"But I have a question," Wenisk said, "Claude, why are you so confident that Sir Fux won't be elected to the council in next year's election?
Based on what I know, he's been a councilor in Whitestag for five terms and turned Whitestag into his base of operations. He's so deeply rooted that people call him the boss of Whitestag. Many proposals regarding Whitestag can't be implemented without his approval. "
The term of office of the Aueran Parliament was five years and they were elected by the citizens of the region.
By then, Claude had calmed down and looked at Wenisk curiously, wondering why he would ask such a question. "Since you know what he's capable of, why did you fall out with him over the construction of the naval base? Why didn't you give him any face at all?"
Wenisk blushed a little from Claude's stare. "Hehe, actually, before I took office, someone in the royal capital told me that as long as I got Sir Fux's cooperation, there wouldn't be any major problems in Whitestag.
I felt like that person purposely came up to me to tell me that, so I asked Maria about it.
Maria said disdainfully that he was just a country bumpkin who was used to acting like a tyrant in a small place. He was arrogant and snobbish. He only behaved himself when he attended the council in the royal capital every year.
She told me to ignore him and to slap him if he wanted to be cocky and not to give him any face.
I'm a soldier and he's a commoner, so there's no relationship between us.
I didn't want to provoke him at first. The construction of the naval base here was part of the kingdom's strategy and had nothing to do with him.
But he was too greedy. After the development of Whitestag was announced, he wantonly expropriated the properties of the slums without the slightest scruple and only gave some compensation.
He didn't think that I'd be dragged into this mess, so I chased his real estate company out of the western slum district in a fit of rage.
After this incident, he still refused to learn his lesson. He even privately told me that he wanted to contract the construction of the entire naval base. He asked me to raise the construction cost, and he would find someone to lower the construction cost. This way, the difference would be several times the construction cost, and he would give me 10% of the profit.
Pfft, do I lack that bit of money? This is a naval base, not a public facility, so of course I didn't give him any face. "
"Bring me a bottle of wine to moisten your throat."
"After that, he tried to join forces with the barony-something mayor to force the farms south of town to stop selling us fresh fruits and vegetables, hoping to force me into submission.
In the end, he did not expect that the mayor would fail the audit and be arrested. Then, Felidos took office, and all his plans were in vain.
Even so, he shamelessly came to me during the banquet hosted by General Manager Felidos and said that he could help with the construction of the naval base with quality and quantity guaranteed at the market price.
I turned around and left. I didn't want to talk to him anymore. He had lost face in front of so many people.
Actually, when I heard that he was killed this morning, I was first shocked, and then delighted. That old man deserved it! "
Claude took out a bottle of whiskey from a case beside the table and two glasses. He opened the lids and poured half a glass for Joseph and Viscount Wenisk.
Joseph looked at the case and asked, "Why are there three bottles missing?"
Claude pointed to the corner of the wall. "Look, there are two empty bottles there. Pour some wine in and add some water. It'll attract mosquitoes easily.
Once the mosquitoes smelled the alcohol, they would be finished as soon as they flew in and came into contact with the alcohol.
The weather was hot a few days ago and there were a lot of mosquitoes. We managed to kill around 20 mosquitoes in a day and night.
Also, Lieutenant Nuit took a bottle yesterday. I forgot to ask him to bring it back. It's quite unique and costs one sunar as a deposit. "
Joseph got up and squatted down to look at the two empty bottles in the corner. As expected, there were a few mosquitoes soaked in the wine at the bottom of the bottles.
"That's a good idea. It's much better than the smell of mosquito-repellent incense," Joseph said.
"But you're actually willing to give Lieutenant Nuit such an expensive bottle of whiskey."
"Actually, I didn't give it to him. Lieutenant Nuit helped me drink it," Claude explained.
Claude explained, "I opened the bottle of whiskey to have a taste, so I poured a little. I found that it was bitter and spicy, not as good as the blueberry wine. It didn't suit my taste, so I left it on the table.
Then, I forgot about it and left it there for more than a week.
I was worried that an opened bottle of whiskey wouldn't last long, so Lieutenant Nuit said he was going to meet his lover tonight and asked me to give him a bottle. So, I gave him the opened bottle of whiskey. "
Wenisk had already finished his glass of whiskey and was pouring it into his own glass. He laughed when he heard Claude's words. "You're only 18 and a brat. You don't understand the beauty of alcohol or women.
Alright, tell me now. How confident are you that you'll be able to take down the now-dead Sir Fux? "
Claude smiled bitterly. "What's the point of saying all that now? He's dead anyway. All my plans are for naught."
"It's fine. Just tell me. I just want to know what your plans are," Wenisk said nonchalantly.
"Actually, the reason he was able to serve five terms in the parliament was because of my father and Uncle Tomas.
Whitestag used to have a population of 561. Apart from those who weren't willing to vote, as long as 270 votes were cast in every election, the old man would be elected.
"I heard that it was my father and the others who helped him canvass votes for the first two elections and he was able to serve for ten years.
"For the next three elections, the old man had already established himself and no one in Whitestag was willing to compete with him. So, it was just a formality and he didn't even have to count the votes before he was able to continue serving.
"Whitestag used to be under the jurisdiction of the prefectural city of Baromisse. The old man served as a parliament for 24 years and built up a huge network of connections in the prefectural city. Since then, the town magistrate would have to submit any requests to the prefectural council through him. So, the relationship between my father and the old man gradually fell apart and he became the one guiding them from behind the scenes.
