Arthur opened the letter, and inside it was written that:
Arthur's grandfather would be investigating the incident himself, secretly, and asked Arthur not to tell the officers anything, even if he knew something.
He stated he was sending this letter through his second son, as he didn't trust anyone else. It seemed the officers were involved, as they were trying to hide something, but the identity of the mastermind remained unknown.
Therefore, Arthur was not to speak about what his grandfather was planning and was instructed to come to the capital as soon as possible.
'I see. So, they were indeed involved. I had my suspicions, but now... this letter confirmed it.'
He closed the letter and placed both hands onto the table, his expression showing weariness.
"Sigh... I guess I'll have to leave for the capital on tomorrow morning's train."
Arthur then headed to his father's office. As soon as he stepped inside, memories of his father came to his mind, seeing that the office was still the same as he had left it.
'The servants had cleaned it from time to time, but I never stepped inside.'
He looked around the desk, opening the drawers and sorting through the papers, searching for something... anything he could find as a clue.
It didn't take long for him to find a book deep inside one of the drawers.
'Huh? What could this be?'
He wiped the dust from the book, which appeared to be a diary, and opened it slowly, carefully, so as not to tear the pages, as the diary was quite old.
As soon as he opened it, something fell from the middle of its pages.
'Huh?'
He bent down to pick up what had fallen onto the floor. When he picked it up and looked at it, he realized it was a photograph.
'A photograph? What is this doing here inside this old diary?'
Inside the photo were seven men. Some were seated, and others stood behind them.
In the middle seated was Arthur's father, Frederick Ashbourne. He appeared quite young in the photo. And the others… he couldn't quite recognize any of them, as they were all in their youth as well."
"Wait... did my father attend the university?"
Arthur was surprised to find out the one thing he didn't know about him. Strangely, there were quite a few more things that he still didn't know.
He wondered if he had truly known anything about him.
'Then... why wasn't I aware of this until now? Why didn't anyone tell me about it?'
Arthur was confused for quite a while, but soon regained his composure and sighed."
"Sigh... Whatever."
He placed the photograph aside and looked at the diary, but he couldn't understand a single sentence properly, as the diary was burned from the top right corner. It also had burn marks scattered here and there.
Arthur then walked toward the windows and gazed outside the glass, wondering why his father always stood there, staring out the window.
'What was so special about this spot that he always stood here?'
He then saw Alfred standing outside, smoking a cigar despite the chill, and murmured to himself:
"Does he have a habit of smoking?"
He looked at him for a while, then turned his gaze back to the diary.
"Haa... I'll just look at this some other time."
He then took the diary and photograph with him and left the room, the door closed with a quiet thud behind.
The next day, Arthur went to the train station and he was surprised by the chaos in the early morning.
The same smell of coal and damp stone surrounded him. He could hear the distant whistle of the approaching train, despite the loud voices of the crowd around him.
He approached a ticket inspector, who spoke in a monotonous tone. It was clearly a part of his everyday routine.
"Good morning. Allow me a moment to check your ticket."
Arthur handed him his slip without any ceremony. The inspector glanced at it for a moment and then returned it to him.
"Safe travels, Sir."
Arthur boarded train number 347. As he reached the fourth carriage, his steps slowed, his fingers grazed the cool metal of the engraved brass plate before pushing the door open.
His gaze landed on an old man sitting with his legs crossed; he was engrossed in the morning newspaper, which he held in his rough hands.
"Morning."
Arthur greeted him first, and the man returned the greeting in a husky voice.
"Yes. Good morning, young man."
Arthur nodded, placed his briefcase onto the seat, and then sat beside it on the opposite seat to the man.
'Hmm... What should I do now?'
Arthur didn't realize that he was staring at the newspaper until the man spoke up:
"Do you need the newspaper, young man?"
Arthur was caught off guard.
"Huh? Ah, no. That's quite alright."
The man raised an eyebrow and spoke again, asking for certainty:
"Are you sure? You were looking at it quite intensely, so I thought you might want it."
Arthur waved his hand in a gesture of refusal.
"Ah, no. That's alright. I was merely looking at the news that says the Earl Ashbourne has passed away while in search of gold deep beneath the sea."
The man looked at the heading on the back page of the newspaper before speaking:
"Oh, I also read it. What a shame, right?"
"Ah, yes."
The old man then fell silent again, returning to his newspaper.
Arthur opened the book that he'd been carrying in his hand and started reading it quietly.
'I don't know what the capital has in store for me.'
***
It took a day for Arthur to reach the capital. As soon as the train reached the city, he could see the clear skyline of the capital.
'It's still the same as ever...'
Westmere.
What a beautiful city it was...
Arthur had seen many landscapes throughout his travels, but not one like this.
The red and golden leaves falling from the autumn trees swirled in the air with the force of the chilly wind. The opulent townhouses lined the whole noble street. The famous market of the city was crowded with people from all over the kingdom. The pride of the capital, the port and the entire harbor district, was bustling with dock workers. The cries of the seagulls echoed throughout the capital as they flew across the sky.
It was indeed a pleasant place, and every tourist who saw that sight had always wished to stay here forever. However, the city was only like that on the outside… but on the inside lay the hidden traps, the concealed knives, and the ruthlessness of power. One could only know all that if they belonged to this place, if they were the citizens of the capital.
The poor were poorer here, while the rich ones got even richer. That was how things worked here.
In simple words: Westmere was a city of grandeur and grime, where ambition clashed with despair on every street corner. The corruption festered within the high walls of noble houses.
The train door opened with a hiss, and Arthur stepped down from the train.
"Haa... it was quite tiring to travel for a whole day by train."
Arthur held a briefcase in his hand, containing the few things he had brought from the estate.
"In any case, I should make my way to the manor. The funeral is likely still underway."
But contrary to his wishes, it seemed like he was going to be quite late for the funeral.
As soon as he walked a few steps, he collided with a stranger.
"Ah. My apologies, sir."
The boy turned his cap down as if concealing himself.
He seemed to be merely ten years old, at least. He was wearing the threadbare attire of the commoners, with a dark brown cap that obscured his face.
"Oh. It's alright."
The boy was already a few steps away as Arthur finished his sentence. It was as if he was in quite a hurry.
Arthur then walked a few more steps further but then stopped mid-step.
'Wait... Why does this whole situation seem strangely familiar?'
Arthur had watched quite a large number of mystery movies and had read a fair share of books containing stories in which a pickpocket scene was usually included.
He slowly reached his hand into his coat pocket. And it didn't take long for him to realize that it was indeed the same scene unfolding here.
"Damn it!"
He turned back sharply, his eyes scanning through the crowd until he located the boy.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
After hearing Arthur's voice, the boy quickened his pace to the point of almost running, but Arthur didn't back down and ran behind him.
"Hey, boy! Stop! If you stop right now, I won't punish you!"
But the boy had already reached far ahead. However, before he was out of Arthur's sight, he saw the boy colliding with someone else.
Thud!
"Oww!"
The boy had fallen onto the cold ground, while his cap fell beside him. He lifted his face up and he was shocked to see the man before him. The nobleman's eyes looked at him as if he were something insignificant, even less than an insect.
'Wha... what is he doing here?'
The boy's small and rough hand reached for his cap that had fallen nearby and he clenched it tightly. The boy tried to speak, to give some kind of excuse.
"I..."
However, he couldn't say more than a single word. His mind froze, and he couldn't come up with anything to say in order to excuse himself.