Chương 18: Trouble
A week later at the cemetery, Sarah had just finished giving her speech. The rest of the people who attended the funeral stood up and began singing. Today was the funeral of both Selena and Brianna, who were found murdered by the small river dividing Elder Moore and Cangnour. They were found naked and on top of each other. The report said that they seemed to have been engaging in serial activities when they were suddenly murdered, but in order not to slander their name, Sarah made sure that information was kept confidential and just said that they were kidnapped and killed.
Surprisingly, both Brianna and Selena had no family records, so only Sarah and the servants of the manor attended their funeral. Ishmael was dressed in a black suit, his expression calm. Beside him, Simon had an unreadable expression, and young master Derrick's eyes were teary. The young boy did not understand why anyone would do that to the nicest people he had ever met. His mother had her hand on his shoulder, her gaze unfathomable.
The priest, who was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and a clergy's tie, was of the Mesa race, dark-skinned people. He was a handsome middle-aged man with gray hair and a neatly shaven beard, with a lean body.
"And now dust will return to dust." The priest's strong, commanding voice resounded, and the choir behind him began humming. The two coffins were let down, and many sobs resounded from the servants who were mostly close with the two women. Simon rolled his eyes, and after everything was done, they all left the cemetery. Today, Sarah had given the servants a day off, so most of them did not return to the manor.
Sarah, Derrick, and Ishmael left the cemetery with Simon, who took them to the quaint café owned by Shaun Somerset. Upon arrival, they all got into the café. The café, which was usually filled with people, was currently empty. All the chairs were upside down on top of the tables. It seemed like they were closed, but why did the sign at the door say open?
"Mr. Rice, are you currently closed?" Ishmael called out. Mr. Rice was the one who ran the café in Shaun's absence. After waiting a few moments, no reply came. Sarah suggested they leave, but both Simon and Ishmael caught the faint sound of sobbing, and by looking carefully, they saw Augusta huddled up on the ground in the far corner of the café.
Ishmael only stared at the girl but did not react. Instead, Sarah was the one who went to her with quick steps. "Augusta, dear, what's wrong? Did something happen to Shaun?" Sarah knelt beside her, not caring about getting her dress dirty. Augusta raised her head, and Sarah could see the pain in her teary eyes. Shaking her head, Augusta suddenly hugged Sarah and cried out loud. Ishmael was now shocked and worried, albeit a bit. He never expected this kind of reaction from the nonchalant and mysterious Augusta.
While the three were observing Sarah and Augusta, the door to the café opened, and Shaun stepped in hurriedly. Upon seeing the three males and recognizing who they were, he released a sigh. His sister had to be here.
Walking forward and standing next to Ishmael, the butler Shaun briefly nodded before his eyes fell to his little sister, who was in the embrace of Lady Sarah. The boys waited for a while, and when Augusta had finally calmed down, they took down the chairs from a particular table and sat down. Sarah and the boys were waiting for either Shaun or Augusta to start explaining what was going on.
Seeing his sister's current situation, Shaun decided to be the one to explain. "I'm pretty positive you guys are wondering what is happening, right? Well, where do I start?" Shaun paused, still trying to gather his thoughts, but a calm voice spoke.
"You may start by telling us why she is crying." It was the quiet butler who had spoken. Searching in the butler's eyes, Shaun could not find even a glimpse of an emotion in his eyes.
"Augusta is going to be married off to the son of a businessman called Davin Dotmon. Mr. Dotmon is on the rise, and his businesses are progressing well. Currently, our family's power has been dwindling. Ever since my mother died, father has not been paying our businesses any attention, so he did not notice that some of the people he was working with were stealing from him. By the time father noticed our family's rapid decline, it was already too late, as more than 60 percent of our family's assets were now under the Dotmon family." Sarah frowned at the mentioning of Davin Dotmon. She hated the man because if it wasn't for him, Derrick's father would still be alive and enjoying the luxurious life she and her son were now living.
Her husband went out one day to meet with his boss, Mr. Dotmon, and he never returned. When she went to report the case to the officials, they told her that her husband was last seen heading out of the city and into the wilderness alone, so the chances that he was dead were high. She went to Brookside, where the Dotmon family was based in Moonridge, but she never got to meet Davin until the day her cousins took her to meet him. Sarah had met up with him to discuss business, but she ended up addressing the issue regarding her husband's disappearance. Dotmon denied having met up with her husband, and he even swore on his life. Seeing that the conversation yielded no results, Sarah dropped it.
But now that she was hearing his name again, Sarah had to admit that Mr. Dotmon was slowly becoming more and more problematic. He had to be dealt with before he became too dangerous.
Augusta had stopped crying, and she was now looking at Ishmael, or at least that's what everyone else thought. Ishmael's gaze was on her brother the entire time.
"I have heard of Mr. Dotmon, and I can assure you that you will lose everything if you are not careful enough. I believe he needs to be dealt with permanently." It was Ishmael who spoke. He too had his own grievances with Davin, but his were not serious enough for him to take action. Instead, it was because of his own guilty conscience. He wasn't sure that Judith had died, but fear still gnawed at his heart. If she really is dead, then that means it was his fault she died.
"How do I even do that? I'm just a musician. Renowned, yes, but still a musician. Plus, currently, if the assassination happens now, it would be clear who did it." Shaun answered unhurriedly. Ishmael shook his head.
"Who said anything about assassination? I believe I can help you with this task, that's if milady agrees to it." He spoke, looking at Sarah this time. She nodded, believing that Ishmael could help her avenge her first love.
"Right. Now, the plan is simple. Lady Augusta, you just have to act like you are willing, and you, Master Shaun—" Shaun interjected.
"Call me Shaun." Ishmael nodded, resuming.
"And you, Shaun, you have to act like you do not support this at all. And I will take care of the rest. And from you, milady, I need a few weeks off." Ishmael spoke, and surprisingly, Simon also added, "In that case, I will also need a few weeks off. Let Herman and Antonio cover for us while we are gone."
Ishmael smiled a bit. He had a plan that needed infiltration, and he could now bring his old skills to use. [Commander Belling reporting for duty.]
Later that night, Simon was happily packing his things when all of a sudden, the lights in his room went off. Sighing in the darkness, he stopped what he was doing and closed his eyes.
"Why do you hide yourself, George?" Simon asked without any hint of emotion evident in his tone.
"Right now, I can't be seen, master. I have reached a crucial point in my ascension." A gentle voice akin to that of a teenage boy resounded beside him. For a moment, there was silence until Simon asked,
"Then why are you here?" He asked, turning to look at where the voice had come from beside him.
"The number of the Blighted is increasing, and so is their strength. Recently, a new spawn emerged, and it had unreadable spiritual pressure. The elders have named it Nightmare, due to its ability to cause all enemies in a 20 km radius to fall asleep and conquer them via nightmares. Only Elder Han was able to break free from Nightmare's domain and escape, but at the cost of his right arm." Even though Simon's face was hidden in the darkness, his anger seemed to radiate out of his being. A small wind kicked up, surrounding him.
"The Blighted continue getting stronger, while we humans have only just now grasped the true meaning of spiritual essence. Tell the elders I cannot leave my post just yet. I believe I have found our salvation." Simon's anger ceased, and he spoke with a calm tone.
"Master, are you sure?" George's voice was one of excitement. Simon responded with a low "mmh." The lights came on, but there was only Simon in the room.
"I will share the good news, master." George's voice lingered after he left. Simon stared at the wall blankly before smiling and resuming packing his clothes.
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