Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 70. His Secret Investigation III

The dark aura covering Angel disappeared. This time, he was behind a large tree not far from the castle's back door. His eyes were fixed on the closed door as he waited for Ilex to come out. But, unexpectedly, it was longer than he had predicted. Well, although the castle's security was mostly handled by Asteria, Euphorion still handled some sections, including all exits. He guessed Ilex was having a hard time getting out of his own house.

On the other hand, Angel knew Ilex wouldn't have done this if he hadn't prepared everything properly. So he decided to wait. And his guess was right, soon the door opened. But what came out was a servant pushing a cart filled with castle trash cans. Usually, it was filled with withered flowers, rotten foods and leftovers. All of them were placed in several large barrels the size of an adult human. The soldiers rarely checked them since the smell was unbearable.

"Oh my... You really are that desperate, Ilex," Angel muttered with a smirk. He couldn't believe that the arrogant, prideful Prince of Asteria, Ilex Ferris, used this method to get out of the castle.

The servant pushed the cart out of the castle and down the empty streets. While Angel followed him. As expected, the servant didn't take the cart to the landfill but to the back of a cheap bar near the city walls.

After the servant made sure his surroundings were safe, he opened the bottom of a barrel and Ilex came out of it. The first thing Ilex did once he came out was run to the building wall near him and throw up. He also mumbled an expletive and blamed Angel for everything.
"That f*cking illegitimate child. I will definitely kill him. I will make him regret whatever he has done to me," Ilex muttered before he threw up again.

His curse managed to create a smirk on Angel's lips. It was funny since it all started with Ilex and King Gervis' fault, yet he blamed it all on Angel. But instead of catching him right away, Angel let Ilex carry out his plan since his goal was to execute Ilex. And he couldn't punish criminals who hadn't committed a crime. After all, if he wanted to capture Ivetta and the rest of the rebels, he had to be patient. This way he could catch them in one move.

Since Angel had found Ilex's stop, he decided to go inside the bar and continue his investigation by using his Evil Eye spell. As soon as Angel entered the small bar, his ears could catch men's laughter and women's sassy giggles. The smell of alcohol mixed with the cheap perfume from the prostitutes' bodies pierced his nose. It made him realize this bar was not just a regular bar but also a brothel. Although he was used to investigating things at bars, it was usually a normal bar. This was his first time entering a place like this. Meanwhile, as a royalty, he never visited this kind of place since it would only destroy his own reputation. After all, there was nothing good about it. A high-level rumor wouldn't be discussed here. Most of the visitors didn't care about the nobles, castles, economy or trade. What they were talking about wasn't much different from the lower class talk where the cheap gossip was.

He completely ignored the crowd and took a seat in the corner, trying to be as invisible as he could. Still, a waiter immediately noticed his arrival.

Quickly, the waiter approached him and greeted him by hitting his table.
"Newcomer, huh? What do ya want to order, mate?" said the waiter.

It was an impolite greeting, but for the lower classes, it was a common thing. They usually did it to bully or show how strong they were. But to a knight and a real warrior, they knew it was just an empty bluff since strength and power usually came from discipline and hard training. Angel knew he couldn't sit in this place without ordering something so he decided to order his usual. Innocent Wine.

But just as he opened his mouth and almost let out his voice, he remembered something important. This was a cheap bar, high-class drinks like Innocent Wine or Stardust Champagne were impossible in this place.

Since he didn't answer, the waiter was getting impatient.
"Listen to me, scum. We don't accept beggars. If you think you can sleep for free here, I'll make you regret it," he said in a displeased tone.

"Night Alley Beer," Angel replied. Asking the waiter for the tea was impossible, so he decided to order that common beer.

"You better have money to pay for it," the waiter said with a threatening tone.

Angel simply put a silver coin on his table.
"Take the change and don't bother me again," he said. One silver coin could at least buy 10 to 15 mugs of beer depending on the quality. It could buy 20 mugs if it was the lowest quality.

The waiter's eyes widened. His hand took the coin and suddenly his attitude changed.
"Right away, sir." Then the waiter left.

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