Chapter 147: The Mole

With Jean's help, the subsequent interrogation of the cultists went exceptionally smoothly. However, these fellows could not provide any valuable information. After all, they were merely errand runners, knowing only that they had come here this time to search for sacrificial offerings for a ritual, and that their previous attacks on the caravans along the Gold Road were also meant to plunder supplies and sacrifices. Furthermore, according to the confessions of the three cultists, besides the ogres, frost giants and kobolds had also joined their alliance, bringing their total number to six or seven hundred. To Jean's amusement, these cultists' lair was located nowhere else than Starfall Fang, the very place he had just captured.

That was truly... courting death without a second thought.

After the interrogation, Delia's face turned livid as she ordered the three tightly bound men to be hauled away. It was no wonder she was so furious; six or seven hundred monsters wandering around the Pawde family's territory meant that if word got out, people would likely stop coming here altogether. Not only would they stop coming, but quite a few might also pack up and leave in a hurry. After all, those monsters were far more terrifying than bandits and outlaws. If they didn't find a way to resolve this issue, the trouble would be enormous!

Right now, however, Delia had another trouble right before her.

"I am terribly sorry, Mr. Jean. I can assure you that we had absolutely no idea cultists were hiding inside Starfall Fang."

Looking at the smiling Jean, Delia didn't even dare to breathe heavily as she hastily offered her apologies. Are you kidding me? With so many monsters and cultists hiding in Starfall Fang, she had just handed the land over without a word. If Jean were to think she had quietly set a trap for him, that would spell serious trouble. Delia was no fool; she had witnessed the strength of the young maidens following Jean with her own eyes.

Seventy-five Master-tier dual-wielding spellswords! That force alone was enough to sweep through every noble army in the Eagle Plains!

Now Delia grew even more convinced that her judgment was correct: this young man was certainly no down-and-out noble, but rather likely the heir of some hidden, ancient family. She had seen the true faces of those maidens with her own eyes, and each of them possessed a beauty rivalling her own. To put it bluntly, setting aside their strength, finding so many extraordinarily beautiful young women to serve him was something perhaps not even the royal family of certain kingdoms could achieve. Not to mention that they possessed Master-tier swordsmanship and magical prowess, and Delia had also caught glimpses of the magical armor and longswords hidden beneath their cloaks. Those were by no means mere showpieces, but genuine high-grade magical equipment. Such items could not be obtained simply with money; even the Pawde family could manage to secure one or two high-grade magical pieces, but dreaming of dozens of them was pure fantasy.

Before Jean, the Pawde family was nothing more than a tiny insect that could be crushed at will. Delia could be certain that even if Jean were to lead these maidens to storm her doorstep right now and annihilate the Pawde family to take over their territory, absolutely no one would dare utter a single word of dissent.

"There is no need to apologize to me, Miss Delia."

Facing Delia's apology, Jean merely waved his hand, acting as though he hadn't taken it to heart at all.

"I believe you were entirely unaware of this matter."

"...Mr. Jean, you mean..."

Hearing this, Delia's expression shifted slightly. As a rather clever noble lady, she immediately grasped the implication behind Jean's words. He had said that she was completely unaware of the matter, but he hadn't said that the Pawde family was unaware of it. Could it be... that the Pawde family really did have some collusion with these cultists? At this thought, a chill ran through Delia's entire body. Are you kidding? If the Pawde family were truly colluding with cultists, they were dead meat! She hadn't forgotten that this young man's noble status had been conferred by the Temple Order—he was an accredited noble!

What would an accredited noble do if he discovered someone colluding with cultists?

Wasn't the answer to that question glaringly obvious?

"M-My Lord. Are you certain?!"

"Of course."

Faced with Delia's anxious and uneasy inquiry, Jean nodded. Then he narrowed his eyes, revealing a peculiar smile.

"In fact, the cultist just now proved this point."

"That cultist?"

Delia carefully recalled the scene, then shook her head.

"But I don't know him at all?"

"You may not know him, but he knows you, Miss Delia. A noble and pure sacrifice... Surely you don't think ordinary traveling merchants wandering the trade routes possess any kind of nobility and purity."

"Ah!"

Hearing this, Delia's realization dawned on her instantly.

Indeed, just as Jean had said, which of those merchants didn't have dirt on their hands? For merchants traveling the Gold Road, simply avoiding entanglements with fiends and heretics was already considered proper behavior. Words like "noble" and "pure" definitely did not apply to merchants. Moreover, because the continuous ogre attacks on caravans during this period had forced merchants to choose detours, the ones qualified to travel here were all armed merchants—and those fellows were hardly saints.

Yet now, these cultists had run out into the wilderness, eagerly talking about searching for a "noble and pure" sacrifice. That made their objective quite clear. Someone must have informed them that she would come here to investigate, which was why the cultists had sent the ogres to wait for a hare to crash into the stump...

The more Delia thought about it, the more she felt this possibility was extremely high. When she left the Pawde family earlier, she had only brought a hundred soldiers. At that time, the Pawde family also knew she was only taking that many people. Inviting Jean to join her team later had been entirely a spur-of-the-moment decision on her part, and she hadn't reported the matter to her family afterward. After all, she knew the Pawde family already held complicated feelings toward Jean, this suddenly appearing noble; if she mentioned inviting him to join, it would surely invite complaints, so she had planned to report back only after everything was settled. Because of this, the family actually had no idea she had gained so many helpers. If they went to notify the cultists under such circumstances, setting them up to capture her... At this thought, Delia couldn't help trembling all over.

