色戒无删除版

The crowd was silent and didn't dare to speak any words. Ulysses patiently stood there to wait for any of them to voice out their concern but none were willing to speak. He scanned them faintly, not enough to let them notice, to see if any of them were like the other man that spoke.

Since no one spoke after five minutes, Ulysses gestured for the sentinels to escort all of them home but before that he left them with last words. "If you don't have the courage now, we will entertain your concerns if you undergo the process of making an appointment with the duke."

The man who spoke first was walking straight ahead while looking from side to side. He was berating himself for doing that just for money. He couldn't even fulfill the mission to the end so he was sure that he would be scolded and he won't receive the pay he should get.

He reached his house and went inside only to start pacing once again. He started to bite on his finger nails while he felt nervous because anytime now the person who came to give him a mission would visit. He was sure that he already heard of what happened.

He jumped in fright when he heard the knock that was coming from his door. The man looked warily at the door and slowly approached it to open it. He was now behind the door but he didn't open the door yet. "Who is it?" He asked in a trembling voice.

"I'm here to talk," a bright and cheery voice answered from behind the door. The man let out a sigh of relief so he opened it and let the other in.

He was about to talk when he felt a pain that came from his abdomen. He looked with wide eyes at the guest he welcomed to his house as his hands went to hold the guest's hand. The assailant did not let go and instead buried the knife deeper.

Strength immediately left the man's body then he was pushed by the assailant. The man stumbled back as he covered the wound tightly but before he could even widen the distance with them, the assailant who held the knife walked towards him with long strides and held him in the shoulder. The assailant slit his throat.

The assailant looked at the man lying on the ground with cold eyes before he casually left the house. He even closed the door like nothing happened. The man who failed his mission died as he lay in a pool of his own blood.

The sentinel who was sent to follow the man felt that there was something wrong so he went and tried to knock on the man's door but no one answered. He became even more suspicious because he couldn't hear any movements coming from the inside. He knocked again brut still no answer so he tried to open the door.

From the small crack created by his slight push, the distinct smell of blood assaulted his nose. This alone made him sprung into action. He pushed the door open and there he saw the man he was following, lying on the floor dead. Instead of panicking, he calmly sent a message using a small device they use to communicate with each sentinel.

Galahad was finally up and was inside his study when Ulysses came to look for him. The duke of Ginehart casually sat down on one of the available couches and laid his head on the seat's headrest. He started to hum to himself while resting.

"The people in this place are really something. It would take a ton of intimidation before they would even listen to me," Ulysses sighed.

"I'm even surprised that you went and faced them without my consent." Galahad laughed at the depleted state of his friend. "You haven't experienced this in Ginehart, I presume?"

"How can I experience something like this in Ginehart when all the people there like me as their leader? All I can hear from them are praises and compliments." Ulysses was grinning while saying those words without shame.

Galahad was about to retort when a series of knocks disturbed them. The duke gave consent and the door opened with one of the sentinels who stepped inside. He inclined his head to both of them and took a deep breath before he spoke.

"The man was found dead in his home. The sentinel that Duke Ginehart ordered to follow him just sent the report. The cause of death was excessive bleeding and a cut on his throat," the sentinel reported.

Both of the dukes fell into silence because of the sudden information. One hour hadn't passed yet when he gave the sentinel an order and now the subject for observation was dead. Ulysses stood up as he intended to go and take a look.

Galahad was about to stand up too but Ulysses waved his hands. "You don't need to go. I'll go since I am the one who instructed the sentinel to follow that man."

"Then I'll leave it to you. Report back to me as soon as you find out what happened," Galahad reminded the man.

"Alright, focus on what you are doing right now because that is more important. We don't want you being kicked out as the Duke of Blackwell, right?" Ulysses looked back and gave the man a grin before he waved and left together with the sentinel who came to report.

Galahad sighed and sat back once again. Several bad news in the span of only a few days was not a good sign. It only meant that their enemy was doing everything he could to utterly destroy him and maybe even to force him to surrender. He stared at the speech he was writing and in a fit of anger, he crumpled the paper and decided not to write anything at all.

"Did he find the perpetrator?" Ulysses asked the sentinel while they walked through the halls towards the stairs that led downstairs.

"No, but he saw a suspicious person who came from the direction of the house. He did not have the time to chase though because he checked on the man first and reported to us at the same time," the sentinel answered.

Ulysses was silent for a few seconds before he asked for another question again. "Is the sentinel only the one who knew about what happened? No witnesses? No bystanders?"

The sentinel shook his head, "No. He made sure that no one would see the crime scene and the place was fairly deserted so there were no people to ogle."

Ulysses nodded and he did not ask anymore questions. A horse was already waiting for them and even the archmage was there to go with them. The duke gave a nod towards the archmage before he jumped to ride the horse that they prepared for him.

"I am glad to see you Archmage Sigma," Ulysses greeted after he settled on his horse. He gently patted the horse to steady it first.

"I wasn't able to help last night. That's why I need to work double today besides we need someone who can hide our presence while we travel to the place of the crime," the archmage answered.

"Oh, that's a good idea. Thank you in advance then archmage," the duke grinned, "hyah!" He then let the horse run and he was followed by the archmage and the five sentinels who would be helping them in the investigation.

With the Sigma's help, they passed through the streets unnoticeable until they reached the house of the man. The sentinel came out of the house and ushered them inside. He left the crime scene as it was for the duke to investigate.

Ulysses looked around the house but he saw nothing unusual or misplaced. He went ahead and crouched down beside the body. His eyes scanned the body for a minute before he stood up. "He knew the assailant."