SOTBW - 160

Rodney King’s old rat, Rockbell, who had infiltrated the Noctis Fortress, was entangled in seemingly useless pieces of information.

Rockbell’s subordinates brought back all sorts of intelligence, from crucial and secretive information to trivial gossip like who in which household adored their cat so much that their wife scolded them to show the same affection to the children. There was no such thing as meaningless stories. If you hold onto them, sooner or later, there would be a use for them.

Rockbell had chosen to liberate only those who were born slaves and had been mistreated their whole lives. The ones who had lived like beasts, never even treated as humans, were more likely to follow Rockbell dramatically when freed without conditions.

The people Rockbell trusted the most were all former slaves. They served under him with the sole intent of repaying his kindness and brought him new information by any means necessary.

Unlike other informants who were lucky to pick up crumbs from dirty floors, Rockbell was different. The reason why the nobles of the castle feared him was not just because of his vast intelligence network but also due to his ability to distinguish between truth and lies and his ruthless talent for turning rumors into truths.

Half of the rumors circulating in Noctis Fortress were fabricated by Rockbell. Informants from the lower ranks, hired to investigate for guests whose identities could not be revealed, would believe these rumors to be true and would eagerly collect and spread them.

By knowing who took what rumors and whether they believed them to be true, Rockbell could discern what those individuals truly wanted.

Seated in a comfortable chair, Rockbell smoked his cigarette, sorting through the information written on paper, and picked up a piece of news from the castle. The paper read, “Edwin Elgort is leaving the castle and Elgort Territory, heading somewhere.”

Rockbell tilted his head in confusion at this unexpected news.

Edwin had been the one to protect King Rodney from falling into madness. Nobles had repeatedly filled the king’s ear with nonsense and rumors, but nothing catastrophic had happened, all thanks to Edwin.

Rockbell clicked his tongue with a look of uncertainty. He had set traps several times to find Edwin’s weaknesses, who was known to be the kindest and most benevolent man.

Edwin’s wife had died from postpartum fever shortly after giving birth to Lucas, so he might have taken a mistress or lover, or perhaps he was avoiding women due to some peculiar taste.

But Edwin was clean. Of all the people Rockbell had investigated, he was the most incorrupt, pious, and noble.

“Father sacrifices himself for the king in the castle, and the son fights monsters on the field for the country...” Rockbell extinguished his cigarette and wet his dry lips with a drink. Edwin leaving the castle meant something significant had happened, but the newsletter from the castle didn’t explain why he was traveling.

Could it be because of Rachel? Rockbell pulled out a piece of information related to Rachel Rochelle from the noble’s reports. The paper mentioned that despite the vehement opposition from the Marquis of Rochelle, Rachel had chosen to go to Noctis, and due to issues related to Elbision Territory and Rachel’s own health problems, it would take more than a month to reach her destination.

Rockbell rubbed his chin, deep in thought. While Edwin certainly cherished Rachel as a future Elgort Duchess, it was more likely that he would prioritize Maximón’s feelings.

If Maximón unilaterally called off the engagement with Rachel, Edwin would likely allow it without resistance. Even if it meant severing ties with the Rochelle family entirely.

Rockbell sighed irritably, holding the papers in his hand. The lack of information was frustrating. Powerful figures were coming down to Noctis Fortress, but he couldn’t predict anything...

Feeling disappointed by his situation, Rockbell’s face twisted in frustration.

“Master, may I come in for a moment?”

At that moment, a subordinate knocked on the door and politely asked. Rockbell, feeling mentally exhausted, weakly granted permission for the entrance.

The subordinate entered, carrying a huge pile of papers in their arms. Rockbell, wearing magnifying glasses, carefully examined the documents his subordinate had brought and nodded as he said, “Ah, this is it.”

The pile of documents carefully placed on the messy desk contained detailed records of the crimes Lucas Elgort had committed during his lifetime. The documents listed when, where, and what Lucas did, along with evidence to prevent him from denying anything.

Rockbell, taking off his glasses, skimmed through the papers and clicked his tongue.

“It’s hard to commit this many crimes in a lifetime. I’m sure they recorded even the smallest things, right?”

“Yes. It includes everything, from killing a cat or dog brought to a banquet by someone to stealing the maid’s undergarments.”

“And what about the time he raped powerless women while coming down from Elgort Territory to the fortress?”

“We met all the victims, gave them compensation, and recorded the details of the situation.”

“Mm, good work. With this, even Edwin won’t be able to ignore it.”

Rockbell waved his hand as though he didn’t want to look at anything related to Lucas and gestured for it to be cleared away.

“Have you investigated a man named Kieron Vieto?”

“Ah... Yes, we’re making progress, but...”

The subordinate took out a note from his chest and handed it to Rockbell. It contained a brief summary of the investigation and what had been discovered so far.

However, despite the thorough investigation, the information was somewhat odd. Kieron Vieto was listed as a major sponsor of the Romsoa Knights, but where he was from and what his occupation was remained unclear.

Rockbell placed the note down and lit a new cigarette.

“Clearly, a suspicious character.”

“We’ve investigated the Vieto family as well, but it’s a rather common surname in rural areas, so we haven’t learned anything.”

“Hmm. A common name and a common family... He’s donated a significant amount to the Romsoa, but where did this money come from? Haven’t you found out its source?”

