Knight Street, located in the upper city of Igwynt, was a high-end residential area with a serene environment. The streets were lined with rows of townhouses, tall avenue trees stood along the pedestrian walkways, and only a few carriages moved along the cobblestone-paved road.
In the afternoon, the carriage carrying Dorothy stopped by the side of Knight Street. After paying the coachman, Dorothy, wearing a sun hat, carrying a small purse, and dressed in a light purple dress, stepped onto the ground and began surveying her surroundings.
"Not bad…"
After a brief remark, Dorothy started walking along the sidewalk, glancing at the townhouses beside her while slowly counting the house numbers.
"24... 25... 26. This is the one."
Nodding slightly, Dorothy ascended the stairs leading to the wooden door and rang the doorbell. The chime of the bell hadn’t lasted long before a small window on the door slid open, revealing a pair of eyes, followed by a questioning female voice.
"Who is it?"
"I was a volunteer teacher at the Charity Orphanage when Anna Field was there. I was invited by the orphanage to visit her," Dorothy replied calmly.
The person inside quickly responded.
"An invitation from the orphanage? Please wait a moment, I’ll confirm it."With that, the small window snapped shut. Dorothy stood outside patiently for a while until the door before her swung open. Appearing in the doorway was a young maid, around twenty years old, with slightly wavy blonde hair, dressed in a classic black-and-white maid uniform.
"Come in. Miss Anna is on the second floor. Other visitors are already there," the maid informed Dorothy. Her tone lacked the humility typical of a servant. However, Dorothy had no complaints about this, as she immediately noticed the maid’s unusually upright posture and cautious gaze.
"Thank you..."
After a brief expression of gratitude, Dorothy stepped into the lavishly decorated house and made her way up the staircase. Before long, she arrived at the second floor and entered a spacious sitting room—twice the size of her own living room—where she saw Anna seated on the sofa in her nightgown, surrounded by a group of people.
Among them were several men in suits holding pens and documents, two elderly nuns, a few modestly dressed children playing around the room, and several servants standing nearby.
The suited men were seated beside Anna, questioning her about something, while Anna responded somewhat drowsily. Occasionally, the elderly nuns would chime in with additional details. When Anna inadvertently spotted Dorothy, a smile appeared on her lips.
"You finally came! Miss Mayschoss!"
"Of course, I had to visit little Anna," Dorothy replied with a smile, stepping forward to engage in conversation with Anna and the others while discreetly gathering information in the process.
Before long, Dorothy had roughly pieced together Anna’s current situation.
Anna’s mental condition had been confirmed by doctors to be completely stable, allowing her to be discharged from the hospital. However, since she was now the rightful heir to the Field family, she did not return to the orphanage but instead moved here—one of the many properties owned by Viscount Field in Igwynt. Although Anna had yet to formally inherit the properties, she was already permitted to use it.
As for who arranged for Anna to live here, Dorothy had a guess—most likely the Serenity Bureau. Anna’s sudden recovery from her poisoning would undoubtedly have drawn the Bureau’s attention. Even after being discharged, she was bound to be monitored. Moreover, becoming the heir of the Field family would inevitably threaten certain vested interests, making protection a necessity.
With both surveillance and protection in mind, sending Anna back to the orphanage was no longer appropriate. She was, after all, the heir to a noble title, under public scrutiny. Locking her up in a government facility would be even less suitable.
Thus, the Serenity Bureau likely selected one of Viscount Field’s properties for her temporary residence and began making preparations for her inheritance. The suited men holding documents were clearly officials from the courthouse and legal consultants hired specifically for this matter.
"So... the Serenity Bureau is taking Anna’s inheritance very seriously. Not only are they handling the legal procedures, but they even provided legal advisors. It seems they strongly support Anna’s succession."
Observing the situation, Dorothy developed a slight appreciation for the decision-makers at the Igwynt’s Serenity Bureau.
Even though Anna had a strong legal claim to her inheritance, she was still a young orphan with no family to speak on her behalf. Without someone advocating for her, this matter could have been quite difficult to resolve. But with the Serenity Bureau’s intervention, things were different.
Having dealt with the Serenity Bureau several times, Dorothy was well aware of its high standing in the Pritt Kingdom’s power structure—at the very least, it outranked the police force. With such an authoritative institution backing Anna, combined with her solid legal claim, there were no legal obstacles preventing her from inheriting the Field properties and title.
"They sure are thorough… Not only do they keep cleaning up after me, but now they’re even handling this..."
As Dorothy continued conversing with Anna, she discreetly scanned the servants around the room. Just like the maid at the door, they all had sharp, alert eyes—clearly disguised Hunters.
"Heh... I wonder if Gregor is involved in Anna’s protection mission. A Hunter squad leader acting as my student’s bodyguard? Haha..."
…
"Ah-choo!!"
In the second-floor room of a house directly opposite Knight Street No.26, Gregor suddenly sneezed.
"Ugh... Am I catching a cold?"
Rubbing his nose, Gregor muttered to himself before returning to his observation. Through the window, he watched the familiar girl inside House 26 conversing with his protection target.
"As expected... she came. Good thing I don’t have to hide in there myself, or this would be a disaster."
As he spoke, Gregor sighed in relief. As a squad leader, he didn’t need to disguise himself as a servant like his subordinates. He couldn’t imagine what Dorothy’s reaction would be if she discovered him acting as a household servant in her student’s home.
Peering through the window at the scene inside, Gregor silently wished for his troublesome "sister" to leave soon.
Meanwhile, several hundred meters away, further down the Knight Street, a short, scruffy man in a trench coat sat on a bench by the sidewalk, holding a briefcase while gazing into the distance.
"Let’s see what secrets you’re hiding..."
Muttering to himself, the man—named Goffrey—opened his briefcase, rummaged through it for a moment, and retrieved an object.
It was a bone—a hollowed-out piece of bone with visible signs of refinement. Intricate carvings covered its surface, and at its center, two distinct symbols were etched.
One was a larger emblem: a perfect triangle inscribed within a circle. The other was smaller and resembled a closed eye.
Next, Goffrey pulled out a small bone rod and tapped the hollow bone twice. A hollow, eerie sound rang out, and soon after, a wisp of translucent, indistinct mist emerged from the bone.
The mist rapidly expanded, swelling to the size of a person before solidifying into a humanoid form.
Moments later, a gaunt, raggedly dressed man with disheveled hair and a vacant expression floated silently before Goffrey.
It was a ghost.
"Go… scout House Number 26 and the surrounding area for me."
Goffrey spoke bluntly. The ghostly figure nodded before turning and drifting away. As it moved, its already translucent form gradually faded further until it completely disappeared from sight.