The Viscount and the Mysterious Human Couple

couple?

Ailin caught the key words, instantly stopped closing the door, leaned against it, and listened carefully.

Vesemir: "Humans?"

Bob: "Yes, they are a human couple."

"I know the man. His name is Hodon. He's a middle-aged knight under Lord Hudson."

"He was originally a groom for Lord Hudson, just like me, and was promoted after several meritorious service."

"I've never seen that woman before, but although she's plain-looking, she's elegant and graceful. She's more like a noblewoman than Miss Lysa — Miss Lysa is Mr. Hudson's daughter. She must have eloped from some great noble family."

Mary then added, "She certainly looks like a young lady from a great noble family."

"The woman never went out, so Bob, who was in charge of the stables at the time, didn't know."

"But besides helping Lady Rena prepare meals, I also clean the rooms for the host and guests."

"Every time I finished cleaning that couple's room, the woman would straighten her back, raise her head, and look at me with her nose when she thanked me, as if thanking me was some great favor."

"Even the Viscount and Miss Lysa wouldn't treat me like this..."

It was clear that even after all these years, Mary still harbored a great deal of resentment towards that woman of unknown identity.

Vesemir grasped the key point. "They eloped?"

It was clear he didn't quite believe the guess; the idea of a noblewoman eloping only existed in the stories of bards.

Besides, the two of them had previously said that the woman was found on the battlefield.

Vesemir asked in confusion, "What battle was Viscount Hudson summoned eight years ago? Who was the enemy?"

This question seemed to stump Mary and Bob.

About a minute later, Bob said in an uncertain tone:

"I'm not too sure about that. The king has been initiating quite a few conflicts in recent years, but the enemy should be either the elves or Ard."

Vesemir didn't dwell on this point; a long time had passed, and besides, these were not matters of concern to the servants of the two noble families.

He then asked, "But what is the connection between this couple and Viscount Hudson's castle?"

"We can't let the whole castle be destroyed just because of two humans, can we?"

A moment of silence.

Perhaps Bob and Mary were organizing their thoughts.

"We suspect that woman brought disaster upon Master Hudson... The master is such a good man, such a rare and upright nobleman, and there are also the young lady and lady..."

As Mary spoke, her voice began to tremble with sobs.

After Bob and Vesemir comforted him for a while, Vesemir tried his best to steer the conversation back on track:

What calamity did they bring?

Bob said, "I... we don't know either. It was around the autumnal equinox ten years ago, and we had just gotten married under the blessing of the Goddess Meritellie."

"The Viscount seemed to have anticipated something. After giving us this hotel as a wedding gift, he arranged for us to leave the castle."

"Many servants were also driven out of the castle by Lord Hudson. Then, a few days later, the castle suddenly caught fire. Overnight, the people in the castle either died or disappeared. No one survived."

"When we wanted to go back and find the remains of the Viscount and his wife so that they could be properly buried, news of the castle being haunted came from the castle."

"I... we had Little Mike at the time, so we were too scared to go in."

After listening, Vesemir comforted him, saying, "You were right not to go in. Even if Hudson finds out, he won't blame you."

"But why would we need you to search for the remains? What about the rest of the Viscount's family? What about Kedwen's council of nobles?"

After another moment of silence, Bob lowered his voice, which trembled slightly, as if afraid of being overheard:

"It's strange that... it's because none of the noble knights came... well... only a group of wizards in robes came by once..."

"But given their sinister and terrifying appearance, we dared not ask them anything..."

Mary chimed in again, "Vesemir, do wizards all like to use fresh human hearts to make soup? And do they like to use baby blood to prolong life?"

"Um... I haven't heard of that before. You guys go on." Vesemir said with a hint of helplessness, trying to steer the conversation back to the main topic.

Bob said, "Oh, oh~"

"We suspect that woman must be the daughter of some nobleman who eloped with that silly boy, otherwise how could such a large family Viscount Hudson not have a single person come?"

"It must be revenge from that noble family. After they kidnapped their daughter, they killed Lord Hudson's family and burned down the castle to vent their anger."

"That ghost story must be the angry and resentful spirit of Lord Hudson and his men!"

"That idiot Horton must have been killed too," Mary added.

"Vesemir, you're a witcher, you should have a way of finding the remains of the Hudson family, right?"

"They are all good people. We would like to entrust you to let them rest in peace and then bury their remains in the cemetery of the Goddess Meritellie."

After a pause, Bob asked somewhat sheepishly, "Um... how much does the commission cost..."

Vesemir interrupted, "No need. Viscount Hudson is also my friend. I received a lot of help from the Viscount's family during those years."

After a moment's hesitation, he made up his mind:

"Hmm... After making some preparations, I'll go to the castle to check on the situation."

After listening to the entire content, Ailin realized that he had listened, yet it was as if he hadn't listened at all.

The conversation contained a lot of information, but the only thing he was most concerned about regarding the couple was the husband's name; the information about the suspicious woman was all Bob and Mary's guesses and conjectures.

Most importantly, the couple's whereabouts are unknown.

In summary, Viscount Hudson took in a couple on the battlefield, and some major events may have occurred that made the Viscount realize the situation was dire, leading him to send Bob and Mary and their servants out of the castle.

Finally, a great fire broke out in the castle, and after rumors of ghosts spread, no one came to collect the remains of the Viscount's family.

This is indeed strange. Castles are very valuable assets to nobles, and this is a village near Ban Ade, not a war-torn frontier area, plus the Hundred Fruit Garden fiefdom below the castle.

The noble relatives of Viscount Hudson were scrambling to get their hands on it, so how could it have been shelved for so many years?

"Unless there is a more powerful person or force that makes them afraid to do this," Ailin thought.

In Kedwen, and near Ban Aard, the only possible power for such a situation seems to be the warlocks... no, the king is more likely...

Viscount is already a very high rank. Even if there are many internal conflicts within the noble class, they would not allow a wizard to harm them... at least not without repercussions afterwards...

in addition...

"Is this the couple the Red-haired Elf is looking for?"