Lennard sighed. Fear and shock glimmered in his eyes. It had been several months since he first heard someone dangerous had infiltrated the Kane Family. He had been searching for the infiltrator ever since tirelessly. Yet, he found no clue. It was surprising and shocking at the same to know Elder Kane was also searching for the infiltrator. On the other hand, Michael couldn't believe the made-up story Gaya threw up turned out to be true.
"I've known for a while," said Lennard.
"Elder Kane was a Fusion stage cultivator. By how she described it, the infiltrator must be stronger than him. Besides, he was able to disappear without a trace. If he didn't stab her, you would have doubted her, right?" asked Michael.
Lennard remained silent for a moment. The silence was enough for Michael. He rose from the side of Gaya's bed and walked toward Lennard.
"Show me where he was killed. Believe it or not, Elder Kane was a friend. I will help you avenge him by finding his killer. Lead the way," Michael gestured at Lennard to lead the way. Seeing no other option, Lennard led them to the place where they found Elder Kane dead. Although he doubted Aelia's story, if there was a slim chance Ghost could find the infiltrator, Lennard wanted to take it. The infiltrator had killed one of the strongest members of the Kane family. If he could kill him so easily, none of the others would be safe anymore.
Gaya followed Michael and Lennard. She recalled every single word Elder Ashton Kane said to her. Little by little, everything made more sense to her. She always wondered why Castien loved Xanali more than her. Now it was clear to Gaya. Xanali was his real daughter, not her. That was why he gave the throne to Xanali instead of her.
"Did he know?" Gaya asked herself. She wondered whether Castien knew she wasn't his daughter or not all this time. The hallways were riddled with Kane family guards. Everyone looked terrified, especially the maids and servers. Their faces were pale as paper. When they saw Lennard, they bowed with respect and a tinge of fear in their eyes.
Michael silently followed Lennard to Ashton Kane's room. To Michael's surprise, the hallway and the room were empty.
"I ordered no one to return to this place after taking his body away," Lennard said. The death of Elder Kane extremely saddened him.
Michael squatted beside the puddle of dried blood. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he conjured a violet orb of light. Strangely, the moment the light fell on the ground, Lennard saw several footsteps. A bunch of footsteps was clustered around the blood.
"I assume no one can teleport in or out of the castle," said Michael.
Lennard nodded, "Yes. We have protection runes all over the castle. It's not possible to use teleportation within these castle walls,"
Michael expected this. He doubted whoever killed Ashton could have teleported. It was not like he had a system at his disposal. Among the cluttered footsteps, Michael noticed a distinct set of footsteps. Unlike the others, this footprint had toes. It was clear that they didn't wear any boots or shoes.
"You see that?" Michael asked Lennard.
"Why would anyone avoid wearing boots in weather like this?" Michael followed the footsteps. These footsteps came and went in the same direction. Lennard and Gaya followed Michael behind. While following the footsteps through the hallway, Michael noticed strange behavior. Wherever there was a window, the footsteps moved away from it as though the person was afraid of windows.
Everything started to make more sense to both Michael and Gaya. They followed these footsteps to the hall where many elders and soldiers gathered.
"What's happening?"
"What is that light?"
"Look at the footsteps,"
The people gathered around the hall mumbled. When they saw Lennard, they became silent. Thanks to Michael's acute vision, the footprints on the hall didn't confuse him. He was able to follow his target without a hitch. He continued to follow the footsteps out of the hall into another hallway.
"Where was he going?" asked Gaya.
Lennard slightly shivered. Surprisingly, there were no other footprints in this hallway dimly lit by chandeliers. They followed the footsteps until they came in front of a fireplace. The footsteps however went into the fireplace, which meant there was a secret passageway behind this fireplace. Michael turned around.
"Lord Lennard," Michael looked at Lennard.
Judging by the dark lines on his forehead, it was obvious not many people knew about this passageway. In other words, whoever killed Ashton knew more about the castle than most of the Kane family members.
"Not many knew about this, did they?" asked Michael. It took a few moments for Lennard to snap out of his deep thoughts and nod.
"The cat's out of the bag, Lord Lennard. Where does it end?" said Michael.
"This passageway will lead you to a small fishing island nearby," said Lennard.
"I made your job simple, Lord Lennard. Here's how we find the killer. It's highly unlikely he suddenly appeared in the castle and knew about every secret entrance and passageway. On the contrary, he must have spent years here," said Michael as Lennard pushed a brick into the wall. The wall slowly creaked, revealing an opening big enough for a grown man to squeeze through.
Gaya entered the passageway first, followed by Michael and Lennard. They continued to follow the footsteps. For more chapters, please visit
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