Brunaulf POV:

“I still think I should head inside with you both.”

Nana folded her arms. We had left Losa long ago and were currently travelling down one of the trade routes that would lead us closer to the Baron's estate.

She had spent the last hour or so trying to convince me that my judgement wasn’t logical. What if something happens to Beatrix? What if we get trapped inside and can’t make it out? Nana wanted to be able to protect her in the worst-case scenario.

“...That won’t be necessary. It would be more effective if you were on standby outside of the estate. Once we break out, we’ll need to move fast.”

“Hmph. Losa won’t be safe for you, so I imagine you’ll be heading straight to the border, right?”

“That’s right. I’ve stayed here for much longer than I had intended.”

While it was true that I needed to take into consideration the condition my sister would be in, staying on this side was far too risky, as Nana pointed out. The plan was to cross the border as soon as possible without alerting Border Patrol.

We reached the halfway point, and Nana went to join Beatrix inside the carriage. I stroked the horse's back lightly as she rubbed her cheek against mine.

With Nana keeping Beatrix company, I was finally able to get some peace and quiet. I decided to re-examine all of the information I had gathered.

The first point that needed to be addressed was the Baron's motive for moving. Beatrix's assumption was to check the quality of goods since the Baron had high standards, making it easy for him to find what he was looking for. This theory had two flaws.

Beatrix already addressed the first flaw, which was that no dead bodies had been found around the surrounding area. As mentioned in her notes, the walls enclosing the estate weren’t there when the Baron first bought that location; it had taken 6 months for the enclosure to be completed. In conclusion, the walls weren’t ordinary, and that meant it was possible that they could interfere with the detection ability of her spies.

The second flaw was what exactly caused the Baron to move. Beatrix mentioned that the Baron doesn’t care about money, and while it’s true it would be easier to get what he wanted; it still didn’t make sense. Why didn’t the Baron make this decision earlier? The number of dead bodies listed in Beatrix’s report was staggering, and a man possessed with that kind of insane drive to satisfy his twisted desires would have obviously thought about scouting out the women he wanted himself, yet he didn’t.

This caused me to think about the situation from a different angle. Beatrix mentioned that Enigma and Chaos were in the process of expanding their influence, so wouldn’t it be easy to take advantage of a noble if you knew his weakness? If either of the two organizations were aware of his sick tastes, then they could have blackmailed him.

In other words, the true reason the Baron moved out of the city was because he had no choice—my sister just happened to get caught up in all of this. Maybe he made one last purchase before he was cut off from those kinds of transactions. The goods that he was so called ‘appraising’ didn’t exist. He was being used in order to expand the influence of one of the two groups.

If word got out that a noble was actively going around buying and brutally torturing young women, he wouldn’t be let off so easily. There was also the procession of becoming a Viscount that would have been terminated if the public knew the truth behind those serial murders.

In addition, I also believed that Viscount Hardwin had more than just ‘money’ keeping his head on his shoulders. While still somewhat shaky, this was my current theory.

If my line of thinking was correct, then the mercenaries the Baron ‘hired’ may not be mercenaries at all. There's a possibility that either Enigma or Chaos have stationed their troops there. However, that would definitely draw too much attention.

‘Hmm... Disguising themselves is also plausible.’

Another hour passed by as I pondered over my current theory. A small dot appeared on the horizon, revealing the Baron's estate.

The journey took longer than it had to since we wanted to avoid the main trading routes used. Once we got closer, Nana left the carriage and manipulated the earth around her to hide herself. From here onwards, it was just Beatrix and me.

The estate came into clear view, and just like the information Beatrix had gathered, it was heavily fortified. Thick grey walls rose high up into the sky, creating a maze-like layering until you reached the Baron's mansion. Due to this, we wouldn’t be able to break through directly. Instead, we had no choice but to go around each layer to reach the next one.

Two guards stood at the gated entrance in-between the two walls. As soon as they noticed me approaching, the aura around them changed. They observed me carefully while placing their hands over their weapons.

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I pulled the reigns as the horse trotted to a stop, and the guards walked towards me slowly. I had to get us past them without raising any more suspicion.

“Who the hell are you?”

“The Baron doesn’t receive deliveries on weekdays. I don’t know how you got past the security checks, but turn around.”

I took my hat off and gave them a cheerful smile. Their response was within my calculations.

“Now, now, gentlemen. Let’s not be hasty. I’m well aware of how the Baron operates, but my boss is not a woman that can be... Simply ignored.”

They raised their eyebrows before sneering at me.

“Oh yeah? Who’s your boss then?”

“You have one minute to give me a suitable explanation, or I cut your tongue off where you stand and feed it to your horse.”

I cocked my head to the side as I stroked my chin, unaffected by their crude attempts at being intimidating.

“I’m actually sitting down, but that’s beside the point. Manners are everything in this line of work, so could you talk the same knowing that the person who sent me is none other than The Night Owl.”

