What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

“I am Leon Set, the presiding judge of the Inquisition in Hamel, Southport County. I have the authority to investigate a gang attack.” Leon calmly stated, showing his badge.

Adele was struck dumb: "You are... the head of the Inquisition!?"

This person is actually a regular member of the church. How come I've never heard him mention this before?

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t there when we met before, so I didn’t mention it. Didn’t I say earlier that I had done a great service for the church? It was because of this service that I was able to obtain a rank in the church and be promoted to the position of director.” Leon stood up straight with his hands behind his back and stared into Adele’s eyes as he spoke.

"Oh, I see. Well then, congratulations..." Adele offered her congratulations insincerely.

This man is now the head of the Inquisition in Nangang County. Doesn't that mean he has a deeper foundation and is more difficult to deal with? Just in terms of power, the head of an Inquisition could easily control bankrupt nobles like them who have neither money nor power.

In that case, we can't let him continue to operate on this island.

Adele racked her brains and then said, "But according to imperial law, when a major crisis occurs within a territory, it is permissible to request support from surrounding areas from the central government. This time, someone broke into our home, which I think fully meets this condition!"

"Aren't you ashamed to say this?" Leon couldn't help but chuckle softly.

The “major crisis” mentioned in this law generally refers to major events such as invasion by other countries or lords, rebellion of the people, outbreak of plague, or large-scale cult activities. Basically, no lord would request support from the central government just because a few bandits appeared in his territory.

It's possible for a lord to be robbed or killed by a few bandits who suddenly break in, but it's truly ridiculous in the Empire if a lord manages to escape a disaster but is unable to deal with the bandits and even requests troops from the central government.

"Anyway, our family is already a laughing stock..." Adele's expression darkened as she spoke of this topic.

“But how high do you think your chances of getting support are? Your family is in this state, who wouldn’t be hoping your territory would be taken away and re-auctioned? Not to mention, with a heretical inquisition willing to handle this, your application for support would only be seen as unreasonable, right?” Leon said.

Adele was momentarily speechless. She knew very well how impractical her words had been. After thinking it over and over, she had no other choice. In desperation, she blurted out, "Then, then I'll raise—"

"Are you going to report me again?" Leon suddenly interrupted Adele, his tone calm, but his eyes were fixed on Adele.

Does this viscount's daughter never learn her lesson?

Adele was startled and fell silent.

She knew perfectly well that when the man said his previous threats were just a joke, that statement itself was probably more of a joke!

“I’m very disappointed, Miss Adele. I saved your life, and you actually said you would report me? Didn’t you think about how I would treat an ungrateful person?” Leon narrowed his eyes and carefully examined Adele.

“But… but… weren’t those people the ones you recruited? You said it yourself!” Adele said, her voice trembling.

"They are bad people. Whether they came to kill me or broke into your house, it's their fault, not mine. Get that straight. I didn't actually have to come to save you, did I? Instead of being grateful, you want to blame me? You should apologize to me," Leon retorted.

Adele realized she couldn't refute these words, and after thinking it over, she could only lower her head and honestly say, "I'm sorry..."

"And you have absolutely no idea what your situation is like," Leon added.

"What...does that mean?" Adele asked anxiously.

“Let’s go outside and take a look.” Leon got up and walked to the door, gesturing for Adele to follow. Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Oh, right, take a deep breath and prepare yourself mentally. Don’t faint again when you see what’s outside.”

Upon hearing this, Adele vaguely realized something and felt a chill run down her spine.

She carefully got out of bed, followed Leon to the door, and then Leon made a deep breath gesture before opening the door.

The moment the door opened, Adele's eyebrow twitched. She hadn't seen anything yet, but she could already smell a metallic, bloody odor.

Leon stepped out of the door, stood in the hallway, and pointed towards the stairwell.

Adele peeked cautiously out of the doorway, her face half-exposed, and saw several corpses crouching at the bottom of the stairs on that floor, with long trails of blood on the ground.

