183: Chapter 183 The Disappearance of Viscount Willis! The Duke of Witton's Reaction!

Gino City, Golden Flame Castle.

On the second floor, east wing, was a room with excellent lighting.

Rowan had designated this as the office for the female official cabinet.

Helena sat behind the main desk.

Two official documents, just delivered from outside, were spread out before her.

After reading them, her brows knitted slightly.

Neither of these matters could be handled by her on his behalf.

The first file came from the Municipal Prison Department; it was a list of death penalty approvals for the territory.

According to Imperial law, death sentences within the territory must be approved and signed by the lord personally before they can be carried out.

The list contained thirteen names, accompanied by a summary of their respective crimes.

Each case was well-documented, with solid evidence and compliant procedures.

Helena had already carefully reviewed the copies of the files and confirmed there were no issues.

As long as Rowan signed off, this matter would complete its final procedure.

What truly felt tricky to her was the second document.

This file came from the County Council Secretariat.

The content was:

The heir to the Viscount Willis family has formally reported to the County Council that the head of the house, Viscount Willis, has been missing for nearly half a month, with no news and his life or death unknown.

According to Imperial noble inheritance law, when a noble head of house goes missing or dies, their legal heir should act in the lord's stead, submit an inheritance application to the County Council within the specified time, and complete the statutory inheritance procedures.

However, the problem lies in this—

Viscount Willis's eldest son, Yeager Willis, died in an accidental fall from his horse while hunting a week ago.

And less than three days after the eldest son's death, Viscount Willis's second son, Caloden Willis, and third son, Hadrian Willis, publicly accused each other of murdering their eldest brother, Yeager, and demanded that the other's right of inheritance be stripped.

As for the life or death of Viscount Willis himself, it seemed no one cared.

This inheritance dispute involved a seat in the Upper House of the County Council.

According to Imperial law, the Count's residence had no authority to directly rule on the inheritance of a Viscountcy.

A hearing must be held by the Noble Affairs Committee of the County Council's Upper House, and a legally binding ruling could only be made after deliberation and voting.

In other words, both matters required Rowan to step forward personally.

Helena organized the two files, stood up, and walked out of the office.

She arrived at the familiar door on the top floor and knocked lightly twice.

"Enter."

A lazy male voice came from inside.

Helena pushed the door open and walked in.

The scene in the bedroom made her eyes flicker, but she quickly returned to composure.

Rowan was sitting on a lounge chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, reading a book in his hand.

Not far away, on the large four-poster bed, the curtains were half-drawn, the bedding was messy, and a young girl was lying on her side in the brocade quilt, sleeping soundly.

She had long, smooth violet hair, which was scattered across the clean white pillow.

Helena recognized her—Sophia.

She was one of the six people rated as S-rank along with her, a mixed-blood from some border tribe.

Helena's gaze lingered on Sophia for less than a second before naturally moving away.

At this moment, Rowan shifted his gaze to the door. Seeing it was Helena, he smiled and said:

"It's Helena. Come over and sit."

Helena walked to the chair opposite Rowan, sat down, and placed the two files on the table:

"My Lord, there are two matters that require your personal attention."

"Oh?" Rowan looked at the files on the table.

He first picked up the first file, the death penalty approval list.

His gaze slowly swept over the thirteen names and the summaries of their crimes.

A moment later, he raised his eyes to look at Helena, his tone becoming more serious:

"What do you think?"

Helena had already prepared her answer. Without hesitation, she replied cautiously but clearly:

"My Lord, I have reviewed the files of these thirteen people one by one."

"The trial procedures were compliant, the chain of evidence is complete, and the confessions and material evidence corroborate each other."

"They are all... villains who deserve death."

Hearing this, Rowan did not ask any more questions. He picked up the quill on the table, dipped it in ink, and signed his name at the bottom of the list.

The first matter was handled.

He picked up the second file, unfolded it, and his gaze swept over the content.

As he read further, his eyebrows arched slightly, and a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.

He did not express his opinion immediately but instead asked a question that surprised Helena somewhat:

"Does Viscount Willis... have a daughter?"

Helena was slightly stunned at the question.

She hadn't expected the first question Rowan would ask after reading this file to be this.

She recalled the genealogy of the Upper House families from the data, then shook her head, her tone certain:

"No."

"Viscount Willis only has three sons. The eldest, Yeager Willis, the second, Caloden Willis, and the third, Hadrian Willis."

"There is no daughter."

"I see." Rowan rubbed his chin, his gaze falling somewhere outside the window, as if contemplating something.

A moment later, he retracted his gaze and asked again:

"When is the hearing of the Noble Affairs Committee of the County Council Upper House scheduled?"

Helena said: "The morning of next week, at the County Council building."

Rowan nodded, closed the file, placed it back on the table, and said in a flat tone:

"Alright. You will come with me when the time comes."

Helena nodded slightly: "Yes, My Lord."

The official business was concluded.

Rowan put down the file in his hand and his gaze fell back on Helena.

She sat upright in the chair, her posture correct, her hands folded on her lap, waiting for the next instruction.

Looking at her serious demeanor, a smile couldn't help but appear on the corner of Rowan's mouth.

