When our group arrived at the gates of the city, I was surprised by how quickly we were let in.
It wasn't that there was a short line or the queue moved fast, it was that there was a guard that came forward that brought us to another gate that had no one around.
When I asked what this was, the guard told me that this gate had been specially set aside for our arrival.
I couldn't help revealing a surprised look when I heard this.
An entire gate for a busy city like this was booked and people were kept away for an entire day, there was no doubt that this would have a large impact on the city.
This might make sense if it was done for a king or another noble that was in a high position, but why would they do it for someone like me?
I looked at Shaka and he shook his head to show that he didn't have a clue either.
It seemed that there was something happening in this Bright Water City that we weren't aware of…
Would this get in the way of our mission or would it help us?
I wasn't certain, but at the very least we were allowed to enter the city quickly.
But at the same time, there was a guard at the gate that stopped us.
The guards quickly did a check on our carriage, but it seemed more like a formality than actually checking the carriage. They did nothing more than glance over the carriage itself before letting us in.
But then there was the guard there that stopped us.
This guard quickly identified himself as a messenger and brought us a message that surprised us.
"The duke wishes to meet Baron Zwein. He requests that you come to his manor for a meeting right away."
I couldn't help revealing a strange and confused look when I heard this.
As I looked at Shaka, I could see that he also had a confused look on his face.
It seemed that even with the intelligence network of the Shadow Garden, he didn't have a single clue what the duke was up to.
But this was the duke that we were talking about and I was here on a courtesy call, so there was no choice but to follow this messenger.
We were led through the main streets of the city until we reached the center.
Based on the changes to the buildings around us, it was clear that this was the high end district. This was the noble district where the nobles of this city lived and where the most influential merchants opened their stores.
This place was filled with people that couldn't be offended that easily.
However, they all parted when they saw the messenger that was with us.
Since they had been dressed in the normal outfit of a guard, we had assumed that this person was just a normal guard. But judging by the way that all of the people around us looked at him, it was clear that he wasn't just a normal guard.
I looked at Shaka, but once again he shook his head to show that he didn't know anything.
At this, I couldn't help revealing a look of disdain, as if I was asking what he was good for if he didn't know anything.
Shaka just revealed a bitter smile when he saw this, but he didn't say a thing since there was nothing that he could say.
With the path created for us, it took us no time to reach a large and luxurious looking manor.
It was clear that this manor was the residence of a powerful noble with just a single glance.
Even the guards that were standing outside had shiny new weapons that helped illustrate just how powerful they were.
Unless one was a fool, they wouldn't dare charge a manor like this.
But when we arrived, the guards on the sides of the gate bowed to us.
Once again, Shaka and I couldn't help being confused why the guards were acting this way.
No matter how one looked at it, they should have been at a higher status than me.
After all, I was nothing more than a simple baron and they were guards for a duke.
If I did anything to them, there was no doubt that I would be destroyed by the baron. But if they did anything to me, I would have no choice but to suck it up to avoid offending the duke accidentally.
So there was no reason for them to be this respectful to me.
Normally, in this kind of situation, the guards would be looking down on me…
After we went through the gates, we found that there was a group of servants that were waiting for us.
These servants included several beautiful maids and one old looking butler who was clearly a senior servant of the ducal manor.
But just like before, all of them bowed to me respectfully when I came out of the carriage.
The butler even treated me with so much respect that one would think that I was his master instead of the duke…
What was happening here?
This just didn't make any sense at all…
We were led into the manor by this group of servants and then brought to a room that was very luxuriously decorated.
Judging by the layout of this room, this should be a room that the duke used to receive important guests of his.
So why would they bring me here?
Could it be that they were all working together to shame me or was there something deeper going on?
I just sat there with a confused look while Shaka raised his guard and started checking the area just in case there were any traps around us. But he wasn't able to find anything in the end.
He had suspected that the demons had laid their hands on the duke and that this was all a trap, but that didn't seem to be the case.
So just what was happening here?