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At the mention of Connor, Helen scoffed. “Prince Connor is truly troublesome-he’s a rotten one. He can’t bully Ryan, so he tried picking on Evan instead. He even had a young chamberlain bring dog feces to force Evan to eat.”
Sophie’s brow furrowed in concern. “Did he eat it?”
Helen chuckled, remembering the absurdity. “Of course not! Ryan grabbed Evan and ran straight to my sister. He complained to her, and my sister had them serve Prince Connor two full meals of dog feces. Prince Connor had the choice-eat it or go hungry. Now he’s been thoroughly put in his place.’
Sophie couldn’t help but laugh along. As long as Ryan was speaking up, that was what mattered. She had always feared that Ryan might keep everything inside.
Endurance didn’t earn one respect. Resorting to hitting the other person wasn’t an option. At that age, the best weapon was always telling on someone.
Sometimes, Sophie would share stories from her youth with Ryan, telling him about life in Meadow Ridge. She would tell him how, whether she was the one being bullied or the one bullying others, her first instinct was always to go and report it.
She hadn’t expected Ryan to listen so intently-and to remember it all. He really did have the same spirit as her.
Due to her busy schedule, Sophie couldn’t stay until after Ryan’s lesson. She had to leave the palace to return to the Capital Guard headquarters.
lan retained a small team of elite guards, while the rest were reassigned to Sophie’s command. Even Kevin was now under her leadership.
Kevin had improved rapidly. Whenever he had some free time, Travis would give him pointers, and occasionally, Sophie would spar with him.
Kevin had been incredibly unlucky on his journey to find a mentor. But now, his luck had finally turned around at this age. Though he was the last apprentice accepted by Violet, his martial arts had already surpassed that of Michael, Max, and Alistair.
Alistair had been in a half-suspended state due to what Oliver had done. Salvador had never officially removed him from his post, mostly because Alistair and Oliver had never gotten along. Their feud was well-known throughout the capital, and even Salvador was aware of it.
However, after Sophie took charge of reorganizing the Mystic Army, she didn’t care about that. She needed capable people, and she was prepared to use whoever had the skills.
The city was under curfew, with the Capital Guard and the Garrison Unit taking turns patrolling. The Royal Citadel had also sent over officers to assist in the efforts.
At the city gates, Sophie had arranged for additional personnel to conduct thorough checks and stop any suspicious individuals.
Since Alistair had fallen out of favor with the king, the Royal Guard had temporarily been placed under Kevin’s command. Meanwhile, Ivan was now a trusted bodyguard to the king. He could still pass information between Alistair and the others.
Homer, Felix, and the other scouts from the Septimus Tetra reconnaissance team had also been integrated into the Mystic Army. They were given general ranks and were tasked with guarding the city. Salvador was intent on turning the capital into an impenetrable fortress.
He knew these people had the skills, though he hadn’t dared to put them to full use before. Now, with the situation critical, all those with titles but no real positions were brought into action.
Strangely enough, aside from some unusual activities at Willowbrook Estate, there was little sign of covert movement in the city.
As for Violet, her investigation into where the food for over a hundred people was being delivered from the kitchen had yielded no answers.
Bun had been stationed at the kitchen door, observing the meals being sent out three times a day. In Willowbrook Estate, there was only Hayden, Chaya, and Gordon, along with their guests. It was impossible to need that much food, even if the rest supposedly went to feeding the servants in the estate. If there were hidden chambers or secret passages, it made sense that the food would be sent there. But there was no sign of that.
After the meals were delivered, Bun went inside to take a look and found nothing unusual-just a perfectly ordinary kitchen, even smaller than the one at Hell Monarch Estate. He checked two or three times but found no secret doors. After a few days, he decided to stay and watch the cooks prepare the food. When he went inside to keep an eye on things, he noticed that while there were a lot of ingredients, only the best parts were taken. For example, a whole pig would have its tongue, knuckle, or a piece of fatty and lean meat taken. The rest would be thrown into bucket.
They took only the bellies from 20 to 30 fish. Occasionally, they made fish sashimi. The rest of the parts were thrown into another bucket.
Other ingredients were treated the same way-only a small portion was taken, while the rest was discarded.
When the cooks started preparing meals for the servants, they took more of the remaining ingredients. But even then, much of it was still left over in the large buckets.
Bun was stunned and asked one of the cooks, “Are you throwing all of this away?”
