Gerald and Xilia entered the wine cellar under the mansion. It was a cold and humid place, made out of solid stone bricks.
Many massive, human-height barrels laid there on their side, full of aging wine and beer.
Gerald walked around the place and checked out the drinks inside. Some were mild and sweet, while others were strong and bitter, with high alcohol content.
"Although this City Lord is a fool, he sure knows how to make good wine!" Gerald praised as he tasted some special brew.
"I found it, it's here!" Xilia called him away from the wine barrels.
The secret passage they were searching for was behind a thin stone wall that could be moved by pressing on a few ordinary-looking stones simultaneously. Those that didn't know of the mechanism would never be able to find it just by chance.
"Oh, ho? Great, let's go!" Gerald grabbed an oil lamp and went fearlessly into the darkness and Xilia followed suit.
The corridor was quite narrow but also short and it soon split off and went in different directions.
Gerald wasted no time in breaking every door they came across with some quick Earth magic. A few rooms they found were empty, while one of them contained gold and jewelry, probably a secret treasury.
Gerald struggled at the sight, barely keeping himself from filling his pockets with money. But that was not what they were after.
Soon they found a few more rooms with stuff. Some had weapons, clothes, and finally, they found a room that was neatly organized with bookshelves and drawers.
"This should be it…" Gerald casually opened a drawer and rummaged through its contents.
"Hmm, business records, sales of potions, family history, potential enemies? What is all this garbage?" he frowned as he read the papers. These things didn't interest him at all, "Deed of land ownership, farms under suspicion of treason… Ugh, is this going to take the whole day?"
"I think I found it," Xilia called. She was at a fancy desk in the room and held a stack of letters in her hands.
"Oh?" Gerald took one of the papers and checked it out. The letter bore a broken seal that looked quite similar to the one Gerald had on his stolen sword.
"You are right, this is it!" he laughed after checking what was written inside. "This is definite proof of collusion between Blood Sun Viper and City Lord! I think our job here is done, we can go back."
But the Dark Elf pulled him by the sleave, "Wait, we didn't check all of the rooms. My sister must be still here somewhere."
And so they went, further destroying the doors of the remaining rooms until they found the one.
It was a much bigger space, with walls made out of fired bricks and an arched ceiling. A few tables with potion brewing contraptions were all over the place.
A few boxes of potions were stacked on top of each other near the door.
"Qiona!" Xilia shouted and ran towards a bed in the corner. A small person was sleeping there, under an old blanket.
Since Xilia called her by the name, it had to be her, but just based on her appearance she didn't look like a young girl. She was severely malnourished and pale, with a body that would be of a dying eighty-year-old.
Gerald casually strolled around the room, checking stuff out. It appeared the girl was forced to produce potions for the City Lord and she was not taken care of well. Her situation seemed even worse than that of slaves. At least they could see the sun and get enough to eat every day.
"Hm?" The little girl woke up, "Sister? Is that you?" Her eyes weren't used to the light yet, so she had to squint hard.
"I'm here, I'm here! It's okay now, you will be free from this hellish place…" Xilia hugged her and comforted her, "I made a friend and he decided to help us, I'm sorry you had to suffer for so long! But it's okay now, and I'll never let anyone hurt you again!"
Gerald made a quiet noise and then spoke, "Take it easy you two, there is no need to rush. Xilia you stay here with your sister and I'll bring the documents to the Guildmaster. Just come out when you are ready."
"Thank you," Xilia said with tears in her eyes.
Gerald left the oil lamp in the room and used Fire magic to illuminate his path.
On the surface, the City Lord Egott was sweating profusely. He never imagined a day like this would come. He didn't listen to the Lord Green Fang and only hid the evidence instead of destroying it. He was regretting his own arrogance, but it was already too late.
"Guildmaster!" Gerald came out of the wine cellar smiling. He walked with large steps and presented the stack of letters to the Guildmaster.
The latter was happy but also worried at the same time. Worried about what he might find out.
Minutes passed as he calmly read letter after letter, some contained simple conversation, others contained orders for unspeakable things. The information about the tax delivery was also leaked from the City Lord's mansion.
The Guildaster sighed and looked at Gerald with gratitude, "Thank you, young man. You have helped us rid the city of a terrible disease. A person scheming against his own can't be called a person at all!"
"No worries! I'm glad I was of some help," Gerald replied.
Then the Guildmaster turned to the rest of the people, "Men! Arrest the City Lord, no, arrest this scum!"
"What's going on, Crobus?" commander Javiar questioned.
Guildmaster handed him the papers wordlessly and let him discover by himself.
Soon the commander understood the gravity of things, and it was way worse than he expected. The recorded amount of people the Blood Sun Viper harmed with the help of the City Lord was staggering.
Directly or indirectly, they ruined the lives of at least a thousand people in just the last six months. That was about 10% of the population of Geldern.
Just that was already enough to merit execution, but there were even plans to conspire against the king and the royal family. The tax robbery was just the first step in weakening the kingdom.
Luckily it didn't work as intended as many cities managed to protect the gold, Geldern included.
But since it was all a part of a bigger picture that included the king, the authority, criminals, and evidence were all to be handed to the royal court.
Interrogation and torture were sure to be a big part of uncovering this conspiracy and most of the involved would not survive.
"Mission accomplished!" Gerald smiled and looked at the trembling Adelard and his father.
They knew exactly what was to come and they wished they could commit suicide on the spot. Unfortunately for them, they were placed in chains and kept under strict surveillance. Their freedom and noble status were gone forever.