Chapter 159: Authorities [5]

Testifying against the brother of a duke was a huge deal.

And the person in question was a Levaith no less. The condition put forward by Remzi was as good as asking for death.

One wrong move—and her life would become hell.

Though that was only if she had any way to prove those rumours.

"I was present in the general hall, so I can’t really say anything about those rumours."

Sasha looked into Remzi’s eyes as she spoke those words carefully.

"I know that."

"Huh?"

Sasha was surprised, as Remzi’s reply was unusual. If he had known about it, then what was the need to—

"I am asking if you can testify against the rumours."

Sasha shivered slightly, as for the first time in their conversation, Remzi had locked his entire attention on her.

"That—"

"You just have to say that you had indeed noticed Arnold in the hall, but before you could ask him for help, he mysteriously disappeared."

"Sir?"

Sasha didn’t dare call Remzi by his name, as what he was asking of her was too big of a deal.

"Can you do it, Miss Sasha?"

Remzi’s voice had grown softer again, as he flashed his casual smile.

"Remzi, you are—"

"I don’t remember giving you permission to speak."

Remzi’s gaze and his words silenced the chief, as he shifted his attention to Sasha again.

"You just have to do something simple, and I promise you—no one will stop you from joining the investigation. After all, you want to personally witness everything, don’t you?"

Sasha was now stuck in a dilemma.

Though she wanted to join the investigation, the cost that Remzi was asking was too much for her.

She was just the daughter of a vampire noble, and this wasn’t even the territory of her race.

If something happened to her here, no one from her family would be able to help her.

"Sorry... I can’t do that. I apologize for disappointing you."

Sasha had made her decision.

Relaying her thoughts, she stood up from the sofa, making her way out of the room.

Remzi didn’t stop her—at least not immediately.

"Just remember one thing—"

After a long pause, Remzi spoke in a low voice, his words making Sasha stop in her tracks.

"The moment you leave this room, consider it as you giving those criminals a free pass to do anything they want. And I will also consider it as you forgiving them."

"..."

"Huh?!"

Sasha’s voice echoed through the room.

She had now turned back, her eyes staring intensely at Remzi, who, despite the gaze being directed at him, didn’t react in the slightest.

"What do you mean, Sir?"

Sasha spoke each word slowly, controlling her anger to the best extent possible.

"There’s nothing difficult to understand in that."

Remzi leaned back, his eyes never leaving Sasha.

"Explain it to the girl. Not everyone is as smart as you."

The chief, seeing the turn of events, voiced his thoughts, as he began to feel pity for the girl before him.

"It’s simple. Why do you think such organized crime was carried out right under the noses of the authorities, and none of them were able to stop it? Do you really think the Levaith Duchy is that insignificant—that any random group of bandits can loot an auction house in the core of their territory?"

"..."

Sasha didn’t answer immediately, but the realization had hit her.

"Yes, you are thinking in the right direction. According to me, the Levaiths have been involved in the raid—in some way or the other."

"But why would they even do that? Such an incident has led to widespread anger among the public against their duchy. Why would someone destroy their own reputation, and what would they even gain from slaughtering innocent people in an auction house that didn’t even belong to the top guilds?"

Sasha wasn’t some genius strategist, but her reasoning was sound. No one would be foolish enough to cut their own legs—

"Why would they do that? Well... I don’t know. That is why I am investigating this case, as its roots go far deeper than what we had been made to believe."

The chief just observed the exchange without interrupting Remzi.

Even he was curious about Remzi’s sudden interest in pushing the blame onto the Levaiths.

The chief didn’t dismiss his claims immediately, but nor did he accept them—as no such prior information had been given to him in the meeting that had just concluded between the two of them.

But as his brain processed Remzi’s words, somewhere deep in his mind, even he had begun to have suspicions about the Levaiths.

"So, will you help me, Miss Sasha?"

Sasha couldn’t reply immediately, as she had to take many things into consideration before she could commit herself completely to the condition put up by Remzi.

"You know how strong an average duchy is, and House Levaith isn’t a normal dukedom either. They are the third strongest power in the Veltran Empire, and defeating someone like that—I can’t do it on my own."

With his hands outstretched, Remzi showed a gesture of defeat.

Now the ball was in Sasha’s court—or at least that was what she had been made to believe.

"I... Alright! I can help you, but there’s a condition."

Remzi raised his brows.

"I don’t care what happens to me, but I want you to guarantee the safety of my family in the territory of the Dracoths."

Remzi’s lips stretched into a wide smile, as he stood up from his place.

"You don’t have to worry about that. I promise that no harm will come to your family—or you."

Remzi walked closer to Sasha, with the index finger of his right hand, pointed in her direction.

"So, do we have a deal?"

Remzi extended his hand towards Sasha, as the girl looked at it for a second longer before reciprocating the handshake.

"Yes. I will try to help you to the best of my abilities."

"It’s my honour."

Remzi smiled warmly—though his eyes grew darker at the end.