Part 2

Zachkiel wakes up at 6 am just as his Cuckoo Clock chimes revealing a small bird from behind the wooden door. Zachkiel blinked his eyes, taking about a quarter of a minute to collect his life back, before he got up and rushed to the bathroom. The maids in his residence had already prepared hot water when he entered.

Zachkiel finished his bath in a quarter of an hour. Maybe that's why he's also classified as a less handsome man. Rather than handsome, he actually looks more... Cute. Despite his burly body, the look on his face instead had that of someone accustomed to luxury. The face types of young masters who would struggle to even lift a bucket of water. In fact, it's not so. Reality is always inversely proportional to what appears before the eyes.

After bathing, he immediately got dressed. This time it was not his court uniform that he was wearing, but his official uniform as Commander of the Regalia Guard. And this morning, he was relieved of his obligation to appear in Morning Court, because he had other pressing duties to attend to.

Zachkiel wears his clothes, assisted by two servants who have taken care of his family for generations. When he was tidy, he went downstairs to find his father tidy in his morning court dress in the dining room. His father looked up from the newspaper he was reading, and Zachkiel immediately greeted him when he arrived.

Zachkiel's mother had been bedridden for the past few years, and was often absent from breakfast together. Meanwhile, his younger sisters were attending the imperial academy, and rarely came home unless there was a special agenda at home. Therefore, as usual, today, there were only the two of them having breakfast in the dining room.

Zachkiel sat down next to his father and started eating his toast. The Grand Chancellor seemed to take a sip of his tea before he spoke in a stern and serious tone. "Zachkiel, remember not to mess around in the Zehra residence. Even though my position is as high as the Grand Marshal, and I've held my position far longer than that Zehra boy, remember that the position of the Grand Marshal is a position higher in seniority than mine, so you —" Before he could finish his sentence, his son who was sometimes a bit stubborn cut him off immediately.

"—Okay, okay. I got it. I will be very careful, Father. Everyone also warned me about the same thing."

The Grand Chancellor sighed and returned to his reading. When his son had finished his breakfast and was about to leave, the old man remembered one thing and immediately said, stopping his son. "Son, when did you get married?"

It shocked Zachkiel to the bone. The young man choked on his saliva and almost died from anger. "Akh! I bit my tongue!" he reasoned with something unreasonable and immediately left the house.

Zachkiel will be escorted to the Zehra Residence by his official horse carriage which is waiting in front of the Javaid residence. Inside, there was already a low-rank Investigation Censor from the Empire who would guide him. The two of them rushed straight to Zehra's residence which wasn't that far from here. He got there at less than 7 o'clock, still long before the routine Morning Court at 9 am. That means the Marshal is still at home. Somehow Zachkiel was nervous about that. He straightened his clothes before getting off the horse carriage, cleared his throat softly to match his voice, and prepared his heart.

When he got off the horse carriage, he was greeted by the butler of the Zehra family. It was an old man with a scar extending across his left eye. His body was quite thin and tall, clad in typical servant clothes.

"Welcome to the Zehra residence, Your Majesty. Let me show you the way."

Zachkiel nodded. The large main gate in Zehra's main residence opened wide, revealing half of the front yard of apple trees and a small flower garden with a water fountain in the shape of a warrior standing tall with a jug in the middle. Unexpectedly, everything looked quite simple for the size of a noble's residence of Zehra's class.

Zachkiel's eyes rolled back and forth watching, before he choked on a sight that shocked him so much, that his mouth fell wide open and his eyes widened. It felt like his heart had moved with his stomach.

There on the bank of a small artificial lake next to Zehra's main house building, Zehra's father and daughter combo were seriously bathing a goose.

That's right, 'a goose'.

With a stiff face, The Marshal who was famously stern and cruel was now holding a goose that was trying to peck him, while his daughter, who had recently become a hot topic of discussion in the Capital, was holding a bath sponge and seriously rubbing every feather of the unhinged goose.

Did he not see it wrong?!!

Isn't it said that the father-daughter relationship is not good?!!

Did he really not see it wrong now?!!

