Dawn Architect

Chapter 62: Intrigue at the Count's Mansion

We were in a limousine that picked us up in front of our lodgings. The children were excited about the party, and I, as always since I arrived, maintained the appearance of an older man acting as their guardian.

We were all dressed elegantly for the occasion: we were going to a party hosted by a count. According to rumor, this count had earned his title through his wealth from his predecessor, but that didn't make him any easier to deal with.

His mansion, with the latest and strongest barriers and security measures, guaranteed the safety of the attendees. They could rest assured that there was no safer place in the city.

After a rigorous check to make sure we were not carrying weapons or storage bags, we were allowed to enter. The hall was a work of art in itself, decorated in the style of the old nobility.

There were paintings by famous painters and furniture made of the most expensive materials. The children were amazed and looked at everything with bewilderment and excitement, as we were not used to such luxury. I asked them to calm down.

We spent some time talking to other guilds and adventurers who had already gathered in a corner. Most of them were of common origin and were not used to this kind of place.

The party started with the city lord and his son, who stood at the top of the stairs offering a toast and thanks. I then took the opportunity to make connections with important people with whom I could do business, talking about many things and the possibility of expanding our potions business in this city.

I even proposed investing in promising companies and talked to the people in charge in the surrounding area to set up the branch of our store. In a few hours, I more or less understood the power structure of this city.

As the party was coming to an end, the lights began to flicker and an uneasy murmur went through the room. In those brief seconds of darkness, when the light came back on, the lord's son lay dead on the floor, his throat slit. The hall fell silent, broken only by the sobbing of a lady and the roar of the lord of the city.

"My son! Who could have done this?" bellowed the city lord, his eyes red with fury and pain. "No one will leave here until we discover the culprit!"

Immediately, the guards blocked the entrance. Some panicked nobles tried to leave, but the guards prevented them. At that moment, Lord Farren, a viscount from nearby, spoke up.

"What is the meaning of this, Lord Warren, let us out! Who knows who will be next? This place is no longer safe. Besides, I can't believe you doubt us and won't let us out. Why don't you take a better look at those who were supposed to protect it and didn't do their job?" he said indignantly, representing the other nobles.

The leader of the Primax guild, with whom the lord's son used to have good relations and who were in charge of protecting him, stepped forward.

"Sir, we regret our incompetence and are willing to take the punishment for not being able to protect your son. But it is too much for you to doubt us. I assure you that neither I nor my men are to blame. If anyone here is a suspect, I have some ideas."

He looked toward the area where the wealthy merchants of the city were. All eyes turned in that direction, including mine. I was already back with the kids in a corner of the room to avoid getting involved. The atmosphere had gripped me and I wanted to see where events were going.

"It is true that he obstructed us and forced us to pay him to get our goods to market, but that is not reason enough to kill someone, least of all a nobleman. We merchants don't do business at a loss," Marta, a merchant of magical herbs, and leader of the merchants' association, looked around suspiciously as she defended the merchants.

"Eduardo always took what he wanted without paying. He treated us like we were his property. But we would never do something like this," Arlen, a magical artisan leader, raised his voice. He was the representative of several groups in the city, such as engineers, alchemists and blacksmiths, who were also present.

At that moment A middle-aged man stepped forward and spoke. "Sir, I am sorry for your loss and I promise you that the guild association will help in any way possible. We will be sure to cooperate in whatever you ask for as long as it is reasonable. Also, as you know, we have all had our weapons and storage bags taken from us, so it is unlikely that any of us are involved."

He was a representative of the guild association that administers the quests and guilds in the city, including us, so he is the representative of all the adventurers here.

The accusations and defenses continued for a while until the captain of the knights, who was the lord's guard and the strongest person I could detect in this place, finished checking the body.

Eduardo's body showed a clean wound in the neck. I could see that the knight took out a medallion with a peculiar symbol, which, if I remember correctly, belonged to a group of rival mercenaries of Garth.

However, they also found a handkerchief with Marta's commercial logo embroidered on it. In addition, there was a distinctive ring on her other hand, with the crest of Lord Farren's house.

Silence pervaded the room as gazes again turned to the owners of the belongings.

"This is a mistake!" cried Martha as the guards began to surround her. "Yes, I hated Edward for meddling in my business, but I didn't kill him - the handkerchief, even if it had my company's mark on it, could belong to anyone!"

"He certainly was a stain on the nobility," Lord Farren admitted. "But to murder him in the middle of a party, surrounded by everyone... that would be madness. I lent the ring to my nephew a week ago."

At that point, a man who was not a guest and was dragged away by the guards defended himself. "I just came to pick up my sister. I went through all the checkpoints and it's not the first time I've come here." It seemed to be someone who was in the wrong time and place and got involved.

"It could have been any one of us," muttered one of the musicians. "Eduardo made enemies everywhere."

Suddenly, perhaps because of the atmosphere, a young maid dropped to her knees and cried. "Edward...he threatened to do horrible things to me if I didn't do what he wanted. He said no one would believe a mere servant girl." Her words had nothing to do with the situation and an unawakened maid is off the hook for now.

It seemed that this place became a space where everyone was taking out their dissatisfactions. Eduardo had earned the rancor and hatred of many people, which complicated things.

Discussions continued and more revelations occurred. My group and I, along with other adventurers, were in the corner observing the events, as no one had singled us out, being mostly foreigners from out of town.

I looked out the window and could see several guards checking the surroundings, looking for the possible culprit. They were sure it was one of the guests or present at the mansion because there were many detection barriers that prevented entry without certain permission and they believed it was impossible to evade.

Garth seemed to remember something and brought more to the conversation. "Eduardo had mentioned something about debts earlier. It seems he was in more trouble than we knew. Also, I didn't know he was involved with that guild, even if no one says so, we all know that guild has connections to shady organizations. If anyone had anything to do with it, it's them."

Garth continued. "Also, Eduardo hired some of my men for private jobs. One of them disappeared a week ago. Now I think Eduardo might be trying to clear his name by eliminating anyone who knew too much."

I never expected something like this to happen, that all the powerful people in town would start blaming each other, it's an unexpected twist I didn't expect to find when I was coming to this town a few days ago.