“!!”

Their faces turned ghastly white as they glanced at one another. The guard who threatened to cut my tongue off gulped while taking a step forward.

“D-Do you have any proof...?”

I stuck my hand into my coat pocket, causing them to flinch at my sudden action. I pulled out a card and showed them a symbol of an intricate white owl design placed on a dark purple background.

“There’s no doubt about it. That’s definitely her mark...”

“It’s impossible to copy it to such a fine degree. Plus that faint... Otherworldly Ki... It’s real.”

I slipped the card back into my pocket as I watched the men shake in their boots. The Night Owl was an infamous thief well known throughout Astril, so much so that the government couldn’t contain her.

Under normal circumstances, I would have never been able to meet someone of her status, but I happened to stumble upon some very valuable information during these last few months. As a result, I was given a small gift.

“What does the Night Owl want with the Baron?...”

My lips curved upwards as I looked down at the guards who had lost their foothold to stand on.

“I believe that’s above your pay grade. Open the gate now.”

The two guards bowed their heads quickly, scurrying away to get the gate open. The carriage began moving again as I placed the merchant hat back over my head.

“P-Please forgive us. We didn’t know...”

“I’ll turn a blind eye this once. Do this again and... Well, you know how the Night Owl operates. She isn’t just a thief~”

I grinned menacingly as one of the guards peed his pants. The gate closed behind us while we continued on down the wide dirt road that had walls erected on both sides with an abundant amount of shrubbery near the bottom.

“Impressive. So you were still holding out on me.”

Beatrix's voice drifted to the front of the driver’s seat.

“I’ve only known you for over one week.”

“...That is a fair point.”

There was a hint of disappointment in her voice, but I paid it no mind. The Night Owl was a double-edged sword—use it carelessly, and I would have found myself locked up in a prison cell somewhere. I was grateful that an opportunity presented itself this way.

The walls bent at a 90 degree angle as the carriage turned right. The greenery increased, resembling a well-kept orchard as a thin layer of grass replaced most of the dirt road down the middle.

I had increased my senses to the limit, staying on guard at all times, but it was still rather peaceful. A gentle breeze caused the small trees to sway back and forth, emitting a relaxing rustling sound.

20 minutes passed before the first checkpoint came into view. It was a large gate that connected the two walls, cutting off the greenery. Seeing how secure this place was set up, I became more convinced about my earlier theory.

A middle-aged man with a sword on his hip held out his hand as we approached him. We stopped a few meters away from the gate, and he walked up to us.

“The goods... I need to see the goods before I let you through.”

He licked his lips multiple times as he stared at the carriage door.

“Didn’t you receive word from your colleagues? Or perhaps you have a death wish?”

I peered down at the man, who clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“...Fine.”

He trudged back towards the gate and opened it. His gaze never left the carriage as he bent his head at all kinds of angles in order to see what was inside.

In the end, we passed by without anything occurring, but it did put me on edge. After turning a second corner, we entered the second layer, and the orchard look returned more abundant than before as the mission carried on.

After travelling for a while, I stepped down and went to check on Beatrix, who had been too quiet.

“Beatrix? Are you alright?”

“...”

No reply. That was odd. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened yet, but I suddenly felt unhinged. I grabbed hold of the door to the carriage and quickly opened it.

“Beatri—”

My mouth closed abruptly as I saw the black dress she was wearing drop to her feet. She wore underwear that had a fancy design that seemed to be unable to contain her assets. Her skin was flawless and looked softer than a baby’s bottom.

“Oh.”

She made eye contact with me, and I slammed the door shut immediately. I clicked my tongue and sat back down on the seat as we started moving again.

‘She did that on purpose.’

I grinded my teeth while I picked up the pace. The sooner this mission came to an end, the better.

“I am sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

“...I am a little bit sorry?”

I ignored her and focused on the road ahead. Who knew why she decided to put on that act again? Maybe she was nervous, or maybe she was lost in thought? It didn’t matter. The second checkpoint was coming into view.

I saw a number of guards standing in front of the gate, and they all had reached upper Uso. It didn’t seem like they would step aside so easily despite having the Night Owl's insignia.

“Beatrix, make sure you’re dressed.”

“I am.”

A few minutes later, we arrived in front of them as they blocked the path towards the gate.

“So you’re the one working for the Night Owl, eh?”

“He looks weak though.”

“Well...It's not like the Night Owl herself is here, right?”

I had a feeling the conversation would end up going in this direction, but I hoped it would have happened at least around the third or fourth checkpoint.

“Lovely to meet you all. You’ll need to open that gate for me. My boss has a rather strict time limit for these things, you see.”

I pulled out the Night Owl's insignia, and the men reflexively shrunk back. I sighed inwardly, because I knew that this wouldn’t hold up for much longer; a clear sign of their stupidity.

“R-Right... As you wish...”

The gate opened, and we passed through the second checkpoint with no problems. It was going to be a long day.