YM778.TV Chapter 60 Aftermath
When the assassination attempt on Ethan took place, Albaer was in the Whitekeep Castle which was located on top of a hill at the northern-northwest part of Adenberd.
He was in the great hall that served as his office checking up on the preparations of Ethan\'s \'seventh birthday\'s banquet\'.
Although it was called for Ethan\'s birthday, its real purpose was to announce his and Anicia\'s engagement to the noble society as well as officially reveal that Ethan had survived his early ancestral awakening.
There was also the thing called Dune of Destiny Reading that would be performed on Ethan in front of everyone.
"Your Grace, the harvest has been lessening for a few years." A middle-aged man with a curved mustache, black hair, and an intelligent look spoke bowing in front of Albaer.
"I am well aware, how much do we have in reserves?" Albaer inquired, squinting his eyes.
"Your Grace, we only have one year\'s worth of food stored as of now. We don\'t know if the monsoon this year will be sufficient or not. And then there\'s the concerning report from the capital…"
The middle-aged man called Nevan Armford, one of White Family\'s trusted officials—raised his concerns.
"What? Do you really believe that?" Albaer asked in surprise.
"... The Tower of Tellers has issued a prediction foretelling of the arrival of harsh times in the coming years. We have been seeing less and less rain as the years go by as well. Your Grace, we should be prepared just in case." Nevan suggested.
"Nevan, are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?" Albaer asked, raising his brows.
"Forgive me, but that is correct. I understand that the banquet for Young Master Ethan is a massive event for us which most of the high society will attend. But this time we should be modest-" Nevan spoke apologetically.
"Never! This will be the first step to paving the path for Ethan\'s future. We must make a good impression. Not only that but he will also be getting engaged! How can we be modest?!" Albaer exclaimed stubbornly in denial.
Nevan sighed in resignation as he thought inwardly, \'His Grace is truly stubborn when it comes to The White Family. I have no choice but to secretly save as many expenses as possible.\'
"I underst-" Nevan blurted but was interrupted as a loud resounding booming sound rang from outside.
"BOOM!"
"BASH!"
Both Nevan and Albaer jolted in shock, just as they were about to check what was going on, the doors of the great hall opened as a man in a black cloak with his face covered under a hood walked in.
"Your Grace! Terrible news! Assassination Attempt on Master Ethan!" The man informed in brief words.
"What?!" Albaer abruptly stood up as he heard the man speak. Nevan\'s eyes widened with shock and concern as well.
"Is he safe? Let\'s go now!" Albaer asked as he immediately moved to leave the Castle, he seemed rather calm but with a hint of a sharp edge in his demeanor.
"He is safe, but there have been some casualties!" The man in black answered calmly.
"First of all, close down the entire city. No one should enter or leave. Not even an ant." Albaer continued with a flurry of instructions back to back as he left the great hall, his voice gradually fading into the distance.
The City Watch, Knights, and Soldiers, moved out shortly after Albaer was informed of the attempt on Ethan\'s life.
Throughout the city, only the noise of neighing and tapping of horses echoed as the streets were sealed off. The city gates closed and the misty barrier activated as a thorough search of the entire city was promptly conducted to find any potential hidden radicals as well as the missing archer.
Meanwhile, Ethan was escorted back to the mansion along with Earlene and Anicia while the only captured assassin was escorted to the dungeon—where he would no doubt, have experiences that were worse than death.
When Aisha and Naenna found out about the incident after Ethan returned to the mansion, both of them would not leave him alone even for a second.
Aisha checked Ethan\'s entire body multiple times for the smallest of wounds he might have suffered but found nothing, but she still wasn\'t satisfied. In the end, Old Lady Catelyn had to intervene and Ethan finally got a break as he went back to his room for rest.
A few hours passed but despite sealing, and a completely thorough search of the city, the mysterious archer was not found.
In the dungeon below the Whitekeep Castle—the atmosphere was tense, gloomy, and dark as in a compact cell; the captured assassin was shackled by spiked chains.
"Who commissioned you?" Albaer asked calmly as he picked up a sharp, glistening knife from Albert\'s hand.
The Assassin wriggled violently in place seeing the knife in Albaer\'s hand as the chains that held him clanked loudly.
"AHHH!" The assassin shrieked in pain as due to his rapid movement, the spikes on the chains dug deeper into his body carving up wounds from which streams of blood flowed out the more he wriggled about.
"Tell me, who ordered it? If you tell me… I Will grant you a painless death." Albaer muttered, steadily moving the knife closer and closer to the assassin.
The poor man was in so much pain that he couldn\'t even utter a single word as he simply groaned in pain.
Albaer knitted his brows in annoyance as he moved the knife toward the man\'s bare chest. The man watched in absolute horror gritting his teeth as the knife slowly approached.
Suddenly an excruciating wave of sharp pain registered in his mind as Albaer lightly began scraping the knife over the man\'s chest peeling off the skin of him as more and more blood rushed out while the red flesh and tissues beneath his skin became visible.
"AHHHHH! AHHHH! AGHHH! NOO!!! NO!! I DON\'T KNOW!" The man screamed in horrific agony as tears of blood spilled out from his eyes.
The pain of his skin getting peeled off was making him wriggle around violently which brought on even more pain from the spiked chains around his arms and legs.
The scene was gruesome but Albaer was increasingly becoming angrier and angrier instead.
With speedy hand movement, in a blink of an eye, Albaer sliced the man\'s one of the fingers like tofu as it dropped on the floor spraying out a fountain of blood.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" The assassin cried out in agony as the veins in his eyes bulged from the sensory overload.
Albaer clicked his tongue and turned back in revulsion as he handed the knife back to Albert, "I want the name out of this man\'s mouth at any cost! You know what to do." He proceeded to say and moved ahead to leave for the dungeon.
Albert bowed toward Albaer\'s back and then turned to look at the chain-bound assassin who was screaming and wailing in excruciating, agonizing pain.
Albert\'s eyes narrowed as he looked at the poor man, raising the knife slowly he muttered, "Well then…"
Shortly after, soul-shuddering shrieks and screams rang out from the dungeon.