Actors

The red light absorbed by the crystal wasn't ordinary magic. On the night of Lady Alsha's dinner, the two wizards who ambushed Matthew hadn't had this red light inside them.

"Matthew?" Link saw that he had been touching the corpse for a while and thought he might have realized something.

Matthew came back to himself. In an instant, he remembered the diary of Old White he had just found at the White Ancestral Home. A month before his death, Old White had recorded something: during his final month, his body had become increasingly swollen. The physician at the time had tried many remedies, all to no avail, and had only said that he was suffering from some unknown disease.

Matthew thought Old White might have started mutating before he died.

"Can we search the ancestral home of House Whyte? We might find some clues as to why Old White turned out like this." Matthew chose to trust his instincts.

Link rubbed his chin and said firmly, "We should search it, but I'll have to ask Lady Alsha for a warrant. It's a lot of trouble to investigate a Noble Wizard in the Blizzard Kingdom."

Just then, a squad of guards came around the street corner in the distance.

When the guards spread out, they revealed Alsha and several Staff Members of the Court Wizards who were stationed in Whitestone Town. These Staff Members were now Lady Alsha's Direct Subordinates.

The fight with the mutated Old White had been so loud that the sounds carried especially far through the night. Almost the entire town had heard it.

Perhaps because the commotion of the battle had been so great, and she had rushed out in a hurry, Alsha was dressed rather casually that night. She had only thrown a dark Long Coat over her black Silk Nightgown before heading out.

The Staff Members behind her were all Wizard Apprentices of levels one or two. Matthew had once heard Link explain that most low-ranking Staff Members among the Court Wizards had little combat ability. They were mainly responsible for handling the kingdom's administrative affairs and the Court Wizards' internal matters.

Alsha quickly surveyed the scene and asked softly, "Mr. Link, what happened here?"

"We were attacked on Riverside Street. The attacker was Old White, who was supposed to have died several months ago." Link pointed at Old White on the ground.

Alsha stepped forward to examine the corpse. A trace of surprise showed in her eyes as she looked at Old White's body, covered in human faces.

"Ah!" One of the wizards behind Alsha cried out. She was short and wore her hair in twin tails.

The Twin-tailed Wizard seemed frightened. She had never seen such a terrifying creature before.

Alsha turned and glared at her. The wizard immediately covered her mouth and made no further sound.

Alsha took a pair of giant forest lizard Skin Gloves from another assistant. These lizard-skin gloves offered strong protection, preventing infection and corrosion from strong acids.

After putting on the Lizard Skin Gloves, Alsha made a preliminary examination of Old White's corpse.

"Check the faces against the list of missing people in Whitestone Town."

The Twin-tailed Wizard had calmed down by now. She took out a stack of Manuscript Paper listing all the known missing people and compared each face on Old White's body against it.

A moment later, Alsha took off the Lizard Skin Gloves and asked, "Do all the faces on the body match the identities of missing people?"

The assistant replied, "My lady, all these faces belong to people who went missing in Whitestone Town within the past three months, but some of the missing people aren't among the faces."

Alsha nodded and called over the guards. "Take the corpse back for further dissection. See if you can find the cause of Old White's mutation."

After the guards carried away the corpse, Link said, "My lady, could you approve a warrant to search the White Ancestral Home? We'd like to investigate the White Residence. We might find some clues there as to why Old White turned out like this."

Alsha thought it over briefly. "All right. I left in such a hurry that I didn't bring my seal. Come with me to Whitestone Manor so we don't have to make two trips."

Matthew glanced at the Silk Nightgown beneath Alsha's Long Coat. She lived at Whitestone Manor, and it really couldn't have been easy to gather everyone and get here so quickly.

Matthew and the others obtained the Search Warrant at Whitestone Manor without a hitch. Lady Alsha also provided them with six guards.

The group hurried to the White Ancestral Home on City Square Street.

When they arrived, Link knocked on the Door Knocker.

After a while, the door opened. A middle-aged man stood there—the butler of House Whyte.

Link took out the Search Warrant that had just been issued. "We're Investigators for the Court Wizards, looking into the Missing Persons Case in Whitestone Town. This is our Search Warrant."

The butler's face changed dramatically. He hurriedly called to the young attendant behind him and told him to inform the master. "Please come in, Your Excellencies Investigators."

The butler led them slowly toward the Reception Room.

Matthew frowned. He could tell that the butler was deliberately stalling. He had already gotten a general idea of the house's layout during his previous visit to the White Ancestral Home, and they were taking a longer route. Still, Matthew understood the butler's attempt to buy time for his master. Having people show up in the middle of the night to conduct a search would make anyone uneasy, even if they had nothing to hide.

His right hand moved beneath his wizard's robe as he cast Detection Magic. An invisible wave radiated from his hand and swept through the White Ancestral Home.

Link's expression shifted slightly. At such close range, he noticed Matthew casting magic, but said nothing.

Through Detection Magic, Matthew sensed that Jack White was no longer in the basement. He was in the Reception Room on the second floor.

And the Magic Creatures in the basement had disappeared!

Jack White definitely has something to hide. What normal person would move Magic Creatures out of the basement in the middle of the night? Matthew had discovered Magic Creatures in the basement during his previous visit.

When they reached the Reception Room, they saw Jack White. He wore a purple tailcoat. The moment he saw Link, he greeted him warmly. "Mr. Link, Your Excellencies Investigators, please sit."

Link waved a hand and took out the Search Warrant. "We're not here as guests. We're here to conduct a search. This is our Search Warrant."

After confirming the warrant, Jack said, "Since you have a Search Warrant, you're welcome to search wherever you like. But our House Whyte has never done anything that violates the Wizard Regulations.

"What happened tonight? I heard the noise from here, along with the Night Watchmen blowing their horns. Now you've come to search the house. Does this have something to do with House Whyte?"

Link explained, "Your father, Old White, turned into a monster. This matter is closely connected to the Missing Persons Case in Whitestone Town."

A look of utter shock appeared on Jack's face. "How is that possible? My father died several months ago. I personally arranged his funeral! Could a Necromancer have desecrated my father's corpse?"

"His corpse is at the Security Station. We'll need you to identify it later. After that, we'll also have to check your father's grave. For now, we'll search this house."

Jack's expression was grim as he said slowly, "I'll go to the Security Station to identify him."