novelraw Chapter 94 : The Nemesis of the Viscount’s Daughter
Chapter 94 : The Nemesis of the Viscount’s Daughter
Chapter 94: The Nemesis of the Viscount’s Daughter
“Sister!” The attendant who had come along with Adele cried out in alarm, instinctively reaching to draw her sidearm.
In order to salvage her family, Adele had been running around everywhere lately, negotiating deals and courting investors.
To maintain the necessary appearances, she had used what little savings she still had to hire this attendant, whose primary duty was to serve as her bodyguard.
As a weak woman traveling about on her own, this was a necessary expense.
A female guard with some basic training could reduce many risks for her—ordinary hooligans would not dare set their sights on her.
But this time, the people she was facing were not ordinary street thugs.
The underworld enforcers behind Leon were all veterans of multiple gunfights, their experience far surpassing that of her guard.
The moment the female attendant’s hand touched the grip of her gun, Simon and the others had already drawn their weapons in unison and taken aim.
“Don’t move, ma’am. Pointing a gun at this gentleman will cost you your life!” Simon warned the female attendant.
They had only just managed to secure a long-term employer—there was no way they were going to let this livelihood slip away.
Letting Mr. Fenrir be held at gunpoint while under their protection would be a serious dereliction of duty.
The female attendant froze, the color draining rapidly from her face.
Adele did not have the money to hire an experienced bodyguard; she herself was also green and inexperienced.
Where would she ever have seen a scene like this?
“Hey, hey, hey!” Father Auden was no longer calm.
He waved frantically at Leon, trying to dissuade him.
It was not out of pity for Adele nor a sudden awakening of conscience.
Shooting the daughter of Viscount Arend here was absolutely not a good idea.
No matter how impoverished she was, she was still a noble—this was no ordinary murder.
Moreover, the only assets of Viscount Arend that were still worth anything were his title and this beautiful daughter, and the value of that title was essentially bound to her.
According to imperial law, as long as certain conditions were met, nobles were allowed to pass their titles to sons-in-law through proper procedures.
Without Adele, anyone who wanted to buy Viscount Arend’s title would have to become his adopted son or a “long-lost son.” The approval rate for inheriting a title through such means was extremely low, and no one would spend money to buy a worthless title only to become someone else’s son.
As long as Adele, who was determined to revive her family, stayed alive, there was still a chance to squeeze the last bit of value out of Viscount Arend.
If Leon shot Adele dead right now, Father Auden would have no way to explain it to the Watcher Merchant Consortium.
In fact, given the current situation, he did not even know how to clean this up!
Adele’s face was deathly pale.
The hollow muzzle of the gun was like an abyss, making her knees feel weak.
“You—you can’t—” Although she was so terrified she was on the verge of fainting, she still forced out a trembling voice from her throat.
“I am—the daughter of a viscount. Killing me will bring you trouble—”
“Oh? Are you counting on the law to protect you right now? If I were doing something illegal, do you think the law could intimidate me?” Leon asked calmly, holding his gun steady.
“All I have to do now is pull the trigger and throw your corpse into the labyrinth to destroy the evidence. Tell me, how is the law supposed to protect you then, noble young lady?”
This time Adele could not speak at all.
She only trembled all over.
Seeing the icy look in Leon’s eyes, she truly felt death closing in, and tears immediately welled up.
At that moment, Leon suddenly shifted the gun away.
“So, don’t do something this stupid again, Miss Adele Lovelace.”
Adele stood there dumbly with tears in her eyes, not reacting for a moment.
Then Leon abruptly took out a Church badge.
“I’m a Inquisitor! I was ordered to conduct reconnaissance on the labyrinth on Arend Island.”
“Inquisitor?” Adele stared blankly at the Four-Pointed Star Emblem.
“That’s right. I was ordered to survey the labyrinth and assess its danger level. Due to a shortage of manpower, I hired several labyrinth hunters to help. Father Auden from the Prophet Church happens to be familiar with the situation here, so we asked him to guide us. Isn’t that right, Father?” Leon lowered his gun and turned to Father Auden.
“That’s right.” Father Auden nodded without changing expression, immediately cooperating with Leon.
“All right, everyone, put your guns away,” Leon instructed Simon and the others behind him.
Simon complied and holstered his weapon.
Although they did not quite understand what Leon was up to, they all knew that right now, keeping quiet was the best course of action.
“The Church does not necessarily need approval from the local lord to conduct reconnaissance and sealing operations on a labyrinth, especially when it determines that the local lord is incapable of managing the situation.
“Although it may sound impolite, from what I heard from Father Auden, Viscount Arend is already bankrupt and completely unable to deal with the labyrinth that has appeared on the island. Therefore, we did not contact the viscount. Please forgive the oversight,” Leon said in an official, businesslike tone.
Adele blinked in place, trying to process Leon’s explanation.
After the intense intimidation earlier, her mind was still filled with terror.
She had yet to recover, and did not even have time to feel relieved at having escaped death.
All she could do was say blankly, “We—we once reported the labyrinth to the Church, but the Church never responded…”
“In South Harbor County, the Church is preparing to reassess the danger levels of the labyrinths within its territory. The Arend Island labyrinth is also on the list,” Leon said.
After thinking for a moment, Adele asked tentatively, “Does the Church—intend to seal the Arend Island labyrinth?”