Her hundred soldiers alone would be utterly incapable of stopping an ogre assault. By then, her subordinates would undoubtedly be slaughtered to the last man, and she herself would be dragged off as a sacrifice for some evil ritual. From an outsider's perspective, this would merely look like a disaster brought on by a noble maiden's willful caprice. Even if her father flew into a thunderous rage afterward and sought trouble with these cultists, with a traitor inside their ranks, they would likely not only accomplish nothing but might even be completely wiped out by the cultists.

Who on earth could it be?!!

Delia refused to believe her father would mix with these cultists, but she couldn't vouch for anyone else. To be honest, because of the whole affair involving Jean and the ogres, Delia had offended quite a few people within the family. Looking back now, the suspects were not few in number, though Delia didn't want to believe so many people in her family were connected to cultists—or rather, she preferred to think otherwise.

"What should we do next?"

At this moment, Delia was entirely out of ideas. According to the original plan, once these prisoners were captured, she could head back. With evidence in hand, she could persuade the family to dispatch sufficient troops to thoroughly clear out this region. But now, upon learning that there might be a mole within her family, Delia could no longer do that. She could be certain that even if she brought these cultists back, if there truly was a mole in the family, her efforts would be in vain. The culprit might even release these cultists—and the trouble would become far greater.

However, Delia quickly realized that her anxiety was entirely meaningless.

"We simply slaughter them all."

The solution Jean offered was direct and straightforward, without a shred of hesitation.

"Since we already know the enemy's lair, how about we simply storm it? Their capture only happened moments ago; they shouldn't know their plan has failed yet, and right now they're probably waiting eagerly for good news. Since that's the case, why don't we immediately pay them a visit and deliver our response?"

"This..."

Hearing Jean's words, Delia was left completely speechless. Although, under normal circumstances, this was indeed a good method, but... the enemy had nearly four hundred people! Leaving aside the kobolds, terrifying creatures like frost giants—how could ordinary people possibly deal with them? Yet... thinking of this, Delia glanced once more not far away at the maiden knights who were huddled together whispering softly.

Indeed, by conventional standards, ordinary people couldn't deal with them.

But if they weren't ordinary people, that was another story entirely...

"Very well, Lord Jean."

Delia gritted her teeth and nodded. The situation was crystal clear now. She could be certain that someone had tipped off the cultists, and the suspicion of a mole within her own family was exceedingly high. Under these circumstances, the only thing she could do was represent the family to cooperate with Jean and redeem her merits through service. She hoped this gentleman would spare the Pawde family for her sake. Although colluding with cultists was an unspoken rule tacitly accepted by almost the entire continental nobility, if the Temple Order found out, it would still mean instant doom.

"Then let's prepare and set off immediately."

Hearing Delia's reply, Jean smiled faintly, then turned and walked away. Instead of boarding the carriage right away, he walked over to Ligeia and the two maidservants standing not far off. This time, Jean had invited them out ostensibly for a breath of fresh air, but judging by how things were going, if they kept playing along, it would likely become far too thrilling.

"...That is how it stands, Mrs. Clayton. Therefore, we intend to head to Starfall Fang next and thoroughly annihilate those cultists."

Having explained the ins and outs of the matter to Ligeia, Jean smiled and looked toward the noble matron before him. Upon hearing his words, Ligeia blinked uneasily.

"Then, Mr. Jean, you mean..."

"The journey ahead might be slightly hazardous. If Madam wishes, I can send people to escort you and the others to rest at a nearby town ahead of time. Once we eliminate those troubles, we can rejoin you all. During this time, Madam Ligeia can take the two young ladies to look around the surrounding areas and await our good news."

As he spoke, Jean lowered his head, his gaze lingering for a moment on the ring worn on the ring finger of Ligeia's left hand before quickly shifting away. Noticing Jean's gaze, Ligeia started, then instinctively reached out to grasp her own left hand, concealing the ring. After pondering for a moment, Ligeia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then opened them to gaze directly at Jean.

"Mr. Jean, if possible, I wish to accompany you."

"Mrs. Blake?"

Hearing this, Jean blinked, though for some reason he didn't seem particularly surprised.

"I understand noble glory, Mr. Jean. But I am utterly weary of endless, fruitless waiting. Even if I were to leave you now and head to a peaceful, safe town far from danger, it would not stop the torment within my heart. I no longer wish to waste time in bitter waiting. If possible, I would rather witness all of this with my own eyes. I wish to continue following by your side until I witness the arrival of victory."

At this, Ligeia raised her head to look at the young man before her. In this instant, she did not feel there was anything inappropriate about her choice.

"This is my own little self-will, Mr. Jean. I hope you will grant it."

Hearing Ligeia's words, Jean fell silent for a moment. Then he narrowed his eyes, a faint smile playing across his lips as he looked at the woman before him. Reaching out, Jean gently clasped Ligeia's hands. Staring directly into her eyes, he spoke softly.

"Naturally, that is not a problem, Mrs. Blake. I promise you, I will lead you to witness this moment of victory."

Upon hearing those words, a deep, emotional tremor surged through the depths of Ligeia's heart. A searing warmth—an emotion she had thought long vanished—reignited, flashing like lightning through her body, bringing a sweet and lingering aftertaste. She felt as though she were about to melt completely into Jean's intoxicating gaze, unable to extricate herself. And the hands clasping hers tightly left Ligeia utterly entranced and bewitched.

In that fleeting moment, the image of her husband vanished entirely from Ligeia's mind.

PS: Today I accompanied an elderly family member to the hospital for a check-up, and I'm not sure when I'll be back. To be safe, I'm updating everything in one go... As people age, bodily ailments just keep multiplying... (To be continued.)