Two men dressed in full protective robes were working together to move the body; they appeared to be people brought by Leon.

"Eek!" This was the second time in her life that Adele had witnessed a human corpse. She immediately cried out and pulled her head back, closing her eyes tightly and clutching her chest as she breathed heavily.

Leon now realizes that Adele's reaction is actually normal. How many times has anyone seen a corpse? He himself was so nervous that he felt dizzy when he saw the corpse and bloodstains for the first time he killed someone, and now he is wielding a greatsword and cutting a person in two on the battlefield.

Both Lena and Weiss have conducted various animal experiments, are accustomed to slaughtering procedures, and have killed people. It is indeed unfair to judge ordinary people by their standards, not to mention that Adele is a pampered noblewoman.

“Miss Adele, let me give you a little reminder: there are twenty-five corpses in your house, and blood is everywhere. If you want to pursue other investigative methods, you'll have to leave these corpses here for others to collect evidence, which could take an unpredictable number of days,” Leon said.

Adele was stunned. Indeed, with so many corpses piled up in her house for several days, how could anyone live there?

Although she could afford to spend some of her savings to live elsewhere, it's not a long-term solution.

Moreover, there is blood everywhere, and it will be very difficult to clean it up. The walls will need to be repainted, and the entire floor will need to be replaced. She can't even afford to hire extra servants, so where would she get the money to deal with this?

“I’ve already finished collecting the evidence. If you leave it to me, I can clean it all up for you that same day. By the way, if you really want to talk about it, this matter isn’t entirely unrelated to me. So, for the sake of Viscount Arendt, I can help you with some renovations. Whether it’s replacing the furniture or fixing the floors and walls, I’ll pay for it all. How about that?” Leon offered.

Adele glanced at Leon's smile after hearing this, and suddenly realized something: "You want to... clear away the evidence here?"

“Haha, Miss Adele, what are you saying? If I wanted to clear up evidence…” Leon stared at Adele, his smile suddenly becoming meaningful, “Shouldn’t I start by eliminating the eyewitnesses?”

Chapter 188 You must be very rich, right?

Upon hearing Leon's words, Adele felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her from head to toe, leaving her completely chilled with fear.

The eyewitness, isn't that her?

Speaking of which, did Hailey really resign and leave?

If Hailey has already been dealt with, then isn't it just her turn right away?

In fact, it would be much easier for Leon to kill her now than usual. He could just shoot her, lay her dead, and report that the viscount's daughter had already been killed by the bandits when he arrived. Since the time of death was so close, it wouldn't be detected. He could even have time to "fake" the various atrocities committed by the bandits before killing her... Just thinking about this made Adele feel numb.

Seeing Adele start trembling again, Leon smiled knowingly.

After dealing with this viscount's daughter so many times, he gradually began to enjoy the feeling of intimidating her.

“Just kidding, Miss Adele. I’ve already explained the situation. Why are you still so nervous? The evidence here has been collected. Of course, I can clean it up at any time. I’m only paying for the repairs out of courtesy. But there’s one thing you need to understand: you’re in a very dangerous situation right now!” Leon said.

“Of course I know that!” Adele looked at Leon with a mixture of grievance and fear.

The greatest danger to her right now is standing right in front of her!

“No, you don’t know. Think about it carefully, are you sure the gangsters who fled the island have been completely wiped out?” Leon asked.

Adele blinked, then suddenly realized what was happening.

Indeed, no one can guarantee that the bandits have been completely eliminated. Perhaps some bandits have just escaped, or perhaps another group is still roaming around the island. Who knows, no sooner had Leon left than another group of bandits broke in!

But even without bandits, Leon could easily create one if she wanted to, and fabricate the illusion that she had been murdered by them.

Leon is undoubtedly very dangerous to her. If she does anything that could be considered suspicious, such as trying to leave the island, or even if Leon himself is slightly unhappy, he could take care of her.

