51: Failed capture

The Sheriff's eyelids twitched, which was not a good sign.

From a young age, whenever her eyelids twitched, something bad was bound to happen.

The New Temple, not far away, was like a beast lurking in the darkness, quietly waiting for its prey to arrive.

"Is your intelligence accurate?" The Sheriff rubbed her eyes and asked the woman beside her.

"My Lady, I told you. We from..."

"Yes, yes, you said an outsider, a Dwarf, identified Father Eldred as Ingabado, a stonemason.

"Twelve years ago, he killed the Dwarf's entire family after losing a construction bid.

"To seek revenge, that Dwarf sold off his property and painstakingly searched for many years.

"Finally, he found Ingabado, who had become a Father, in Wolf Den City. Did I miss anything?"

Catherine shook her head.

"That's right," the Sheriff said, "Do you believe there's such a coincidence in the world, woman?"

Catherine was quite puzzled: "My Lady, if you don't believe us, what exactly are we doing here?"

"When did I say I didn't believe you?

"I just don't want to believe it could be such a coincidence.

"During this time, we've been monitoring Eldred, but he hasn't revealed any flaws.

"It wasn't until we caught that group of smugglers last night that we finally found some clues about him.

"Then you came to our door and brought that Dwarf.

"If it weren't for your relationship with Arthur, I'd even suspect you're trying to sacrifice a pawn to save the queen."

Catherine remained silent.

The Sheriff asked again: "You seem to be managing things for Arthur. Are you his new housekeeper?"

Catherine denied: "Lord Arthur has not appointed me as his housekeeper."

"I think you're quite suitable. Has he slept with you?"

The Sheriff's words left Catherine momentarily stunned.

She paused for a few seconds before replying: "No, no, he has never done that with me."

"So you slept with him?" The Sheriff looked Catherine up and down, "Hmm~ I didn't expect a traditional former noble like you to be so proactive."

"Uh... My Lady, no one slept with anyone.

"Lord Arthur respects me greatly; he has never touched me."

"Heh, that's new. He actually trusts a strange woman like you to manage things."

These words sounded rather odd coming from a female Sheriff.

However, Catherine decided to ignore this point.

She simply displayed the noble smile she had learned in etiquette classes once more.

"You know what? I used to learn that smile too."

No sooner had the Sheriff finished speaking than a carriage drove from the end of the street.

The lantern on the carriage flickered in the darkness.

"It seems our protagonist has arrived." Adelaide peeked her head around the corner, "Tell me, Lady Housekeeper, how capable are your people?"

Catherine looked at Jessica and the two others waiting nearby, and replied: "They're quite capable, if you wish..."

"No, I don't. Make them stand far away, don't interfere with our actions.

"Especially that masked fellow. Remember, you're here only to bear witness."

After speaking, Adelaide also gave Catherine a noble smile.

Father Eldred, dressed in a priest's robe, stepped down from the carriage. A servant handed him a cane and took the lantern to light his way.

The Father opened the side door of the New Temple with a key and entered.

Adelaide, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately took action.

She and her subordinates emerged from the shadows, rushed towards the carriage, and subdued the coachman.

Subsequently, the Sheriff, along with her deputy and five subordinates, also entered the Temple.

Just as the Sheriff's intelligence indicated.

They found the Father in the small chapel.

Hearing the commotion, the Father calmly turned around and looked at Adelaide and her subordinates.

"I always knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it to be here." The Father's tone was calm, "You finally found me, Adelaide.

"This took longer than I expected.

"They all say the Evil Wolf Family produced an extraordinary woman; I think that's a bit of an exaggeration."

The Sheriff raised her middle finger at the Father, "We can discuss that later.

"Eldred... oh... no, it should be Gerontino Ingabado."

The Father's expression clearly changed, then he smiled and said: "It's been a long time since I heard that name.

"I really want to sit down and have a good chat with you, Madam Sheriff, after all, we've been playing this cat and mouse game for so long.

"But I really must go; there are important matters waiting for me."

With that, the Father moved aside, and his servant stepped forward.

"Arrest them." The Sheriff ordered.

However, everyone watched in horror as the servant's body began to swell and deform, with black fur continuously growing from beneath his skin.

Realizing something was wrong, the Sheriff quickly shouted: "Use crossbows, damn it, use crossbows!"

The Sheriffs reacted, quickly pulling out their hand crossbows, ready to shoot.

Just then, three more people dropped from the Temple ceiling.

They accurately pounced on the Sheriffs, instantly dealt with three of them, and then attacked the remaining personnel.

The servant, transformed into a werewolf, let out a howl towards the sky and charged at the deputy closest to him.

Outside the Temple, Jessica frowned and looked at the Temple upon hearing the howl.

"That sound is?" The Dwarf asked uncertainly.

"Werewolf!" Jessica replied with absolute certainty.

"Kid, want to help?" The Dwarf asked again.

Catherine, who had been listening in confusion, couldn't help but interject: "What are you talking about? Werewolves?

"Was that howl just now from a werewolf? Golden Mother above, is it really a werewolf?"

"Newt, take Lady Catherine away from here. Old man, you come with me." Jessica ordered decisively.

Catherine stopped asking questions; she knew it wasn't the time to press for answers.

She just said, "Be careful, everyone," and quickly left with Newt.

The Father walked out of the chapel and left the Temple unimpeded.

He drew a rapier from his cane, elegantly parrying a wooden stick swung by a Sheriff.

He then sidestepped to dodge a spear thrust by another Sheriff.

He moved aside with nimble steps and began to chant a spell.

Dark purple energy gathered in his palm.

When a Sheriff rushed over, he parried the opponent's weapon while reaching out to touch the opponent's arm.

The next second, that Sheriff let out a painful scream.

The touched area quickly turned black and hard, as if suffering from gangrene.

The other Sheriffs were clearly startled by the sight before them and dared not advance for a moment.

At this moment, the coachman, who had been subdued on the ground, suddenly roared.

With astonishing brute force, he broke free from the Sheriffs' control, cursing and pushing them aside.

Another Sheriff tried to stop him but was knocked unconscious with a headbutt.

The coachman picked up the longsword dropped by the opponent and swung it forcefully into the face of another Sheriff.

Instantly, bone fragments flew and blood spurted.

The man's body remained upright until the coachman kicked him down.

Then, he charged at the Sheriffs and began a massacre.

"We need to leave here." The Father reminded his companion.

The coachman, who was enjoying the killing, stopped and asked: "What about the guys in there? Should we bring them along?"

The Father shook his head: "They are just allies, and allies are meant to be sacrificed."

The coachman grinned, waved off the Sheriffs who still wanted to approach, then jumped into the carriage with the Father and drove away.