Chapter 47

47 Investigation

After running for about half an hour, Caspian was the first one to arrive at the Crystal Cliff.

The Turner clan as well as other small houses under the protection of the Turner clan resided in this part of Sorvando.

Although Lord Bartholomew wasn’t a King, his lifestyle was no less than a King. His mansion was big enough to be a wing of the Kilerth Castle. He had countless vampire servants who worked for him. And he had even named his mansion ‘Nightcastle’.

Having lived a couple of centuries, he was able to amass a decent fortune for him to afford a lavish lifestyle for himself and his family. It was true for most of the vampire nobles.

“Where’s Lord Bartholomew?” Caspian stopped in front of the mansion and asked the footservant who came running to greet him.

The footservant politely gave a bow to the King. And he answered while escorting the King towards the main guest hall, “Lord Bartholomew will join you in a minute, Your Majesty.”

No one in the Nightcastle had expected a visit from the King himself. Everyone who saw the King felt pressured by his sudden visit. The butler of the mansion started ordering all the maids and servants to make sure that they served the King properly.

Soon, Caspian was joined by Zenon and Vincent as well. Zenon stood behind the King while Vincent made himself at home and sat beside his friend.

“Are the others outside?” Caspian asked Zenon.

.....

“Yes, Your Majesty. All of them have arrived,” Zenon answered.

After a while, a man with grey hair, a mustache, and a relatively short build walked inside the hall. He was wearing a waistcoat and a pair of trousers tailored to fit his sturdy build. He held a cane with a golden handle even though he didn’t have the need for it.

He gave a low bow to the King and greeted him, “Greetings, Your Majesty. May you live till eternity.”

He then sat in front of Caspian and asked with a fake smile on his face, “To what do I owe this pleasure of being visited by the powerful trio, Your Majesty?”

Caspian glanced at Lord Bartholomew with a straight face and jumped straight to the point. “I’m afraid I am here as a part of an investigation, Lord Bartholomew.”

“Investigation?” Bartholomew’s brows twitched just a little upon hearing that word. He had seen the Royal Guards outside, along with the handcuffed Vampire. But he didn’t know what that Vampire had to do anything with him.

Caspian calmly replied, “You might not be aware of this but there was an assassination attempt against my wife.”

“Assassination?” A deep frown appeared on Bartholomew’s clear face. And he asked in a stern voice, “Where is this conversation going, my King?”

Before he could conclude that the King was colluding something against his lordship, Caspian clarified, “I caught the servant who was behind the poisoning. Our investigation brought it to light that the mastermind behind the assassination was a noblewoman. We are just here to make that servant take a glance at Beth.”

Lord Bartholomew slammed his cane against the floor and exclaimed, “Take a glance at Beth? What are you implying exactly, my King? Are you accusing Beth of trying to kill your wife?”

Caspian tried not to lose his temper. He didn’t want his plan to get ruined. “I am not accusing her. I simply want that prisoner to see Beth and clear her name. We will be visiting all the noblewomen until he identifies the culprit.”

“Shouldn’t you all be going to the culprit rather than come here? I decline to let some random prisoners see my daughter.” Bartholomew was glaring at the King now that he knew that his daughter’s life could be in danger.

Caspian narrowed his blood-red eyes at that Lord. And he asked, “I hope our Lord knows that trying to interrupt the investigation process and delaying justice is punishable by law.”

Bartholomew scoffed and slammed his cane on the floor again. “Aren’t you taking that forced marriage with that human a little too seriously, my King?”

“Are you trying to suggest that a Queen’s life is worthless?” It took all the willpower for Caspian to stop himself from beating that Vampire up.

Vincent then said in a playful tone, “Come on, Lord Bartholomew! What are you so afraid of? It’s not like Beth would have committed a crime against a royal family member. She is smart to know that it is punishable by death. If you could just bring Beth outside then we can be on our way. We have a lot of mansions to cover.”

Bartholomew thought for a few seconds. He knew his daughter would act rudely sometimes but he was sure that she wouldn’t go as far as trying to poison the King’s wife.

He looked back at the King and agreed, “Alright, I will send Beth outside.”

He asked the Butler to inform Beth and all of them waited in complete silence.

After a while, Beth came to the hall. She greeted everyone. And then she asked in her most polite voice, “Did you call for me, father?”

Bartholomew gave an unyielding glare to Caspian while talking with his daughter, “Yes. Some noblewoman had tried to assassinate the King’s wife.”

Beth pressed her fingertips over her lips and pretended to be shocked. And she asked while feigning ignorance, “Who could ever think of doing something so outrageous?”

She glanced at Caspian and asked while displaying worry lines on her forehead, “Is she okay? I hope she is.” But deep down in her heart, she wished to hear that Anastasia was on her deathbed.

Caspian gave a smile to Beth and replied in a mocking tone, “She is very much alive and well. I really appreciate you for showing your concern.”

Beth could only mask her displeasure with a wide fake smile on her face.

Bartholomew further explained the situation to his daughter, and how she needed to show herself to the prisoner outside.

Caspian was giving a piercing glare to Beth the whole time to see if there would be any change in her facial expression, perhaps a hint of remorse.

However, she was good at maintaining a smile on her face.

‘I wonder how long you can keep up the act of innocence,’ Caspian thought to himself.

“Okay, let’s go outside and send our uninvited guests home,” Bartholomew got up from his seat and gestured at everyone to get the hell out of his mansion.

Beth had also seen Elias from her bedchamber window. She was cursing him silently for getting caught and leading everyone to her home. Though she wasn’t showing it outside, her mind was in turmoil.

She was frantically thinking and trying to console herself, ‘Even if that stupid servant says that I was the one to rope him in, my father won’t allow Caspian to imprison me. I don’t have to be scared. All I have to do is deny all the accusations. Even if I am taken as a prisoner, my father will get me out of there in no time. No one can harm me if I keep my mouth shut.’

However, things weren’t going to be that easy for her since Caspian had already decided the outcome.

She had poked the sadist King’s heart by trying to kill someone who was dear to him. And it was time for her to pay the heavy price.