Chapter 014: Interrogation

In the attic of the large mansion where Du Fan was located, in Odinburg.
At this moment, Du Fan was furious at Eadlyn: “Is this all the skill of your Divine Might Prison? You can’t even figure out what’s going on? Look outside—everything is lit up and noisy. It’s obvious that two top fighters are fighting, yet you claim you don’t know what’s happening?”
Eadlyn looked panicked, kneeling on one knee, and said in a solemn voice, “Lord Warden, this is Odinburg, not our territory. Although we also want to understand what’s happening, as soon as our people approached, they were called back by the people of the Lanny Empire… After all, the situation is different now. Please understand, Lord Warden!”
“Understand? Understand? If I understand you, who will understand me!?” Du Fan was enraged. He threw the teacup in his hand at Eadlyn before continuing, “Investigate! Go investigate again! If those useless idiots can’t figure it out, have those elders go themselves! You really are careless. Do you still need me to teach you such a simple thing?”
“Yes, I’ll handle it right away!” Eadlyn nodded hurriedly and prepared to leave.
“Wait.” Du Fan thought for a moment before asking, “Is there any movement from Randy and Christopher?”
Eadlyn shook her head. “No… We have people watching Master Randy and Count Christopher. They’ve been in their rooms all night.”
Du Fan sneered inwardly, but his expression relaxed slightly. “Keep a close eye on them. If anything happens, come see me with your head in your hands! Also, send someone to Leoport to find out what’s going on. Even if you can’t figure it out, I don’t believe that little fox won’t know what’s happening!”
Eadlyn nodded quickly, leaving even faster this time.
Only after she left did Du Fan’s expression relax a bit. He sighed bitterly and murmured, “I’m exhausted. Why isn’t there anything easy about this?”
As he spoke, Margaret’s tall figure emerged from behind the screen. She glanced at Du Fan disdainfully and said calmly, “Although I know you’re one of the wardens of the Divine Might Prison, I didn’t expect your methods to be so poor… It’s good you’re in Gavin’s jurisdiction. If you were in the Holy Capital, you’d already be hated by so many by now.”

Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Lady Margaret, you don’t understand this! Since that Randy said he had planted nails around me, who’s to say that guy just now wasn’t one of them… If I show some anger, just to make a show, does that mean I’m really upset? I’m simply expressing my attitude—that I’m baffled by what happened tonight, which makes me angry… In that way, even if Garfield suspects something, he won’t suspect me right away. Then, no matter what scheme he and Randy have, they won’t be able to carry it out so quickly… This gives me more time to prepare and the energy to have a good fight with them.”

Margaret replied coldly, “If you want to pretend you don’t know, isn’t it better if you just don’t do anything at all? Isn’t this just trying to deceive yourself?”

Du Fan smiled and said, “You’re wrong. It’s precisely because of my personality—that I act recklessly—that I got angry today… If my actions were too normal, wouldn’t that mean I’m hiding something? By acting like this, even if they want to suspect me, they’ll have to think twice. And that little time for them to think… is enough for me…”

“Enough,” Du Fan changed the subject. “Let’s stop talking nonsense for now… Dear Miss Margaret, I think there are still many issues between us that need to be clarified, don’t you agree? For example, why did you happen to appear at this time, and why did you happen to know that Garfield and Randy were planning to discuss how to deal with me tonight? I think you can give me a satisfactory answer to these questions, right?”

Margaret looked at Du Fan strangely and said after a moment, “Why do you think I’d tell you these things?”

Du Fan laughed heartily and said, “Not for any other reason, but because you’re still in my room right now. I think, given your personality, if you hadn’t unfinished business, you wouldn’t have stayed… So, Miss Margaret, I think we’ve both gone through life and death—once you tried to kill me, and once I almost died at your hands… But to be honest, because of you, I’ve gotten a lot of information, so I’m not angry at all. I just need you to tell me… why!?”

“You… you’re quite shrewd…” Margaret suddenly laughed. She studied Du Fan’s eyes carefully before saying indifferently after a moment, “Didn’t you send someone to use the secret channels of my Holy Church to send a distress signal earlier? That old Anthony probably couldn’t spare many people, so he turned to the Holy Capital for help. Since they were afraid it might be too late to send anyone, they informed me… And I happened to be hiding near Garfield, investigating some matters. So after receiving your signal, I just came by to take a look—that’s all…”
“That’s all? Then why do you know so much?”
“It’s simple,” Margaret smiled. “Because I’ve been hiding near him for three years. Three years may not be long, but it’s certainly enough… to get to know a person.”
“You make a good point,” Du Fan said, rubbing his nose. “In that case, it does seem really simple… But why do you want to investigate him? For those vampires?”
Margaret gave Du Fan a strange look and asked, “Do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know?”
“What do you mean, really or pretending?”
Margaret sighed and said indifferently, “It seems that old Anthony really didn’t tell you about the Day of Agreement… He’s quite clever, thinking he can handle things there with someone who knows nothing… Hmph, the Gavin Diocese truly has no one left!”
“What is the Day of Agreement?”
Margaret frowned and said, “Well, since Anthony hasn’t told you, then as someone in my position, I’m not qualified to tell you either… But I can tell you this: the vampires around Garfield are just one of his strengths. The forces behind him are far too complex—there’s more than just the Lannier Royal Family… The little tricks you and that Leoport tried together mean nothing to him… So my advice to you is to leave quickly before he makes up his mind… I’ve done all this tonight just to tell you that with your little wits, you won’t gain any advantage here!”
Without waiting for Du Fan to say anything else, Margaret snorted, dashed out of the window like lightning, and disappeared into the night sky.

In the room, only Du Fan was left sitting there. He frowned and couldn’t help but sigh, saying, “It seems… this time the trouble is serious. It looks like I have to ask Chenchen for help… Otherwise, my life might really be lost here!”
As he spoke, he gently removed a ring from his finger and tossed it aside. With a “ding” sound, the ring instantly shattered into pieces…
The next day, Du Fan woke up late. After getting up, someone came to inform him that Leopold had been waiting for him all morning. Since he heard Du Fan hadn’t gotten up yet, he didn’t disturb him and just waited outside.
Du Fan simply nodded casually upon hearing this and delayed a while before heading to the lobby.
In the lobby, Leopold looked somewhat restless. When he saw Du Fan coming out, he hurried over, smiled slightly, and said, “My Lord Duke, did you rest well last night?”
Du Fan smiled slightly and replied, “I did, but in the middle of the night…”
At that point, Du Fan just smiled at Leopold.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Leopold wore a strange smile. He smiled first and said, “My Lord Duke, could you ask your attendants to leave?”
After Du Fan signaled for his servants to leave, Leopold laughed heartily and said, “My Lord Duke, speaking of last night’s events, there’s good news! Good news! I originally wanted to tell you in the middle of the night, but I was afraid my elder brother would have an excuse to claim otherwise, so I waited until now…”
“What exactly is it?” Du Fan asked with a smile.
Leopold showed a hint of a smile and snorted, saying, “Last night, I received news that my elder brother was attacked. Dozens of his experts were killed, and the assassin got away… This is excellent news! That assassin is really incompetent—why didn’t he take his life too? Hmph…”
At that moment, Leopold suddenly glanced at Du Fan and said, “My Lord Duke… Could that assassin be you…”
Du Fan quickly waved his hand and said, “Your Highness, things can be eaten carelessly, but words must never be spoken rashly… I’m also completely confused about last night’s events. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have sent someone to ask you in the middle of the night.”