The Divine Armor of the Old Century（Book 1）

Chapter 116

After Abel finished dressing, about ten minutes had passed. Lloyd, Burlow, and Joey were seated on the messy sofas, with Baron Abel on the opposite side.

As the baron awoke, the mansion seemed to awaken with him. Several servants were cleaning the floor, and Lloyd, leaning back in his chair, observed them from the corner of his eye.

Just as Burlow had said, these were indeed the remnants of the Gaulnaro people. Lloyd had spent some time in Gaulnaro and was familiar with their characteristics. The servants were silent and appeared repressed, until Baron Abel suddenly spoke.

"So, what brings you all here?"

Baron Abel's gaze was hostile as he looked at Lloyd and the others. The embarrassment from earlier clearly lingered, compounded by his wariness towards these unexpected guests.

"We are an investigation team from the Suaran Hall..." Burlow interjected before Lloyd could speak, slightly altering their previous discussion and attributing everything to the Suaran Hall. It was surprising how fluently Burlow, with his bold demeanor, could lie.

However, it was evident that Baron Abel was not inclined to cooperate. He waved dismissively after only a few words.

"It has nothing to do with me. I've been indoors for almost half a month."

He denied everything Burlow had said. Without any concrete evidence, Burlow found himself at a loss for words. Then Lloyd suddenly spoke.

"Hughes is dead."

His blunt statement chilled the atmosphere instantly. Lloyd had been closely observing Baron Abel's expression from the start. Abel appeared so natural, so much so that Lloyd began to doubt his own suspicions. Was Abel truly an innocent man? But this did not make Lloyd relax; instead, it made him even more suspicious.

Abel was too natural, so Lloyd waited for an opportune moment to reveal Hughes' death to gauge Abel's reaction. Abel froze for a moment, then looked at Lloyd with confusion, as if he didn't understand what he was saying.

At that moment, Lloyd also felt a bit taken aback. Had he been wrong?

"Gentlemen, although I may seem incompetent to outsiders, I am still a noble. Today's humiliation should be enough, don't you think?"

It seemed that Baron Abel was growing angry.

"I'd like to know about your employment of those remnants," Lloyd asked again. Abel responded calmly.

"What about it? What's wrong with employing them?"

Seeing Abel's perfectly normal expression, Lloyd felt a sense of powerlessness for the first time. Something was off. Then he realized the crux of the problem.

To someone like Abel, hiring these remnants was perfectly normal. Cheap labor, the weakest segment of society—it was something all nobles did. He saw nothing wrong with it, just like cats eating fish or dogs eating meat. It was an everyday thing for him.

Everything was set in place. Turning to look at the working remnants, they didn't seem to find anything wrong either, their heads bowed in work. Lloyd felt a wave of indescribable nausea. They were all humans, yet at this moment, they had evolved into different species mentally.

Perhaps the anomaly Lloyd sensed stemmed from this. Abel had done wrong, but he was completely unaware of it. The death of a remnant, the death of a gang leader—what impact would it have on a nobleman high above? Let alone making him realize a crisis?

Lloyd adjusted his tone and asked again.

"There have been many deaths among the remnants you employed."

"That's normal. They need money, so they work themselves to death or try to please me. Deaths and injuries are common."

Baron Abel said indifferently.

"You must not know the market, right? These remnants often have several family members behind them. The elderly, the young—all need their income to survive."

Abel laughed.

"Even if the work is exhausting and dangerous, they still feel grateful to me because I provide them with work that can support their families."

Lloyd turned his head to look at the nearby remnants. Their dull faces nodded slightly, seemingly confirming everything.

It was a deadlock, a worsening cycle. Lloyd wanted to say more, but Joey, who had been silent, stopped him. Joey spoke with utmost reason.

"Mr. Holmes, our current task is not to concern ourselves with the vulnerable."

Though cold, it was the truth. The vengeful demon was their primary target.

"Then let me ask another question. Baron Abel, do you recognize these people?"

Joey took out a list of the deceased. Abel scanned it, recognizing some names, while others were unfamiliar.

"I know these two."

Abel pointed to the file on the Aide couple, seeming surprised by their deaths.

"They were intermediaries responsible for connecting us employers."

"Between you and the remnants?"

"Yes."

This tied everything together. Rovi and Doran handled the transport of the remnants, Hughes managed overall coordination, and the Aide couple found employers for these remnants. Lloyd's previous conjectures were confirmed—they were all connected through this transportation network. Now, one last question remained.

Who would be the demon's next target for revenge?

"I heard your wife passed away a few days ago?"

Lloyd's gaze was sharp. None of Abel's wives had lived long, and all were remnants. This was suspicious.

"Yes."

"You don't seem sad?"

"Because I'm about to have another wife... or maybe a lover."

He lit a cigarette, looking utterly pleased.

"Did you kill her?"

"No, she killed herself, possibly because she couldn't adjust to life in Old Dunling."

Seeing Abel's nonchalant attitude, Lloyd's eyes grew colder. Abel, sensing Lloyd's change, smirked.

"She would be grateful to me because her family would receive a large sum of money."

"She died because of you?"

"I have certain... hobbies that she might not have been able to accept."

Abel revealed scars under his clothes, wounds not fatal but painful enough.

He chuckled.

"Are you here to deliver justice? Or is there a new remnant protection association from Suaran Hall?"

"I'm just a small player. You should check out those clinical trials. The participants are all remnants. They don't even want to live. Dying would relieve their families and they'd get money."

Lloyd remained silent. The room was filled with unbearable malice.

"So there are many employers like you?"

"Of course. Everyone has some peculiar hobbies. We pay, they risk their lives. It's fair."

The conversation reached a deadlock, as did the whole case. If what Abel said was true, every noble who dealt with remnants could be a target for revenge, even the entire aristocratic class of Old Dunling.

He had found the demon's targets for revenge, but this target was so vast that he had no power to protect it.