Chapter 70
The investigation against Lord Bracken moved swiftly.
Witness after witness stepped forward.
Families identified daughters who had disappeared years earlier.
Former servants confessed to stealing supplies from Grand Emberforge Duchy under Bracken's orders.
Merchants admitted they had transported illegal cargo for him.
Every statement pointed toward one man.
Lord Cedric Bracken.
The evidence was presented before the King.
His Majesty's face darkened as he read the reports.
"Human trafficking..."
He slammed the folder shut.
"Illegal gambling...Attempted murder...Embezzlement..."
His voice became colder with every charge.
"How long has this monster hidden beneath the mask of a noble?"
No one answered. The King immediately signed an order for Lord Bracken's arrest.
Royal Guards rode through the capital before dawn. Unfortunately...They were too late.
Bracken Manor stood eerily silent. Servants had vanished. The stables were empty.
His treasury had been stripped clean. Even his personal documents had disappeared.
Lord Bracken had fled during the night.
Only a single frightened maid remained. She knelt before the Royal Guards, trembling.
"My... my lord left after sunset."
"Where did he go?"
"I... I don't know."
"He dismissed everyone."
"He said..."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"...that dead men cannot testify."
The Royal Captain immediately ordered every road blocked.
Messenger hawks flew across the kingdom.
The ports were searched.
Merchant ships were inspected.
Even neighbouring duchies were warned.
But it was as though Lord Bracken had disappeared into thin air.
Three days later, a royal proclamation was announced throughout the kingdom.
By decree of His Majesty the King.
Lord Cedric Bracken is hereby stripped of all noble privileges and declared a fugitive of the Crown.
Any person aiding or sheltering him shall be considered an enemy of the Kingdom.
A reward of ten thousand gold coins shall be paid for information leading to his capture, dead or alive.
The proclamation spread like wildfire.
Every bounty hunter.
Every mercenary.
Every desperate traveller.
Every ambitious knight.
Everyone began searching for the fallen lord.
Far beyond the kingdom's borders...
Inside a dimly lit tavern near a bustling port, a cloaked man quietly listened as travellers discussed the newest royal bounty.
"...Ten thousand gold."
"I've never seen a reward that large."
"They say he tried to murder Duke Ambrose's daughter."
"He deserves the gallows."
The cloaked man lowered his head.
His beard had grown thick.
His expensive robes had been replaced with rough traveller's clothing.
No one would have recognized the once-proud Lord Cedric Bracken.
His fingers tightened around the wooden mug.
"So..."
He whispered to himself.
"Owen.....you've forced me into hiding."
Hatred burned in his eyes.
"I'll disappear...I'll wait.....I'll rebuild."
"And when everyone believes I've died..."
A slow, chilling smile spread across his face.
"...I'll return...and this time, I'll destroy everything you love."
Outside, the sea carried merchant ships toward distant lands.
Some sailed toward the Eastern Empire.
Some sailed home.
None noticed the fallen noble quietly slipping into the darkness.
For now...Lord Bracken had vanished.
But hatred......was patient.
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