abnabooks Chapter 266 Audrey's Decision
Chapter 266 Audrey's Decision
Chapter 266 Audrey's Decision
A princess of the Fursac Empire appeared in Backlund without any prior notice from the government. Audrey would never have believed it if her older brother Hilbert hadn't told her herself.
But that's exactly how it is, which raised a series of questions in Audrey's mind.
Is "Alice" really a princess of the Fursac Empire? Why did she secretly infiltrate Backlund? What was her purpose in infiltrating Backlund? What was her reason for appearing at Ambassador Intis's farewell dinner? Was she related to the massacre at the Intis Embassy last night?
A series of questions arose in Audrey's mind, but she could not find answers.
Although she clearly sensed that the matter of "Alice" was not simple, Audrey had no intention of reporting it.
After learning of the massacre at the Intis embassy last night, her brother Hilbert specifically instructed Audrey not to tell anyone about it.
His Majesty the King's reaction to the massacre at the Intis Embassy was far too extreme; he actually called the army into Backlund. Clearly, there are deeper secrets behind this massacre, and reporting it at this time would only bring trouble upon oneself.
Although Hilbert had some character flaws and a somewhat lacking worldview, he was, after all, a high-ranking nobleman who had received a complete education as a nobleman's heir. He was definitely not a fool and possessed a high degree of political acumen.
After one night, the army arrived in a hurry and left in a hurry, lifting martial law in just a few hours, as if it were a game.
But this also proves Hilbert's judgment from another angle—that there are deep secrets behind the Intis embassy massacre.
Just as Audrey was struggling with how to investigate the matter of "Alice," her personal maid opened the door and said to Audrey:
"Lunch is ready, Madam. Please come down to eat with us!"
Audrey nodded, took a bag of snacks from the cabinet next to her, and placed it in front of Susie as a reward for the information she had gathered. The Earl of Hall's family usually only had time to have a meal together at breakfast. However, because the Earl of Hall had been called to a meeting last night and did not return until an hour ago, today's meal was postponed to noon.
"Dad, I heard the military has lifted martial law. Does that mean the perpetrator of last night's massacre at the Intis embassy has been caught?"
Sitting at the dining table, watching her father, Earl Hall, take the head seat, Audrey greeted Earl Hall and then eagerly inquired about relevant information from him.
Audrey's question was exactly what her mother and brother Hilbert wanted to know as well, so upon hearing Audrey's question, they all looked at Earl Hall, who rarely ate lunch at home.
Earl Hall took a glass of water from the servant beside him, took a sip, wiped his mouth with a meal coin, and then sighed and said:
"We haven't caught her, not a single clue. The military and the three major churches have used extraordinary methods, but they haven't obtained any further leads. They can only confirm that the killer is a 'witch,' and nothing else is known."
"Then why did they announce that the murderer had been caught and withdraw the troops?"
The speaker was Audrey's mother, Lady Caitlin. She had thought Backlund would be under lockdown for the next few days and had already canceled her plans for the next few days. However, the lockdown was lifted as soon as it was light, which greatly troubled her because she had to reschedule her trip.
"Last night, it wasn't just the Intis embassy that was attacked; Intis's new ambassador to Backlund was also attacked by thugs in West Lavis County and died on the spot!"
"ah?!"
Audrey and her brother Hilbert exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other.
Because they genuinely knew nothing about it; the attack and death of the new ambassador was still a secret, and apart from high-ranking military and political officials like Earl Hall, no one else had heard a word about it.
Meanwhile, Hibbert and Audrey quickly connected the two ambassadors' deaths with the attack, and both wondered if it was a conspiracy by the "Fussac Empire". After all, "Alice", the princess of the Fussac Empire, had the key to the Intis Embassy, which seemed very suspicious.
Moreover, Earl Hall had just clearly stated that the murderer the army was looking for was a "witch".
When people mention "witch", they naturally think of words like "mysterious", "beautiful", and "ruthless".
Hilbert and Audrey didn't know whether Alice was ruthless or not, but "mysterious" and "beautiful" were their common impressions of her.
"Is there any conclusion to this matter? Is there any connection between these two events? Could there be a conspiracy by a country or secret organization targeting the kingdom?"
Hilbert tentatively sought more information from his father to determine whether he would fall into the kind of melodramatic plot found in Russell's famous work, "Hamlet."
Earl Hall was pleased with his eldest son's progress and didn't mind sharing more information with him.
"According to the latest information I have, these two events are not related; they just happened to occur on the same day."
This led His Majesty the King to believe that something major was about to happen, and he summoned the army into the city.
Sensing that his father was deliberately revealing more information, Hippel was delighted and continued, "Any suspects?"
"The embassy massacre was probably carried out by the 'Witch Cult.' They turned Intis's ambassador, Beckron, into a coup, orchestrated the embassy massacre, and then silenced Beckron."
"what?"
Everyone present, except for Earl Hall, gasped in shock, because they had always thought that the massacre at the Intis embassy was the work of some thug, and had no idea that it was done by Intis's former ambassador, Becklong, even though he was also "instigated" by someone.
"As for the attack on Intis's new ambassador, it was probably done by someone within the kingdom."
At this point, Earl Hall couldn't help but squint. As the ruler of the central government, he naturally disliked local forces that acted independently and disobeyed the central government's orders.
Reclaiming all rights to West Lavis County is something that every Backlund ruler has wanted to do.
However, every time the central government takes concrete action, the border situation becomes tense very precisely on time. In addition, the local power leader in West Lavis County is also a branch of the Augustus family, which involves the royal family. This makes the central government of Backlund hesitant and indecisive, ultimately leading to the matter being dropped.
King George III's vigorous push for military reforms has clearly and severely damaged the interests of West Lavis County, to the point that it has triggered a backlash.
