Noel and the others had returned to the headquarters as well. After a hard expedition, they had to take care of the members.
Clara did her best in order to let her squads recover. She even held a ceremony for the late comrades who fell in battle.
Still, she was thankful for Noel. Due to his assistance, Noel managed to find a way to keep the casualty minimum. In fact, she had expected that at least ten people would die in the expedition.
Yet, there were only four casualties, and most of them came from lower level squads. Even the other squads recognized Noel's abilities and had no more problems with his placement in the Zero Squad.
And the other members of the Zero Squad thanked him for his help. They might have some scars from the battle, but it wasn't to the point they had to retire.
Even Stella, whose fingers were severed during the chase, was still around. Clara managed to reattach the fingers, but she might not be able to fully utilize the strength of those fingers until the muscle and cells were reattached completely by natural regeneration.
Noel was happy that he was of help, considering he treated them as a family. But there was something that startled him.
Not long after his return, he received a letter from an unknown origin. He recognized the writing.
It turned out Anna was the one sending him the letter. All the matters regarding the kiss immediately resurfaced in his mind, making him think that the letter was related to it.
But it seemed he misunderstood it. The letter contained the information that she got from Count Leinberd and Marquis Walford.
Without hesitation, he examined the content of the letter.
"I have examined all the documents we've found from Count Leinberd and Marquis Walford."
"It seems that Count Leinberd is a third party, so they aren't that related to the Supreme Devil Organization."
"The real hand of the Supreme Devil Organization is Marquis Walford. There are four important matters regarding Marquis Walford."
"First and foremost, it's the reason why Marquis Walford was chosen as the extension of their hand. They want Marquis Walford to be infiltrating the nobility. I don't know much about their plans, but considering Marquis is only one rank below Duke, I think it's a reasonable plan.."
"However, I don't find anything related to the Royal Family. So, I can't prove whether the royal family is innocent or not. What I can say is that the dukes and duchesses don't seem to be in the eye of the Supreme Devil Organization."
"They might have higher ranks than Marquis, but their roots are the Royal Family. So, they just have to take the royal family. Meanwhile, the Marquis is there for a different purpose. He is an independent force that will infiltrate the rest of the nobility.
With his rank, there are many things the Supreme Organization can do without being spotted by the royal family, unlike the relation with the dukes and duchesses."
When Noel read her thoughts about it, he couldn't help but agree with her statement. A Marquis was more convenient than a Duke for the Supreme Devil Organization. And if they wanted a Duke or Duchess, they would aim for someone with the same power as the Third Prince. Unfortunately, there was no one at that level currently. The throne war had weakened them after all.
"As for the second matter, it's related to the pawn that connects the organization and the marquis. She is known as a Serpent, a powerful Devil Bishop. I'm not sure about this yet, but from what I know, this Serpent is a direct subordinate of a Saint.
I don't know which Saint, but since this matter has involved a Saint, I'm afraid going further without increasing our strength will be extremely dangerous. So, I suggest you stop investigating this matter for a moment."
Noel narrowed his eyes. "I have asked about the Supreme Devil Organization's ranks in the past. There are two more ranks above the Devil Bishop, which is equal to that of a Captain in the Demon Banner Army. They are the Devil Saint and the Supreme Devil."
"It's said that the Devil Saint has a strength beyond a captain, and they can fight the commander but not necessarily have the strength to defeat him."
"So, their strength is between the Devil Bishop and the commander… I guess their strength is like Shale, Milfa, or even Dimitri. The top captains in the Demon Banner Army."
"As for the Supreme Devil, it's the leader of the organization. But no one knows his strength. People say that the Supreme Devil is the brain of the organization, and some say that the Supreme Devil has the strength and brain to lead the organization."
"Nonetheless, it doesn't change the fact that a Devil Saint is involved. Dimitri might be able to stop a Devil Saint, but the Devil Saint will surely bring one or two Devil Saints… At this point, I don't have enough power to survive under their onslaught."
Noel could only let out a sigh, filled with disappointment. Sooner or later, they would realize that he was the culprit that caused the destruction of Marquis Walford. So, he had to become stronger as soon as possible.
"The third problem is that the Marquis is related to the distribution of Fagant Leaf. At the current stage, we don't know how many Fagant Leaf has been sent to the Supreme Devil Organization. So, we have to be careful since the organization might use it to strike us."
"And last but not least, it seems that we are one of their prioritized targets. I don't know the reason, but if I have to guess, it will be my talent. As for you, it should be related to your ancestry."
"Either way, it will be dangerous for us pretty soon. These are the four things I have found from Marquis Stargaze."
"So, I come here with the solution, as well as what I know about the expedition. I think this is more important than those four problems."
"Expedition…" Noel narrowed his eyes, remembering the kiss after the expedition. It seemed that her change was related to the expedition. So, he tried to figure out what caused her change.