The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 366: Discreet Intrusion

Chapter 366: Discreet Intrusion

Eric clenched his jaw with frustration as he stormed out of the lavish lounge. His head swivelled frantically, searching the hallway for any sign of Noah, who had vanished from view.

Pausing their cleaning duties, the servants in the corridor straightened and bowed reverently at the approach of the second-in-command knight.

"Have you seen Sir Brooks?" Eric asked them urgently.

One of the servants quickly responded, "Oh, Sir Brooks went that way, Sir Navin," gesturing down the hallway.

"Thank you," Eric acknowledged, his resolve hardening as he thrust his steps forward, determined to follow Noah’s trail.

He strode quickly down the hallway, his long legs eating up the distance. He made a turn at a corner with his strong moves and nearly ran into an old man.

With a startled cry, the old man lost his footing and tumbled to the ground, his shrill scream echoing through the hallway.

A burly, disabled figure pulling a small cart behind them came hurrying over. The man’s face was etched with worry as he rushed to help the fallen elder.

"Father! Are you all right?" the disabled man asked the old man.

Eric quickly helped the old man stand up with his son.

"Forgive me. I didn’t mean to bump into you. I was rushing to somewhere. Are you hurt anywhere?" the knight asked.

"Oh, my knee! It hurts!" the old man suddenly cried out, clutching Eric and his son’s arms for support.

"Perhaps you should take a seat first, father. Let me see your knee," the younger man said gently, guiding his father to a nearby bench in the cloister.

Eric noticed the old man’s son was missing a limb as he helped them to take a seat.

"Where exactly does it hurt?" he asked the old man.

"My right knee," the father replied.

The disabled son carefully rolled up the old man’s pants, exposing the suspected area.

Eric inspected the knee closely.

"I don’t see any visible injury," he remarked. "But if you’d like, I can summon the healer to take a closer look."

The old man waved a dismissive hand.

"No need for that, Sir. I’m prone to falls these days with my old age. I’ll be fine after a bit of rest."

The second-in-command knight furrowed his brow. There was something familiar about the old man’s voice, though it sounded rougher now.

"If you don’t mind me asking, who are you and what brings you here?" he asked.

"I work for Mrs Bane, the fisherman’s wife. We’ve come to deliver the fresh fish for the kitchen," the disabled son explained.

"I see... Have we met before? Because you both somehow feel familiar to me," asked Eric again.

"Of course not, Sir! We just arrived in the city a week ago, and I recently got this job. Thankfully, Mrs Bane took mercy on us and hired me on daily wages to deliver fish for her," denied the disabled man earnestly.

"And why have you brought your father along?" Eric inquired. "Shouldn’t he be resting at home in his condition?"

The son’s face fell.

"We don’t have a home. We’ve been sleeping in the alley. I couldn’t leave my father alone, so he accompanied me to work. Once I save enough, I’ll find us a proper place to live."

Eric’s expression softened with sympathy.

"I understand."

He pondered momentarily, then reached into his pocket, pulling out a small pouch.

"Here, take this. It should help you find somewhere warm to rest and get your father some nourishing food. At his age, he needs comfort and care," said Eric.

The disabled man’s eyes went wide. Gratitude shone in his expression as he witnessed the knight’s chivalrous deed.

"Oh, thank you, Sir! Your kindness is most appreciated."

He accepted the pouch containing the money with a bright smile.

"If you don’t mind, would it be alright if I stayed here longer till I feel better? I understand that we’re not allowed to stay long in the mansion after finishing our task, but I hope you can be kind enough to permit us," the old man requested, his voice shaky upon holding back the pain.

"Of course, take all the time you need. If anyone asks, tell them I, Sir Eric Navin, allowed you to," Eric replied.

"Thank you so much, Sir Navin!" Both men thanked the knight again.

Eric nodded.

"Take good care of your father. You’re a good person. Despite your disability, you’re still looking after him," he said as he gently patted the son’s back.

A sudden surge of intuition reached his heart upon their contact. Somehow, he could feel a strong aura from the man despite his disability, which surprised him.

Such senses would be typical of someone seasoned in combat, yet this man, dressed humbly in shabby clothes, did not outwardly exude that demeanour. Perhaps, his hard work had sculpted his burly physique and gave rise to such intuition.

However, Eric still could not shake the feeling that he had known this pair from somewhere before. He considered pressing them further but then recalled he was in the midst of pursuing Noah and Emily. Deciding it was best to stay focused, he dismissed the notion.

"I’m afraid I must be going now. Please take your time to recover," said the knight.

The two men nodded gratefully.

As soon as Eric had disappeared from view, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"You said no one would recognise us! How did that knight seem to know who we are?" Brone whispered anxiously to Derek.

"He’s a high-ranking knight! They tend to be more observant than most," the dark mage replied. "We’ve been coming and going from this mansion for days, so it’s not surprising he may have noticed us before."

Brone creased his forehead.

"We’ve moved along the common areas used by the servants and suppliers these days, but the royal guards are heavily patrolling them, and only the main gate is allowed entry. I’m not sure our plan can work after all."

Derek’s eyes gleamed with determination.

"It has to work! Did you not see the power of the magic the young woman used to raise a barrier and protect the people yesterday? We need to harness that force for ourselves!"

In secret, they had both witnessed the duel between the King of Cassian and Kiev.

"But how? We don’t know of any secret passages or hidden ways to sneak deeper into the mansion," Brone pointed out.

"Then find one!" Derek insisted. "All grand mansions have hidden routes used by their lords. Now that we have the chance to move about freely, we must discover them."

Brone’s eyes widened with realisation.

"Ahh, I see. So that’s why you pretended to stumble before the knight! To buy us more time to be here."

Derek sighed, shaking his head at his companion’s thick-headedness.

"I thought I cured everything. Seems like your head still requires to be healed!" he said sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Brone yelled back at the mage.

"Don’t waste our time! Let’s go!" ordered Derek.

The two men deftly navigated the mansion grounds. Whenever they encountered other servants or royal guards, the mage pretended to be injured from a fall, stating that Eric had permitted them to rest in the area.

After a while, Derek, feeling weary, leaned against the mansion wall, now hidden from the guards’ view. Brone continued his exploration. Soon after, the Bargesian leader returned, his face brimming with excitement.

"Did you find anything?" Derek asked eagerly.

"Yes! You won’t believe what I discovered," Brone exclaimed. "There’s a concealed door hidden behind some bushes that leads directly to an exclusive library. I suspect it belongs to the grand duke!"

"Good job! Now, we’re getting something!" said the mage excitedly.

"Wait, there’s more! While scouting the area and peering through the door, I caught sight of the Ro’an princess entering one of the chambers on the same floor!"

"Great! Now it’s time to prepare the magical item to have her possessed! Let’s go back and get ready!" ordered Derek.

"How do you plan to get the item to her? We have no opportunity to approach her directly. She is constantly accompanied by either her brother or the man with the grey hair," asked Brone.

"I’ve got an idea. Mrs Bane will come tomorrow for her pay. I overheard her discussion with the steward previously. I found out that she consistently brings her young daughter along from the talks of the other workers. We will leverage the daughter to deliver the item to her."

"You want to use that kid?" asked Brone.

"Yes. That way, it will reduce direct suspicions to us. Also, that particular object will only affect those of Ro’an descendants and have no impact on ordinary individuals. Once possessed by the dark magic, the knights surrounding her will have no choice but to confine her in a chamber. We’ll come and kidnap her by then!"

A dark, sinister smile slowly spread across Derek’s cunning face, not knowing the plan’s impact would be way more bizarre than expected.

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