“Whether it will be sealed depends on further instructions from above. But no matter what, since Viscount Arend cannot provide any support for the Church’s operations, please do not interfere with them. Especially you, Miss Lovelace—you had best not appear here again. If we happen to engage magical beasts, a stray bullet could take your life!” Leon replied.
Adele was too frightened to respond.
Even if she temporarily believed that the other party were Church personnel, she was still deeply afraid of the man in front of her.
Father Auden saw through the situation and finally let out a small sigh of relief.
The peril Leon had manufactured had stripped Adele of most of her ability to think.
Now, whenever Leon said something, she needed a moment longer to understand it, and she was completely led by the nose.
When dealing with a well-educated noble young lady like this, arguing was indeed far less effective than pointing a gun at her head.
The current Adele was far more foolish than when she had been debating him.
Even if Leon’s story had loopholes, she would not be able to spot them for a while.
Now that Leon had disguised himself as Church personnel sent to conduct a survey, and hinted that the Church might consider sealing the labyrinth, once Adele stopped doubting him, she would be placed in a passive position.
Under normal procedures, it was not entirely free for the Church to send Inquisitors or knight orders to seal a labyrinth.
Whoever owned the territory had to pay a portion as a donation to the Church.
If it belonged to the kingdom, funds would be allocated from the treasury; if there was a lord, the lord had to pay.
Viscount Arend, of course, could not afford a single coin.
If the Church judged the Arend Island labyrinth to be too dangerous and proceeded to seal it first, allowing Viscount Arend to owe the donation, that would naturally be a good thing for Adele.
Without the labyrinth, the island’s mines and other lands would regain development value.
She would be the one indebted to and begging the Church—no matter how forceful Leon acted, she would not dare say much.
Moreover, the reconnaissance and evaluation phase could last a long time—one or two years, even three or four years were possible.
As long as Leon obtained the opportunity to use the labyrinth, he could generate enormous profits in a short period.
Of course, once Adele calmed down, she would likely sense that something was amiss.
But even if she suspected that Leon was engaged in illegal activities and wanted to interfere again, she would have to consider whether Leon might once more point a gun at her head without putting it away.
The Arend family had been reduced to the point of being driven into a corner by Potter.
Aside from their nominal noble status, they no longer had any real power.
Leon, who was now gradually inheriting Potter’s position with the earl’s backing, actually had plenty of ways to deal with them.
If things came to a falling-out, there was no need to reason with a viscount’s family at all.
On Father Auden’s side, he could also apply further pressure on Viscount Arend through debt claims.
Viscount Arend would very cooperatively allow the “Church personnel” to investigate the labyrinth and forbid his daughter from taking any further unnecessary actions.
Adele would have no way to oppose this, since Viscount Arend was still the legal owner of the land.
“Miss over there, could you escort Miss Lovelace back?” Seeing that Adele had no rebuttal left, Leon turned to the female attendant and instructed her.
Then he seemed to recall something and continued, “Oh, right. If the two of you can share one horse on the way back, could you lend us one first? I’ll have someone return it later.”
Transporting the items obtained from the labyrinth—including that demonic wolf—to the shore would take considerable effort.
He already regretted not bringing a horse when they came by boat.
The female attendant cautiously looked to Adele for confirmation.
Adele remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.
“Thank you for your generosity, Miss Lovelace. Please be careful on your way back,” Leon said with a nod.
Hearing this, Adele could not help but feel her heart tighten.
It was an ordinary farewell, but coming from Leon’s mouth, it sounded to her like a meaningful warning.
Whether he was truly an Inquisitor or not, she had already developed a psychological shadow toward this man.
This man was terrifying—
The female attendant helped the trembling Adele onto the horse, then mounted it herself, riding away along the mountain path.
“Drag everything out of the labyrinth. We’re leaving,” Leon ordered Simon and the others as he watched Adele disappear.
“This noble young lady has finally met her nemesis!”
Watching Adele, who had always been such a headache for him, suffer a setback, Father Auden could not help feeling a bit schadenfreude.
“But the only problem is if she reports our suspicious actions to the Church—although that possibility is low, we still need to consider how to respond.”
“Just file a proper investigation procedure afterward. Even if she reports it, it won’t matter,” Leon replied casually.
With Bishop Becket’s standing, this level of trouble was easily handled.
Geographically speaking, all Inquisitions in South Harbor County could submit investigation requests for the labyrinth on Arend Island.
That was the foundation of his confidence in lying.
Father Auden glanced at Leon, realizing that the support Leon now received from the earl might be even greater than he had imagined.
“It’s a good thing you didn’t actually kill and bury that young lady. If you really intend to use this labyrinth, you need to think long-term. She will be useful sooner or later,” Father Auden suddenly said.
“Useful for what?” Leon asked.
“No one knows how many years the Church investigation excuse will hold. The best solution is to buy this land once you’ve made enough money. And the best way to buy the land is to buy the title. And the best way to buy the title—” The priest looked at Leon meaningfully.
“Marry that woman?” Leon frowned.
“That way, you become the next Viscount Arend, fully owning this land, completely legitimate,” Father Auden snapped his fingers.
“Forget it, Father. Are you trying to dump a collapsing bad asset on me to digest?” Leon laughed.
Father Auden’s calculations were practically hitting him in the face.
“To others it’s a bad asset, but to you it’s an absolutely premium asset!” the priest emphasized.
“Whether it’s a premium asset or not depends on successfully taking control of this labyrinth first. Don’t get ahead of yourself—let’s deal with the problem at hand,” Leon said, waving the topic away.