Chapter 224. What Were They Like? (2)

Translator: Lili

Weekly Chapter 4/6

“…”

As Edwin continued to wrestle with his thoughts, Rimel spoke with a touch of amazement.

“So you do feel guilt after all, my lord. I thought you’d surgically removed that part of yourself long ago.”

“Emotions can’t be perfectly separated or removed. But cutting out an irritating tongue from someone who annoys me? That’s easy.”

Faced with the chilling threat, Rimel merely shrugged.

“Anyway, I know you’re already in a foul mood, but I came to report something. Elma Hobb ignored the warnings and went to eat cake—and got caught.”

“What?”

“She got caught by the person involved. They don’t seem entirely sure yet, but…”

Before Rimel even finished her sentence, Edwin stared at her in disbelief. He seriously began to doubt Elma’s intelligence.

Elma, who had incurred debt after being deceived by a swindler, was the perfect tool for Edwin to use. He proposed to not only pay off her debt but also fund her cosmetic surgery and help her relocate overseas—on the condition that she pretended to be dead. Though hesitant, Elma and her family ultimately accepted his offer.

To avoid suspicion, Edwin advised her family to delay their move for several months. However, despite his warning to stay far away from the capital and keep a low profile, Elma brazenly ventured there. Was she out of her mind?

Edwin couldn’t help but wonder if the list of cosmetic procedures included melting Elma’s brain with chemicals.

“Was there any chance the surgery involved tinkering with her brain?”

“Unlikely, but please try to understand. Being confined like that must have been hard for her. Maybe she just wanted to see her parents. The cake might’ve been an excuse.”

The servant replied.

Rimel, who had been about to talk about the love between parents and children, quickly shut her mouth, suddenly recalling that Edwin had no parents.

Bringing up parents in front of someone who had lost theirs? That was beyond tactless. As bold as she was with her boss, even she had limits when it came to poking at others’ wounds.

“What an idiot.”

Edwin muttered, scowling. However, contrary to Rimel’s concerns, he didn’t issue gruesome orders like stuffing Elma into a barrel or burying her alive. His mind was preoccupied with more pressing matters.

The surname ‘Henriad’ was particularly troubling. It was the same as Kiehlermann Henriad, the Prime Minister of Euspolia. However, since Kiehlermann hailed from a humble miller’s background, families sharing his surname were not uncommon in Euspolia.

Still, the timing was suspicious. A man and woman carrying the surname ‘Henriad’ appearing in Logwin, particularly in Augwell where Shushu had been, was too coincidental. Whether the name was real or an alias, it was implausible that people using it would show up in a foreign prison with no connection to the Prime Minister.

Another complication was the ongoing investigation into Kiehlermann Henriad himself. The difficulty of probing into a public figure lay in uncovering the unknown, hidden truths beyond the well-documented, publicly available information.

Discerning fact from fiction in such cases was like sifting gold dust from sand. Political information about such figures was often deliberately obscured, designed to blur the lines between truth and fabrication.

As for the issue with Elma, silencing her was manageable. Preparations for her family’s relocation to an allied nation were nearly complete. Assuming she had even a shred of common sense, she would lie low until then.

But the most urgent matter lay elsewhere. Edwin recalled a key piece of intelligence: one of Kiehlermann Henriad’s family members was rumored to be a magician. Not just any magician, but a formally trained one of a high rank in modern magic.

This magician had played a critical role in Kiehlermann seizing political dominance from the old aristocratic factions. Strangely, however, after that period, there was no further mention of this magician, either in public or private circles, as though all ties had been severed.

It was baffling. While magicians might be overlooked in Logwin, they were seen as invaluable political assets in Euspolia, capable of bolstering any politician’s reputation.

“Rimel.”

Edwin called, breaking the silence as he pieced his thoughts together.

“Yes?”

“You’ve seen magicians before, haven’t you?”

“Well, yes… I suppose.”

Rimel, who had a military background, had encountered magicians in the field. However, high-ranking magicians capable of modern magic were rare and rarely deployed in dangerous war zones.

In fact, Rimel had only seen magicians in action twice, and only once during combat. That magician had been of a modest C rank, not an S or A rank, and their abilities were manageable using Logwin’s technology.

As Rimel reflected on those memories, Edwin quietly pressed her.

“What were they like?”