Chapter 166: Ch 165: Late Night Break

"Grand Master Kael, may I know what you are doing out here? It’s rather late, and there is a servant curfew that you should not be breaking."

Kael had cast a relatively strong spell that should have knocked everyone out, but this butler was still awake and walking around. It made him suspicious, but he did not say anything outright.

Instead, he decided to greet the butler with a small smile on his face and even walked alongside him.

"That should be fine. This area is currently under my spell, and the others are asleep. They won’t wake up until I am done investigating."

Kael told the butler, and he nodded. But he still looked hesitant to allow Kael to do whatever he wanted.

But that was not the important thing right now. Kael was curious about something else. How was the butler still awake despite Kael’s powerful magic?

"Butler, how long have you worked in this mansion? Do you know this place well?"

Kael asked, and the butler nodded.

"I have been working for this family for the past thirty years. I watched Lady Marsha and Lord Gladious grow up and raised them like my own children. And for that reason, I will do anything to help them."

That was strong conviction, but it did not clear the butler in Kael’s eyes.

The butler noticed Kael’s skeptical expression and must have found it odd because he decided to clear his name.

"I have a magic-resistant pendant. Miss Marsha gave it to me to make sure I never fall under someone else’s magic and harm her. She’s a thoughtful person like that."

The butler told Kael with an affectionate look in his eyes. But Kael found something odd about the situation.

"Are you the only one who has this anti-magic pendant? I’m sure Young Master Gladious should have one as well. And yet, he fell under someone else’s magic so easily?"

Kael asked, poking holes in the butler’s explanation. But the butler had an answer for that as well.

"I’m afraid Sir Gladious was not wearing his anti-magic necklace because he lost it a long time ago. Now, this is as far as I can take you. Please be careful while you inspect the mansion, and keep us informed if you find anything."

The butler told Kael before heading back.

Something about this butler was not right. He behaved far too confidently for the servant of a minor noble.

But Kael decided to set those thoughts aside for now and focus on the task at hand.

He cast a spell that would take him to Gladious’s father’s secret office. It was easy to find and even easier to sneak inside.

Once there, he decided to look in the place Gladious had told him about, but there was nothing there except an empty box.

No, that was not all.

There were traces of magic all around the box, indicating that someone else had broken into the room and taken whatever had been inside.

Kael was about to head back outside when he heard sudden movement from beyond the door. The next second, several people burst into the office alongside its now-awake owner.

Kael was a Grand Master, so he quickly cast a spell to turn himself invisible, just in time before someone broke the door open.

"Tsk, someone dared to trespass here. Hurry up and search this place from head to toe. I have a feeling the intruder is still around somewhere."

The owner yelled, and the servants stormed the room.

Kael decided to use this opportunity to slip out while carrying the box in his hand. But he swore he saw Lady Marsha’s butler looking directly at him the entire time.

...

"Did you hear? They say someone broke into our master’s office and stole a box."

"Master is desperately looking for that box. He has even started a mansion-wide search for it. Do you think it was a servant?"

"Of course it was. Who else could have done it? It’s only a matter of time before that box is found and someone is punished for it."

The other servants gossiped and even placed bets on how long it would take the guards to recover the stolen box. But the answer was never.

Kael had sensed traces of corruption surrounding the box. As a result, he had thrown it into a separate subspace to examine later.

It was clear from the design that it had not been a simple container, but a suppression box. Some kind of artifact had been sealed inside, and it had already started leaking corruption. If left unchecked, it would eventually cause an explosion of corruption.

"So the young master wasn’t lying. This must be the disaster he saw in his vision. No wonder he looked so desperate to stop it. Now, shall I lend him a helping hand?"

Kael asked as he pushed himself to his feet and headed toward the sealed quarters where Gladious was being kept.

But before he could leave, a servant meeting was called, and he, along with the other servants, was made to stand in line while they were addressed.

The mansion owner stepped in front of the crowd, his eyes sweeping over everyone.

"As you all know, I lost an important artifact that needs to be retrieved. If any of you servants have taken it, return it now and you shall be spared. Otherwise, I will be forced to take action against all of you."

The owner seemed to have lost his mind. He was threatening to punish every servant because of one person’s actions.

Had Kael been a different person, he might have stepped forward and confessed. But he had no intention of putting his life on the line for strangers.

The owner sighed as he looked at the servants with a disappointed expression.

"Well, no one is willing to confess? What a pity. That means you all will be punished. Anjou, take care of this for me."

Lady Marsha’s butler bowed with a small smile, and all the other servants shivered in fright.