"For example, my father's plan to open a new sea route to Nubissia was also instigated by the old man behind the scenes. He hid in the shadows and had my father and the others raise the funds for the expedition.
"After the new sea route was opened, he stopped my father and the others from reporting it to the higher-ups, believing that it was better to organize a merchant fleet to smuggle goods to the overseas fiefdoms first so that everyone could earn some money first.
"That was how my father was tricked by him to prepare ships and goods for him. He even wrote an IOU …"
Claude slammed his fist on the table, giving Wenisk and Joseph a huge fright.
"I won't deny that I hate the old man. He destroyed my family, but I won't kill him so easily.
However, I won't kill him so easily. I want him to lose everything, to have nothing left.
If Whitestag hadn't changed much, I might've had to endure for a long time before I could find a chance to take revenge. But now that the kingdom wants to develop Whitestag into a naval base and upgrade it to a city under the direct jurisdiction of the royal capital, I found a great opportunity. "
Claude looked at Wenisk. "Lord Viscount, how many councilors will Whitestag get after it's upgraded to a city?"
Wenisk immediately understood. "Three. Three seats for the National Assembly."
Claude nodded. "No one was willing to compete with the old man in the past. After all, he has a strong foundation in the prefectural city and his connections are vast. Even if we were to nominate a new councilor, the prefectural council would likely reject it for various reasons.
But now that Whitestag is under the direct jurisdiction of the royal capital, Madam Maria has already promised me that the council will nominate a new councilor.
"Also, everyone in Whitestag knows about how he tricked my father into signing the IOU and forced him to commit suicide. Uncle Tomas and the others will also be running for councilor.
"That old man has been arrogant for so long that he's forgotten his roots. His reputation among the people of Whitestag is in shambles. What else can he rely on to gain votes?
Buy it with money?
How much is he prepared to pay for a single vote?
"I prepared five thousand crowns this time. No matter how much he offers, I'll pay double.
"That's why I'm waiting for the councilor elections next year. I really want to see how that old man's face will look when he fails to become a councilor.
"Once Uncle Tomas and the others are elected, they'll propose a bill to review all the public works that Whitestag did during the expansion.
When my father was alive, he told me that this old man had been using the town hall to carry out public works projects for the past ten years. He pretended to be the contractor, raised the cost of the construction, and lowered the wages of the workers. He ate from the top and ate from the bottom, and earned a lot of illegal profits. However, none of the projects were up to standard.
"If we pick on him in that regard, we'll be able to find him pretty easily. He won't be able to get away with it and it's not impossible for him to be sentenced to prison."
"That's the best revenge for me," Claude said regretfully.
"It's a pity that the old man died too quickly. He didn't even have the chance to make up for it. I really can't take it lying down."
"By the way, Lord Viscount, can you tell me how he died?
I hope it's as tragic as possible. Maybe it'll be able to comfort my disappointed heart a little. "
Wenisk looked at Joseph. Seeing that he didn't seem to have any objections, he described how Sir Fux and his butler died, as well as Joseph's autopsy report and his deductions on the killer's actions.
Claude looked at Joseph with surprise. I really can't tell that this guy has any tricks up his sleeve. Thankfully, I performed perfectly and got full marks.
"Is there anything you want to say?"
Asked Wenisk. Perhaps Claude had some other thoughts, but the little fellow's plan for revenge was rather detailed.
Claude pondered for a moment and said hesitantly, "Perhaps you're looking in the wrong direction."
Joseph stared at Claude.
"Lord Viscount, you said that the killer is most likely a professional killer or assassin. I think it makes sense.
But if that's the case, the killer would've left Whitestag long ago and wouldn't be waiting for you to find him.
"Also, what's the killer's motive for killing the old man? It's very suspicious that he's pretending to be a naval officer and asking to see the old man under the guise of handing him urgent documents. If I were the killer, I would've found an opportunity to climb over the walls of his manor and stab him a few times.
I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of knocking on the door and alerting the servants and butler.
"That's why I suspect that the killer doesn't know the old man. That's why he pretended to be a naval officer and asked to see him. That way, he wouldn't get the wrong target.
"Also, he didn't search for any valuables or documents before leaving. That kind of assassination seems more like a way to silence him or vent his anger.
"If I were in charge of this case, I wouldn't go looking for the killer. Instead, I'd search for the killer's motive in the manor and look for the old man's diary and documents to see if there are any clues or if he offended someone. Or if there's a problem with the distribution of the loot. If it's really a contract killing, it's very likely that someone from the other side ordered it."
Claude pointed to the south, where the road to the prefectural capital was located.
"Why do you think so?" Wenisk asked.
"Because Whitestag will be under the direct jurisdiction of the royal capital in the future. The old man won't need to rely on his connections in the prefectural capital anymore," Claude replied.
Viscount Wenisk suddenly understood, and Detective Joseph fell into deep thought.
"But if we find out something, it'll affect a lot of people …" Wenisk muttered to himself.
Claude shrugged. "But that way, you'll be less involved with Felidos."
Joseph stood up and left with Wenisk following. Claude hurriedly sent them off as well.
When they reached the office building, the people they brought with them were waiting by the carriage.
Joseph went to Bede and Sheerna's side and whispered, "Look at the young man who sent us out. Doesn't he look a little like Abraham from last night?"
Bede shook his head. "Not at all."
Sheerna puffed up her chest. "He's a little pervert. He keeps staring at me and even blushes. Ha, what an interesting fellow."