Fortunately, Jesse's background hadn't been exposed yet. Switching through several channels and watching ten more minutes of news about the chaos in Paris, William listened to Sunday's report: Otel Youssou's group was fully prepared to rob the Banque de France, and their escape route had already been identified by Sunday.
Feeling pleased at the thought of dealing with Youssou and his gang, William was interrupted by Abigail's voice calling him to breakfast.
As he entered the dining room, he was surprised to find Jesse chatting and laughing as she helped Abigail set the table. This made William recall how Jesse seemed to know a lot about Abigail's background, and how Abigail had suddenly and quietly come to Paris to meet Jesse.
A suspicion arose in William's mind. Could these two women have been in contact before?
"Have you two been in touch recently?" William asked abruptly, his tone curious but laced with suspicion.
As soon as the words left his mouth, William pieced things together: this had to be Abigail's doing. She likely reached out to Jesse first, and Jesse, feeling insecure around someone as accomplished and elegant as Abigail, must have quickly been roped into some sort of alliance.
Jesse's glance toward Abigail confirmed William's suspicion. Rolling his eyes, he shot Abigail a glare. However, he decided not to pursue the matter further.
"Let's eat. After breakfast, we'll head to Château de Chantilly," he said casually.
"Okay," Abigail replied cheerfully, while Jesse smiled awkwardly and kept her head down, focusing on her food.
Unfortunately, their plans to visit the château were interrupted. As they were preparing to leave, Sunday reported, "Sir, Charles Cavendish, Viscount of Cavendish, is outside the villa, requesting a visit."
"Who? Cavendish?" William frowned, taking a moment to recall who that was. "Bloody hell, what's that idiot doing here?"
"Should I let him in?"
"Open the gates," William sighed, shaking his head. Regardless of how much he disliked Charles, etiquette demanded that he couldn't outright refuse a visit from a relative—no matter how distant.
Walking to the front door, William watched as Charles Cavendish stepped out of a car, accompanied by a middle-aged man and woman.
"Hey, William! Long time no see," Charles greeted, moving in for a hug. However, he froze mid-step when he saw the stern look in William's eyes. Charles quickly remembered what had happened months ago at Devonshire Manor in London. Back then, William had fired a shot near Charles's face because he'd lied about drinking one of William's prized bottles of Macallan whiskey.
If William knew Charles's current thoughts, he'd firmly deny that the whiskey had been the reason for the shot. It had been because Charles wasn't honest.
"Good morning, Charles," William said, extending a hand for a handshake instead. After a polite shake, William turned his attention to the couple. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"
"Oh, right, my apologies," Charles said, snapping out of his thoughts. Gesturing to the couple, he said, "This is Nick Spitz and Audrey Spitz. I met them on my flight to Paris. They're friends of mine and, when they heard I was coming to visit you, they asked to tag along to meet the world-famous Grand Duke."
Bloody hell, William cursed inwardly. Charles was as unreliable as ever. Who invites complete strangers from a plane to someone else's home?
However, William didn't find the Spitz couple themselves objectionable. They were instantly recognizable: Nick was played by Adam Sandler and Audrey by Jennifer Aniston in Murder Mystery.
So, while William mentally berated Charles for his lack of decorum, he warmly greeted the couple. "Welcome, Mr. Spitz, Mrs. Spitz."
"Th-thank you, Mr. Devonshire," Nick and Audrey stammered, clearly awestruck.
After shaking their hands, William gestured toward the house. "Please, come in. Let's talk inside."
"Thank you, thank you," the Spitzes replied in unison, their voices filled with gratitude. For them, this was nothing short of a dream come true—what had started as a casual European vacation had now led to meeting a high-ranking noble and billionaire inside a stunning villa overlooking the Champs-Élysées, just in time for France's grand Armistice Day celebration.
Once inside, before the Spitzes could marvel at the luxurious interior, Charles turned to William and complained, "You shouldn't have bought this house, William. It used to be my aunt's residence."
"What?" William stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes at Charles. "Is that true?"
"You didn't know?" Charles asked, surprised by William's reaction. After a brief pause, he realized that William likely had no idea. A man as wealthy as William wouldn't need to lie about something like this.
"Never mind," Charles said, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter now. You already own it."
"No, it does matter," William replied, his tone serious. "I need to know if someone passed away here. You should understand that I'll dig into this myself, so it's better if you tell me what you know."
Charles hesitated, his expression uneasy. Before he could respond, Nick Spitz raised his hand awkwardly, saying, "Uh, Mr. Devonshire, could we use the restroom?"
William glanced at the couple and immediately understood—they wanted to avoid being caught in the middle of this conversation. "Of course," he said, leading them to the guest bathroom.
Back in the living room, William addressed Jesse. "Darling, this is Mr. Spitz and Mrs. Spitz. Could you look after our guests for a moment?"
"Of course, darling," Jesse replied with a smile.
Turning to the Spitzes, William offered an apologetic smile. "Excuse me for a moment."
"Not a problem at all," the couple replied quickly, nodding their heads.
As William and Charles left the room, Audrey leaned in and whispered to her husband, "Oh my God, the way he frowned just now—he scared me so much I couldn't breathe."
Nick, trying to maintain his composure, said, "Yeah, he definitely has that commanding aura of someone at the top. No wonder he's the richest young man in the world. But why do you think he's so concerned about whether someone died in this house?"
Jesse, having overheard, chuckled. "Don't worry, Mr. Spitz, Mrs. Spitz. William can be scary when he's upset, but he's not unreasonable. A few days ago, he scared me so much I couldn't say a word."
"Really?" Audrey asked, surprised. "But he called you 'darling' in front of us just now."
"Don't misunderstand," Jesse said, laughing. "Even when he's angry, he doesn't yell. He just frowns—but somehow, that's enough to make people freeze."
Audrey nodded quickly. "Exactly! Thank goodness he wasn't angry at me just now."
Abigail, standing nearby, added with a chuckle, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Spitz, but William does have some peculiar taboos. No one knows where he picked up these strange rules."
In William's study, he poured Charles a glass of Macallan whiskey before sitting across from him. His tone was sharp as he said, "What's so urgent that you came all the way to see me, using two strangers as cover, and invoked your aunt's name just to talk to me alone?"
Charles took a sip of whiskey, visibly nervous. "Someone wants me dead, and I'm here to bring you money."
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I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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