Catherine and the Black Emperor

Chapter 130. The Missing French Girl

At the entrance of the mansion.

William, his face ashen, watched as Ingrid's men led Melia and her daughter into the carriage.

"Minister Ingrid, may I ask who gave you permission to do this?"

Attorney General Ingrid is a young woman with short blonde hair.

Despite his young age, he became known in the court for his decisive and efficient style, and was promoted all the way up to become the Minister of Justice, who held the power to judge court officials.

"No comment." Ingrid showed no respect whatsoever.

William stepped forward, looking coldly at the other man: "Isn't the Department of Justice meddling a bit too much? Does my romantic relationship with a woman fall under their jurisdiction?"

"The Ministry of Justice has no say in the ambassador's romantic affairs, but it does have a say in which woman he's romantically involved with. Since the woman is Matthias's wife, if the ambassador refuses to cooperate, I have reason to suspect that he was also involved in Matthias's sale of national territory!"

Ingrid's words were sharp.

William smiled and said, "Minister, you misunderstand. What an air of authority! I was just feeling sorry for Matthias and wanted to take care of his mother and daughter, that's all."

"Since the minister thinks this matter is of great importance, then you may take the person with you."

He shrugged and took a step back.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Ambassador."

Ingrid got into the carriage and left.

William watched the carriage depart, his face grim.

The series of events made him realize that there was definitely something fishy about the situation.

Someone is targeting him!

"No matter who you are, I will find you and make you pay!" William gritted his teeth.

prison.

Sergei led Melia and her daughter to Matthias's cell.

The prison cell door opened, and the family of three embraced and wept bitterly.

You have half an hour.

After saying that, Sergei went out.

"Are you alright? Are you alright?"

Matthias looked at his wife and daughter, checking them for injuries.

Melia cried even louder when she saw her husband covered in wounds.

"Don't cry, it's good that you're all alright, it's good that you're all alright."

Matthias held his wife and daughter in his arms.

After a long while, when his wife and daughter had calmed down, Matthias asked them questions.

"Was it Saltikov who rescued you?"

Melia nodded: "Attorney General Ingrid rescued us from William and handed us over to the Duke."

"Is William really going to bully you?"

Melia nodded, seemingly recalling that scene again, her shoulders trembling with fear.

However, being a congresswoman's wife, she suppressed her pain, no matter how much she was hurting, after crying earlier.

"That damned William, if I catch him, I'll tear him to pieces!"

Matthias gritted his teeth, but after speaking, a sense of powerlessness arose in his heart.

He's already a prisoner, what's the point of talking about revenge?

"How is Saltykov treating you?"

He feared that his wife and daughters, who had just escaped from the clutches of wolves, would fall into the jaws of tigers again.

"The Duke treated us very well. He provided us with lodging on Donom Street, left us enough money, and sent us food every day. However, he also had people watching over us."

Matthias was relieved: "It's normal for him to keep an eye on you, to prevent you from escaping, but also to protect you. He promised me that."

At this point, he suddenly fell silent.

It wasn't because he wanted to keep his promise; William's behavior had pushed him to his breaking point and crossed his bottom line, so he would tell Sergei all the secrets without reservation.

Let Sergei drive William to the brink of utter ruin!

His silence stemmed from his concern for his wife and daughter's future.

"I can't get out. The King and Queen won't show mercy. I've committed an unforgivable crime, and in a way, I deserve it. It's all my own fault," Matthias said with a bitter smile.

He turned to look at his wife and stroked her cheek.

"My only worry now is what will happen to you if I die? How will you survive? —"

Once he dies, or once he tells Sergei all the secrets, he will lose his value and Sergei will abandon his wife and daughters at any time.

His wife and daughters will still face retaliation from their enemies.

"I will take good care of Liya, don't worry. Don't miss any opportunity to redeem yourself! My daughter and I will always be waiting for you!" Melia said, tears streaming down her face.

"Wait for me, you won't live to see me. I'm sentenced to life imprisonment."

As Matthias spoke, his eyes became resolute.

"Even if it kills me, I will protect you and your daughter!"

Half an hour later, the cell door opened again, and Sergei walked in.

"You don't have the power to get Ingrid to step forward, and it seems Ingrid isn't neutral either; she's His Majesty's woman, isn't she?" Matthias said in a deep voice.

"The less you know about your current situation, the better," Sergei advised.

Matthias nodded.

Indeed, the more he knows, the more likely he is to be killed to silence him.

"To be honest, Congressman, you have been murdered twice recently, both times by poison, but the guards discovered it in time."

.

Matthias frowned: "I didn't expect William and Elias to lack even this much patience!"

Clearly, the two men felt that he was a potential threat while in prison and wanted to kill him to silence him.

He turned to look at Sergei, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

"Duke, I thank you for saving my wife and daughter."

Sergei shook his head: "We're just getting what we need."

Matthias smiled and said, "Of course, since you saved them, I will tell you everything I know about William and Elias, but there will be a time limit."

Sergei's gaze darkened instinctively, and the coldness emanating from his eyes sent a shiver down Matthias's spine.

"I have only known you, Duke, for a short time, and judging from your ruthless and heartless ways, I cannot guarantee that you will not abandon them after I tell you the secret."

"What do you want to do?" Sergei asked calmly.

"I will see them once a month, and each time I see them, I will tell Melia a secret, and she will pass it on to you, until I tell you all the secrets."

"Of course, you can verify the authenticity of each secret. If even one of them is false, you can do whatever you want with our family of three."

Matthias's words sounded very sincere, but Sergei simply didn't have that much time to wait. Moreover, given Matthias's cunning, he might very well use one useless or trivial secret after another to stall for time.

"You'll meet once every two weeks. Within three months, you must hand over all the secrets to me, or I'll kill them in front of you. Don't try to bargain!"

Matthias wanted to say something more, but seeing that Sergei's face had turned completely cold, he finally sighed helplessly.

"Okay, I promise."

Let's start with the first one.

After a brief silence, Matthias revealed a secret: "Manon, the niece of the previous French ambassador Arnold, disappeared while traveling in Sweden. William, lusting after her beauty, had her abducted—and I helped him bury her body, right here—"