Chapter 63: Search Party
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LOCATION: CHEVALIER HOUSEHOLD
HEADMASTER'S OFFICE
*BANG
The people inside the office looked at the person who slammed their hands at the table where most of the paper works were laid there scattered around the place.
Now, the person responsible for this mess was none other than the First Young Master, who took the mantle of being the temporary head of the household since the Marquis was nowhere to be seen.
Since he is the temporary head of the household, all affairs that's happening should be reported back to him, no matter how small or trivial matters could that be, he needs to know every single detail.
Right now, when the report came back about Ezekiel's sudden disappearance, he didn't know what to think anymore as his mind became chaotic that he couldn't think wisely within this situation.
'WHAT?! H-how come….?! H-he's missing?! B-but…'
"Altron, snapped out of it!"
The First Young Master snapped from his chaotic thoughts when his little sister, Felicity, shouted at him in order for him to come back to his senses.
He gasped heavily as he tried to calm himself since it would do no good for him if he panicked.
After a minute had passed, he took a deep breath and calmed himself before he spoke.
"Explain. Without missing a detail."
The person who reported back, was one of the knights who escorted the Third Young Master, panicked at first because of how firm and stoic the First Young Master was as if he just saw the Marquis within the First Young Master's presence.
'Even though the Marquis wasn't around but with the First Young Master here, there's nothing to worry about. However, I couldn't say about the Third Young Master's situation.'
The knight didn't know how to deliver the report properly as he, together with the others from back then, didn't know how it happened.
It's just happened without reason and also, he didn't notice something wrong with the Third Young Master's carriage and the only thing that happened was the horses gone wild and went straight to the cliff and nothing else.
If the knight reported something like this, he feared that they will face the wrath of the First Young Master and not only him, but the Eldest Young Lady who was with him as well.
Also, if this news had reached Count Harrison Chevalier, another thing that they need to look out for.
Although the Third Young Master is an illegitimate child and a half-blood noble but still, he is still a member of the Marquis Chevalier household and the youngest brother of the Young Masters and the Young Lady.
However, he didn't have a choice but to report everything that happened then.
"First of all, on behalf of the knights who were responsible for the protection of the Third Young Master, we would like to apologize for our incompetence, and we would receive our punishment when the time comes."
The knight said as he half-kneeled in front of the two people who were the First Young Master and the Eldest Young Lady of this manor as he earnestly stated those words.
Felicity, on the other hand, noticed how her older brother tried not to lose his composure in this situation and since she is here then, she should make the situation ease for a bit.
"You and the other knights who were responsible for escorting our younger brother's safety to the academy would receive appropriate punishment for the later date but right, we need full details on what could have transpired in this situation."
The Eldest Young Lady speaks with a firm demeanor as she stood in front of the knight who reported back to them about the situation of their youngest brother who suddenly went missing for no apparent reason.
'I know we had enemies around within the empire and it's not surprising if they tried to target Ezekiel since they knew that he's an illegitimate child of our father, but I know those foolish nobles wouldn't dare to recklessly take an action against our household lest they wanted to wage war against us.'
As someone who learned politics since young, Felicity knew how noble society works, even the darker side of this cruel world, she's aware of it.
'Whoever dared to harm Ezekiel would pay for their lives! Even if I need to bathe my hands with the blood of those rotten people, I would gladly do it. This is the least that I could for him as his elder sister.'
The knight who saw how the Eldest Young Lady's firm stature couldn't help but admired the woman in front of him.
Although the Eldest Young Lady had a similar appearance to the Marchioness but the Young Lady within the knight's eyes had a different demeanor compared to her mother.
Unlike the Marchioness who only knew how to present herself in front of the crowd with only her appearance and her prided ego.
The Eldest Young Lady, on the other hand, is someone who knew how to win the crowd not only her beauty but her intelligence on how she could stand on equal footing with those veteran nobles who knows how to twist everything within their palms.
As for how the knight describes the Eldest Young Lady of the Marquis Chevalier household, she's more likely to have the attitude of the Marquis but with the appearance of the Marchioness.
The knight snapped from his thoughts when he noticed that his masters were waiting for an answer, and he gulped nervously as he stated what he knew.
....
...….
........
"So, what you're trying to say was that there is nothing wrong with the carriage that Ezekiel rode on but all of the sudden, the horses on Ezekiel's carriage suddenly gone wild and went straight at the end of the cliff and fall down there?"
Altron tried to repeat what the knight reported back to them when he calmed himself and ready to listen to their reports on what happened however, he find it absurd for this lame excuses.
'Just how the heck is that possible?!'
He wanted to scream at the knight who just reported back to them and tell them how ridiculous it would be to think that would happen, but he restrained himself so as not to burst out his emotions and show weakness in this situation.
When he managed to calm himself, he sighed to let out his frustrations as he took a seat and felt tired all of the sudden.
'How could this have happened? The knights who were escorted Ezekiel are the best knights within the Chevaliers and most of them are skilled fighters and their senses are sharper than others so how come they didn't detect any abnormalities beforehand?'
He keeps on thinking of other possibilities since it doesn't make sense if those horses just suddenly gone wild without reason.
'I believe those knights wouldn't be so stupid not to check their horses since those are one of the things they should keep on check whenever they got an expedition themselves, for goodness' sake!'
However, Altron shouldn't blame the knights but also, blame himself as well since he is the one who took-in-charge of Ezekiel's needs and he should check them properly.
'It's an oversight on my part and I'm also at fault in this situation.'
He sighed once more as he keeps on thinking about any possibility that could happened about Ezekiel's situation, and he suddenly recalled some of the servants who were with them to assist Ezekiel during the course of the journey.
'I don't see anything wrong with those servants that were…'
Now that he thinks about it, Altron suddenly recalled a certain scene from back then… at the dining hall, a few weeks ago…
'That's right. Now that I think about it. There is something wrong with that certain maid. Why did I suddenly remember that?'
Altron thought about it and then he looked at Felicity who stood by his side from the beginning and asked; "Little sister, do you remember that maid who purposely made a mess with little three at the dining hall back then?"
Felicity, on the other hand, almost got startled when she heard what her older brother was talking about, and she thought about that particular scene from that time.
After some time, the young lady suddenly recalled that scene and she looked back at her older brother and nodded as she said; "Yeah, I remember that incident. If my memory serves correctly, her name should be… Nariana, right?"
Altron frowned as he thought about that maid and the maid's name coming from Felicity's mouth.
'Nariana…'
Altron once more he looked at his sister and asked once again; "Can you recall that maid's appearance?"
As the First Young Master said that he also looked through the documents within the office for the employee's document while waiting for Felicity's response.
Felicity, on one hand, recalled the maid's appearance and she answered; "Well, she had hazelnut-colored short hair with brown-colored eyes and had a petite appearance from what I recalled and also, she looks just like a commoner to me."
After Felicity finished her statement, Altron managed to find the maid's employment document and show it to Felicity since there is a portrait of the said maid and to confirm if it's the same from what Felicity recalled.
Felicity saw the document and saw the portrait of the maid that he recalled and nodded as a sign of confirmation; "Yes, elder brother. That's her."
With that, the First Young Master looked at the knight who still half-kneeled in front of them and then he gave an order.
"Search for this woman within the manor, now!"
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