Leaving the Inn

Fredrinn was awakened by the commotion and when he saw Cain dragging a headless corpse, he almost freaked out. "What happened here?!" 

Cain dropped the corpse and lightly bowed his head before he explained the whole situation. 

"You mean that guy is an assassin?" Fredrinn felt his heart leaping out of his chest. He was lucky that he had Cain or he would have been dead by now. 

"Search his belongings and see if you can find something that can tell us about his identity. I'll go and ask Sir Tyrell if he knows something about this man." 

"Yes, my lord." 

Fredrinn immediately went to find Tyrell and told him about what had transpired.

"What did you say, my lord?!" Tyrell was in disbelief. One of his men actually tried to assassinate the only heir of the Firecrown Household! If this was reported to the elders, he would be severely punished. 

"Sir Tyrell, I want you to summon your men and have them gather outside the inn," Fredrinn muttered in a cold voice. He couldn't rule out the possibility that there might be one or two more assassins among the bodyguards. He wanted to question them one by one.

Tyrell had a serious look on his face. This matter needs to be dealt with properly. "My lord, I suggest that you calm down first. I understand your frustration, but it is too risky to alert everyone about the situation. If there is still another assassin hidden among them, they would be more vigilant if they learned about the incident. We must keep this under wraps and come up with a plan to lure them out."

Fredrinn rubbed his temples and sighed. "I'm sorry. I was too agitated. You're right, Sir Tyrell, but how can we hide the death of that assassin?" 

Tyrell furrowed his eyebrows and pondered deeply before he responded. "Leave it to me to deal with, my lord. I promise that no one will know about this." 

Looking at his stern face, Fredrinn nodded. "Alright. I will leave it to you, Sir Tyrell." 

After Tyrell left, Fredrinn hurriedly went to his mother's room. 

"Mother, it's me." 

"Olivia, are you there?"

He had a worried look as he knocked on the door.

"My lord, what is going on?" A sleepy voice echoed from inside the room.

Fredrinn was relieved to hear her voice. That means nothing happened to them. 

Soon, the door was opened by Margaret. "What happened, son?" 

Fredrinn didn't want them to worry so he shook his head and forced a smile. "Nothing. I just want to make sure that you guys are safe. I'll go back and patrol outside." He waved his hand and left in a hurry. 

"Hey, wait!" Margaret called out to him, but Fredrinn didn't look back. She shook her head and smiled bitterly. "I thought something happened." 

Meanwhile, Fredrinn returned to his room. "Deal with the body quietly and don't let anyone find out about this."

"Yes, my lord." 

Fredrinn no longer had the mood to rest after the incident. He ended up spending the entire night drinking to ease his anxiety. 

Nothing unexpected happened the entire night and the Blackcrow Household didn't attack them. After he failed to find anything from the body, Cain buried the corpse. 

The disappearance of one bodyguard didn't alert the group. This was because Tyrell told everyone that he sent the bodyguard to covertly observe the Blackcrow Household's territory. Surprisingly, everyone believed his words. 

Before they left the inn, Fredrinn asked the old innkeeper to send a letter to Thurman. "Please pass this letter to Sir Thurman." 

The old innkeeper only accepted the letter when Fredrinn handed him another sack filled with coins. "You can rest assured, my lord! I will deliver this letter to him without delay." 

Fredrinn had an exasperated look on his face when he left the inn. 'That greedy old bastard…' 

"What's wrong? Why do you look like that?" Margaret asked when she saw his expression.

"It's nothing, mother." Fredrinn forced out a smile. 

"Is that so? Then let's return to the estate." 

"Mother, there is somewhere I need to go before I return to the estate so I can't leave with you guys." Fredrinn wanted to visit Alice and check on her mother's condition. He still had thoughts about recruiting her so it was necessary to maintain contact. 

"Must you go?" Margaret was worried when she heard that. 

Fredrinn nodded. "It is very important. I need to go there." 

Margaret sighed and it took a long time before she gave her permission. "Fine, but you must bring some guards with you." 

"There's no need, mother. Cain is more than enough. I believe you've heard of his strength." Fredrinn turned his gaze to Cain when he said this. 

Margaret didn't insist. She also heard about Cain's strength during the meeting of the elders. "It seems like my worries are unnecessary. You have found a good subordinate, my son. In that case, I won't say anything more."  

She then looked at Cain and muttered. "Sir Cain, please bring him back to the estate unharmed." 

Cain nodded without saying a word. 

Tyrell frowned when he saw his lack of courtesy, but he didn't say anything when he noticed that Margaret didn't mind. 

Fredrinn grabbed Tyrell's arm and patted his shoulder. "Sir Tyrell, please protect my mother." 

"You can rest assured, my lord. I won't let anything happen to the madam. I will protect her with my life!" Tyrell was one of the most senior subordinates of the Firecrown Household so his loyalty was unquestionable.

Fredrinn smiled upon hearing his words. He bid farewell to his mother before he left with Olivia and Cain.

"My lord, where are we headed to?" Olivia asked curiously. 

"Do you remember Alice?"

"Yes, my lord. Are we going to the hospital to check on their situation?" 

"That's right." 

***

Meanwhile, Thurman was awoken by the loud knocking on his door. "Who the f*ck is disturbing me this early in the bloody morning?!" 

"It's me, you goddam bastard!" An old voice drifted into his ears.

"Boss!?" Thurman rose to his feet and quickly opened the door. 

As soon as he opened the door, he saw the old innkeeper looking at him with an annoyed expression. "Boss, what brings you here?" Thurman forced out a smile.

The old innkeeper glared at him and tossed the letter that Fredrinn asked him to deliver. 

"What's this?" Thurman was taken aback. 

"Read it and you will know." The old man muttered before he left.