Whether it was a blessing or a curse, it seemed Albus had gotten tangled up with a tenacious group.
As he sat in his bath dyed by the blood of the enemies that entered the room, he wondered why they were so persistent in trying to kill him. Granted, his operations would slow down dramatically without them acting as a scapegoat but this seemed too convenient in his eyes.
("Before coming here, I'd never heard of these guys yet as soon as I showed up they have the capacity to send hundreds of men over a year to try and kill me. And they've come out with so much force that not even the parish's police can do anything about them. Though to be fair to them, I heard O'Reilly say his old police chief took all the competent men he had with him before I came here and they haven't fully rebuilt themselves to their old strength.")
He sighed as he got out of the bath and the pink water dripping off him made the tile floor its new home.
("I suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Who knows what that bastard uncle of mine would do if he didn't get his quota of women? Honestly, now that I think about it, it was also pretty convenient how a solution for the leftover women came to me. It'd be pretty depressing to think people like me have the luck of the gods on our side.")
He wiped himself off with a towel in the room and turned it from a nice bright white to a pink that wouldn't wash out any time in the future.
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He looked outside the window of his main building and stared at two carriages. There were various people outside with one group selecting women out of a lineup while the other stood there waiting. The women were in actual clothing instead of rags and had no chains or gags on them. Some of them looked like they weren't all there while others seemed fully aware of what was happening but had given up. Avis and a group of her maids looked on.
("It's that time of the month huh? Good thing we did this before those adventurers were let in or who knows what sort of excuse these bastards would give me if we had set a meeting place in the forest. And somehow my uncle's the one who always gives me shit for that.")
As he moved from his window and looked to another that showed the other side of his property, he noticed two long-haired persons with coloured hair, outside his fence.
"Hoh, that red hair is pretty nice. I haven't seen anyone with hair that vibrant in a-"
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He paused. Were these maids? No, they weren't wearing the uniform. As they walked closer to the hole that he left in the fence as a hotspot for the patriots to sneak through, he could feel his throat dry.
He quickly looked through the room, picked up a small bronze statue of a maid (that looked very much like Avis) and ran towards the other window. He wasted no time opening and threw like a javelin towards her position. It landed headfirst at her feet. She looked up at her master with a glare but there was no time for that. He pointed towards the other side of the property and she excused herself before seeing what had her master so anxious about.
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After dealing with them and sending them along their way she soon vanished and Albus rested in his chair. A few moments later the bronze pierced through his door and was only stopped by the base.
("... I hope she isn't too angry.")
The door creaked open a moment later.
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"Master, are you sure it is wise to send the adventurer boy along to the police?" Avis asked.
"What's one more person gonna do for them? Besides I'd rather he snooped around with them out of our eyes. Honestly, I think he's the first adventurer we've hired who's cared about the goings on here." Albus commented.
"Are you sure? It would be quite an annoyance if he recognised the poisons we used. (Though I have recommended they use a more novel poison just in case.)"
"Don't worry, it's not like he'll be one of those attacked."
"I see. By the way, the preparations for tonight are complete. All we need is the signal they've left and we can do what we need to."
"(Gotta keep the pressure on those guys.) Remember Avis, take a break now and again. I don't want you guys doing back-to-back pickups."
At this point, he got so used to them that he started referring to the kidnappings as simply pickups. As if he was just sending Avis down to a local store to pick up some groceries or a local butcher for some fine cuts.
"Don't worry Master, I have dependable subordinates."
"By the way how are Grace, Marley and the others? Do you think they can be added to your group or will they remain a part of the regular maids?"
"Grace shows promise but I'm not sure she'd have the stomach for what we do. She seems surprisingly straight-laced." Avis commented.
"I see. Well, it'd be better not to risk it for the time being."
Avis made her bow and soon left. Albus rested his head on the table and sighed.
"This is our life now, isn't it? I always hoped I'd have found a way out of my uncle's palm but I guess I was being optimistic. At least I can protect the women here. That's all that matters now honestly." He silently muttered to himself. He slowly nodded off.
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Knock knock
"Lord Bradley?"
He almost fell out of his chair from the sudden noise and quickly answered.
"Avis you can come in whenever you'd like."
She quickly opened the door and lit a nearby lamp. Her face was as cold as ice but it must have been important if she showed this late.
"Please come with me, Lord Bradley. There has been a problem recently with those tasked with pickups tonight."