Swan City stood on the shore of Swan Lake. The moat was connected to the lake. From afar, the majestic city looked like a small island in the middle of the lake.
The dark green city walls were reflected in the lake. Under the light of the setting sun, reality and illusion, majesty and gentleness, formed a beautiful scene.
When Colin arrived at Swan City with Viscounts Sorin, he found that Countess Schultz was already waiting for them outside the city.
Countess Schultz was wearing a light blue palace dress. She was tall and well-proportioned, with black hair and black eyes. Her facial features were delicate, and there was no trace of age on her.
Colin dismounted from his horse and bowed. "Your Excellency Countess Schultz, may your beauty last forever."
"Welcome to Swan City, Your Excellency Viscount Angley, the Guardian of the Northern Frontier!"
Countess Schultz smiled sweetly. Her tone was kind and gentle, as if she was not unhappy about Vera's refusal to come to Swan City.
The countess had a gentle temperament and was very approachable. Even if Colin had some opinions about the Schultz family, they almost disappeared under the countess' gentle smile.
"This is my husband, Lucien."
Countess Schultz pointed at a middle-aged man with a rough face and introduced him to Lucien.
The corner of Lucien's mouth twitched into a smile, but his attitude was not very warm. It was not clear whether it was because he had some opinions about Colin, or because he was not good at socializing.
Colin did not mind. He smiled and nodded at Lucien as a greeting.
As the strongest person on the Northern Frontier, Lucien had the right to be proud.
After that, Countess Schultz introduced Colin to the important people behind her. Colin smiled and greeted them one by one, but in reality, he did not remember many of their names.
After some small talk, Countess Schultz led Colin into Swan City.
This time, Colin had only brought a dozen or so guards with him. Of course, this was only the strength he had on the surface. There were still more than a hundred blood thralls hiding outside the city.
Swan City had always had the reputation of being the most beautiful city in the Northern Frontier. The buildings in the city were painted a uniform white, and the roads were paved with bluestone slabs. There was even a green belt in the middle of the road, where tall sycamore trees were planted.
However, in Colin's opinion, Swan City's beauty was a little artificial. It wasn't as natural as Silvermoon City. Of course, among the cities in the Northern Frontier, Swan City was considered outstanding. Compared to it, Winter City was more majestic but less graceful.
Colin looked at Swan Castle not far away and asked with a smile, "Earl, why don't we go directly to the Radiance Church?"
"Don't you want to have dinner first?"
"Let's go take a look at the place where Bishop John went missing first. Otherwise, I won't be in the mood to eat with this question hanging in my mind."
Count Schultz didn't try to persuade him any further. He smiled gently and praised, "Alright, your dedication is admirable."
Then, the convoy slowly changed direction and soon arrived in front of the Radiance Church.
Four white-robed pastors welcomed Colin and the rest into the prayer hall. Count Schultz introduced the church to Colin as they walked.
"According to the pastors in the church, Bishop John went missing as usual on the night. After he finished the last mass, he went back to his room to rest. However, the next morning, the servants who came to help him wash up found that Bishop John was not in his room.
Then, the pastors searched the church but found nothing. They could only report this to me.
I also sent the city defense army to search the entire city. I even had Lucien personally lead a team to search the vicinity of Swan City. However, there was still no trace of Bishop John. "
Colin nodded and said to the pastor who led the way, "Can you bring us to Bishop John's room?"
"Of course, this way please."
The few of them followed the pastor through the long corridor and arrived at the inner courtyard.
"Lord Viscount, this is Bishop John's room. We've investigated it carefully before, and there are no traces of fighting or abnormalities."
Colin walked around the room and suddenly asked with a smile, "Did Bishop John forget to tell you that he was going somewhere far away?"
Count Schultz also smiled and said, "That seems to be the most reasonable explanation."
Colin rubbed his nose, wondering if this was really a self-directed trick by the Church.
Bishop John knew that Vera was going to pass by Swan City, so he deliberately went missing to trick Vera into entering the city?
But what was the use of that?
Colin's eyes swept across the faces of the people in the room one by one. He asked again, "On the night the bishop went missing, did he come into contact with anyone strange?"
"Strange people?"
"Yes, or people you don't know."
The pastors thought for a while, and then one of them suddenly said, "A strange knight came to the church and confessed to the bishop."
"A strange knight?" Count Schultz was also interested. "Didn't any of you recognize which family he was from?"
The pastor shook his head and said, "The knight was injured. Most of his face was covered with a white cloth, so I didn't recognize him. However, Bishop John seemed to know him and accepted his confession. "
Colin immediately said, "Can you take us to the confession room?"
The pastor nodded and then led the group out of the bishop's room and to the confession room at the side of the prayer hall.
The confession room was very small, and the decoration inside was also very simple. There were two chairs in the middle, separated by a wooden wind shield.
For the Church of Light, this was the closest place to God. It was also the only place where they could open their hearts, confess their sins, and pray to God for repentance.
Count Schultz looked at the confession room for a while, but he didn't seem to notice anything unusual. He then asked, "Did anything unusual happen after Bishop John finished confessing?"
The pastor thought for a while and shook his head. "Nothing unusual. After that, he even presided over the mass. His behavior was no different from usual."
Count Schultz said to his husband, "Maybe we should ask the city defense officer to see if any injured knight has entered Swan City recently."
Lucien nodded and said, "Okay, I'll ask him later."
Seeing that Colin was silent, Count Schultz asked, "Sir Viscounts, did you find anything?"
Colin was a bit surprised, but then he shook his head and smiled. "No."
Count Schultz took a deep look at Colin and invited him, "Then let's go back to Swan Castle for dinner."
"Okay."
They then left the church and entered Swan Castle.
At this time, it was already late. Crystal candlesticks and chandeliers were hanging in the corner of the banquet hall. The attentive servants had already prepared a table full of delicacies to entertain the distinguished guests who came from afar.
…
After the banquet, Colin was led by a young maid to the room prepared for him by the count.
After washing up, Colin did not go to bed immediately. Instead, he quietly left Swan Castle and returned to the Radiance Church.
In the prayer hall of the church, the pastors were directing the choir to sing hymns. When one of them saw Colin, he immediately greeted him.
"Sir Viscounts, is there anything I can do for you?"
Colin pointed in the direction of the side hall and said, "I want to check the confession room again. Is there anyone inside?"
"No." "Are you going to confess?"
"No, I'll take a look myself. You don't have to worry about me."
"Okay."
After sending the pastors away, Colin went to the confession room alone.
After closing the door, Colin sat down in his seat.
The confession room was very quiet. Lucien could vaguely hear the choir singing from the prayer hall next door.
Colin took a deep breath and once again smelled the faintly discernible scent of blood.
The smell was very faint. Looking at the reaction of Count Schultz and the pastors, it was clear that they did not notice the smell of blood at all.
If not for Colin's extreme sensitivity to the smell of blood, he might have missed this important clue.
It was this smell that made him return.
But just as Colin was about to take a closer look, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Whoosh!
He stretched out his hand and pulled open the curtain in the middle. He was surprised to find another person sitting in the seat opposite him.
Colin's heart trembled. He showed a stiff smile and greeted.
"Good evening, Your Highness!"
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