"Young man, make sure you don't wander around. This is the Vale Family Manor, they are very strict!" The restaurant manager turned around as soon as they entered the kitchen but there was no one there.
"Huh? Where did the people go?"
While the manager was worrying, Kieran had already slipped away from the crowd. There were a lot of people milling around the manor at this time, but because of his outfit no one paid him much attention.
Although he entered the inner courtyard, there were still guards everywhere, but Kieran had been playing in this manor since he was a child. He knew every nook and cranny of this place.
When he saw that no one was around, he walked to the bottom of the staircase and felt the smooth wall.
Sure enough, there was a slight indentation on the plaster. Kieran pressed down, looking both ways, and then quickly entered into the small door of darkness that opened up.
If someone had been watching they would see a thin waiter wander by the stairs and when they looked away and looked back he would have suddenly disappeared.
Inside the corridor, Kieran pulled a scarf over his mouth to guard against the thick dust that hung in the air like cobwebs.
The corridor stretched ahead in eerie silence, lit only by faint slivers of light from occasional ventilation grates.
This was used for servants of the vale manor, so they could travel to and fro throughout the manor without being noticed by the guests. But after his father became the head of the family, he sent most of the servants away. Usually it was just a few people along with their family of four from then on.
So these pathways gradually became unused.
When he was young, he and his three brothers would often run in here, and play pranks on the remaining staff. They had spent a lot of time going through these thin pathways, so he was very familiar even after so long.
From here the sounds and bustle outside was muted somewhat, there are occasionally brief windows into the outside.
If someone looked at the painting on the wall they might notice that the eyes of the portrait were moving slightly. James glanced into the busy courtyard outside.
It was filled with busy waiters bringing out tables and placing chairs.
He didn't see his father anywhere.
He had heard from the restaurant manager that the elder from the Stellar Academy was being hosted by his family. He didn't know her purpose but he was quite wary of this unknown person.
James wandered through the pathways, heading up to his father's room in the western wing of the manor, he would occasionally look through the holes in the walls to the outside world and he would see some guards patrolling the manor.
It was somewhat strange.
Even if there was a gathering today, it shouldn't be so heavily guarded, especially in the inner house.
Could it be that that woman had warned his father?
If this was the case, then it was a good thing. He headed steadily towards his father's room.
When he reached the final bend, he paused near a carved eye-hole hidden within a wall painting. Peering out, he saw a side hallway dimly lit by oil lamps.
He was about to move on - until he saw the guard.
At a glance, nothing seemed amiss. The man had a saber at his hip, and he patrolled the hallway with his eyes alert. But Kieran noticed some details.
His gait was measured and his steps precise. His breathing was calm and steady.
Kieran narrowed his eyes. Actually if you paid closer attention you could see from the way that the guard carried his saber, there was a little awkwardness.
A normal person wouldn't pay much attention to this. After all these were just guards, you expect them to be good warriors? If they were really talented they would be in warrior academy.
But the contradiction between the calm and steady gait with this awkwardness made it even more unusual.
Keiran was originally planning to leave a note in his father's bedroom, and then wander around through the pathways until his brother came back, but he decided to wait and see what the guard would do.
The evening was getting deeper, and night had arrived. The sun had disappeared and the moon was now rising in the cloudless star studded sky. At this time, more and more people were coming into the manor- the guests were gradually arriving.
Finally Kieran's patience was rewarded. After meeting with the other guards, he saw the man return to the old corridor and then glance around. He then walked towards a different direction to his patrol, avoiding all the guests. He was headed to the bedrooms.
But he didn't go to his father's bedroom, which was heavily guarded.
When Kieran saw him walk into the unguarded bedroom a complicated expression flashed in his eyes.
His old bedroom…
But then his mind grew clearer. The suspected assassin went into his bedroom, which means he must have been paying attention to the vale family for a while now.
Did the assassin expect his father to visit his old room, and then he would ambush him there?
This was a good trick!
Even if his father has been warned, he might still be caught off guard by this move. Kieran knew that his father was a first-rate warrior five years ago, but now he was older and apparently sick. He didn't know how much power he could still wield.
If someone with the same strength as Broken Spear sneak attacked him, there was a high chance his father would die.
Kieran quickly thought of various scenarios in his mind in an instant. Then he found an opening in the corridor, and quickly entered the outside again. He patted the dust from his clothes, and then put on a nervous expression and hurried to his old room.
Meanwhile, inside the bedroom, the guard was quietly surveying everything.
There was no dust anywhere, clearly this place was cleaned regularly. There were some books on the shelf but other than that it showed no other indication of life. Everything was tucked away and hidden.
The guard glanced at the cupboards and the corners of the room, deciding which was the best place for an ambush. He had checked carefully, no one should disturb him for at least a few hours.
The guard was carefully inspecting when he heard the sound of hurried footsteps from outside the room.