But now that Leon has left with his men, she can't stay alone in the house with more than twenty corpses. She doesn't even know if there are other bandits on the island. The situation she faces... will still be just as desperate!

"Waaah... What do you want from me?!" Adele looked at Leon and was almost in tears.

“Don’t cry, Miss Adele. Who wouldn’t feel sorry for a poor young lady like you?” Leon said in a calm tone. “Actually, I just wanted to protect you.”

"Protect?" Adele couldn't understand it at all.

“Yes, you’re in a dangerous situation right now, but your bodyguard, Miss Hayley, has resigned, so I’m going to send someone to protect you. I’ll assign you several bodyguards, professionals. If you want female bodyguards, that’s perfectly fine too! This is part of my investigation, and you won’t need to pay any commission,” Leon said.

Adele thought for a moment, then quickly understood what Leon meant: "You want to... spy on me?"

“It’s to protect you, I don’t need to spell it out, do I?” Leon emphasized.

Adele understood that this surveillance was indeed a form of protection to some extent. As long as she didn't take any unnecessary actions, such as going to the Grand Parish or the police station, or contacting relevant people, Leon would only limit her behavior to surveillance and would not take any further measures.

In a way, this was indeed protecting Adele's personal safety—from Leon's own hands.

But this also meant that she would be under this man's constant threat from now on. Thinking of this, Adele's eyebrows drooped again, and she looked like she was about to cry.

"Don't act like I've wronged you. This is a deal, Miss Adele," Leon advised.

The word "deal" slightly caught Adele's attention.

Her late grandfather, the former Viscount Arend, probably neglected her father's upbringing, which led to his irresponsible behavior. In his final years, he focused on nurturing his granddaughter, Adele.

Adele was instilled with a great deal of business experience by her grandfather, and she accompanied him to some business events, personally helping him with some paperwork. Her grandfather also spent a lot of resources and connections to cultivate her, and she lived up to expectations by being admitted to the top university in the capital, majoring in finance and law.

Had it not been for her grandfather's sudden death from an acute illness, the depletion of the island's resources due to successive disasters, and her father's drastic actions that plunged the family into dire straits, Adele wouldn't have ended up in this situation. She was confident in her abilities in business!

"I'll investigate what's going on here; you don't need to contact any other agencies. If anyone gets involved and questions you in the future, just answer truthfully as I told you before. In return, I'll clean up your house and renovate your home. I'll assign people to be your guards, so you don't need to feel uncomfortable. As long as you don't do anything unnecessary, I'll make sure they treat you with respect."

"You'll have basic privacy. You can even assign them tasks to you, just like you would your own employees, but they must keep track of your whereabouts. As for your father, I'll handle that properly too. Overall, it's not without benefits for you. Is that alright?" Leon said slowly.

He had dealt with Viscount Arendt through the priest, so he was relatively easy to handle. In fact, once he got Adele under control, he could basically control the Viscount's household.

He had no grudges against the Viscount's family, nor any direct conflict of interest, so there was no need for him to do anything to them.

The viscount's family were nobles after all. Killing them would certainly give the territory a chance to be auctioned off, but it would also attract an investigation.

In the past, during a stable period, things would have been easier to handle. But now that the count has just been dealt with, it is a sensitive time for Leon. Attracting more investigations would be detrimental to him. He has too many things to deal with next, so it's best not to create any unnecessary complications.

Moreover, with Viscount Arendt being incompetent and Adele being timid, they were actually relatively easy to control.

Hearing what Leon said, Adele calmed down a bit. She realized that Leon's actions at least showed that he did not directly consider threatening the personal safety of her family.

"So, how long will this continue?" Adele asked cautiously.

“Do you remember the term we signed at the dock? Let’s stick to that contract and set it for three years first, how about that?” Leon said.

"So long?" Adele's eyes widened.

