Chapter 236 - Unexpected News
A few more days had passed and things in Inanis city went on smoothly. The Brewery was coming along great and so was the reeducation center. In fact, they had managed to reduce the number of criminals going to prison by thirty percent in simply two months.
This was a great number and was the difference between the crime rate of a city compared to that of a village. On a general basis, the crime rate in a city would be higher than that of a town, but now Inanis city had the same crime rate as that of a town.
It was also due to the fact that the petty criminals were being 'counseled' by the teachers at the Reeducation centers that they had managed to reduce it greatly. Since it was among these few petty criminals that bigger and more dangerous criminals would be born.
It was during one of these days that Lucius got some pleasant news.
"LORD ASHER! LORD ASHER!" Neta's voice could be heard coming from the corridors.
He was shouting frantically and made Lucius furrow his brows upon hearing it.. He had just returned from the reeducation center after doing some work and was in his bedroom when he heard the man.
"What is it this time?" Lucius wondered.
~Creak~
He opened the door and saw the sweating man. His face was red and he was taking tired breaths.
"What happened? Why are you like this?" Lucius questioned.
"My lord… Viscount Drew… He… he's extremely sick!" Neta answered while stuttering.
Hearing this, Lucius's eyes went wide, but he quickly reeled in his excitement. He couldn't let himself slip, no matter what. There could be potential leaks anywhere, and it was better to be cautious.
"How?" Lucius asked simply.
"We don't exactly know there are too many claims. Though the most common one is that he was poisoned somehow." Neta said.
"And how did we get this news?" Lucius questioned.
"A few traders were talking about it." Neta answered.
"Huh? Traders? Not our people?" Lucius asked for confirmation.
"Yes, it wasn't actually from our people there but traders," Neta replied.
Hearing this, Lucius was surprised as he had not expected this.
'Kiana had several people in the Viscount territory that should have informed us of this… how did the traders get this first and not them? Is it perhaps just a rumor?' Lucius wondered.
"Alright, do the others in the family know about it?" Lucius asked.
"Not yet. I came to inform you first. Though Count might know about it thorough his men as well." Neta replied.
"I see," Lucius said as he thought for a bit.
"Go and contract John at the brewery and call him in. Mother and father should come back soon anyway, it's nighttime." Lucius ordered.
"At once, my lord," Neta said before going away.
Once he was gone, Lucius closed his door and sat down to think.
'We have no information about his symptoms yet. If it really went as I wanted it to then as long as I know the symptoms, his death will be inevitable.' Lucius thought to himself as a smile appeared on his face.
"The only problem will be the accusations that might potentially come towards us…" Lucius muttered to himself.
The plan Lucius had prepared was something that might bring trouble to them, but he also had counter plans to solve them. All that was needed for him was to know more information.
He waited in the bedroom for a few minutes while the news spread through the rest of the mansion. It was night time and Lucius had returned earlier today from work. Lita and Gabriel had yet to return from their duties and thus neither of them had dinner yet.
~knock~knock~knock~
A few knocks were heard on the door and Lucius's ears perked up.
"It's me, the meeting will be downstairs." Kiana's voice came from outside, slight excitement present in it as well.
"I'll be there, you go ahead." Lucius said.
"Alright." Kiana went away.
~HUU~
Once she was gone, Lucius took a breath to compose himself and looked at himself in the mirror.
His dark blonde hair that bordered on brown was casually turned back and his black eyes glimmered under the light of the Lamp which was an artifact. His smoothly curved jaw gave him more of a feminine vibe, but his broad shoulders countered it.
The regular exercise had given him some muscles, but it was nowhere close to his past life yet. In fact, Lucius even wondered if this body could reach the same potential as that of his past life.
"The incompatibility is something that cannot be fully solved… the most I can do is comprise and find a middle ground for it…" Lucius muttered to himself.
While Lucius had intelligence, his body wasn't particularly strong, which was a vulnerability for him. There was always a chance that someone could sneak in an attack and he would die.
If he had the same physique as that of a human from his past work, Lucius reckoned he would have been able to use hell energy to change it greatly. Yet he knew the humans of this world could not do the same.
They had innately different bodies that harbored Aether.
'Perhaps this is the biggest difference between the humans of this world and my past world. While humans are a greatly proliferated species and can be found in a myriad of worlds, they often have little difference and limiters.
Unfortunately, I am in one of the worlds where they have a limiter…' Lucius said to himself in his mind.
~huu~
"Nevertheless… I'll make do with what I can and fulfill my goals," Lucius said with determination before leaving his bedroom.
He walked down the corridor and then went downstairs to the meeting hall. In there, he could see the count, Lita, John, Alessa, Donald, and Kiana waiting.
Lucius pulled a chair and sat down before speaking.
"Let's begin…"