The cook chuckled, “Of course not. It would be a waste. We’re sending it out to help the poor folk.” Bun followed the cook as they carried the food to Blessed Street, the district where the impoverished lived.
Upon arriving, Bun observed the gaunt, hungry faces of the people. When the cart from Willowbrook Estate arrived, they immediately lined up, eager to receive the food. It seemed the people from Willowbrook Estate had been regularly sending provisions here, perhaps even making it a daily habit. However, Bun started to notice something was off. They had been staying at Willowbrook Estate and watching the kitchen for many days. If the people from the estate had been sending food every day, then why were the impoverished here still so thin and starving?
Yet he didn’t comment on that, instead offering a quiet farewell to the cook with the excuse that he wished to explore the area on his own.
Once the cook had left, Bun doubled back and knocked on one of the doors in the alley. However, he didn’t see a person who was waiting for the food earlier. Instead, a stranger was looking at him in confusion.
With a smile, Bun asked, “The people from Prince Hayden’s residence send food every day. Why didn’t you come out to collect it?”
The man at the door stared at him in confusion. “That’s not for us. Why would we come out for it?” “Not for you?” Bun pressed, confused. “But weren’t the people who were just here waiting for food living here?”
“No, we don’t know them,” the man said, and he quickly shut the door.
Bun went around asking people in several houses, but they all said they hadn’t received anything. One crippled laborer got annoyed and snapped, “If there were free food, would we still be out carrying heavy loads? Who are you? Don’t accuse us of taking their stuff! We’ve never even heard of whatever royal prince you’re talking about.”
Still smiling, Bun took out a small pouch of coins and pressed it into the man’s hand. “I’m just asking around. No harm meant.”
The man’s eyes lit up at the sight of the coins, and he quickly pocketed them. “Ask away.” “Were those people already here before this?” Bun inquired.
“They’ve been here for two or three days now,” the man replied. “Every day, a new batch of beggars are waiting right here. It wasn’t like that before. If my leg wasn’t so bad, I’d be out there chasing them off myself. They’ve been making noise all day, and I can’t even rest properly. I’ve got a family to take care of.” Bun understood. The whole thing started when he began watching the kitchen-it was all just a show for him and his group.
If someone were to tell him that nothing suspicious was going on in Willowbrook Estate, Bun wouldn’t believe it.
Strangely, the movements that had been occurring every night suddenly stopped.
Violet and her group went to investigate, only to find that the Willowbrook Estate was eerily quiet. There wasn’t a single patrol guard, and the servants had all gone to bed early.
Everyone had a strange feeling that something was wrong with Willowbrook Estate. It seemed like it was covered by a thin veil. If they could just lift it, they would see what was really going on.
The problem was, where was this veil?
It felt close, yet far away. They couldn’t figure out the right approach.
Meanwhile, Hayden continued his usual routine eating, drinking, and occasionally going out. He would take Violet and the others with him to dine, drink, listen to music, watch plays, and sip a little wine. Then, he would return home in a slightly tipsy state as the evening sun set.
His days were nothing but leisure, completely unaffected by the turmoil at court or the wars beyond. He often boasted to Gordon and Sonny, “The life I’m living is far more comfortable than the king’s.
Gordon would always smile and agree, “You’re right, Your Highness.”
However, Violet felt that living in the estate hadn’t allowed her to uncover anything of note. Days were spent following Hayden from one indulgence to the next, and she had gained two pounds in the process. It felt like wasted time, with progress on the matters at hand.
Looking back, Violet thought that Hayden’s invitation to stay might have just been a polite gesture. Maybe she and Sophie had overthought it. At present, Violet didn’t feel that Hayden wanted to use her or needed any help from her.
She discussed with Bun and Cynthia the idea of returning to Hell Monarch Estate.
However, Bun remained suspicious of the things at Willowbrook Estate. “We haven’t even figured out the food issue yet. Also, do you remember when we arrived, there were a lot of people moving around outside? Where did they all go? Doesn’t it feel like something is happening right under our noses, but we can’t see it?”
Cynthia rested her chin on her hand and frowned in thought. “But we haven’t found anything, and Prince Hayden hasn’t said anything to us. We’re just here to eat and drink.”
“Now it’s like we can’t leave, but we also can’t stay,” Bun said. “It feels like there’s something here, and we won’t feel right if we don’t figure it out.”