Free Web NovelChapter 96: The Most Deadly Poison is Mistrust
The incident with the dead ants on the table and the untouched food aroused in Victor Shieldman a feeling of extreme distrust that spread through his mind like dark clouds.
Victor had no idea who wanted to kill him or the reason behind it, so everyone was a suspect. The guest room, illuminated by the soft morning light that filtered through the ajar curtains, had an almost unreal atmosphere because of this. He thought he would have some peace at Selvarum Manor.
A little dazed, Victor put on his dark tunic, adjusting it on his arms as his thoughts wandered. As he put on his boots and adjusted his pants, Victor felt the weight of the situation on his shoulders and let out a heavy sigh.
Death seemed to have been stalking him ever since he traveled to Kozáni City and it was quickly becoming exhausting in every way.
Determined to investigate and find out who killed him, Victor left the room and looked both ways down the corridor. The place was as quiet as ever. However, as he approached the main staircase to go down to breakfast, he heard footsteps, looked to his left and saw Luísa Selvarum, closely accompanied by Frugeon, her guard, coming down the stairs to the third floor.
Luísa, with her night-black hair and blindfolded eyes, greeted Victor enthusiastically.
"Ah, Victor! How nice to see you well this morning. You’re up early today!" she said with a discreet smile.
Victor tried to keep his composure, but ended up replying in a more formal and cold tone.
"Thank you for your hospitality, matriarch."
Even Frugeon, who didn’t like Victor Shieldman, frowned, realizing the tone Victor had used.
Luísa didn’t miss the seriousness in Victor’s words either. She realized that something had happened to alter his mood like this and decided to address the matter more directly.
"Frugeon, please, could you go wake up Miss Mari in the lab so she can come for breakfast?"
"But, madame..."
"You don’t have to worry about me, Frugeon. I think I can walk to the dining room without any problems if Victor is by my side."
Frugeon nodded respectfully and moved a little away, but Victor interrupted him.
"If I may, matriarch, I could be the one to wake up Miss Mari. I have some business to discuss with her, as you may remember." Victor proposed.
Luísa was surprised, as Victor apparently didn’t even want to talk. She was aware of Victor’s serious and somewhat inflexible temperament most of the time, and even admired it, but she also believed that she was past the stage where he was so cold.
"Okay, Victor. Thank you for your promptness. Make sure you don’t take too long or the coffee will get cold," she replied, accepting Victor’s proposal.
"Thank you." The hunter bowed his head and went downstairs.
After Victor Shieldman had moved far enough away to be out of sight, Luísa Selvarum looked at the Frugeon guard and asked: ƒгeewebnovёl.com
"Do you know if anything happened to Victor yesterday?"
Frugeon thought for a moment before giving his answer. "I don’t know, ma’am. I didn’t see him again after breakfast, and I was guarding your office door for most of the day, as you well know."
Luísa put a hand to her chin with her white silk glove. "Hmm. Did he run into trouble when he left the mansion? It may not seem like it to you, but Victor can’t seem to stay out of trouble."
"Oh, really?" Frugeon asked, remembering the moment he had met Victor with the paranoid idea of an intruder in the mansion the night before.
"Yes, but these matters aren’t ideal to talk about behind someone’s back. For now, keep an eye on him for me, will you?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"Yes, ma’am."
When Victor reached the mansion’s basement, he walked down a narrow staircase and a long corridor. In front of the laboratory door, Victor turned the knob, opened the door and gazed at the messy place. If the lab had seemed disorganized the day before, now it seemed chaotic.
The shelves were organized anarchically, there were piles of books and parchments on the floor, and a strange sound echoed through the closed room, a deep snore, probably Mari herself still asleep.
Victor narrowed his eyes, trying to spot Mari somewhere in this mess, but he couldn’t find her at first glance. It was then that he realized he would have to enter this place upside down to find her.
So Victor took a few steps into the laboratory and stopped to try again to locate Mari.
Suddenly, a series of traps were triggered, surrounding him on all sides. Sharp blades shot up from the floor and ceiling, intersecting in a complex pattern that blocked any escape route.
Victor was almost out of options in this situation, especially as he was without his sword, and yet he reacted quickly. He used the Den to create a strong current of air, thus creating a kind of shield around him that messed up the direction of the blades and made them go in several different directions. The blades hit the roof, the walls and even some books, but none hit Victor.
He barely had time to breathe and something suddenly jumped on his back. This thing was a creature, which immediately started scratching Victor’s head and pushing him with its weight, until Victor unwittingly stepped on a glass jar that was on the floor and fell, causing a commotion.
"Intruder, intruder, intruder!" The high-pitched voice of the creature that continued to attack Victor began to resound. "You’re not going to hurt her, you... you... ugly!"
Mari Dundragon, lying on a pile of books, finally woke up to the noise and screams of the sentient creature, then sleepily got up, stretched and saw little Wiggen attacking Victor Shieldman with his sharp claws.
"Oh, my God! Hey, Wiggen, stop that right now!" Mari ordered, and the approximately sixty-centimeter creature on top of Victor stopped attacking and looked at Mari with its big eyes. "Get off him now!" said Mari angrily.
Wiggen walked away from Victor with his head down and his eyes watering. "All right, I’m sorry for making Mari angry..."
Victor got up from the floor, wiped his pants and looked at Mari, scolding the little creature.
"This man is Victor Shieldman and you attacked him, so you need to apologize to him."
"Sorry, intruder." Wiggen said with a whiny tone.
"Hey, his name isn’t intruder. His name is Victor."
"I’m sorry, Victor..."
"I accept your apology, no hard feelings, comrade." Victor accepted with a simple smile, but he didn’t know this creature, nor what race it was, but it certainly wasn’t a monster, because he was talking.
