Second World

Jack then followed the tracking footsteps away from the bushes. They brought him through the side entrance of the house. The door was not locked, so he continued following. After walking through a few hallways, the footsteps suddenly disappeared in a corner.

”Why does it stop here?” Peniel asked.

ʼHow should I know?ʼ Jack shot back. ʼis there some ways to throw the tracking skill off?ʼ

”There are some ways. The most common ones are if the tracks are too old already, or it can be the target uses an anti-tracking ability or item, or if the target simply flies off or go into the water.”

ʼWell, considering we are in an indoor hallway, we can forget about the flying and swimming methods. How long is a track considered old before it disappears?ʼ

”That will also depend on the tracking level, the most basic one can mostly track clues from two days old.”

ʼthe duke said that the theft happened two days ago, so that could be the reason.ʼ

”Probably. So now what?”

ʼWell, the tracks have gone cold, but at least we learned something.ʼ

”What did you learn?”

”That the stolen thing was indeed getting thrown out of the window, most probably by the maid. And she had an accomplice.”

After further checking the areas around the hallway where the tracks disappeared without result, Jack tried to find his way to the study room where the interviews would be conducted. He lost his way again another one time.

By the time he found his way to the study room, a group of people was already assembled in front of it. They were sitting on a cluster of sofa lounges in front of the study room. Some were having drowsy looks, some were chatting, a few were having irritated expressions. Captain Salem and one other guard were present, standing nearby a woman in maid clothing. Jack assumed that maid to be Joselyn.

When Jack approached, one of the people stood up. The man walked up to Jack in a fire-up manner and spoke in an angry tone, ”are you the punk that said you want to interrogate us? Are you accusing us to have something to do with the theft as well?”

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but was immediately interrupted by the man, ”the culprit is already certain. Itʼs that maid!” The man pointed at the maid that was sitting next to the guard. ”What is the need to interrogate us anymore? This is preposterous! Iʼm demanding my immediate release from this place!”

Jack waited until the man finished his ranting. After seeing the man piped down and waited for Jack to give a response, Jack said with a smile, ”you must be Marquess Fernando.”

Actually, it was not difficult to recognize the noble. Out of the group, only two people wore luxurious attires. One was a woman, the other was this fuming man before him. The woman was clearly the duchess. Furthermore, though there were others with unhappy expressions, only this man here dared to express himself without concern.

As expected, the man replied, ”I am indeed the marquess. Now I demand an explanation here, why am I still being detained? And who are you? To even have the audacity to request me for an interrogation!”

”That is right! You have no right to treat us like a criminal,” an old woman in a similar maid dress to Joselyn spoke up. She was one of the few who wore an irritated expression.

Jack maintained his calm gaze and replied in a flat tone, ”about the detention, I believe everyone has already been aware of the reason. While for me, Iʼm someone Duke Alfredo had tasked in helping him to find his missing item. In order to do that, I will need everyoneʼs cooperation, and that includes you, Marquess Fernando. If there are any dissatisfactions, you may take it up with the duke himself.”

”Why you…!” The Marquessʼs expression kept on changing as he tried to repress his anger.

”Please donʼt give the adventurer a hard time, Fernando. He is just doing his job,” a sweet voice was heard, Jack turned and saw the speaker to be the elegant Duchess Isabelle. Now that he paid her more attention, he could see that she was what one would expect when a computer program was used to depict beauty. Her face was spotless, there was no imperfection on her skin. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were perfectly proportioned and aligned, her long blonde hair fell to her waist, accentuated the perfect curves of her body despite the extravagant dress that covered it. Her beauty was ethereal, the only other NPC Jack had seen that could contest with the duchessʼ beauty was Goddess Serenity who had bestowed him Peniel and Storm Breaker.

The duchess probably noticed Jackʼs stunned expression, as she made a soft giggle. Jack snapped out of his thought and made an awkward cough. He turned back to Marquess Fernando. ”Since my lord Marquess had stood up, how about you be the first for the interview? Please understand that it is an interview and not an interrogation,” Jack said tactfully.

The Marquess gave him a frown. He looked at the Duchess, before turning back to Jack, ”fine, letʼs get it done with!”

Jack let the Marquess walked to the study room while he followed behind. He gave the Duchess a grateful nod when he passed her, which she replied with a smile. The old maid, on the other hand, sat back down with a huff.

The study room was as it was named. It was a room lined up with bookshelves that were filled up with books. It looked more like a library. Jack must admit the dukeʼs passion for reading was admirable, considering his vast collections of books. There was a sofa lounge at one corner, and also a table with a few chairs. Jack chose to use the chair and table as it gave a more formal feel compared to the sofa lounge. The Marquess, on the other hand, was not so keen on Jackʼs choice, but he still sat on the chair with the table opposite from Jack.

”So, what do you want to know?” He asked impatiently.

”Can you state your purpose of visit?” Jack started with his question.

”What do you mean?! Do I have to have a reason to visit my friend? Are you insinuating that my visit has an ulterior motive? Like stealing my friendʼs belonging?” The Marquess exploded.

Jackʼs mouth twitched. He had the urge to attack the Marquess on the spot. He remembered the duke had informed him that all the current occupants in this house aside from him and the guards were all commoners which meant they were level 1 weakling, so that should include this Marquess. It should be a piece of cake to beat this pompous ass to a pulp, but he kept his calm. He did not know what effect it could bring if he really beat the Marquess. He might end up failing the quest, or worst, the guards might consider him breaking the rule and lock him up.

Jack spoke with the marquess with the friendliest tone possible, ”Marquess Fernando, Iʼm not insinuating anything. Iʼm sure that an upright noble such as you would have no need to resolve to thievery to get what you want. Iʼm just trying to understand the whole picture here. And for that, I need to know everything that had happened two days ago. I believe you are discontent for being constrained here. Iʼm sure you have many other urgent matters that need your attention out there. Help me solve the dukeʼs problem, and I promise you Iʼll do my best to get you out of here as soon as possible.”

The Marquess gave Jack a haughty gaze. He was being silent. He seemed to be trying to discern the sincerity of Jackʼs word. Finally, he uttered, ”fine. I came because Iʼve heard a rumor about the upcoming royal auction. Iʼve heard that there will be a very special item in this auction. I came to see if the duke is interested to come with me to this auction around two weeks from now.”

”Okay,” Jack said. He jotted down the important points using a pen and notebook. He had put some of these mundane items in his inventory bag during the Tutorial phase.

”That was some fancy writing utensils you have there,” the Marquess commented.

😉