Rumors

Before Mark and the others could react, Os turned directly into a cloud of black smoke, passing through the police officers and rushing toward the stairway. Shaya raised a hand and seized a black shadow from the smoke as it swept past him, but the black smoke did not disperse. Instead, it continued up the stairs.

Cassifa's voice rang out in Shaya's mind. "Quick! It'll be troublesome if the nightmare gets away."

Shaya did not hesitate. He flew out of the storage room after the black smoke. Before the police officers could react, another shadow leaped down from the corner of the room, swiftly passed through the crowd, and ran off after them.

For a time, only the secret police remained in the storage room. Some of them went weak in the knees and collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath as though they had survived a disaster.

Mark's body relaxed slightly as well. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and looked at several colleagues lying on the floor. Their bodies were already stained red with blood, but they were still breathing. The flintlock pistols were not that powerful.

He hurriedly shouted to the police around him.

"Quick! Stop the bleeding and get them to the hospital!"

The surrounding officers came to their senses and immediately began clumsily stopping their colleagues' bleeding and treating their wounds.

A police officer about Mark's age approached him and lowered his voice.

"Mark, how are we supposed to explain this to our superiors?"

Mark frowned in thought. Looking at the mess around them and recalling everything that had just happened, he sighed.

"Report it truthfully. This has already gone beyond what we can handle."

In this era, the natural sciences had not yet developed so far, and there were almost no materialists. Many mysterious legends still existed, though most were merely exaggerated rumors passed from person to person.

Still, these police officers had a high degree of acceptance toward supernatural incidents.

The officer said gravely, "What exactly was that thing? And who was that man who suddenly appeared? Even something that terrifying was afraid of him."

Mark fell silent for a moment. "We can only hope that someone higher up knows the truth."

The man nodded.

For low-ranking officers like Mark and the others, it was clear that the upper classes, who controlled most of Britannia's power and wealth, harbored many terrifying and important secrets.

They were not at all surprised that those people might know the truth behind tonight's supernatural incident.

But clearly, magic had been disconnected from this world for far too long.

Even if Fate's power had brought it back into the world, those unrelated to Fate were unlikely to have encountered the mysterious.

"How are things? Has Marquis Os been found?"

With a marquis missing and his life or death unknown, after such a major incident, the other nobles naturally could not continue attending the banquet.

Alicia had also returned to her own chambers in the palace. Perhaps because she could not see, the room was simple and had been designed with many accommodations for the blind.

She sat by the window and questioned the maid in front of her, who had just finished gathering information.

Earlier, the director of the Secret Investigation Department in the Queen's District had been reporting on the case to the Minister of Internal Affairs, and she had happened to be nearby.

The maid hesitated for a moment, seemingly choosing her words. Then she said, "According to Director Hagus, after Marquis Os disappeared, he organized his officers to seal off the entire Imperial Capital and conduct house-to-house searches.

"In the end, they found traces of Marquis Os more than six hundred meters from the scene of the crime. But by the time they arrived, Marquis Os was already dead, his chest pierced by a sharp weapon. The murderer had vanished without a trace."

Alicia nodded with a grave expression.

At this point, it had merely been an ordinary murder case, except that the victim's identity was rather special. But as the maid continued, things began to take a strange turn.

"When the secret police were preparing to continue their citywide search for the murderer, Marquis Os revived right before their eyes."

Alicia furrowed her brow. "Revived?"

The maid nodded, obvious fear appearing in her eyes. "According to Inspector Mark, it was more like possession by an evil spirit.

"He said that thing was more wicked and terrifying than any vicious criminal they had ever encountered, and it possessed evil sorcery.

"The moment all the secret police saw its eyes, they lost control of their bodies and were manipulated like puppets on strings.

"It controlled them, forcing them to aim their guns at their own comrades, trying to make them kill one another."

"What happened afterward?" Alicia asked urgently. "How are the Secret Investigation Department officers?"

"A mysterious man appeared later," the maid said.

"A mysterious man?"

For some reason, Alicia thought of that person from the banquet, the prime suspect in Marquis Os's kidnapping.

"What did he look like?" Alicia asked.

The maid recalled, "Black hair, black eyes, and a long black robe. But the specific details are unclear."

Just like the descriptions from those at the banquet, Alicia thought.

Although black hair and black eyes were not unusual in the Imperial Capital, she was already completely certain that it was him.

The maid continued, "That evil spirit seemed especially afraid of the mysterious man. After seeing him, it roared, 'How could you possibly come to the mortal world?' Then it fled."

"How could you possibly come to the mortal world?" Alicia's brows drew together slightly. "What does that mean? He isn't from the mortal world?"

"I don't know. But according to Inspector Mark's guess, he should be an even higher and more terrifying existence than that evil spirit."

Alicia fell into thought. Then she asked, "Is this mysterious man good or evil?"

"I don't know." The maid shook her head. "But according to Inspector Mark, one thing is certain: the mysterious man and the evil spirit were not working together.

"By his estimation, the person behind the scenes may have kidnapped Marquis Os in order to let that evil spirit occupy Marquis Os's body and move among Britannia's upper class under his identity.

"If everyone who witnessed it had been silenced, their plan would almost certainly have succeeded.

"But the mysterious man appeared and saved all the Secret Investigation Department officers present. Naturally, the conspiracy was exposed."

Alicia fell silent. She remembered how, at the ball, that man had said he would repay her a favor.

At the time, she had thought he had merely said it casually.

But now that she thought about it—

Perhaps he had not appeared there by chance, and perhaps he had not kidnapped Marquis Os either.

He had known about the conspiracy from the beginning and had waited there for everything to unfold, only to destroy it.

But why had he done all this?

With the power he possessed, those two thugs could never have posed a threat to him. There was no such thing as owing her a favor.

Or perhaps... had he appeared there in the first place to deliberately approach her?

Was I his target?

Alicia gently pressed her lips together, casting the increasingly tangled thoughts from her mind before continuing her questions.

"How did the Minister of Internal Affairs handle it?"

"At first, he did not believe the report and gave Director Hagus a severe scolding. But there are currently four Secret Investigation Department officers lying in the hospital, so it can't be fake.

"Then he went to the church and invited Bishop Bach. They're still talking now."

"That is not surprising. Matters involving ghosts and spirits always lead back to the Church. But can they truly handle something like this?" Alicia murmured softly.

"They probably... can?" the maid said uncertainly.

The Church had a far longer history than Britannia and held an extraordinary position in the hearts of Britannians.

"Even the greatest work of art will eventually lose its luster to time. Tradition is no different. Though Britannia's Church still believes in that supreme Lord, it can hardly be called orthodox."

Alicia spoke calmly. After pondering for a moment, she continued.

"Lies woven beneath a sacred banner are especially easy to believe."

The maid tilted her head in confusion. She did not quite understand what the Princess meant.

"If the Church cannot handle it, then we can only rely on a Sorcerer—"

Suddenly, the maid seemed to remember something. She raised her head and said, "Speaking of which, have you heard that rumor?"