The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Chapter 280: Chapter 253: Using Some Means to Find Shire

Several days ago, Vivian had learned of her brother’s whereabouts through a Divination performed by the Great Mage Affif. She also discovered that he had received a Divine Being’s blessing. Although a Mysterious Power was preventing her from confirming Shire’s exact location, the prophecy of his safety, thanks to the blessing, put her mind at ease for the time being.

She even suspected that the Mysterious Power might belong to a Divine Being, though she didn’t know which of the Four Gods it could be. Perhaps it was the God of Night and Destiny; after all, her family were followers of the God of Destiny.

Reassured, Vivian decided to stay in Plantagenet City a while longer. She planned to consult the Arcane Grandmaster Affif about Arcane Magic, and also to visit her father’s grave and find out who had been leaving flowers for him.

The first time she had visited the cemetery behind the Cathedral, she found a bouquet of white flowers before her father’s tombstone. There was no name with the flowers, but after observing for several days, Vivian had identified the person leaving them—Arsene Lefevre, the second son of Duke Lefevre.

Duke Lefevre was a renowned figure. His family’s Sword-Eagle sigil had followed the Plantagenet Clan to victory in the founding war 500 years ago. Since then, the Lefevre Clan had held the hereditary title of Duke and become the most steadfast supporters of the Plantagenet Royal Family.

But for the second son of a family supporting the Royal Family to be secretly leaving flowers for a Baron convicted of treason struck Vivian as very strange. ’Isn’t he afraid someone will report him?’

After looking into it further, Vivian figured that this young master Arsene probably wasn’t afraid of being reported. For one, his family was so illustrious that few would dare to cause trouble for him. Besides, he held no official position. He spent his days loitering on Perfume Lily Avenue or riding horses at his family’s manor, unwilling even to go hunting in the wild. His reputation as a prankster was more famous than his family name; he frequently did things like sabotaging other nobles’ carriages to humiliate them or maliciously damaging City Hall equipment to make officials look foolish. This had earned him a rather well-known private nickname: "the Eagle Clan’s Dolt."

However, Vivian had heard of this man before from her brother, both in his letters and in conversation. When Shire was studying in Plantagenet City, the two had become very close friends. In Shire’s own words, they were the kind of friends who could lie around together and curse the headmaster of their grammar school for being an inhuman bastard.

So, after learning he was the one leaving the white bouquets, Vivian relaxed a little. She tailed him to see what he would do, but unfortunately, after several days of observation, he had done only one thing besides frequenting Perfume Lily Avenue: meet with a bookseller.

’He doesn’t seem to be part of any conspiracy,’ Vivian thought, standing on a rooftop and gazing at the buildings in the distance. ’He just looks like another idle duke’s son, living a purposeless life.’

’But to be able to leave flowers for Father so often, without fear of the Public Security Bureau or the Bounty Hunters... he must be my brother’s dearest friend.’

Considering Duke Lefevre’s current position as the Deputy Minister of Administration, one of the Fran Kingdom’s top political officials, his son’s actions would surely bring him embarrassment and fear. But Arsene still did as he pleased, which brought a trace of warmth to Vivian’s heart. ’There are still people who care about us.’

Vivian was now very careful when visiting the cemetery, deliberately using an Invisibility Technique Magic Scroll. She did this not only to guard against the prying eyes of Bounty Hunters but also to avoid the notice of the Night and Destiny God Church. Although Archbishop Konrad had said what he did to her, she was no longer the naive, innocent noble girl she once was. She knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. The Church surely wanted something in return; she just didn’t know what it was yet.

’I wonder how brother is doing, and when Uncle Musa will be able to find him.’ Vivian pulled her hood back up and checked the situation below. Seeing few pedestrians, she softly recited a Spell. Then, controlling the wind and air currents, she floated gently down to the ground.

She tugged at her Cloak, took a few quick steps, rounded a corner, and disappeared into the crowd of pedestrians.

* * *

In a secret chamber inside the Cathedral of the God of Night and Destiny, Archbishop Konrad sat at a large desk, frowning at the slip of paper in his hand.

"What do you mean, you can’t sense Shire’s location?" he said, putting down the paper and looking up at the Church member standing respectfully before his desk.

"Er," the Church member hesitated before saying, "I-I don’t know. This was the response our follower brought back."

"Is that what that old coot Affif said?" Archbishop Konrad demanded, his hands gripping the edge of the desk and his tone stern. "Was there no other information?"

The Church member fidgeted. "I asked carefully. This slip of paper was truly all they gave me."

"Nonsense!" Archbishop Konrad slammed his hand on the desk. "And he calls himself an Arcane Grandmaster! He can’t even perform a simple Divination. What is the Church supposed to do now?"

"Perhaps... we could try finding another Arcane Mage?" the Church member ventured.

"No need," Archbishop Konrad said, waving his hand dismissively. "If even Affif can’t do it, it’s unlikely anyone else will make any progress."

He clasped his hands together on the desk, his fingers clenched tight. "The God War is about to begin, yet our Divine Chosen One has vanished. This will cause our Main God to lose the initiative. We must find another way."

"Lord Bishop, perhaps His Eminence the Cardinal could use his Ability..." the Church member asked tentatively, bowing and making a gesture.

"Have His Eminence pray directly to the Main God?" Archbishop Konrad looked up slightly, his eyes sweeping over the man as he voiced the words the other hadn’t dared to say. "That method can only be used when all others have failed. You know that every time he directly petitions the Main God, His Eminence’s body suffers irreparable damage."

"Yes, yes, of course," the Church member said, nodding and bowing profusely. His expression was as if he’d just eaten a bitter melon.

"I know finding Shire Merlot is difficult," Archbishop Konrad said, his body relaxing and his tone softening. "But he is our Divine Chosen One. All the upper echelons of the Destiny God Church know this. Now that he’s disappeared, I’m certain those other three churches have something to do with it."

"Go and find a few people within the Church," the Archbishop said slowly. "See what you can find out from the other three churches."

"Should we use our ’shadow agents’?" the Church member asked, his head snapping up. "Won’t that be unsafe?"

"Hmph," Archbishop Konrad sneered, his eyes narrowing. "They made a move against our Divine Chosen One, so they can’t blame us for using the power we have hidden in the Darkness. Besides, do you really think they haven’t planted their own people in our Church?"