Zavier chuckled but stopped when Alistair stared at him with serious eyes. His silver eyes, slightly glistened gold.
Alistair Fernand Ashford. He was second in line of the Ashford dukedom of the North. Yet he retreated from the line of succession and joined the Temple as a knight of the Holy Order. A genius swordsman, he not only obtained sword aura at the age of 12, but he also has an attribute of Sage Eyes, a skill that lets the person see visions and analyze if a person has attributes. This skill was similar to the Seeking Eye of the Great Elven Prophetess, but an inferior skill compared to that.
"Does the High Priest know this?"
"Yes. However, only a few of us know. A word must not go out for a while."
"The Sage Eyes never lie. If you have seen it, why bother hiding it from the public?"
Alistair went silent. He sighed before he spoke.
"It is a child."
Zavier's eyes wavered. "A child?"
"He's currently being held captive by some slave traders. So far, we have a tip slave traders will soon set their port on Mermaid Isle and conduct a bidding there. We'll infiltrate the organization and ambush them."
Zavier went silent for a while. The Leopold dukedom is located West of the empire. Next to that is the Sea of York. Takes two and a half hours from the Leopold seaport to the Mermaid Isle, a small island in the middle of the sea. The Mermaid Isle is a free island where several trades and transactions occur. A melting pot of several cultures, it is ruled by Gorgons, three hideous-looking sisters who overthrew the Melusines and sent them to the depths of the sea. The Mermaid Isle is the nesting place of illegal transactions, a perfect location for slave traders to do their bidding.
"So that's why the Order is here. Are you asking me to permit you to borrow one of our ships to the Mermaid Isle?"
"As expected of the duke haha!"
"When are you planning to execute the ambush?"
"Tomorrow."
Zavier glared at Alistair. This guy knew he had a lot on his plate yet decided to request one at the wrong time.
"Y-You…"
Alistair raised his hands in surrender. "Come on, take it as a favor from your friend."
Zavier stared at him and sighed. "You know, someday I'll kill you myself."
Alistair smirked. "You're welcome to try in a hundred years."
"Bastard."
*********
That afternoon, Zavier wrote and signed a paper granting permission to let the Holy Order use a ship. Since their mission is confidential, only a few knights led by Alistair are allowed on this trip. A word must not come out that they are part of the Holy Order since the Mermaid Isle is the nesting place of illegal commodities and businesses. A word that the Temple disrupting a business in the Mermaid Isle will spell conflict between the two species and humans have had enough of dealing with demons and the dead.
As Zavier stamped the letter with the duke's seal, a knock echoed beyond the office door.
"Come in."
The door clicked. Zavier, knowing it was William, pushed the letter towards him. "Send this to Alistair via mail teleportation. Tell him, to give it to Terrence. He will understand what I have written there."
"Understood your grace."
William took the letter and kept it inside his vest. He then observed the young duke for a while then spoke.
"Sir, a word has been sent by the Seekers. They have found the source of the poison."
Zavier stopped writing. His hand froze as his face darkened. "Is Felix there?"
"Shall I call him?"
"Tell him to come when the moon is high."
"Yes, your grace."
******
Inside the master's bedroom, a wall filled with the paintings of the dukes from his great ancestor Andreus Leopold, up to Wisterius Leopold was displayed. Zavier laid his eyes on the empty frame beside Wisterius, his grandfather.
His father, the late Duke Vincent Atticius Leopold, was never formally recognized as a duke due to being born to a foreigner from the Mermaid Isle. His grandfather, Wisterius, was known to be a man who strictly stuck to the rules, yet failed to guard his heart when he met a gypsy from the Mermaid Isles. Though engaged to the Lady Rosaline of House Warlock at that time, he bore the gypsy a child, who was his father. Though he was the only heir, the lady, who became the duchess, never fully accepted his father due to his bastard blood. The late duke then married Zavier's mother, the second daughter of the Duke of Ashborn of the North.
The death of his father caused misery for the dukedom. Despite being branded as a bastard, he was a wise duke. Their relatives may not have accepted them, yet the Leopold dukedom prospered greatly under his rule. Nonetheless, it ended with his abrupt death.
Zavier stared at the empty frame. He breathed.
"Just a few more, and I can bring you to justice, Father."
A knock on the door disturbs Zavier from his thoughts.
"It's Felix, your grace."
Zavier breathed out.
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing a lean man in his late 20s, dressed in sophisticated attire. His short, curly chestnut hair appeared navy blue in the room's shadows. Clutching a few rolled files to his chest, he adjusted his round glasses and bowed courteously.
"You have called your grace."
Zavier turned around and faced Felix Thorngate. Felix is his secretary and the one he assigned to investigate the former Duchess. Though looking seemingly weak, he was a top student of the academy and excelled in mathematics, politics, geography, alchemy, and martial arts.
"Report."
"We have found where the poison was sold."
"Where?"
Felix handed him the files. Zavier pulled the ribbon of the rolled documents
"The poison was sold by a mercenary group led by a man named Undertaker."
Zavier flipped through the pages until his eyes caught a striking portrait. It depicted a middle-aged man, his face marked by deep scars that told stories of battles fought long ago. White strands glistened amidst his thick, brown curly hair, adding a touch of wisdom to his otherwise rugged appearance. His bearded face held a stoic expression, revealing little but hinting at the weight of the experiences he had endured.
"His real name was Stroke. He was a former slave merchant from the South. Upon investigation, he was able to escape when his gang was arrested. He took refuge on the Mermaid Isle and formed his mercenary group there."
"It was said that, weeks before the duke was poisoned, Lady Rosaline and her maid went to an appointment in his mercenary place. They signed an alliance with him until the day the duke dies and an heir from the Warlock family will take over Leopold."
"It's odd for a mercenary group to agree to an alliance with the former Duchess. What will they gain from such an alliance?"
"Upon further investigation, the former Duchess offered something in exchange. We have yet to determine what that is. Nonetheless, we confirmed that not only did they give the poison in exchange for that, but they also aided in successfully assassinating the duke."
Zavier turned silent as he vividly remembered that day. It was sunny; his father was doing some errands in the garden, chatting with some of the workers on some things when he convulsed out of nowhere and collapsed on the ground. He clearly remembered how his mother, the current Duchess Trista, broke down on his father's grave at the loss of her love, his grandmother sneering behind her fan under her black veil at the anguish of Zavier's family.