“We still don’t have definitive information...”

“Have you inquired in the black market about Kieron Vieto?”

“We checked the records of slave transactions under the name Kieron Vieto. We tracked down the merchants who sold slaves to him, but their testimonies were all inconsistent.”

“Inconsistent?”

“They all confirm that they sold slaves to Kieron Vieto, but some say he was an old man, others say a young woman, some say a handsome man, and one even said he bought from a stutterer... There’s not a single consistent story.”

“...So it’s not just one person, but multiple? It could be an organization.”

There was a possibility of such a group existing in the Noctis Fortress black market, so Rockbell couldn’t entirely rule it out. What had started as an effort to verify a name mentioned by Najane had, the more he dug into it, turned into something increasingly suspicious.

“Did Kieron Vieto receive an invitation to the year-end party?”

“Yes. His name was on the guest list, and we’ve tracked down his address. We’ve placed people nearby, so we should have him soon.”

Rockbell sighed in relief at his subordinate’s response.

“Is Luna still alive?”

“Yes, she’s been confirmed alive. However... it seems Lucas has been selling off his slaves one by one.”

“Sounds like he’s run out of money.”

“It appears to be true that Edwin Elgort stopped sending Lucas money for living expenses in order to bring him back to Elgort Territory.”

Rockbell nodded while inhaling the cigarette smoke. As Lucas was pushed into a corner, it would be easier for him to pressure Maurice, the butler who remained by his side.

Rockbell had no intention of showing Lucas these documents. Even if he recited a mountain of accusations, Lucas wouldn’t flinch.

That man hadn’t been scared even when he was nearly exiled for insulting the Cardinal and the Pope at the cathedral. Instead, he had laughed like a madman, relieved he wouldn’t have to attend bothersome services anymore.

From the very beginning, Rockbell had aimed at Maurice to free Luna, the slave. Maurice, the loyal butler of the Elgort family, would do anything for Lucas. If Rockbell threatened to expose Lucas, Maurice would likely lower his stance and do anything to protect him.

Rockbell, finally satisfied, glanced at his subordinate.

“Have you looked into Emaydis Powley?”

“I bribed a record-keeper to check again... but there is no record of that name anywhere. Just in case, I also checked under the name Najane Schnicks, but the response was the same.”

The subordinate answered cautiously, and Rockbell furrowed his brow.

“No name, no portrait, but the authorities didn’t question it and recognized her as a knight...?”

“So I dug through the official records, and on the day the Romsoa Knights sent a letter requesting to hire Najane Schnicks as a knight, a low-ranking official had asked the record-keeper for information about her. The record-keeper confirmed the information about Najane Schnicks.”

At that, Rockbell sighed quietly with a look of displeasure.

“So the record-keeper does have information on her. Are they deliberately hiding it? What could the reason be?”

No one knew exactly what was happening inside the Noctis record-keeper’s office. There were rumors that there were valuable documents related to Astrun deep within the records, but even Rockbell didn’t know if that was true.

So, the fact that the record-keeper is desperately hiding information about Najane Schnicks means that she holds some kind of secret.

Rockbell believed there were three special reasons why Najane was notable: she was cursed with disgrace, she used sword energy, and she was loved by Maximón Elgort.

However, even when considering all three reasons, there was no clear justification for the Noctis record-keeper hiding information about Najane. Unless there was some other secret reason that Rockbell was unaware of...

“Should we bribe someone higher up?”

The subordinate carefully gauged Rockbell’s reaction. Rockbell bit down on the cigarette he was smoking before pulling out a thick leather book full of haphazardly written notes.

With his magnifying glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, Rockbell quickly flipped through the pages until he stopped at one detailing people involved in gambling debts.

“There’s a man named Kharki. Kharki Ronsa. He’s a scribe at the Noctis Record-keeper’s office. He was honest and diligent until he hit his forties, but then he fell into gambling and now drifts from inn to inn with no home of his own.”

The subordinate read the detailed information about Kharki Ronsa. Kharki owed over a million Laran in gambling debts. It was an amount he could never repay in his lifetime.

“He says he’ll work night shifts to pay off the debt, so we should try to bribe him, but we need to approach him carefully. Kharki is indeed suffering from gambling debts, but as a former priest, he’s negative about betraying the Church.”

“He’s the chief scribe?”

“Yes. He served as a priest in Noctis for over thirty years. His contributions were recognized, and he was promoted to a high position in the Record-keeper’s office. Someone of Kharki’s status would likely have access to the restricted areas.”

This was an endeavor worth taking risks for. After all, this wasn’t just anyone—it was Najane Schnicks. To control Maximón, Rockbell needed to hold something over Najane. He leaned back in his chair and gave his subordinate detailed instructions.

“Spread the word to Kharki that Najane Schnicks is a heretic who doesn’t believe in the Church, and that she has a lot of suspicious behavior, often clashing with the soldiers of Romsoa. If we do this, Najane will likely start investigating herself without us having to press her.”

“Understood.”

The subordinate took the information about Kharki and left the room. As soon as Rockbell finished his cigarette, he picked up an envelope with lipstick marks on it.

The letter was addressed to Maximón, and it was sent by Scarlett. Rockbell’s drawer was full of papers, each with the same sentence written in a woman’s handwriting.

“I’ve completed the request you made before, so please visit when you have the time.”