Mercenary Wars

Chapter 267 The Royal Family of Sain
After consulting with Professor Francis, Gaucano went to the library and borrowed several reference books, including "The Journal of Abundance".

As Professor Francis stated, the Journal of Abundance was an internal study resource of the Breadth Institute.

A large portion of the text explains how to cast the Rainfall spell, and also mentions several related magic circles that can either enhance the spell's effectiveness or reduce its difficulty—exactly what Gaucano needs right now.

With the help of this book and Professor Francis's guidance, Gaucano believed that he would soon master advanced descent techniques.

It was already night when I left the library.

Gao Jiano went straight out of the campus, intending to go home.

However, halfway there, he suddenly frowned and paused.

But then he suddenly realized that Raoul was following him.

Not long ago, Raoul "secretly" marked him with the hunter's mark. He didn't remove it, but left it on, wanting to see what the other party was really up to.

At the academy, Raoul took no action whatsoever.

Now that he's out of the academy, this guy finally couldn't hold back any longer.

After a moment's thought, Gao Jiano changed his route and headed towards a secluded spot nearby.

Before long, as Raoul turned into a small alley, he immediately removed the hunter's mark from his body.

Raoul's Hunter's Mark is level eight. At level seven, it would normally be difficult for him to dispel it on his own, but with the Eye Demon's blessing, his spellcasting level is also level eight, so it's not difficult for him to do so.

As soon as the spell was dispelled, Raoul's movements immediately stopped, and after a brief hesitation, he hurriedly arrived.

Gaucano found a high corner to hide in, waiting patiently for Raoul to come to him. His eyesight pierced through the darkness, staring intently at the alley not far away.

Soon, two figures came into his view.

Gaucano frowned.

Two people?
One of the two was naturally Raoul.

As for the other person, Gao Jiano initially thought he was also one of Christine's sycophants, but upon closer inspection, he realized that this was not the case.

Moreover, this person was probably not even a student of the magic academy. He was thin and agile, and dressed in a dark bodysuit, making him look more like a thief.

Could this be an assassin hired by Raoul?
Not so much...

However, after seeing the thieves around Raoul, Gaugano had no choice but to abandon his original plan.

He had originally planned to teach Raoul a lesson under the cover of darkness, figuring Raoul wouldn't dare complain to anyone.

Now there's another thief, and he's also level eight. If a fight breaks out, it will be difficult to end the conflict regardless of who wins or loses—after all, this is inside the city.

When Raoul arrived, he used the Light spell to look left and right, but couldn't see a single person. He could only sigh in frustration.

In contrast, the thief beside him was much calmer. He looked around and said, "There's nothing around here that can block magic. It seems he must have discovered and dispelled your mark."

Raoul frowned: "That shouldn't be the case."

"how?"

Raoul: "He hadn't noticed my mark before, so how come he suddenly noticed it now?"

The thief pondered, "It's possible that he already discovered the mark and just wanted to see what you were up to. Now he's just realizing that you're following him."

"What...what should I do?"

The air was briefly still.

Until the thief said, "Let's go back first."

With that, he turned and left.

Raoul sighed and followed him away.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Gao Jiano, hiding in the shadows, pondered for a moment, feeling that something was amiss.

His identity as a thief, in particular, made him increasingly suspicious.

In a brief observation, he confirmed that the thief was not a thug—his speech and behavior showed no signs of being a servant, a laborer, or someone covering for a friend. After much thought, Gao Jiano felt that their relationship might be…colleagues?
This is even stranger.

Driven by this doubt, Gaucano finally decided to take the initiative and secretly followed the two.

Some time later, the two arrived at King's Road, rented a carriage, and headed straight north.

Gaucano also rented a carriage. Although it was night, King's Road, as the most important thoroughfare in Ax, still made it easy to find a carriage.

"Where are you going?" the driver asked.

Gaucano sensed the hunter's mark on Raoul and pondered, "Hmm... Let's head north along King's Road first. I'll remind you when we need to turn."

"Alright!" the coachman replied, and the strong magical beast horses pulled the carriage at breakneck speed along the King's Road.

About ten minutes later.

The driver asked, "Aren't we at the bend yet?"

"...Not yet." Gaucano's tone was a little guilty, because they were almost at the North Gate, and Raoul and the other man hadn't turned or stopped yet, but were continuing north along the King's Road.

A little while later...

Raoul and his companion finally stopped.

"Stop," Gao Jiano quickly said to the driver.

Which way to turn?

"Let's do it this time."

"Why didn't you just say you wanted to come to the courthouse earlier?!" the coachman couldn't help but complain.

Gaucano paid the money, got off the carriage, and looked around.

The courthouse is nearby.

Raoul and his companion were standing a few hundred meters to his northwest in the royal palace.

Yes, the royal palace.

Watching the two walk into the magnificent palace, Gaucano was filled with disbelief and even greater doubt.

He really wanted to go inside and find out what was going on.

But obviously, the palace was heavily guarded, and he couldn't possibly sneak in.

Forget about sneaking in; the hunter's mark didn't even react the moment Raoul stepped through the palace gates, clearly blocked by the barrier.

Gazing at the tranquil palace in the distance, Gaucano remained silent for a long time.

He didn't know Raoul's or the thief's true identities.

But it is obvious that this is not a simple case of jealousy and rivalry; it may involve some unknown secrets.

Of course, this has nothing to do with him, since he has no connection with the royal family of Sain.

The problem definitely lies with Christine.

Therefore, after that, every time he met Christine, Gaucano would often inquire about the royal family, intentionally or unintentionally.

Unfortunately, no interesting information was found out.

I've heard quite a bit of gossip.

For example, during the conversation that day, Christine lowered her voice and said, "Prince Joffrey likes men, many people have told me that, but I always feel that it's not quite true, after all, it is well known that he is very devout... You must not go around telling everyone about this!"

Gaucano nodded. For devout Mosas, homosexuality is absolutely one of the most serious accusations.

The two chatted about gossip for a while until he changed the subject: "By the way, have you bought Princess Sarah's land in the County of Lorraine?"

(End of this chapter)