An Assistant to the Angel of Death
52

After a long walk, the Horseman opened the door for the barons, including Claude. Claude got off his horse-drawn carriage. Everyone was preparing to lift the crate because it had been a long time. The Duke's body was kept in a funeral home in the residence of the Duke Lourik family.

The funeral began immediately, the sky clouded as well as crying over the death of Kent Willard Lourik. The young Duke with one only child he left with the Duchess who is the sister of Dior Emeraldgreen.

All the families he left behind were filled with sadness and sobs. The tired face of crying on the Duchess's face seems to have not fallen asleep since night.

Suddenly Dior approached Claude, with teary red eyes. Dior patted Claude's shoulder from behind. "Sir Counselor, I'm sorry I didn't blame you for the death of brother-in-law, you definitely don't feel comfortable being watched like a criminal like this."

"It's okay, you better go with your brother." Claude tells Dior to go accompany his brother with his nephew.

The chest bearers have arrived, they put the Duke's coffin in the grave. Then they sprinkled flowers on top of the chest, and soon after they sang a protective spell. Then the gravediggers buried the Duke's body.

Then soon they return to sprinkling very fragrant flowers. Then paired the gravestone with the name of the Duke hanging on the tombstone.

Claude heard the whispers people started talking about Duke and his family.

"It seems that the grudge of the Marquez family's past on Duke Lourik's family has not subsided. They still dare to kill Duke drunk."

"Right I heard they even blew up a carriage belonging to the Duke's residence. I know the Duke family's horseman has magic that can secure his chariot and is unlikely to be involved in an accident."

"Did the family of that foreign country start defecting the country by using dark magic?"

"Truly, it seems like it makes sense."

Claude began to understand, what was meant by them. The vengeful intent of his family was his father's defeat to Duke Livius Willard Lourik who was the General who was appointed warlord after defeating Vischa.

But the one who did it was not his father or any other family member, the one who did it was Claude. It was also because of the orders of the gods, to add points of belief so that he could escape the curse.

Claude recalled that he had managed to get a token last night that could see Angels or demons, but it seemed like it could also be used to see spirit beasts as well.

"Claude can only be patient withholding his emotions as he hears his increasingly absurd gossip."

***

Inside Duke Lourik's luxurious and grand residence was a Marqez family and the Lourik Family interrogated by the police forces of the Kingdom.

It was time for Claude to speak up after Vischa and Lady Gracia were interrogated, as Carpel and Carsten were unlikely to do so because they were under the supervision of Viscount Laurent. Because they've done a lot of mess at the party.

"Every night, at your welcoming party that just returned from the battlefield, they said you left in the middle of the party because you were unwell?"

"Right, as Viscount Laurent knew that Carsten used his magic while at the party. Yes the magic my sister put out was used to attack at first, but I managed to neutralize it with my magic."

What Claude said did not hurt, because he did not have magic but only the pure power of a demon. So the ability possessed by his pendant was already considered as his own magic talent.

"Before you changed clothes because your clothes were spilled by Wine, right?"

"The tragic incident that happened to Duke happened when you disappeared from the party so we can't let go of our suspicions about you. Do you have a grudge against Duke?"

"Let me explain that Duke and I just got to know each other at the party, after all these years I've been at the border to watch the war.

Could it be that people who had just met each other, then after that killed the other party? I think it's gonna take a strategy and a good time to devise the Duke's assassination plot.

Just like on the battlefield, when you want to slash the necks of your enemies, you need a precise and accurate strategy with the time you have planned."

"The royal police force felt that what Claude said was true and very reasonable. Claude had just returned from the palace a few days ago. He was still not very familiar with the ins and outs of the capital and the nobles who were in the capital.

"Alright, I think your reason is very reasonable. I also have to plan a mature money plan to kill Duke, because Duke Lourik is not just anyone."

Claude was invited to come out, and then continued by Charly.

"You're the only Marqez family that doesn't seem to party whether you're planning anything

to kill Duke."

"Do you think of one thing? I didn't attend the cheap party at all, but evidence suggests the killer used a cookie knife that someone already used?

If the knife was really the knife that was at the party, it means that the killer had also attended the party."

The police force's meeting with Charly was brief. There was nothing suspicious about Marquez's family, so the royal police decided to revoke Marquez's family as a list of suspected families.

Before the police was about to go to interrogate another family who were both suspected of being the perpetrators of the Duke Lourik murder, but before the police force left. Claude gave the badge he met in an abandoned warehouse in a corner of the capital.

"Master, this." Claude gave me a family badge.

"This..?" the head of the royal police force was a little confused as to what Claude meant.

"This is the badge that Duke dropped before, as you know I had a drink with Duke, I accidentally saw this badge fall out of Duke's pocket."

The head of the royal police force took the badge given by Claude, he weighed and looked at the small writing and pattern to see the authenticity.

"This is real..., are you sure Duke dropped it?"

Claude pretended to not understand anything about the badge. Very perfect acting. Claude nodded with confidence. Make the royal army believe in Claude.

The head of the royal police force said goodbye to Marquez's family, and gave a clean sign of the Duke's murder suspect.

Luckily the special forces did not have the talent to detect lies or anything like that, because if they could it was possible Claude had been imprisoned this very second.