It was a bit later, in the suite on the east wing of the main building of Ryan Manor.
After respectfully bowing to the blond middle-aged man, the butler responsible for entertaining Leon and the others began his report,
"After the two guests entered the exhibition building, they first tied up the third person and placed him on a sofa, then entered the genealogy hall, staying there for nearly six hours.
As you requested, we counted about seventy records they reviewed, focusing on the last sixty years, covering six areas: timelines, major events, genealogies, missing persons and death lists, and industry reports..."
Everything else is understandable, but why the missing persons and death lists?
Upon hearing this, the blond middle-aged man furrowed his brow, raised his hand to signal the butler to stop reporting, and actively asked,
"Are you sure they stayed on the first floor the whole time without going upstairs or leaving?"
The elderly butler nodded and said,
"Upon learning of their intent, I locked the second and third floors, keeping the keys on me at all times, and had two maids serve in the tea room, with a servant in the courtyard sweeping the fallen leaves. If they had left, it would be discovered immediately."
Then they really didn't leave...
Seeing the old butler's determined look, the blond middle-aged man couldn't help but furrow his brow even tighter.
*So... was I overthinking? Were they really just here to search for family connections? But if that was the case, this combination of theirs is just too strange!*
After pondering for quite a while and still unable to fathom what those three were up to, the middle-aged man could only lower his head, eyebrows knitted tightly, as he glanced at the guest registration list by his side.
The Minister of Defense's daughter, a new employee of the Purification Bureau, and a member of Rebels who participated in the assassination of the princess—none of these three parties got along with his family.
Especially the Minister of Defense's daughter; her father was a reformist in the military, the first high-ranking military official to lean toward the princess. Even before he came to power, he was already eyeing a takeover of their arms business.
During this assassination incident, those damned Rebels used weapons released from their family's arms company, clearly aiming to exploit this contradiction and hand the Minister a knife.
And as he anticipated, under their family's influence, the task force was initially prepared to ignore this lead. But the moment that daughter of the Minister joined, she immediately insisted on investigating the weapon source.
Fortunately, Lord Bobby reacted swiftly. Using his wife's birthday as an excuse, he invited numerous Old Nobility to a banquet, where he framed the investigation as a signal from the princess to target the Old Nobility, which temporarily slowed down the investigation's progress.
Had he not pulled off such a trick, stalling the Minister's daughter and leaving ample time to clear both evidence and personnel, their family's arms company would surely have suffered a brutal hit, losing a huge chunk of fat profits!
Reminiscing about that female officer who sent over a dozen inquiry letters and relentlessly pursued them, the blond middle-aged man couldn't help but feel a tinge of bitterness spread over his face.
Her father was like an old, fierce, and ruthless dog, and this woman was cast in the same mold. Once she bit into someone, she never let go!
As for the remaining two people, the Rebels needed no mention; their original slogan was just to dethrone the incompetent royal family, cede major powers, and limit the nobility's power and parliamentary seats in passing.
But recently, for some reason, these Rebels suddenly became ten times more radical, even claiming the royal family and nobility were fleas in the crotch, inevitably to be caught and crushed eventually! Now, they were already mortal enemies to his family!
And then there was the Purification Bureau...
Gently tapping his fingers on the registration list, after making a heavy mark with his nail on Leon Laine's name, the blond middle-aged man gestured for the butler to leave, and then, holding the registration list, departed the suite through the connecting archway to the manor's main building.
Hearing a knock on the door, the young man at the desk, engrossed in reports, looked up in surprise, smiled at the middle-aged man in the doorway, and said,
"Working so late? Were you always such a diligent person?"
After greeting him, in front of the young man who appeared to be in his twenties at most, or not even beyond thirty, Thomas, whose eyes had started to wrinkle, respectfully bent down and bowed,
"You flatter me. Compared to you, my efforts are insignificant."
"Hehe, it's different,"
Gesturing for him to come in, the young man said with a smile,
"The reason I'm diligent is that I'm preparing to take another step up, not only to inherit my elder brother's title but also to assume the position of family head.
Whereas you are currently sitting in the council seat, managing one-sixth of the family's wealth, and concurrently serving as the representative for foreign negotiations. Holding onto these already exceeds the limits of your abilities, so why work so hard?"
Watching the gradually beading cold sweat on Thomas's brow, the young man said with a smile,
"Thomas, it seems there have been quite a few issues recently with matters under your watch, haven't there? Working so late... Is it that the tasks I've assigned are too heavy? Do you need some burden taken off your shoulders?"
"Lord Bobby... Lord Bobby... please let me explain..."
Sensing the deep displeasure from the other's words, the blond middle-aged man quickly spoke,