MTLNOVEL Chapter 1454: Deferred Wedding
The news naturally mobilized the two families who had been looking for their missing ancestors!
However, the Golds were really just a speck of what they once were, and it felt like it was below them to go full force.
It was akin to acknowledging they were still a threat, and that wouldn't look good in their attempt to take their place.
The Vesto Family sent Tayen, a 35-year-old fire user, along with their associated mercenary team, Vizon Mercenary Team.
Sephon also hurried to send their forces. As nobles with higher standing than the former, the forces they sent naturally could not be inferior.
In the end, doing this was to gain favor with the Lord, even if no one said so out loud. Hence, it would be like a race between them; whoever got and confirmed the most information would 'win'.
Sephon sent twice as many people. More than showing off though, they really needed the 'favor' of the Lord.
They had lost Jacoba to the Ester Town, which was associated with the Trion Family—those bastards denied involvement, of course. There was also the fact that their (the Trion's) daughter was carrying the Lords' progeny—and a son, at that—so their hope of replacing the Golds was all but lost.
However, they definitely could take the 3rd place, which would be possible if the Vesto family impressed the Lord more! They didn't get a lot of Aether crystals, and the third-ranked family meant they'd still get a few more annually!
Anyway, this meant that quite a few household members were heading out to tackle the Golds. One of them happened to be Eveco, who was supposed to be married in a few days!
Liaroa was just about to head to his house for a house call, bringing some exotic food for the family to gain more favor.
She was smiling, wearing her usual gentle facade, but it cracked when she saw that her future husband was heading out with a defensive attire.
He had that appearance that indicated he would be away for a while!
"Where are you going?"
Eveco looked at her. "The family sent me to a mission," he said.
"What about our wedding?!"
"No, it has to be delayed," he said, casually dismissing her. "There are finally clues to grandfather's murderer, and it is improper to celebrate before it is settled."
"But—"
Eveco didn't seem to think she'd be anything but supportive. When she gestured to disagree, his eyes darkened, and she flinched in fear. This made her complaints die in her mouth and could not be uttered.
She was teary and heartbroken as the man and his people went past her. She looked like a pitiful beauty, and fortunately for her, she was beautiful and the man actually felt a bit guilty. "I'll be back soon," he just said before finally leaving.
Lia naturally couldn't show too much while outside, and she walked back to their villa in a daze.
And when she got home to her room, she screamed like a banshee.
…
Meanwhile, in the Hotel, Veronica and the others met up after hearing the news of the wedding's deferral. They activated the Voice Blocker, just in case, and those who had gone out to check the status of things came to report.
"They apparently found out where the Golds are," Ignus said. "Assuming they really did, Sean had already sent a vague letter back to Alterra so they could prepare."
They arrived just the previous day and had been collecting information about the people the Golds had asked them to.
She refused to stay inside that family's home, so they rented rooms despite the high costs. She did not want to have anything to do with those people, and their movements would be too monitored so it wasn't practical at all.
The first family the investigative team was asked to check on was the Wisen Family, which was Lady Gaia's maternal family. Her Father and Brother, who had been injured when trying to fight their way to get to her, were fortunately alive.
They were beaten up badly and were still bedridden as of this time, however. They could only thank their high levels for keeping their appendages intact.
Veronica would also be sending them Lady Gaia's letter after determining they weren't being watched.
The next were the servants and former guards. For now, it seemed that the Lord was too busy with things to bother with the little servants, but a few unrelated incidents that killed a few indicated otherwise.
The person to contact was the guard named Elron, though they found out that he had immigrated someplace else with his entire family. There was no news so far, and it wasn't even guaranteed he was still alive.
Among the servants left behind, two thirds were still here, and many of them had found some other livelihood, mostly under different noble houses. They were excellent servants after all, and they were pretty much sought after.
For those people, the Golds said not to bother them. As long as they were living relatively peaceful lives, there was no need for them to be alerted of their survival.
Anyway, before the discussion could go further, her peripheral vision saw a pair of men approaching.
It was her brother and Sean. "We met outside."
Vaughn looked at Sean and Veronica alternately. When he saw that a man was outside his sister's door, he was naturally concerned. They even had the Voice Blocker on, so they didn't hear his knocking.
Speaking of Voice Blocker, they were also asked to check on the Toolmakers. According to the Golds, many of these toolmakers were quite stubborn and must've been resisting Bleumrick's advances. They were worried about them the most.
After all, if they could not be used by the Lord, chances are they'd be in danger. That man was the type to either take everything that interested him, or destroy them if it was too troublesome to do so.
So far, the Alterrans confirmed that a few toolmakers had yet to sign an alliance with anyone else, proving the Golds' assessment to be accurate.
They were to see two people in particular: Kalfene and Sleuth, masters of Aether letters and Voice blockers, respectively.
If things went well... then they could pirate some more toolmakers back to Alterra!