Chapter 212: A Boundless Future and a Free Ride

Leon did not rashly bring up Earl Foyle, because compared to Earl Foyle, Bishop Beckett was much closer to the two of them.

At the time, Bishop Beckett had served as Aaron’s adjutant, and had later become Leon’s superior. After Aaron, Bishop Beckett succeeded as Director, and then recommended Leon upward. Whether in terms of personal feelings or reason, upon encountering Aaron on an occasion like this, Leon ought to mention Bishop Beckett’s disappearance.

At the mention of Beckett, Aaron’s gaze dimmed: “Unfortunately, the various Churches, Inquisitions, and the Church Disciplinary Order have already begun investigating, but so far there hasn’t been any breakthrough. And the one who disappeared wasn’t only Bishop Beckett……”

“Earl Foyle.” Leon nodded, “At the Holy Spirit Festival gathering before, Bishop Beckett once introduced me to him.”

In the eyes of others, his relationship with Earl Foyle should have extended no further than that.

“Bishop Beckett once received funding and recommendations from Earl Foyle, and the two had a deep friendship. Back then, it was Earl Foyle who introduced Bishop Beckett to assist me. They disappeared at the same time, and within the Church of the God of War, it’s basically believed that there’s a connection. Actually……” Aaron hesitated here, glanced somewhat concernedly at Adele, then said to Leon, “Leon, if it’s convenient for you, how about we go over there and talk for a bit?”

Aaron’s gaze shifted toward the window some distance away from the ballroom. Leon understood that what Aaron was about to discuss with him might not be suitable for someone outside the Church like Adele to hear.

“Dear, His Highness and I are going to catch up.” Leon said to Adele as he withdrew his arm from hers.

“Alright.” Adele released Leon’s arm and watched him follow Aaron to the window, where they began speaking in low voices.

At the same time, the other nobles around her began discussing even more animatedly.

“The new Viscount Arend actually has ties with His Highness the Prince?”

“Prince Aaron once handled a case in Hamel Town. At that time, wasn’t he serving under the Prince?”

“He looks very highly valued.”

“I heard he was promoted through merit……”

“He’ll probably keep getting promoted, right? His Highness the Prince will definitely need people around him in the future!”

“Wasn’t he introduced to the Earl at the previous gathering too? I’m afraid arrangements had already been made for him long ago.”

“How did Viscount Arend find a son-in-law like this? Did old Lovelace have another card up his sleeve?”

……

Adele could only catch fragments of these discussions, but she could basically tell that they were all talking about Leon’s prospects.

His Highness the Prince had revealed his identity and would receive even more support in the future. Now that he had become a Knight Commander within the Church, if he wanted to obtain even more power, he would still need to keep climbing upward and gain the support of more high-ranking Church figures before he would have any chance of ascending the throne.

During this process, he needed people around him to assist and support him, preferably personnel from within the Church. A former subordinate who had obtained both an Official Rank and a noble title and had once been highly valued by him was undoubtedly an excellent choice.

To the Eastern nobles, the Prince represented the hope of Eastern interests, while also being a free ride that could elevate one’s status within the Eastern faction if one managed to establish a connection with him.

Adele was still lost in thought when someone suddenly greeted her: “Viscountess Arend, congratulations on your marriage.”

She turned her head and saw a noblewoman smiling warmly at her. Beside the noblewoman stood a gentleman in the prime of his life, Baron Reston, who served locally in Helenburg as the stationed bishop and was a powerful figure in River Valley County. He was likewise all smiles.

“Thank you, Baron Reston, Baroness.” Adele replied with a smile as well.

At the same time, she noticed even more gazes falling upon her. Many people looked eager to step forward and strike up a conversation with her.

As Leon’s connection with the Prince became known, the people present began scrambling to acquaint themselves with this new Viscount Arend. While Viscount Arend was engaged in a private conversation with the Prince, naturally, they ought to seize the opportunity to greet the Viscountess who remained at the gathering.

Adele had once worried that Leon, after becoming involved in illegal business, might further push their family toward utter ruin. But now, Leon had instead caused the title of “Viscount Arend” to receive a level of attention in social circles that it had never enjoyed before.

At this moment, Leon also noticed that Adele was being approached by others, but he did not pay much attention to it. Adele could handle scenes like this. At the very least, she was far better at it than he was, someone who had never experienced such occasions before.

Right now, what mattered more to him was obtaining more information from Aaron. Aaron had now advanced to Knight Commander, so the internal Church intelligence he knew was certainly far more extensive than Leon’s.

“……So, within the Church, they’ve already concluded that this matter is related to the previous Saintess Incident?” Leon confirmed with Aaron.

“Only some people have that suspicion. After all, for events this major to happen within the same year, it’s difficult not to draw connections. In the Southeastern Archdiocese case, Earl Foyle also attended the Holy Spirit Festival, while Bishop Beckett was on duty at the time and took part in pursuing Bishop Weiss Rogers, who was at the center of the incident. He was even the most important witness who saw Bishop Weiss being taken away.” Aaron said.

Leon was not surprised that the Church had so quickly linked the Saintess Incident with the disappearance of the Earl and Bishop Beckett.

“How exactly did the Church classify that incident at the time? Was it really, as the Church announcement said, the work of heretics from Moiland?” Leon tried asking.

