章 11: Another Crazy Encounter (1)

Inside the seat of a fancy-looking carriage, parked a few meters away from an inn, Cassian received the brown file that was handed to him by the coachman. He had sent his coachman to retrieve the file from one of Carmathen's greatest Marshals who patrolled the streets of the upper west quarters during midnight.

It was a file containing records of the names of missing people, as well as their families and close friends. Names of the people who were missing and found dead were written on the file, and he was fortunate enough to have run into the Marshal at such a pre-occupied time like this.

The young lad had discarded his mask, setting it aside. He remained hidden in the darkness of his carriage, but his Amber-brown eyes stood out with a natural glow, it was enough to draw the attention of passersby if they made the mistake of stealing a glance into the carriage.

Relaxing on his seat with his eyes closed, he could hear several footsteps of other civilians as they hurried to get off the streets. Some entering simple-looking carriages, or going into the inn that wasn't far from where his carriage was parked.

Most of the townspeople took their umbrellas with them, since the dark cloudy weather was starting to signal that rain would be pouring down on them soon. But in all, everyone was trying to clear off the street before 12am.

Today had been pretty hectic for him, and the soreness of his body proved that. Going back home was fortunately impossible since he had places to visit regarding the case of missing people.

They had to stay at an inn to freshen up before heading out for today's business. No one except his coachman was familiar with his movements. He didn't need people rubbing noses into his affairs, and so he kept his daily life basis a secret from everyone.

"I heard the inn here serves good food Lord Cassian, you should have some." The coachman prompted, but Cassian kindly refused his offer, opening his eyes again and burying his gaze into the file he held.

"I'm not hungry, but you can grab something for yourself before we leave. It's better to face the situation at home rather than prolong it." He said calmly, but the coachman gave a worried frown. He wasn't happy that his Young Lord had suddenly decided to starve himself.

He had been with Cassian all morning, so he knew and understood how busy his Young Master was. Hiding his identity and paying visits to local towns just to get information about the problems going on wasn't an easy task.

He's only had breakfast of some muffins with scrambled eggs this morning, he hasn't even drank water since then.

What if he gets affected, health wise? How will he explain it to his mother??

"You worry too much Amade." His voice snapped the coachman from his train of thoughts.

"It's Amadeus."

"And I'll keep calling you Amade, I can't risk getting my mouth full." He looked at the old man who had grown tired of correcting him countlessly. Amadeus couldn't recall the last time his Young Lord chose to say his name correctly.

The only reason he never bothered about it was his Young Lord had a pleasant tone when it came to pronouncing his name. Sometimes he silently cursed Lord Cassian for sounding so good even when he mocked someone.

"Go and quickly grab something for yourself before I leave without you, we're not on hunger strike." Cassian shooed him off, and Amadeus couldn't resist a nod.

"Just a minute, I'll be back." The coachman couldn't deny he was hungry, his stomach had been rumbling all afternoon, but he'll make sure to grab something for his Young Lord when he returns.

They'll have to leave and arrive home before 12am, so he must hurry.

"I'll be back." He bowed and quickly left.

After vanishing from Cassian's sight, the young lad sank deeper into the seat of his carriage, revealing his exhaustion as he dropped the brown file beside him. His shoulders felt sore and he couldn't expect a massage from his mother tonight.

He knew what awaited him once he stepped into that house and he wasn't ready for it.

In order to face the drama, he needs to gather enough energy so he can survive the beating he'll get. But one thing was for sure, he couldn't let them know what he's been up to.

Closing his eyes so he could gather some strength, he ended up falling asleep at the seat of his carriage, burying himself in the darkness so no one would notice him.

By the time he woke up, the carriage had already started moving, but he didn't bother to check since he was sure Amade would be the one controlling the horses. The old man was quick to have finished his meal already.

He planned on drifting back to sleep when the carriage violently shook like it had run into something, forcing him off his seat and slamming him against the side of the carriage. It was his pure luck that the door didn't open, he couldn't imagine rolling down the path without sustaining any injury.

"What tha_?!!" He heard the horses neigh in surprise.

What in the hell's name is going on??

Looking out through the window to see what the carriage had collided into. Turns out, his carriage had run into a tree in the middle of nowhere, but judging from its surroundings, if he wanted to picture the scene clearly, it could be his coachman had steered the horses in the wrong way, heading into a bushy path and leading to the sudden hit by the tree.

Baffled by it, his lips were parted so he could call on Amadeus, but to his surprise, a lady in a white dress jumped down from the coach's seat, and he shut himself off.

That doesn't look like Amade.

"Oh no!" He heard her shocked exclamation as her hands flew to her mouth.

"I ruined the carriage, it's... it's not even mine."

Cassian's brows knitted as he watched the strange lady in a white wedding dress lament to herself. Who is she? And where's Amade??

"What do I do?"

"Excuse me for interrupting your little whining session but your immature riding has cost me my life." Cassian's voice startled the young lady and she instantly went stiff.

"How do you intend to repay me for the damages? As well as risking my life?"