Zachkiel stuttered and immediately looked away, pretending that he didn't see anything. Zachkiel immediately met the gaze of the Investigation Censor he had brought with him, who was now wearing the same shocked expression as him. The two looked at each other for a while before deciding to pretend they had never seen those scenes before.

The somewhat bewildering situation was then saved by the butler rushing to meet his master, whispering in the Marshal's ear, before the handsome man seemed to hastily let go of his goose and turned to his two distinguished guests. For some reason both Zachkiel and the Investigation Censor felt that this time they had made a big mistake for no reason.

When the Grand Marshal came to visit the two guests, the Hereditary Princess still seemed reluctant to let go of her unhinged goose. However, she realized that this was not the right time so she reluctantly let go of the goose and went over to her guest. She also somewhat didn't expect that her guest would arrive so early.

Zachkiel cleared his throat. He greeted first even though the host should have done it first. He was so nervous that he was a little flustered. "Good morning, Grand Marshal. Sorry to interrupt at such an early time. I have a search warrant, and intend to inspect your residence according to protocol."

The Marshal, or better known as The God of War, or the Elysian War Horse, nodded in response. He didn't accept Zachkiel's assignment letter, pretending it wasn't that important. Whether during his service or when he was relaxing at home, it seemed that the Marshal did not speak very often.

Patriarch Zehra seemed to brush his slightly damp silver hair back, before saying, "Feel free, Young Master." By saying that, he indirectly invited Zachkiel to carry out his duties. The man then continued, "Sorry for not being able to accompany you. I will first get ready for the Morning Court today."

"Ah, don't bother yourself, Your Majesty." even though Zachkiel was one of the 9 Ministers, his position was still far behind Patriarch Zehra who served as one of the 3 Excellencies. Therefore, according to seniority, Zachkiel should refer to him as 'Your Majesty'.

Sahar August Einri Zehra without many words left the place, while Vaishravana then took over his place as a substitute. The girl smiled elegantly, not many words, just like her father.

Today, she was wearing a simple plain white dress. There weren't any beads, no ornaments, not even a single piece of jewelry on her body. She said, "There is no need to hesitate, Young Master."

"Thank you very much, Princess."

The formalities and small talk will suffice here. Vaishravana immediately withdrew, and guided by the butler, Zachkiel began to search the house. He did it neatly so as not to offend anyone and save his own head from harm. He did it from morning until just before lunchtime.

The Investigation Censor brought by Zachkiel was named Michael Lindor. Even though his position is very low, he is still a Censor who has high authority to conduct investigations, examine an official, and even supervise him. Even though the censors were still under the control of the Minister of the General Inspection Court, their reports did not go through intermediaries and could reach the Emperor's desk directly. Zachkiel who was even one of the 9 Ministers had to pass the Grand Secretary before submitting his report to the Emperor's table.

Therefore, even an Investigating Censor with even the smallest post, would not be treated badly by the high-ranking officials around him.

It was very cold at the beginning of this winter, but Zachkiel was sweating profusely on his military cloak. He was shading in the Marshal's study area, so he was so nervous he was drenched in sweat. However reluctant he was with this task, he still could not leave this task to Michael Lindor. Wrongly, the heads of both of them will be chopped off!

While Zachkiel was examining the pile of books in the room, the sound of the door opening was heard and someone came inside. Zachkiel thought it was Michael Lindor but as soon as he turned he found the Hereditary Princess carrying a glass of hot tea on a metal tray. The girl smiled, elegantly replying to Zachkiel's surprise.

Zachkiel reflexively lowered the books and put his hands in a ready position beside his body. Somehow he doesn't seem to suit this girl.

"Drink first, Young Master. Still warm." Vaishravana placed her tea tray on her father's desk.

"Yes, thank you very much... "

"Are there still many places you haven't checked?"

Zachkiel smiled and shook his head. "No, only this place left."

Vaishravana nodded.

"What's wrong? Is there anything you remember about this investigation?" Zachkiel asked as a mere formality, but he didn't expect that Vaishravana would nod. That's really... So surprising?