This means that for three whole years, she would have to live under this man's surveillance.

“This is only a tentative plan. If my investigation makes progress and I eliminate the external threats, then the protection for you can naturally end earlier,” Leon said.

"If it can't be dealt with, the surveillance will be extended, right?" Adele asked anxiously.

“Miss Adele, this is my decision. I’m just informing you,” Leon said, staring at Adele.

Adele was startled by Leon and hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, she calmed down a bit.

The fundamental principle of trade negotiations is to find out the other party's bottom line as much as possible, and then weigh the pros and cons to play your own cards. Blindly giving up and making concessions will only make you vulnerable to being manipulated.

The fact that Leon would propose surveillance and protection as conditions at the very least indicates that his first choice is not to kill her, but rather to hope that she will cooperate as much as possible.

Thinking of this, Adele hesitated for a moment, but still mustered up her courage and said, "If you want me to cooperate with you, you can't keep scaring me. You said you hope I can answer according to your version of events when someone gets involved in the investigation, but... if I'm too scared and people notice something's wrong, that wouldn't be good for you either."

Leon was a little surprised by Adele's sudden attempt to negotiate: "You don't seem that scared to me. Do you think I'm just trying to scare you?"

“I just think that since you’re talking about a deal, if you could relax the conditions a little… a little, I’d definitely be more cooperative,” Adele said tentatively.

"What, do you want me to shorten the deadline?" Leon asked.

“No, ultimately it’s your decision, so there’s no point in discussing it. What I mean is…” Adele paused slightly, then tentatively asked, “You must be very rich, right?”

Upon hearing this, Leon looked at Adele with great interest, as if he were seeing her in a new light.

"What do you want me to do? Borrow money from your family?" Leon raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just a small investment, with a normal interest rate. I’ll use this money to run the business, and I guarantee to return the principal and interest within a year,” Adele said earnestly.

She's currently struggling with her investments and is almost at her wit's end. She can't refuse Leonti's offer now, and is destined to get involved with this dangerous man, so she might as well take this opportunity to try and get a loan from him.

“You dare use my money?” Leon asked.

“There must be some clean parts, right?” Adele said.

Leon sized Adele up for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "How many do you want?"

“Then…” Adele thought for a moment, then carefully extended two fingers.

Let me borrow 200,000 to see if there's any hope...

“Two million is a bit too much.” Leon immediately interrupted her, then thought for a moment, “I do have a lending business. Considering our business relationship, let’s try giving you 500,000 first, with interest calculated at half the church rate, is that alright?”

Adele was stunned, and it took her a while to react: "Really?"

These terms are way too good to be true! Come to think of it, this guy says he offers lending services, which means that his publicly available assets alone are enough to qualify him as a professional lender. He can easily lend out 500,000 yuan; he's no ordinary person with money.

“Then, the contract is established, Miss Adele. I hope you will abide by the terms.” Leon smiled. Adele’s attempt to negotiate with courage made him think that it wouldn’t hurt to try taking some money. After all, 500,000 was really nothing to him.

Chapter 189 Let Me Work for You

Four days later, on the border of Nangang County, in a secluded forest.

Selena Hershey woke up slowly in bed and saw that the room was still dark. Realizing that it must still be the middle of the night, she couldn't help but sigh.

For the past two days, she and Melissa have basically been staying in this cabin in the woods.

Leon had prepared a lot of things in the house, enough to live there for ten days or half a month without any problem, but because they never dared to go out, their lives were still rather dull and boring.

In addition, they were constantly worried about Leon's safety, and Sally kept thinking about what they would do if Leon didn't come to pick them up on time.

With so many worries on my mind, I couldn't fall asleep at night. Even when I finally did, I was plagued by strange dreams, and before I knew it, my sleep schedule was completely disrupted.

She carefully sat up and leaned over to look at the other bed next to her, trying to see if Melissa had covered herself properly while she was sleeping.