He stood up, walked around the small round table to her, reached out, and gently lifted her chin.

"Is the official business finished?" he asked in a low voice, his tone carrying a trace of teasing.

Helena's cheeks flushed slightly, but she did not dodge, only lowering her eyelids: "Yes."

"Then it's time to handle some personal matters..."

...

Meanwhile.

Will Province, Aksai City.

In a study in the Duke Weiduns Estate.

Duke Witton put down the intelligence in his hand and asked:

"Is Viscount Willis confirmed dead?"

Before the desk, the middle-aged aide bowed slightly and said:

"Yes, My Lord, it can be basically confirmed."

"He previously requested that we send a Great Knight to Black Mountain City to assist him in killing the new Count Golden Flame, Rowan Flynn."

"I coordinated for Red Butcher Knight to go and assist."

He paused, his voice lowering a few degrees:

"But the end result was that the Lord of Frost Howl was beheaded, his head hung high on the city gate, and the beast tide was routed."

"And that Great Knight sent by the Blood Barbarians... also failed to return."

"Based on the judgment of intelligence from all sides, it is highly probable that both Viscount Willis and Red Butcher Knight have perished."

"Useless." Duke Witton said expressionlessly.

The aide lowered his head further, not daring to respond.

Duke Witton pondered for a moment and continued:

"It seems that the strength of this new Count Golden Flame might exceed our initial expectations."

"To be able to kill all opponents in the combined force of the Lord of Frost Howl, Viscount Willis, and Red Butcher Knight, and escape unscathed... this combat power..."

He looked at the aide: "How many of our back-up plans in Gino City remain?"

The aide showed a look of difficulty:

"My Lord... After the last church assassination incident, the secret lines we laid in Gino City were purged by the church, and the losses were heavy."

"The remaining ones are just a few idle pawns, which are difficult to pose a threat to a Great Knight-level target. It can be said... they are almost all used up."

Duke Witton's brows furrowed slightly:

"In that case, this new Count Golden Flame, plus that Bishop in the Gino City church... unless a Sky Knight-level powerhouse takes action, I'm afraid it's unrealistic to move against him within Gino City."

He paused and asked again: "Is there any way to lure him out of Gino City again?"

The aide thought for a while, shook his head, and his tone carried a trace of helplessness: "I'm afraid it's difficult."

"Those lord-level magical beasts in the Mess Mountains are slippery, one by one."

"After the Lord of Frost Howl was beheaded outside Black Mountain City, those lord-level magical beasts were frightened. Before figuring out the background of that Count Golden Flame, I'm afraid none of them are willing to court disaster."

"As for the Blood Barbarians..."

"They are engaging in fierce battles with the main force of Marquis Lance on the northern defense line. Both sides have drawn large amounts of troops, and it is difficult to spare energy to go deep into the south in the short term."

Hearing the name Marquis Lance, Duke Witton's eyes narrowed slightly.

He was silent for a few breaths, then suddenly changed the subject:

"How is the progress of that Blood Rose Knight of the Lance Family?"

The aide heard this and said softly:

"My Lord... I heard that she has already reached the threshold of an Earth Knight. She may break through at any time."

Earth Knight.

Hearing these four words, Duke Witton's expression became somewhat uncertain.

On the ground, an Earth Knight can be called an iron turtle. Even if a Sky Knight wants to kill an Earth Knight, they can only slowly wear down the opponent's protective battle aura.

It can be said to be time-consuming and laborious.

He began to think in detail about the current situation.

Since the outbreak of the war in the West, Prince Howard of the royal family had been transferred away from the North.

The only legendary powerhouse the Empire had on the surface in the North was that Saint Knight of the church stationed in the North, who was locked in a distant standoff with the one from the Snow Kingdom.

And his ally, Dawn Knight Mason, also had to start dealing with the growing murmurs within the royal family due to successive setbacks.

Thinking of this, Duke Witton couldn't help but feel a trace of regret in his heart.

If those three sacrifices could have been completed perfectly at the beginning, Mason could have used this opportunity to completely cure his old injuries and break through to the realm of a Sky Knight in one fell swoop...

The current situation would be much easier to handle.

It's a pity...

Although the Scarlet Heresy Case in Gino County had been closed, the churches in the other two places were still investigating the case.

He knew that the Bishop at the Aksai City church looked calm on the surface, but in reality, he had been watching him in the dark, which made him dare not act rashly.

At least until he got rid of the church's sight, he couldn't.

He still had to deal with the Lance Family first.

If the Lance Family wasn't uprooted, the next step of the plan couldn't proceed.

Most of the strategic nodes in the northeast of Will Province were in the hands of the Lance Family.

As long as the Lance Family was still there, he could not truly control the overall situation of Will Province.

He withdrew his thoughts, looked back at the map on the desk, and said in a deep voice:

"As for Gino City... put it aside for now."

"Official business comes first."

"Focus on dealing with the Lance Family first."

"Once this nail of the Lance Family is pulled out, it will be much easier to turn back and open up the node of Gino County."

"At that time, the available means will be much more than now."

The aide bowed: "Yes, My Lord."