"This is the letter of appointment written by the King himself. And this box was sent by Lord Demetrius."
Arthur raised both of his hands in order to receive the letter.
"Ah. Thank you for delivering these. May I open the letter right now?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Arthur opened the letter, and it stated:
That Arthur was hereby to be appointed as a de facto head with the permission of the King and Demetrius Ashbourne. And that Arthur would be appointed as the official head after a year. It had been discussed with his grandfather that he might not yet possess sufficient experience and thus would train under his grandfather until the designated time.
'A de facto head, huh?'
Arthur responded with a slight nod.
"I shall act upon the decree right this moment, and hence I will take on the responsibility and duty expected of me."
He opened the box, and nestled inside was a ring of peridot green. It was of a lighter shade compared to the previous one, the emerald green.
The previous one was lost now, because the Earl had disappeared together with it. But it wasn't the first time something like that had happened.
It had happened in the past too, when the head of the house had vanished without any trace. During his absence, a new ring was forged in a lighter shade, symbolizing it was for an acting head, and not the true one.
However, after a few years, the original ring had resurfaced. Since then, the original ring was kept with the current head, and the de facto ring was kept by the previous head in case the current head disappeared again or was harmed.
Arthur placed the ring onto his own ring finger by himself, the gemstone gleaming under the bright light of the morning.
"Now that this matter is resolved, shall we discuss the other matter at hand?"
"Ah, yes."
The men sat down on the soft sofa, and the one in the middle took the coffee cup from the table, savoring the bitter taste before placing it back onto the table and spoke up.
"Regarding the investigation into the disappearance of the previous Earl. First of all, we found out that the previous Earl had gone on a secret expedition, on an unregistered voyage, no less. And on top of that, even his own father was unaware of his whereabouts the entire time."
Arthur's face went pale in that briefest moment.
'Damn it! If it was an unregistered ship, it technically means he's now branded a criminal.'
The inspector fixed his eyes on Arthur, the suspicion clearly visible in his dark gaze.
"So, let me ask you, Lord Arthur. Were you aware of what your father was doing? Did he tell you anything related to this secret expedition?"
Arthur swallowed hard before answering the question.
"No. I also wasn't aware of my father's whereabouts, nor did he tell me where he was going or what he was doing. He told me nothing at all related to that matter. But... why do you ask, Inspector? Did my father, by any chance, commit any crime?"
The naval officer intervened.
"A crime...? If it means killing some mere pirates, then yes. But... who cares about some bandits dying, right? Hahaha!"
He laughed for a while before controlling himself and speaking again.
"What we found were the bodies of two men floating on a small boat near the port. From their attire, it seemed they were pirates who had been causing quite a stir in the sea, demanding a toll to pass without trouble."
"Then why hasn't the government taken action on that issue?"
The naval officer looked at Arthur with a stern gaze.
"Do you suggest that we, the naval officers, should chase after some mere bandits?"
Arthur fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
'Sigh... Their pride will never let them do anything for the good of the kingdom's people.'
The royal inspector continued further in a calm voice.
"Anyway, upon checking the bodies of the two dead pirates, we found bullets embedded in them. And on the base of those bullets was a tree emblem, which we believe is the mark of the Ashbourne household: the ash tree."
"Then, what about the ship? The boat they were floating in must have been a part of a larger vessel, right?"
The naval officer intertwined his fingers, his expression one of confusion.
"That's the problem. We couldn't find a single trace of the ships."
Arthur was stunned by what he had just heard.
"What?!"
"Just as I said, we couldn't find any of the ships. Neither the pirates' nor the unregistered ship belonging to the previous Earl."
"Pardon?! Then where did both ships disappear to?"
The naval officer took a slow sip from the teacup.
"It seems they both stopped at an unknown port. During the Great War, several ports were built hastily and in secret. It appears they must've docked at one of those."
The inspector then took over from there and explained further.
"However, the port we are talking about is situated in the neighboring enemy kingdom. So, we can't confirm if your father is alive, or if he's currently being held by them. Maybe he left the kingdom to sell information about our side. He could also be considered a spy from both sides of the border. Again, all this is nothing but mere assumptions."
"What about my grandfather? What did he say about your assumptions?"
The inspector looked calmly toward Arthur as he spoke.
"He said that he doesn't care what happens to his son as long as the government doesn't take any action against the Ashbourne household. Thus, he decided to bury this matter once and for all. Throughout the kingdom, it will be known that the previous Earl died because his ship sank deep into the sea and his body couldn't be retrieved."
His hand took the fork and reached for the cake placed on the table, savoring the first bite of the cake that was set before him, and continued:
"We truly hope that Lord Arthur isn't connected to the previous Earl in any way. If we find even the slightest possibility of your involvement, then... even Lord Demetrius won't be able to save you."
"I understand what you mean, Inspector, but I wasn't aware that the inspectors these days threaten people on a whim."
The inspector stopped just before the cup of coffee touched his lips. His gaze fixed onto Arthur in an instant.
"Threats? I'm merely warning you, Lord Arthur. All for your own good. I too, wasn't aware you'd twist my words like this."
"Twist? You're hurting my feelings, Inspector Vincent. I was merely telling you that you don't have to concern yourself with my future. I'm grown enough to understand what is better for me and what isn't."
The inspector took a sip and said.
"Alright, if you say so then."
"Edmund!"
Edmund, who had been standing right outside the door, entered the room at Arthur's call.
"Yes, young master?"
Arthur gestured toward the men as he spoke.
"Show the guests to their rooms."
The inspector suddenly stood, placing the coffee cup onto the table.
"No, it's quite alright. You don't have to concern yourself over us. We'll be staying at a hotel nearby, so if anything happens, please contact us."
Arthur nodded and looked at the third man, who had said nothing and remained silent the entire time.
"Alright. But... you will be staying here, right, Lord Baldric?"
The man, with raven-black hair, replied:
"Huh? Sure, I will."
The inspector then again shook hands with Arthur before speaking again:
"Alright then, we will take our leave now."
As soon as they stepped into the entrance hall, a servant approached Arthur with a letter in his hand.
"Young master, this letter arrived for you."
Arthur felt chills run down his spine. He had not mentioned to the officers that he had been receiving letters from his father, or maybe he had been hiding that fact intentionally. But now... he was in absolute trouble.
The inspector's hand reached for the letter before Arthur could react.
"Pardon me."
He turned the letter over to check the envelope and said.
"I hope you won't mind if I take this letter with me. For investigation purposes, of course."
"Ah, yes. It's alright. You may take it."
And thus, together with the letter, the two men departed from the manor.
"Edmund, show the Baron to his room."
"Yes, young master."
Arthur turned to face the Baron.
"Let's have dinner together tonight, Lord Baldric."
"Alright."
Baldric responded in a laid-back tone.
Edmund bowed slightly to Baldric.
"Please follow me, Lord Baldric."
Baldric followed the butler, and they both left.
Shortly after, another letter arrived for Arthur as soon as he crossed the threshold of his study.
"Young master, you received another letter."
"Huh? Who could be the sender?"
Arthur took the letter from the hands of the servant and gestured for him to take his leave.
'It seems to be from an unknown person.'
Arthur opened the letter, but he couldn't understand what was written. It was in a language he didn't recognize.
He had never attended university, where he could have learned different things and languages, and having limited knowledge made it difficult to understand certain matters.
"Wait... this handwriting...!"
But Arthur had received many letters from his father over the past few years, enough to recognize his handwriting. It was written by none other than his own father.
Edmund entered Arthur's study with a knock and spoke up.
"The spy has woken up, young master."
"Hmm... Did you find out who was behind him?"
"Yes, that's..."