Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 832 - 156:

"Wait a minute, Qina."

Seeing Qina about to leave, Solan suddenly called out to her. Facing Qina's puzzled expression, he said, "Do you remember the promise between us? You bring me to the Imperial Capital, and I help you uncover the truth about your sister!"

Despite Solan being covered in the smell of fish, he exuded a bit of a hero's aura.

Having said that, Solan turned to Lindong, who was more than ten meters away from him.

Since their meeting, Lindong had maintained this safe distance to avoid carrying the smell of fish back home tonight.

"Lady Lindong, did Mr. Ethan not come?"

"He's... not feeling well today."

Lindong said, "If there's something you need to tell him, I can pass the message on for you."

"That would be great. Please tell Mr. Ethan that once I've helped Qina uncover the truth, I'll meet up with him!"

Lindong nodded.

But she thought Solan's immediate priority should be to find a place to wash up and get himself cleaned up.

...............

The next morning, at dawn.

"The Blood Duke, Mire-bloodthorn."

Ethan leaned against the headboard, murmuring the name Lindong had mentioned. He had heard of this clan from the Chancellor. Like the Simpler Clan, they were a long-standing noble family in the Silver Radiance Empire, having once acquired "sparks" from members of the Royal Family.

For some unknown reasons, the Bloodthorn Clan always maintained close ties with the Queens of successive empires. Thanks to this, they almost always ended up on the victorious side in power struggles for the throne. This generation's Blood Duke, Mire-bloodthorn, was no exception. He was a supporter of the Eldest Prince, having helped him considerably in gaining influence over the Underground Gladiatorial Arena.

But what truly intrigued Ethan was the origin of the moniker "Blood Duke."

In the Silver Radiance Empire, noble titles often related to their deeds, and "Mire-bloodthorn" sounded formidable, making Ethan think of the Bloodthorn Clan as a sadistic group of murderers who enjoyed bloodletting for fun.

However, in response to his question, the Chancellor gave an unexpected answer.

The reality was quite the opposite; the Blood Duke's style was much more low-key than the Simpler Clan. At least during the Chancellor's tenure, they never dragged dissenters to the Imperial Capital square to be brutally massacred like the Simpler Clan did. Those who crossed the Bloodthorn Clan often vanished without a trace.

The title "Blood Duke" was hereditary, and each heir of the Bloodthorn Clan adopted it upon becoming the Patriarch. Its origin could be traced back to the establishment of the empire by Henry I, a time shrouded in obscurity. In fact, even the Chancellor didn't know the origin of the title.

"So, should we infiltrate the Bloodthorn Clan's territory for investigation?"

Lindong asked, having recently had contact with the Queen of the empire, "We can act separately."

From her observations, the Queen and her children were very detached. Since the princelings grew up, she rarely involved herself in their lives. Similarly, the Third Princess knew very little about her mother.

In the Silver Radiance Empire, there wouldn't be situations like Princess Sophia being pinned down for a compromise spanking by Margaret.

"Infiltrate for investigation..."

"Aren't you excellent at making friends?"

Lindong raised an eyebrow, "Make friends with Mire-bloodthorn, visit their home as a guest, and stay for a few days."

Ethan's expression froze; they indeed got into the Royal Palace as friends of the Third Princess.

"Or you could help Solan and his team sneak into the Blood Duke's estate."

She felt the young hero brimmed with righteousness, just like protagonists in royal stories. However, covert investigation was his weakest area. With Solan's character, if he saw any injustice during the investigation, he'd draw his sword and stand up, which would certainly lead him into a trap.

The Autumn Festival celebrations were in full swing, and Ethan, as a consultant, found little else requiring his attention.

After breakfast, he left the Royal Palace alone.

Mire-bloodthorn differed from Duke Ash; he seldom appeared in public and never invited people of no importance to his home. Becoming acquainted with him undoubtedly reached a five-star difficulty level.

But it was apparent Ethan wasn't the only one with his eyes on Mire-bloodthorn. While wandering the vicinity of the Bloodthorn Clan as someone of little importance, Ethan encountered a familiar figure. Despite her continuing to wear the masquerade mask from the Underground Gladiatorial Arena, that signature red hair exposed her identity from more than ten meters away.

The keen-eyed Other Shore spotted Ethan from a few streets away.

"Senzi!"

Left hand holding a bread bag, she waved her right hand at him and walked straight over to Ethan.

This was all Little Dark's doing.

Pushed by this keyboard cap, he was demoted among friends from "Old Sen" to "Senzi."

"Senzi, that's unkind of you!"

Upon meeting, Other Shore couldn't help but complain, "I heard you and Lindong snuck into the Royal Palace. You both lived lavishly while leaving me outside every day eating bread."

"Not just eating bread, right? Didn't you go to a fancy restaurant yesterday?"

"How did you know?"

"Saw you at the Underground Gladiatorial Arena."

Hearing this, Other Shore blushed, knowing it was disgraceful to bully "kids" there, akin to a world champion entering a youth competition, single-handedly ruining their dreams of competition.

"Earnings, you know."

Other Shore weakly defended, "You saw, I didn't use any weapons."

"Why are you here? Did the Blood Duke offend you?"

Ethan observed Other Shore for a moment; she was direct with her purpose, loitering outside the Bloodthorn Clan's manor, looking like a seasoned criminal staking out the place before a heist.

"Oh, the man in the black cloak beside the Eldest Prince asked me here."

Other Shore opened the bread bag and handed Ethan a hard roll, and the two casually found a bench on the street to sit on. "He said someone might target the Blood Duke soon, so he asked me to quietly ensure the Duke's safety... Wait a minute, they weren't talking about you, were they?"

Other Shore frowned.

The black cloak man never mentioned the adversary was Ethan.

"If it's you, I'll have to charge more!"

Other Shore righteously slapped her thigh, "Senzi, name your price, and we'll split the proceeds fifty-fifty afterward."

She instantly devised a plan in her mind.

For the first three days, she'd make a show of loitering around the estate, then after the payment was made and she and Ethan split the money, let Ethan act on the fourth day. This way, not only would both accomplish their goals, but they'd also earn quite a handsome sum.

"The person they want you to guard against shouldn't be me."

Ethan decided to wander around early this morning; the Eldest Prince and his confidants weren't likely to have foresight.

He motioned with his mouth towards a distance, "The ones they want you to guard against should be them."

Two more "people of little importance" appeared.

The helmet-wearing young hero Solan, though his face was obscured, stood out among the civilians with his gladiator-like attire. While talking to Other Shore, Solan had already drawn a lot of attention, including that of the Bloodthorn Clan's security.

The girl behind Solan should be the Qina Lindong mentioned.

In truth, upon hearing Lindong's description, Ethan had found the letter left by the information broker somewhat peculiar.

Was he planning to resolve an issue before leaving Gear City?

For an information broker who had navigated the black market for years, this seemed far-fetched. Moreover, if Qina ended up in the Bloodthorn Clan's clutches, and under interrogation revealed the information broker, he'd spend the rest of his life hunted by the Bloodthorn Clan.

And now, he again sold the information to the Bloodthorn Clan, pocketing a hefty sum from the nobles.

"Other Shore."

Ethan said, "This time, your opponent is the world's hero; are you ready?"