Meanwhile, the Baier family and the Mouse Company continued to be estranged due to Alric's previous incident.
Alric's family was putting pressure on this organization due to their failure to find clear clues as to who had acted against this young master. But things had not gotten out of hand with one side acting more seriously than they should.
The Baier patriarch was furious about what had happened to his son, even more so considering that Alric had lost his manhood. But still, he would not come at the Mouse Company with destructive force without further proof.
The Mouse Company might be an underworld force, but the Baier patriarch knew about some of the troublesome connections of that organization!
With that said, other than minor disagreements, and an end to friendly communication between the parties, no major fighting had taken place in this period since Lothur's action.
However, neither side was sure if this was the end. So, to avoid continuing to risk confrontation with a large family, the very members of the local underworld organization were investigating Alric's misfortune.
...
"Any findings, Leon?" The leader of the Mouse Company asked one of the men across his desk.
Seeing the serious expression on his leader's face, Leon, a tall, strong, dark-skinned man, said. "Boss, so far, we have not been able to find out exactly who acted against the brat. But among the many suspects, the good-for-nothing Lothur is among the possibilities."
"Oh? Why do you think that?" That man's eyebrows drew together after those words were spoken.
"Boss, as you already know, Alric was after information of that fellow."
"Hmmm."
"But before Alric's incident, he and his two minions returned to their homes full of injuries a certain day... But, surprisingly, neither of them sought help from their families to seek justice."
"That..." Kai tried to understand what that subordinate was about to say.
"They probably beat the crap out of someone but ended up injured. In any case, since Alric's group won, they did not seek justice for their injuries." That man stated. "That's what I believe!"
"Interesting..." Kai put one of his hands to his mouth and murmured, considering this information. "But why do you say that troublesome fellow's son is one of the suspects?"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtLeon then responded. "He is a suspect because he is one of the few who had a disagreement with Alric recently. Also, the day they returned to their homes with injuries, the three subjects were seen in the vicinity of House Frost property."
"I see... That is why you placed him among the suspects. But what makes you think that Lothur would be able to act against those three?"
"That is obviously because of Miss Harris' warnings. This Lothur seems to be hiding something... I can't tell if he's truly a good-for-nothing like we all think." His eyes sharpen. "Maybe he inherited something from that person..."
Hearing this, Kai became much soberer since, unlike Lothur, he knew well the origin of that silver-haired young man. "If he inherited something from that man, he truly is a danger."
'No wonder my master wants to kill that brat!' He thought.
After a few moments in silence, smoking a long cigar, Kai decided. "Try to put the Baier family against that brat. He should be dead by now, but surprisingly he is managing to avoid us better than we had anticipated."
"Yes."
"Then throw some bait to them. On the other hand, tell Erika that if she can't cause trouble for Lothur in the next few days, she can forget about freeing herself from her current position." He said in an icy tone. "Also, speak with Elise. I want her to try more vigorously to deal with him."
"About that, boss," One of the other individuals in that office said. "She recently tried to deal with him but almost got caught... Isn't it better that she slow down her current pace? If she gets caught..."
"No."
"If she's at risk of being discovered, it's better to act at once and run away after eliminating him." This leader refused his subordinate's ideas. "Anyway, do that quickly."
"Yes, boss!"
After some of those individuals left that place, Kai came face to face with his right hand. "Do you have something to tell me?"
The man then said. "Recently, the brat Lothur was at the Cultivation House seeking information about Willi and Erika."
"Oh? Has he found out anything?"
"We don't know yet, but from what I was told, he seemed concerned about Willi's disappearance, as one would expect from a good friend."
"Hahahaha, what an idiot! I guess I'm giving him too much credit because of his background... But there really shouldn't be any risk here." He had a few laughs because of that information.
...
A few hours later, at the Becker family estate...
At this point, Elke had already said goodbye to Lothur and was diligently cultivating in her room, something she had recently learned to appreciate.
Before meeting Lothur, she had never enjoyed cultivating or training her techniques due to her low talent. But this had changed for some reason.
Mysteriously, her body seemed to be getting more and more adept at spiritual cultivation, as if something was making her job more convenient and much more enjoyable. And in fact, her results were coming more effortlessly, making this whole process interesting for her.
'I think this change happened after Lothur made me a woman...' She thought about this while sitting on a cultivation cushion in a lotus position in the middle of her room. 'I wonder why this is happening? Is it because of this feeling I get while I am with him?' Her face flushed.
'In any case, I have to try harder!'
'Lothur is much more talented than me, so I can't be lazy, or I'll fall behind!'
'Especially considering that little bitch sister-in-law of his.' Elke opened her eyes at the thought of that. "She's having an affair with her brother-in-law..."
"What a slut she is!" She muttered.
...
As Elke finished her nightly cultivation and prepared for bed, her parents received some worrying information.
"Patriarch, ma'am, I'm afraid the young miss has been seen in public doing something she shouldn't be doing today." A middle-aged man, kneeling beside a large bed, said this in a low voice.
Upon hearing that, Elke's father looked strangely into the face of this trusted servant of his and asked. "What did Elke do?"
"She was seen walking arm in arm with a young man earlier today..."
"What?" Elke's mother almost jumped out of bed in surprise upon hearing this. "How could that be? Who was the bastard?"
"About that, ma'am, the person's name is Lothur Ritter, and he is the young son-in-law of the Frost family." This man's eyes opened wider as he remembered another piece of information. "By the way, on this occasion, not only was the young miss walking arm in arm with him. The Second Miss Frost was too."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"His sister-in-law?" Elke's mother asked awkwardly, thinking of a strange possibility.
As for Elke's father, he was starting to get worried. "It can't be that..."
"Impossible!" His wife said. "A good-for-nothing like him couldn't get House Frost's approval to have both sisters!"
She then laid out her thoughts. "Thinking about that, this brat is nothing but a fantasy husband to that child, Viktoria. Maybe he actually does not like this type of 'fruit'?"
"You're saying..."
"Maybe he doesn't even like women! How would the Second Miss Frost walk arm in arm with him, along with our daughter, if they knew he might get the situation wrong?" She insisted. "You know how men are. All it takes is for a woman to be nice to one of you, and many already think they have a chance of getting some intimacy..."
"Not for nothing! It makes perfect sense now! That's why Viktoria married him!" She said.
"Sigh!"
"Is that so?" The patriarch asked uncertainly. 'I don't think my daughter would do such a foolish thing if this young man is a real deal...'
'That would only tarnish her image and that of our family!'
He looked at that servant and asked. "What do you think of that?"
"I agree with ma'am, patriarch. That young man has no talent whatsoever, and as far as I know, he only recently met the young miss. So, I think it's improbable that someone as intelligent as her would make such a foolish mistake."
"Hmm, that makes sense."
"Keep an eye on that brat. If what he has with my daughter is more than mere friendship, don't hesitate to deal with him!"
"Yes, patriarch!"
Elke's mother thought of something and said. "Dear, why don't we remove our doubt on our own? How about we invite him to dinner? That way, we can assess whether he is a risk to little Elke's reputation."
"Oh? Good idea!"
After that, he ordered that servant to find a way to follow this plan without alerting Elke just before the two got ready for bed.
'Lothur, huh? I want to see what that little brat wants...'