In fact, the fact that Whitestag had such a brothel was already a huge surprise to the admiralty. After all, the admirals weren't idiots. They knew that having a place to vent their frustrations on a warship was a great boon for the recovery of morale and combat strength. That was also the main reason why the marines were sent to take control of the old street.
That was what troubled Wenisk the most. Should he bring the brothel under the control of the base or should he keep it outside of the base? Both options had their advantages and disadvantages.
Bringing it into the base would make it easier to manage the area, but it wouldn't have a good reputation. If word got out, they would be attacked by their opponents in the royal court.
On the other hand, having it outside of the base would attract all sorts of people. To those in the underworld, the brothel was like a juicy steak that could easily become a place to hide criminals. It would pose a threat to the lives of the navy who left the base to seek pleasure. There were even cases of enemy spies setting up traps to coerce the navy into selling out information about the fleet.
Not to mention anything else, just the Kingdom's only military port, the Neru Naval Base, every year, there would be many cases of naval soldiers fighting with others in the dark, resulting in deaths.
Even though the navy had organized a few operations against the underworld, it didn't take long for them to make a comeback.
At the same time, the local civil officials protested, saying that the navy's actions had a negative impact on the security of the area.
Wenisk's headache was Wenisk's problem. At the very least, the brothel in the old street was still peaceful.
Claude followed the dark alleyway to the back of the old street and stopped in front of an old two-storey building made of stone and wood. He hid himself in the darkness.
The old building was the hideout that Lieutenant Nuit had rented for his wildcat, Miss Minilith.
Even from below, he could hear the thunderous snoring coming from the master bedroom on the second floor.
It seemed that the spiked whiskey had sent Nuit and his cat into a deep slumber.
First, it was Magus' Hands, followed by Precise Control. The lock and the bars were silently pried open. Claude entered the room and closed the door behind him.
After using the Appraisal Eye, although he couldn't see in the dark, he could still distinguish the rough outlines of the objects in the room very clearly.
He quietly went up to the second floor. The door to the master bedroom wasn't locked and he could smell the strong stench of alcohol the moment he opened it.
On the wooden bed, two naked bodies were entangled together, snoring loudly. There was a table in front of the bed, on which there were several plates of leftover dishes. The bottle of whiskey was tipped on the table, already emptied, and there was still a little bit left in the small bottle of wine beside it.
Clothes were scattered all over the floor. In addition to the smell of alcohol, the room was also filled with a strong harmonious atmosphere between a man and a woman.
Claude took out the bottle of whiskey he brought, opened the cap, and poured the contents into the empty bottle on the table before putting the empty bottle back on the table.
He filled the empty bottle with alcohol and stuffed it back into his backpack. Then, he picked up Nuit's uniform from the floor and went downstairs to change into a new one.
Had Nuit's physique not been so similar to Claude's, Claude definitely wouldn't have had any designs on him.
Even though Nuit was slightly more muscular than Claude, his uniform fit him perfectly as if it was custom-made.
Soon, a valiant navy lieutenant appeared on the old street and hurriedly made his way to the end of the street.
Several prostitutes who hadn't found a customer yet saw the Marine Lieutenant and were about to come forward to pester him. However, the Marine Lieutenant waved the black briefcase in his hand, indicating that he was on official business, and quickly flashed past them.
Several Marines on duty at the end of the street stopped a few hooded men who wanted to enter the brothel and asked them to register their names and prove their identities.
The few who refused were arguing with the soldiers, saying that it was a place they frequented and that it was unreasonable of them to not let them in now that it was occupied by the navy.
At that moment, the soldiers on duty saw a navy lieutenant walk out of the old street and ignored them. They saluted him and left. They found a rental carriage not far away and boarded it. Soon, the carriage turned around and left.
With great difficulty, the hooded men gathered some money and handed it to the soldiers on duty before they were allowed to enter the old street.
After they walked away grumbling, the soldiers on duty remembered the officer who had gone out. They casually said a few words and realized that no one knew him.
However, they didn't mind. There were more than two thousand people in the fleet stationed there and they couldn't possibly know all the officers.
However, it was strange that no one had heard of such a beautiful young lieutenant with a mustache. In the end, they guessed that he was most likely transferred recently. Since he was carrying a briefcase out so late at night, he must have been sent out by those senior officers to run errands.
"Fawkes Manor," Claude said to the coachman before getting into the carriage and closing the door.
The carriage headed east on the quiet and empty street. About twenty minutes later, the coachman called out to the coachman and the carriage slowed down before coming to a stop.
"Sir, we've arrived at Fawkes Manor."
Claude opened the door and got out of the carriage. Before him was the manor's arched gate made of iron.
"Wait here for me. It might take ten minutes or half an hour. Can I pay you one riyas when I get back?" Claude asked the coachman.
"Of course, Sir. I'll wait here." The coachman was overjoyed.
Usually, a trip like that would only cost him two to three sunas. Two trips would only cost him around five sunas.
Now that he could earn double that amount, he was more than happy to do so.
