Exposure  

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

The people in the lord's hall were still present, but the position where Paul had originally sat was now occupied by the acting lord, Julian. He held a quill in hand, quickly writing a letter on paper, not in a hurry to express his opinions but rather taking his time to consider the specifics of the message. Whenever others presented their viewpoints, he would nod in agreement, showing a humble demeanor.

Old Ford, the head of the administrative council, was examining a letter that the acting lord had just written, carefully pondering each word to see if it was appropriate.

At that moment, a person quietly entered the hall—Philip, the butler, who had earlier left in a rather dejected manner.

The old butler approached the head of the administrative council. Sensing someone coming near, Ford turned to look at Philip.

Earlier, when the old butler had left, Ford was aware and had wanted to leave his seat to comfort his longtime friend, but he had more important matters to attend to, so he had to set those feelings aside.

Now, seeing him return, he gently asked, "Oh, Philip, is there something you need?"

"Sir," Philip replied quietly but openly, as if afraid to disturb anyone else, "I was just in Master Paul's study sorting through his belongings, and there's a confidential safe there with a code known only to you and him. I'd like to ask you to come over. I think we should clear the room for the new lord as soon as possible."

"Oh, that safe," Old Ford blinked. "Actually, there's nothing much in it, just some financial reports. I'll go up and retrieve them for Lord Julian to review."

"Colleagues, Lord Julian, I'll excuse myself for a moment." With that, he stood up.

"Please do," Julian, seated beside Old Ford, listened intently to their conversation without any suspicion.

Among those present, only the lord's secretary, Bernard, showed a slight moment of surprise, but his expression quickly returned to calm, unnoticed by others.

Old Ford followed Philip upstairs. They walked in silence and entered Paul's office.

As soon as Ford stepped inside, Philip closed the door behind them.

"What's going on?" Ford asked impatiently.

He had no idea about the code to the lord's office safe, and Philip knew he didn't know. Although he had been puzzled by Philip's earlier words, Ford's mind was quicker than his facial expressions, so he managed to keep his emotions in check.

"Beluga is the traitor hiding in Alden Town!"

Philip said, delivering shocking news that left Ford stunned.

"W-Why do you say that?"

Ford shook his beard, even though he had suspected it.

Philip handed him a small note. "Lady Ladia's pet parrot brought back a letter personally written by Lord Grayman, stating that the Walter family, from which Beluga hails, participated in the attack against him."

Upon hearing about Paul, Ford's eyes widened as he grabbed Philip's collar. "What about Lord Grayman?"

"Lord Grayman is still struggling under the protection of the guards, but that parrot has already delivered his plea for help to the Eighth Infantry Regiment, the closest to him." Philip said this with concern, though he no longer looked as pale as before.

"So that means Lord Grayman might still be alive?" Old Ford's heart, once heavy with despair, began to leap again.

"Yes, there's definitely a possibility!" Philip replied with newfound determination.

"Wait, you said a parrot?"

"It's right over there!" Philip pointed to the south side of the room.

Ford turned to look and indeed saw the parrot belonging to Supervisor Setia, which he had often seen Lady Ladia play with during her leisure time.

Ford immediately read the note that Philip had handed him.

"Good! Good!"

Ford's wrinkled face twisted in anger as a complete conspiracy began to form in his mind.

First, they had worked hard to lure the lord away from his stronghold, separating him from his subjects, and then seized the opportunity to ambush him outside. They had also taken advantage of their position to control the militia that had come for training, spreading rumors that the lord had died from betrayal, creating the illusion of foreign invasion (which could also be real), while disguising themselves as loyalists, forcing the already beleaguered ministers to recognize their new lord. And just at this time, the garrison in Alden Town was absent—what a heavenly opportunity!

With a clap, Ford slammed the note down on the table.

"Immediate action is necessary; we must not let these traitors succeed. Philip, how many guards are left in the lord's manor?"

"There are still over thirty in the castle."

Philip thought for a moment, stroking his beard. "Thirty should be enough. Get a few skilled ones and come back to the hall with me. We'll first apprehend this Beluga. Given his performance since last night, he is the leader of the rebel group hiding in Alden Town."

Philip asked, "What if his accomplices try to rescue him? Or, in another scenario… what if they've gone crazy and no longer care for his life? They currently have nearly two thousand militia at their disposal."

"This…" Ford paused at the question, regaining his composure.

…

In the hall.

"What did you say?" Beluga almost shouted, though he managed to hold back, revealing a moment of distress.

A confidant had just rushed into the lord's manor and whispered a few words to him.

But those few words were undoubtedly a thunderclap for Beluga.

A military force had appeared outside Alden Town, and it was at least a battalion strong.

Even more terrifying was that this force had muskets and cannons—there was no doubt they were regular troops from Arda, as they were flying the flags of the Arda army and Schroder.

However… however… the four infantry regiments in Alden should have run far away by now. Even if they received the news and hurried back to Alden Town, it was absolutely impossible for them to arrive this quickly.

Where had this military force come from? Beluga couldn't figure it out.

Schroder! Beluga never expected that this chief of staff, who had fled overnight, would ultimately bring him a huge mess.

He needed to immediately organize a defense, Beluga concluded.

And he had to go personally; otherwise, given the nature of those militias, seeing Chief of Staff Schroder might just send them running to the other side—many of them had met the chief of staff before.

(End of the Chapter)

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