“I can’t say with absolute certainty, but the possibility is very high. Actually, regarding this matter, the Church has already identified a suspect. Have you heard of the Great Witch Arachne?” Aaron suddenly lowered his voice.

“Of course. She’s a top-tier Wanted Fugitive with a fifty-million bounty from the Church.” Leon nodded.

“Her bounty has now been provisionally raised to fifty-six million. The Church detected compound Magical Beast poison in the bodies of civilians who died during the incident, and also recovered several corpses of spider Magical Beasts carrying that poison from the scene. By comparing the toxins and poisoning methods, they ultimately concluded that there was a high degree of overlap with past cases caused by the Great Witch Arachne. She also had ample motive to damage the Church’s image.” Aaron explained to Leon.

They’ve actually traced it to Arachne already. It looks like the Church’s investigation into the incident hasn’t been completely fruitless. Leon thought.

He knew about the Earl’s plan to frame Weiss, and one of the executors had been the Great Witch Arachne. During the incident, Arachne did not seem to have paid particular attention to destroying evidence. She probably did not care if the Church blamed the matter on her. It might even have been part of her transaction with the Earl.

In that case, even if someone leaked the truth to Archbishop Rogers or someone else and then brought accusations against the Earl, the Earl could calmly push everything onto a simple terrorist attack carried out by Arachne. There was no evidence whatsoever showing that the Earl himself had participated.

“If the incident at that time was classified as a terrorist attack by the Great Witch, then Bishop Weiss should basically be considered innocent, right?” Leon asked.

“Most people in the Church think so. However, there are still some unclear aspects to it, such as the werewolf Bishop Beckett reported who took Bishop Weiss away……the mainstream theory within the Church at present is that he was a subordinate of the Great Witch, but the reason he risked himself to take Bishop Weiss away remains unknown.” Aaron said.

So I’ve become an accomplice of the Great Witch? Leon gave a wry smile inwardly.

“However, there are also people within the Church of the God of War investigating in that direction. They believe Bishop Beckett’s disappearance is related to this matter. Perhaps Bishop Beckett followed the clues from what he witnessed and discovered something……” Aaron said.

Hearing this, Leon became slightly tense and asked another question: “Then, what explanations are there regarding Earl Foyle’s disappearance?”

“On that matter, I don’t really have much information at the moment.” Aaron suddenly smiled somewhat helplessly, “Several departments in the Church have formed Special Task Forces for this matter, but they aren’t united, and there’s very little communication. Too many people are acting independently with too many different motives. I originally wanted to take part in the investigation, but in the end……”

For Aaron, both Earl Foyle and Bishop Beckett had once given him support and assistance. Naturally, he wanted to uncover the truth behind their disappearances.

But he could not participate in the investigation. Leon knew the reason very well. After the Earl disappeared, Marquis Veronia had no choice but to bring this grandson of his onto the stage. As the heir to the throne supported by the Eastern noble faction, Aaron also risked drawing the attention of the Western noble faction.

And Duke of Glen was also suspected in the Earl’s disappearance. Compared to launching an investigation, the current Aaron ought to be focusing more on his own safety.

It seemed that Aaron’s knowledge of the investigation into the Earl’s disappearance was also very limited.

“Your Highness, forgive me for asking, but now that you’ve formally revealed your identity, are you planning to……” Leon tentatively asked.

Although it would be somewhat difficult, the Eastern nobles naturally still hoped to push Aaron onto the throne.

Leon simply was not yet certain whether Aaron himself had such intentions.

Aaron understood what Leon meant and smiled softly: “Some responsibilities are already decided the moment a person is born.”

Leon nodded lightly. Aaron had a very clear understanding of his own situation and goals.

Born as the illegitimate son of the Emperor and the daughter of an Eastern noble, he had been forced into a political position from the moment of his birth. If he did not take the throne as his goal and seek as much power as possible, then facing Princess Freda, who was supported by the old Western noble houses, he would have no ability to protect himself.

As for the struggle for Imperial Authority, with Leon’s horizons, he truly had never thought far enough ahead to imagine that one day he himself might become involved in it. When he captured Bishop Beckett back then, he had been completely focused on dealing with the Earl and what would come afterward, and had not even thought of confirming information in this area.

But the changes in the situation had exceeded his expectations. The struggle for Imperial Authority that the Earl had once arranged and participated in was now right in front of him, and Leon had even obtained an opportunity to hitch a free ride.

No wonder when the Earl chose him back then, the fact that Aaron admired him had been one of the main reasons.

“By the way, I actually only heard about this not long ago.” Aaron suddenly changed the subject, “Mrs. Hesh passed away, didn’t she?”

“Mm. Given the course of that illness, there was nothing that could be done. I arranged a funeral, and Melissa attended as well.” Leon replied.

“Is Melissa doing well?” Aaron asked.

“Thanks to you, she received very good care at the Reformatory and has more or less come out of it now. She had actually already reached the end of her term, but because she applied to a District Church School, Director Tran allowed her to remain at the Reformatory to prepare for the entrance examination and continue studying until the exam in October. Her grades are quite good.” Leon replied with a smile.

“I see.” Hearing that Melissa was doing fairly well, Aaron also smiled with relief.

Talking about Melissa suddenly reminded Leon of something.

Come to think of it, he had not specifically told Melissa about his marriage yet.