"Yes. There is something I remember. And it seems that it will be useful for the investigation this time." Vaishravana spoke as she traced the edge of her father's desk with her fingertips. Her expression was calm and dignified. As if the case she was talking about wasn't her case. From the way she spoke, it seemed that the one who was having trouble in this room was Zachkiel, not her.

"What's that? "

Vaishravana stopped her slight movement suddenly, then raised her gaze and looked Zachkiel straight in the eye. That gaze was so full of confidence that it almost took Zachkiel by surprise. "The oldest passenger ship southwest of the Solace River. Do you know whose it is?"

Zachkiel raised his eyebrows. "Belongs to a businessman in the Capital, I suppose?"

Vaishravana, still looking Zachkiel right in the eye, said, "At the age of 4, I boarded that ship for the first time. On the mast of the bridge, there was a deep sword slash. It caught my attention." Pausing for a moment, Vaishravana took a book and bent down to play with it. She continued, "Then when I was 12 years old, I joined the Omega Camp in Livia Border to oversee the passage of the Livia Armored Cavalry's Rations, carrying out inspections from the Drakon Barn in Livia all the way to the Capital. Before arriving at the Capital, from Valdis, we boarded the same ship, and I saw the same mark on the mast of the bridge. Out of curiosity, I looked it up." Vaishravana stopped playing with the book and once again looked Zachkiel straight in the eye. "That ship belonged to the Demitasse noble family who controlled the city of Valdis. Dukedom Demitasse then collapsed in 746."

Zachkiel nodded at that part. "I know about that too. Does the matter this time have anything to do with Duke Demitasse?"

Vaishravana snaps her fingers. "The entire Demitasse family was turned into slaves and being sold, then all of their assets were frozen and withdrawn under the Ministry of Revenue. Strangely, a while ago when I was on my way from Livia to the Capital, I boarded a ship that looked different, but had slash marks on the same bridge mast as the old ship belonging to the Demitasse family. Isn't that strange? Haven't all the assets of the family been withdrawn? Even if it's true that the ship was made a state-owned ship and is still operating, why should they change the appearance of the ship in such a way?"

From this, Zachkiel started to have a bad feeling. As Vaishravana continued her conversation as if she didn't notice the strange expression on Zachkiel's face, it became increasingly clear where this conversation was headed.

"Young Master, you mayn't remember, but we went to the same school. At that time I was about 5 years old when you were in the last period of your elementary academy at the age of 12. At that time, you were a naive young man who said that your father owned the largest and only passenger ship southwest of the Solace river in Valdis. After hearing this, I asked the Former Marshal if the ship belonged to the Javaid family, and at that time the former Marshal dismissed the news vehemently and said that the ship belonged to the Demitasse family. Then yesterday, there was a face among the Regalia Guards who was quite familiar. I'm sure I've met him while inspecting the Livia Armored Cavalry's ration path. That face closely resembled the arrogant Young Master in the Demitasse family residence many years ago. Now when I think back on it, I come to understand one thing. " Vaishravana's smile is very deep and full of meaning when she says everything she says.

Zachkiel could only swallow his saliva hard. His adam's apple heaved in nervousness. No need for further explanation, damn it, Vaishravana already knew everything his family had been keeping tightly hidden for a dozen years, just by using her super childhood memories. This girl is clearly very odd. She could remember such trivial details at the age of 4, absolutely ridiculous and beyond reason.

Obviously, Vaishravana had investigated it this far. There must be a reason why she would prefer to say everything in front of Zachkiel in person rather than say it in front of a judge nor even a censor. Zachkiel, amid his crushing defeat, asked, "What do you want?"

Vaishravana replied casually, "Let's have mutually beneficial dealings."

Zachkiel was a bit surprised. This is a bit beyond his calculations. "You want to party with me?"

"Yes. I am new to the Capital. Apart from my father's seat, nothing else can guarantee me here."

Zachkiel still looked a bit disbelieving, so Vaishravana said again, "Also, I ask you to tell me the name of the current owner of the ship."

Ah, gosh-darn it, she knows that far?!

What an 'eye in the sky'!!