Steward Gray was covered in cold sweat, but he had already lied this long. He felt that telling the truth now would only implicate him in the kidnapping case. So he bit his inner cheek and continued to lie. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel·fiɾe·net
"General, like I said, it was two servants under me who went to collect the debt. If you do not believe me, I can send for them, and you can question them yourself. This involves a member of the royal family; I would not dare to lie," Steward Gray said. His voice was dry, but he managed to finish speaking.
"There is no need to send for them. I will visit Wiwell and investigate myself," General Robert said. He did not believe that a steward managing a small business would dare to lie to him, so he let it rest for the time being. He believed that by questioning other people involved, he might uncover more information.
"Lord Williams, I am afraid I will have to borrow this steward to show me around as I investigate," General Robert turned to Lord Williams.
Lord Williams took a deep breath. Seeing General Robert’s voice turn cold earlier had worried him that something serious was about to happen, but fortunately, nothing did. He knew that with the princess missing, the general would investigate every clue thoroughly. So after hearing Steward Gray’s response, he was relieved. "This is for a good cause. If you need more people, you can let me know," he answered with a smile.
Steward Gray, hearing the conversation, breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he was not going to be tortured, he was convinced that nothing could be discovered. Fortunately, he had always been cautious and never mentioned that Anastasia was the one who had requested the caravan.
He was not a man who trusted even those closest to him. His grandfather had always told him that a secret remained a secret only when those involved were the only ones aware of it.
Anastasia had been alone in the room with him. No one knew what they had discussed. He had given each worker a silver coin to buy their silence. They all believed that he had taken the smallest caravan for personal business. With money in place, he did not think anything would go wrong.
"Then, Lord Williams, time is tight. Finding the princess is of utmost importance. I will take my leave now," General Robert said, rising to his feet.
Lord Williams followed suit, walking General Robert to the door where several soldiers were waiting.
Steward Gray followed without asking any questions. Seeing that he was not attempting to flee, General Robert wondered if he truly had nothing to hide or if he was just confident in his arrangements.
The group set off, and it took them two hours to arrive at the residence that Steward Gray managed. By then, it was already late in the evening, but Robert had no plans to wait. He immediately gathered everyone involved and began questioning them, but no new information surfaced.
The only thing he could deduce was that Gray had likely been secretly exploiting the locals for profit. There was nothing related to the princess.
General Robert frowned. His intuition was never wrong.
"Did the princess leave with the girl?" General Robert asked. Since there was no lead from Steward Gray, perhaps the girl was the missing link.
"General, I followed them from a distance. The princess offered the lady money and sent her away," one of the men said.
Steward Gray had instructed him to follow Anastasia from afar. He had been too far to hear their conversation but had seen Anastasia give the lady money before they parted ways. He had then followed Anastasia to the farmhouse and watched her leave with a large group. Seeing the soldiers, he had been frightened and had returned to report to Steward Gray. Only then did he become convinced that she was of noble birth. He had never expected that she was not only the daughter of a duke but also the Crown Princess.
Steward Gray had personally led the caravan to the same location. The men present did not know where the caravan had gone, so they could not connect the two stories.
"Take me to the lady’s house," General Robert ordered after thinking for a while. He felt that if there was no breakthrough from these men, perhaps the lady might have some clues.
Having fought on the front lines for so long, he knew better than to ignore any possible lead. After making up his mind, he took the two men who had gone to collect the debt, along with a few soldiers, and headed to the house.
The family of four had just gone to bed. The sickly Mr. Ashcombe was the first to hear the sound of horses approaching. He did not think it had anything to do with his family, so he simply listened, expecting them to pass by. But to his surprise, the riders stopped at his house.
He opened his eyes and was about to wake his wife when the noise from the horses roused her as well.
Just as they were wondering what was happening, they heard a knock on the door.
The husband and wife exchanged worried glances, fear evident in their eyes. After all, they had heard that the princess had been kidnapped near the shore in Wiwell Village.
Many royal guards had been investigating around the village. They could not help but wonder if their unexpected visitors were connected to the kidnappers.
"If you are inside, open the door. General Robert is here to see your eldest daughter. We have a few questions we would like to ask her," one of the soldiers shouted when no one answered.
The husband and wife grew even more anxious upon hearing this. Their eldest daughter had only returned with money that day and had told them to forget they ever had a daughter like her. She had also mentioned being saved by a kind lady. They had no idea where she was now.
"Let’s open the door first," Mr. Ashcombe said. His wife supported him as they went to unlock it.
General Robert wasted no time. "Where is your daughter? We heard that the princess sent her home after paying off your debt. We have a few questions."
When the couple heard this, they shivered. Their daughter had indeed met a kind lady who had saved her. If that lady was the missing princess, could it be that their daughter had also met with misfortune?