Firearms in a Fantasy World

Chapter 175: Suspicion

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

Quill bid farewell to the captain of the Southern Star before heading towards the entrance, where he saw his father's carriage slowly approaching.

He stood quietly at the door, waiting for his father to disembark from the carriage.

The carriage halted at the entrance, and Marquis Foster stepped down.

"Father!"

His younger son greeted him.

"Father?"

The Marquis seemed lost in thought, only responding after his son called twice.

"Oh, Quill! Why are you standing outside?"

"Paul's ship has arrived, so I invited the captain for dinner aboard this ship and just saw him off."

"Oh, Earl Grayman? Then you should entertain him well these days; after all, he's our partner. I've already had dinner; I'll retire to my room."

The Marquis's attitude puzzled Quill. Previously, he had attached great importance to the cooperation with the Northwestern Bay and had even planned to introduce several merchant representatives to him.

Seeing his father's troubled expression, could it be that something was bothering him?

He suddenly remembered a recent major event and asked his father, "Is there still no progress on the matter concerning the Duchy of Eaton?"

With a troubled look, the Marquis decided to confide in his son about his current worries.

"Ah, there's been absolutely no progress! Now, the agreement that was about to be signed between the two countries is likely to fall through."

The incident concerning the Duchy of Eaton referred to the disappearance of the younger sister of the Duchess of Eaton.

A week ago, the Duke of Eaton had visited Niceport with his wife and sister-in-law and held talks with senior members of the Alliance. However, just as both sides were about to reach a series of political and economic agreements, Baroness Fanny, the 11-year-old sister of the Duchess, was abducted while sightseeing in the city.

According to the recollections of Fanny's attendants, she had been strolling along the central avenue and stopped in front of a jewelry store where the staff actively approached to promote their goods. The guards were initially about to drive them away, but Fanny suddenly became interested and decided to enter to take a look.

Thus, along with her attendants and guards, a large group entered the shop.

Later, these attendants and guards were found unconscious inside the jewelry store. In the store's warehouse lay several individuals confirmed to be the true owner and staff of the store.

A few of the unconscious guards tightly grasped weapons that had been drawn, though most had not. There were traces of a minor scuffle in the store, along with a peculiar smell. According to the alchemists involved in the investigation, it appeared to be a potent form of narcotic.

However, what followed was quite bizarre. When the unconscious individuals regained consciousness, they seemed to collectively have lost several hours of memory. The store owner and staff could only recall opening the store in the morning, while Fanny's attendants and guards could only remember entering the store's entrance.

Were they collectively covering up their guilt to evade punishment? Or were they originally accomplices of the thieves? However, those selected as royal guards and attendants were all known for their loyalty and reliability.