Besides, this was a naval officer who came to Sir Fawkes' manor, so he didn't have to worry about being scammed.
Clodela rang the bell hanging by the door. After a while, a servant wearing a thin coat came to the door and scolded.
When he saw the naval officer standing outside, he immediately put on a respectful and stern expression. "May I ask what business you have with me?"
Claude stared at him until he looked away guiltily. Then, he said in a hoarse voice, "I'm Lieutenant Abraham of the naval base. I'm here on Viscount Wenisk's orders to bring an urgent document for Sir Fawkes. Please report it."
"T-this … Master is already asleep …" But when he saw Claude looking at him expressionlessly, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll report it to the butler. Wait outside for a moment."
The servant turned around and hurriedly ran towards the main building. After a long while, the servant carried an oil lamp with a glass cover and led a thin, tall, triangular-eyed old man to the front door.
"What urgent document? Let me have a look," the old man said impatiently as he waved at Claude through the gate.
"Insolent!
Who do you think you are?
How dare you spy on military secrets? Do you want to be punished? "Claude roared, causing the old man to stumble and almost fall.
"You!"
The old man wanted to curse, but when he saw Claude's uniform, he suppressed his anger. "I'm sorry, I'm Sir Fawkes' butler, Walf. Sir Fawkes sent me here to get the document."
Clody shook his head and said solemnly, "I can't. This urgent document just arrived at the naval base. Viscount Wenisk asked me to come here and hand it to Sir Fux personally. He also asked me to get a reply immediately.
Please report it to Sir Fawkes. I hope he'll hurry. I still have to report back to the base! "
Although he didn't know why Viscount Wenisk sent an urgent document at this hour, the old butler didn't dare to be careless when he saw the serious expression on the First Lieutenant's face. If there really was an emergency, Sir Fux would definitely blame it on him, and he would be the one in trouble.
"Then, come in first. Bede, open the door."
The old man made up his mind. "Mister Lieutenant, please come with me. I'll report it to Sir Fawkes. Please wait here for a moment."
Claude nodded. "I'm Abraham. By the way, please get something hot for this gentleman outside. I still have to ride his carriage back to the naval base."
"Alright, Bede. Go to the kitchen and get something for this gentleman outside."
The servant called Bede went to the kitchen unwillingly. On the other hand, the coachman outside thanked Claude profusely.
Claude followed the old butler, Walf, into the main hall of the main building. The old man placed the lamp on a coffee table and lit a few candles on silver holders. The dark hall began to brighten up and reveal the luxurious decorations.
"Please wait here for a moment, Mister Abraham. I'll go inform Sir Fawkes and ask him to wake up," the old butler said politely.
Claude stood at attention like a soldier. "Thank you, Mister Walf."
The old butler went upstairs with the oil lamp. Claude stood at attention for about ten minutes before the light at the top of the stairs flickered. The old butler came down but stopped halfway. "Please come with me, Mister Abraham. Sir Fawkes will meet you in the study."
"Thank you." Claude strode up the stairs and followed behind the old butler.
On the second floor, the old butler walked towards the end of the corridor on the left.
The wall at the end of the corridor was already lit with candles. Claude saw a yawning maid standing beside the intricately carved purplish-black door.
"Sheerna, where's Sir Fawkes?" the old butler asked the maid.
"Master is already inside. He wants you to bring this officer in."
The maid's eyes lit up when she saw Claude. She immediately perked up and winked at him.
It had to be said that Claude looked rather handsome in the uniform and attracted a lot of attention from women.
"Please come in, Mister Abraham," the old butler said as he opened the door to the study.
"Thank you very much."
He thanked the old butler and nodded to the maidservant by the door before entering the study.
What he didn't expect was that the old butler followed him into the study.
Two silver candlesticks were already lit in the study room. Eight white candles made of beeswax were emitting a faint honey fragrance while emitting a bright light. Anyone who smelled it would feel very happy and tranquil.
Sir Fawkes was sitting in a wide armchair behind the desk, wearing a nightgown.
He was rather curious as to why Viscount Wenisk, who he didn't really get along with, would send someone to deliver an urgent document in the middle of the night and demand an immediate reply. What was going on?
Most of the upper class in Whitestag knew that Sir Fawkes and Viscount Wenisk were at loggerheads over the construction of the naval base. Firstly, the real estate company he and Baron Robert had invested in was forcefully expropriated by the naval base and the compensation was paid to the original owners.
The matter was on the verge of going to court until Mayor Robert was arrested. In total, Sir Fawkes suffered a loss of nearly a hundred crowns.
Secondly, everyone knew that Sir Fux was the mastermind behind the anonymous letter that was sent to Felidos regarding the transaction between the Normanley Real Estate Development Company and the naval base. Otherwise, no one would have been able to include the fair transaction of the slums in the anonymous letter as evidence.
The third incident was when Sir Fux tried to get a share of the profits from the construction of the naval base, but was rejected by Viscount Wenisk in public. That happened at the first banquet Felidos hosted after he took office, and Sir Fux was embarrassed to the point where he almost couldn't find a way out …