Regardless of what others thought, Earl Hall's first reaction upon hearing of the death of the new Intis ambassador in West Lavis County was that it was the work of local powers.
So when King George III met with the Duke of Negan, the Earl of Hall, the Earl of Horn, Prime Minister Agusid, and other high-ranking government and parliament officials, and almost explicitly encouraged them to resolve the issues in West Lavis County, he was not at all surprised, and was even somewhat encouraged.
After all, in the past, the central government and West Lavis County often struggled with each other, but the border situation and the attitude of the royal family prevented them from acting freely.
But the assassination of Ambassador Intis this time was a slap in the face for Intis, and His Majesty the King has made his stance clear. This time, perhaps the matter of Silavus can really be resolved in one fell swoop.
Hibbert and Audrey exchanged glances, surprised that the kingdom's higher-ups had reached such a conclusion.
However, Earl Hall knew far more information than they did, so without sufficient information, they dared not be certain that their guess about "Alice" was correct, and therefore did not refute it.
However, this did not dispel their suspicions about "Alice". After all, even if the deaths of the two ambassadors were not orchestrated by the same person, the possibility that the Fussac Empire was involved could not be ruled out.
Meanwhile, Hilbert and Audrey did not press Earl Hall further. It was those people from within the country who killed the new Intis ambassador. After all, Earl Hall used "certain people" as a euphemism, clearly indicating that he did not want them to continue asking questions.
"I just received a message from the Queen saying that His Majesty the King will be holding a birthday banquet tomorrow at the royal estate outside Backlund. Isn't that a bit too risky?"
Audrey's mother, Lady Caitlin, spoke of the message she had just received.
Earl Hall pondered for a moment, then solemnly glanced at his wife and children before saying:
"This is a measure taken by His Majesty to appease the people of Backlund who were disturbed last night. It is estimated that tomorrow the entire kingdom will know that the foundation and pillars of the kingdom are intact, which should put their minds at ease. Therefore, we should all dress in our finest attire tomorrow!"
Lady Caitlin, along with Hippo and Audrey, all nodded in agreement.
After lunch, at Audrey's behest, Hilbert secretly went to his sister's room. He had barely sat down when he asked:
"What do you want to say to me?"
Audrey gestured to Susie, who was lying nearby, to watch the door for her, and then said:
"What other thoughts do you have about the massacre at the Intis embassy?"
3
Hilbert hesitated for a moment. Although he felt he shouldn't say too much to his sister, since Audrey wasn't yet a socially aware adult, considering that Audrey was the person involved, he hesitated for a moment and then spoke:
"I think we should put this matter aside. After all, the kingdom's higher-ups have already reached a conclusion, and they haven't caught Qu. Let's just keep this to ourselves and avoid trouble."
'
Audrey had anticipated Hippel's reaction, but she still shook her head and said:
"Nothing in this world can be kept secret forever, and even if we want to keep it a secret, others may not be able to keep it a secret, such as the guests who saw us having a deep conversation with 'Alice' at the dinner party."
For example, Alice herself.
Audrey's words caught Hilbert's attention. They were able to keep secrets because they wanted to avoid getting into trouble, but what obligation did others have to keep their secrets for them?
Even those with a slightly malicious intent might see this as a very useful card to play at the most crucial moment.
Thinking about this, Hibbert regretted not telling his father immediately after hearing about the Intis embassy tragedy last night, so that his father could handle the matter, which left him in a dilemma.
"Should I tell my father about this and ask for his opinion?"
Hilbert hesitated for a moment, then said somewhat reluctantly, feeling that his sister had asked him to discuss this matter with her so that he would go to their father and explain the situation.
This made him, who was not very broad-minded and cared a lot about his image in his father's eyes, somewhat uncomfortable. After all, he had always worried that his father would choose his more favored younger brother, who lived far away in the southern continent, as the heir to the earldom.
As a "mind reader," Audrey naturally saw her older brother's reluctance and ulterior motives, and sighed helplessly in her heart.
The best way to handle this matter is either to explain it clearly to Earl Hall from the beginning and let him handle the aftermath.
Either don't say anything more in the future, and handle everything silently on your own, instead of burdening the Earl with your troubles.
But his older brother chose the third and worst possible solution.
This would give Earl Hall the impression that he was irresponsible. Audrey wanted to give Hilbert a second idea, but she didn't expect that her older brother would choose a third method and then complain about her.
After all, he was her brother, and Audrey wasn't petty. She took a deep breath and then smiled, saying:
"That's not what I meant. I meant whether we should find someone else to secretly investigate 'Alice' and find out her true identity, her purpose in coming to Backlund, and so on."
If "Alice" really has nothing to do with the massacre at the Intis embassy, then we can completely ignore this matter in the future.
If it's really related, we can submit the relevant investigation materials, saying that we sensed something was wrong with her at the time, and we just wanted to contact and investigate her. Out of respect for my father and the materials we submitted, I doubt anyone will hold us accountable!
Hippel slapped his thigh excitedly and exclaimed, "That's a brilliant idea!"
But Hilbert immediately frowned again, because he didn't know who to ask to investigate this matter. If "Alice" really was the mastermind behind the massacre at the Intis Embassy, then she must be an Extraordinary, and a very powerful one at that, since even MI9 couldn't find any clues related to her.
Hilbert himself was not an extraordinary person, nor had he accessed the relevant channels.
He did have a few friends who joined MI9 and became Extraordinary, but he dared not reveal such a secret. So for a moment, he had no idea where to find a reliable person to investigate this matter, and could only look to his sister again.
But Audrey was prepared and said with a smile:
"Brother, you know I'm very interested in the occult and have attended many occult gatherings, so I've gotten to know some people, including some from MI9. We can commission them to investigate this matter!"