashed in the eyes of the Winchester clerk. He led his chestnut mare to the other side of Vivian's carriage, blocking the nobles' inquiring gaze. He casually hugged the documents in his hand and said respectfully, "Miss Vivian, please get in the carriage~"
Vivian looked unhappy and was about to refuse, but her expression suddenly changed. A fake smile appeared on her face for a moment: "Yeah, I'm tired."
She didn't make things difficult for the two of them and got into the carriage directly, even pulling the small curtain.
Andrei had a blank expression, his lips moving as he made a barely perceptible sound to his sworn brother: "Book?"
The Winchester clerk nodded imperceptibly, then said loudly, "Dear guests, please board the carriage and head to the hunting grounds outside the city."
The nobles, in groups of three or four, or alone, entered the designated carriages. Their servants placed their luggage on the carriages and on the roof racks, and then sat down next to the coachman. After a flurry of activity, the mighty procession finally set off.
Baron Neumann's hunting grounds were in the mountains outside the city's northern suburbs. Although connected to the city by a main road, the nobles' carriages were not fast, and it still took several hours to travel all the way into the mountains.
Including the Winchester clerk, two riders guarded each carriage. The guards sometimes rode alongside the carriages, sometimes looking forward and backward to check the surroundings and ensure the road was safe.
In order to leave space for the horses to move, the distance between the front and the back of the convoy was very long, so Andre and Winston could take the opportunity to use the carriage to avoid people's sight and talk in a low voice.
"The autopsy reports for the two perpetrators of the Witch Forest incident have been released." Winston handed over a piece of paper. "The poison is the famous work of the Grand Master of Potions, Mi Funa."
"Her again..." Andre frowned. "What role did this Grand Master of Potions play in these events? She should have passed away."
"Her brewing workshop was always crowded with customers back then, and since potions can be stored for a long time, it's not impossible that the person behind this is one of her regular customers... for example, the Baron," Winston said softly. "Have you discovered anything during your time in the workshop?"
Andre shook his head. "I've searched the entire workshop and found nothing unusual, but familiars frequently appear, seemingly monitoring Takumiu."
This morning, the servant demon was defeated and eaten by the little bone eagle before he could deal with it. That little pet was actually smarter than her master.
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