Wizard Earl

Chapter 32 Successful Plan (Please vote!!!!)

"Article 17 of the Empire's current Inheritance Law stipulates that as long as it is recorded in the testator's will, even illegitimate children can inherit a portion of the deceased's estate! Fabinho's estate is conservatively estimated to be at least 300,000 gold pounds. Such a large sum of wealth is enough to incite greed and evil thoughts. With one less heir, the extra inheritance could be an astronomical figure!" Rhodes said quietly.

"So the most urgent thing now is to determine whether the information Connor Ferguson gave us is true?" After a moment's thought, Keane said softly:

"That's right! Ms. Naya is an important witness. Regarding whether Miss Rebecca and Fabinho are father and daughter as Connor Ferguson claims, I think we can all find out from Ms. Naya!" Rodri analyzed.

Keane nodded, but then, as if struck by a thought, he hesitated and said, "I think there's something wrong with this nobleman, Connor Ferguson..."

Rhodes waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Connor is fine, and even if he is, he's not really a problem..."

"Officer Rodri, what do you mean by this...?" Keane asked, frowning.

Patting Keane on the shoulder, Rhodesley said in a low, somewhat helpless tone, "Do you know why I'm being so polite to Connor Ferguson, who's almost the same age as my son? Our empire may be democratic, but it's only in name. The ruling class is just a combination of nobles and capitalists!"

"Although the Ferguson family, to which Connor belongs, has begun to decline, Connor's father, Sir Ferguson, is still an earl of the Empire and wields considerable influence in aristocratic circles. Furthermore, Connor's mother's brother, Rudolf Francis, the president of the Francis Group and Connor's uncle, just won the last parliamentary election and became a member of the Imperial House of Representatives!"

"So, Officer Keane, you understand what I mean after all this, right? Why would the police department send two inspectors like us to investigate Connor, something a regular police officer could do? Isn't it because Connor belongs to the Empire's privileged class? Even if Rebecca's disappearance is indeed related to Connor, and we've successfully put him in jail, I believe it won't be long before Connor Ferguson is released on bail!"

"So... that's it?" After a long silence, the young Officer Keane clutched his head in anguish and said.

"Listen, young man, what I just said was hypothetical, meant to make you see this corrupt empire for what it is. For us police officers, the most important thing is to act based on evidence, not on reasoning or feelings. You, a police genius from Scotland Yard, are certainly more familiar with the phrase 'presumption of innocence' than this old codger is with me. The reality is we have absolutely no evidence to suggest that Connor Ferguson and Rebecca's disappearance is related!" Grabbing Keane's shoulder, Rhodesley said solemnly, enunciating each word clearly:

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"Hahahahaha!"

After sensing with his mental power that the two policemen had gone far away, Connor, who was sitting at the dining table, burst into laughter.

When Connor saw those two officers, his heart sank completely. He thought it was because his killing of Rebecca and Vidal had come to light and the police were coming to his door!

But gradually, Connor realized from Officer Rhodes's polite attitude that Officer Rhodes only suspected him and was wary of his identity. Understanding these two points, Connor's mind raced, and a plan came to him. He deliberately acted mysteriously, speaking vaguely to confuse the two officers and lead them to the topic of Fabinho's sudden heart attack.

Judging from Officer Rhodes's demeanor as he left, Connor felt he had succeeded, leading the police down a different path.

After finishing the rest of his breakfast, Connor did not return to practice the Abyss Arcane Arts. Instead, he put on his trench coat, donned his bowler hat, and prepared to leave.

Time flies, and the day after tomorrow is George's father, banker Harvey Sanchez's, sixtieth birthday. Since Connor has already promised that George will attend the birthday party, it would be impolite to go empty-handed.

As for the birthday gift for Mr. Harvey Sanchez, Connor already had a plan. When Mr. Harvey Sanchez was young, he served as a colonel in the 11th Army of the Imperial Army and participated in several battles in which the Empire suppressed the Hoy people, the native inhabitants of the New World. Unfortunately, in the famous Battle of Tingen Port, Mr. Harvey was injured in the leg. Although he survived, he was forced to retire and has needed a cane to walk ever since.

Giving Mr. Harvey a walking stick as a birthday gift wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision by Connor; it was a decision made after consulting with George. After all, some people are sensitive about such things, and giving him a walking stick might be interpreted as mockery of his lameness. Mr. Harvey Sanchez, however, was not shy about his leg disability. He even publicly stated that it was the best medal of his military career, proof of his bravery in war!

Walking along Queen Street, the most bustling commercial district in Loen City, Connor pondered his budget for buying a walking stick. He had already withdrawn thirty gold pounds from the bank for his education fund this month. After deducting his food and social expenses for the month, he would have about fifteen gold pounds left to spend.

As a major banker, Mr. Harvey is the largest shareholder of Herona Bank, the second largest bank in Ruen after the Imperial Bank, and a wealthy man with hundreds of thousands of gold pounds. Naturally, the birthday gift given to him cannot be too meager. Of course, as a good friend of his son, I do not need to give him an expensive gift either.

Connor's plan was to spend about ten gold pounds to buy Mr. Harvey a cane as a birthday gift. Although a ten-gold-pound cane wasn't very expensive, it wasn't cheap either, and it was quite suitable for his current status. With the remaining five gold pounds, Connor planned to have a formal suit made to attend the birthday party.

Connor usually prefers to wear trench coats and bowler hats, and rarely wears formal attire suitable for large banquets. Therefore, his original suit no longer conforms to the current fashion trends of high society. So, if he doesn't want to be ridiculed, he'd better have a new suit custom-made.

(End of this chapter)