Indeed, perhaps one more step would allow her to see the treasure left by that great king, or perhaps just a glimpse would grant Noah power and wealth.
She might even find a way to heal herself from this treasure trove…
But she still refused this gift. She didn't feel she had the right, nor did she believe that a king who could cause such a tragedy would leave behind a gentle inheritance. So, she rejected the invitation the melody extended to her, not only refusing to enter this hall but even actively closing the music box, forcing the melody to return to its original place.
The entire room instantly fell silent, with only Noah's cold sweat soaking through her clothes—
This music box was simply too dangerous, especially after she had completed it. Its allure to those Letania people… or rather, to the Witch King Remnants, might have reached a point where they would take extreme risks.
This operation temporarily dealt with the Witch King Remnants who colluded with the Howling Guard, but it was by no means a complete solution. The Witch King Remnants' infiltration in Kazimierz was definitely not that simple; only one location had been dealt with. The entanglement between Letania and Kazimierz was not so easily severed. She believed Manner could handle Chesper, and she believed Maria would do her utmost, but she had to do more…
Placing the music box back on the desk, the vivid red in Noah's eyes slowly faded, returning to their original pitch black—as if nothing had changed.
To be honest, she found it somewhat strange that she could easily intervene in the Dustworld Sound's technique without it causing too much impact on her mental state. Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps her own ability played a small role. She seemed to be naturally inclined to help the technique itself tune and repair, and the notes held no hostility towards her, even actively helping her, as if the music itself was alive…
It knew Noah could complete it, so it showed a harmless attitude towards Noah?
Thinking this, Noah felt she might be overthinking things. After all, notes are just notes; how could they truly have sentience? Perhaps she, who personified the notes, was the strange one?
After temporarily putting away the music box, Noah heard the news the next day about a gas pipeline explosion downstairs at the Howling Guard, which caused heavy casualties among employees working overtime—
It startled Noah so much that she spat out her soy milk. A gas pipeline explosion… Did the Kazimierz authorities even try to come up with a plausible reason? A gas pipeline explosion, who would believe that? While Noah complained internally, Kuro had already cleared the dining table. After becoming Noah's bodyguard, she had become increasingly proficient at these tasks, and even remembered to remind Noah. "Do you need me to wipe your mouth?"
"I… I'll do it myself." Noah wiped her mouth and then said, "Uncle Manner handled this too crudely, didn't he? A gas pipeline leak is too easily exposed as fake news. It sounds a bit like trying to cover up something obvious."
"I'm not too sure. I just taught her and then left." Kuro shrugged. She was completely unaccustomed to handling these aftermaths and had simply dumped it on the respectable corporate slave, Mr. Manner, before making her escape. Although it seemed like she had thrown all the troublesome matters to Manner, Kuro had her reasons. She probably couldn't even come up with an excuse like a gas explosion for such matters—
One could only say that while Manner's cover-up skills were poor, there were always stronger ones among the strong.
Although she thought the reason was truly idiotic, Noah could only cooperate with the propaganda. Representing the Commercial Federation's spokesperson, she quickly issued a report on the handling of the Howling Guard company, as well as details on how to provide family compensation. Although the Howling Guard had carried out that assassination attempt on Maria, Noah knew that this was mainly an agreement reached between the Witch King Remnants and the Howling Guard's high-ranking officials, and had nothing to do with the employees' families.
So, Noah worked hard to secure the compensation, ensuring it was distributed as thoroughly as possible—
She even personally went to the scene to explain the scale of the explosion and other information to reporters, essentially making up words on the spot, full of platitudes. In any case, it made the reporters' questions effectively unanswered. With both the Supervisory Council and the Commercial Federation simultaneously suppressing the news, the Howling Guard explosion scandal was quickly quelled. Some suspicions that appeared online were also quickly traced and accounts banned. Noah was actually quite curious about what kind of people dared to comment freely in Kazimierz's intranet environment.
This time, it was rare for the Commercial Federation, considering its impact, and the Supervisory Council, considering stability, to join forces to suppress the incident. Information about the Witch King Remnants was basically only known to the Supervisory Council through Manner. Grand Knight Luo Su, who came to help, also specifically met with Noah—to be honest, Noah really didn't want to go. However, the other party directly stopped Noah at the company entrance, so Noah could only accept the invitation.
After getting into the car, Noah heard Manner's low voice from the passenger seat.
"Regarding yesterday's matter, I should thank you."
"I didn't do anything." Noah shook her head. "Uncle Manner has also helped me a lot. If it weren't for you, Maria might have encountered even more trouble."
"…I wasn't talking about that." Manner sighed. Indeed, he had curbed the actions of these people from the Howling Guard, but it was not something Noah needed to thank him for. After all, he was still Maria's uncle; he couldn't stand by and do nothing.
"Grand Knight… is she doing well?" Noah was silent for a moment before asking, "I haven't seen her in a long time."
"Very cautious, just like in the past. After she found out, she even lectured me… It felt like I was still a child." Manner replied, "She actually always worries about you, just as she worries about Margaret."
"I know…" The matter between Noah and Grand Knight Luo Su was essentially due to the excellent personal friendship between her grandfather, Margaret's grandfather, and Grand Knight Luo Su. Thus, out of love for the deceased, they extended great care to the descendants of their two old friends. Noah had met Luo Su when she was little, and one could even say she was watched by her as she grew up. However, ever since she left Kazimierz for treatment, the two had not met privately.
Grandfather passed away, parents disappeared, Yolanta disappeared—the Kielanlet was left with only herself.
For Noah… she had perhaps always been waiting for Luo Su to give her an explanation.
It's just that this explanation, it seems…
Had not yet arrived.
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