Klauss has gone home.

  If there's one place in the world he extremely dislikes and is extremely unwilling to stay, this place would definitely be one of them.

  The gate of the Marquis's mansion was gloomy, with stains and scars left by years of neglect. The scene seemed even more desolate than when he last returned. Clavius walked into this humble home, which was a world away from the grandeur of the Duke's palace, feeling repulsed to the extreme. Since following Marquis Mlak three years ago, he had grown increasingly disgusted with this place.

  But he had to come back anyway. Even if it was the wise and insightful Duke Mlak, or the sharp-eyed Colonel Roland, they would not be able to find any clues or see anything from those few strands of silk that fell from the woman's clothes. The capable may not necessarily be omnipotent, a general may not know how to slaughter pigs, and politicians do not understand how bread ferments. Trivial matters must be sought out by people who are good at handling trivial matters.

  The smarter, more accurate and more experienced a person is, the more clues they can find on those few threads. So what Klaus needs now is a master of the demimonde, someone who understands women's cleverness better than women themselves do. He naturally knew where to find such a person. Although he disliked this man very much, for the sake of his mission and work, he still came.

  Klaus bowed his head slightly in the living room, where he met his father. His face was stern, but still very dignified, as a noble should be: "Father. I bid you greetings."

  The marquis's sudden appearance in front of his son seemed a bit surprising, but the smiling words still made Klaus a little unbearable: "No need to ask for peace. The courtesy of mutual deception is exempt for us two fathers and sons. Your face is clearly two words: disgusting."

  Even when facing his own son, the marquis was still that casual and unrestrained. He pulled over a chair for Klavius. "Actually, I should have left long ago, my friend has urged me many times. But something unexpected happened here, so I stayed to deal with it. Before leaving, I wanted to talk to you about some things, but I think the matter that made you come back to find me must be very serious, so let's hear it first."

  Although speaking so bluntly was somewhat distasteful to Klaus, it undoubtedly saved a lot of time on pleasantries and unnecessary chatter. He sat down, the mahogany chair without its swan feather cushion, still as old-fashioned as he remembered from his childhood. And this house, the floor, everything here had the same air of decay and decline as the man in front of him, whom he had to show respect for. This lack of ambition and self-destruction was what he hated most, also a shadow from his childhood.

  The two father and son sat face to face, with similar faces, the father had a casual and lazy taste, while the son was serious, gloomy, and even had a bit of murderous intent.

  Emotions are emotions, work is work. Klause carefully took out a small package from his bosom and opened it, taking out those few strands of silk thread.

  "Father." Klavos struggled to get the unfamiliar word out of his tongue. "Please, can you take a look and see if you can make anything out from these few strands of silk?"

  "A woman's clothes." The marquis smiled slightly, hardly even looking, as if he knew just by feeling. For the first time in his life, Klaus felt a glimmer of hope towards this father.

  The Marquis's fingers were slender, with delicate skin that looked younger than his son's. He picked up the silk threads and gently stroked them, smiling slightly as he immediately understood the origins of these small things. "This is mid-range satin from Western Tatallia, a high-end product over twenty years ago when the Western trade route was not yet open. The colors are gorgeous, but what's key is that it was scarce, so noblewomen back then would be proud to have a set of clothes made from this fabric."

  "Can you tell what kind of person is wearing these clothes?"

  Originally, I wanted to ask if it was possible to narrow down the scope a bit more. But as soon as the words left my mouth, even Klaus himself felt that this was a pointless question. To think that one could discern the original owner of the garment from these few strands of silk thread - even the legendary prophecy-type mages would probably be at a loss for what to do.

  However, the marquis did not disappoint his son. His calm and composed demeanor was something that any old, stinky magician could not match. It was as if Marquise Muraq's words were like Captain Roland's sword - not just a tool of power, but an extension of himself, transcending the ordinary.

  "In recent years, with the prosperity of Western and local businesses, the price of this thing has not been so high. The true nobility would not wear such outdated things again, but making a set of clothes would still cost several silver coins, which is not something that poor people can afford. To use this out-of-date luxury to elevate one's own value, while also wearing pink and crimson colors on the body, reveals the wearer's character as shallow and frivolous, it's like shouting at others to look at oneself. And yet, from these few strands of silk, a scent of perfume can be detected, showing that she must have used it very heavily... 'Dunes', not low-grade goods, but absolutely cannot be used in this way." The marquis picked up the silk threads and brought them to his nose for a light sniff, sighed, and concluded. "This woman is young, flirtatious, probably has some charm, although she's not poor, but her status and taste are far from those of the nobility."

  "Young... flirtatious... neither poor nor noble..." Clauvis muttered to himself, repeating these characteristics as he filtered through everything he knew about Asa in his mind, and finally settled on a small rumor. "Could it be... a prostitute?"

  "Yes. That's the prostitute." The marquis smiled and confirmed his son's judgment.

  Klaatu's eyes narrowed, and he immediately realized that the sentence was very strange. However, he didn't know where the strangeness lay, or rather, from any angle or possibility, this person shouldn't have been able to say something like that.

  "Now, the urgent matters have been discussed. Let's put aside these mundane affairs for a moment and talk about the issues between us as father and son." The marquis looked at Clavius with a warm gaze, showing paternal kindness.

  "Sorry, I still have work." Klause replied coldly and stood up to leave. He had always rejected any warmth, thinking it was a weakness that would undermine one's will and determination, let alone the affection shown by this person, which he found as disgusting as a dead mouse in a garbage heap.

  The marquis beckoned with his hand and said calmly, "Sit down. It's not urgent at this moment. That prostitute won't be able to run far even if she's not in the capital, you should be able to catch her easily."

  Klauss slowly sat down, but absolutely not because he was obedient. His face was already full of astonishment, looking at his own father with the eyes of someone who had seen a monster that couldn't even be imagined.

  "I'm leaving immediately, and there are many things waiting for me to deal with, I don't know how long it will take. Next time, I also don't know when I'll be back. Before that, I think we two father and son need to have a good talk." The marquis showed a slightly awkward bitter smile. "From your birth until now, it seems like we've never had a good talk before."

  "I know you've never been very fond of me as a father. I understand, I'm indeed an incompetent father who only cared about my own selfish desires, abandoning the entire family, relatives, and even your mother. As the head of the household, I didn't care about family matters at all, causing you to suffer the consequences, being looked down upon by others in the family since childhood, and experiencing a lot of grievances. The reason why you're so stubborn and obsessed with competing for fame and fortune is also because of this, it's my responsibility..."

  No curiosity could suppress the anger and impatience that had been stirred up from the depths of his heart, and Klauss sprang to his feet.

  "Sit down." The marquis looked at him with a gaze that was not loud, but had a hint of the dignity that a father should have.

  Klauss immediately sat down with a thud, like the most obedient little kid.

  Klauss's first reaction after sitting down was inexplicable. He knew he didn't want to sit down, couldn't sit down as a sign of submission. But it seemed unrelated to his thoughts, and was a direct reaction from his body.

  After realizing this, his shock and incredulity only increased. As a martial artist, he was well aware that such physical reactions usually only occurred when the difference in power between two individuals was enormous, with one side's aura completely overwhelming the other, just like how a tiger could immobilize a rabbit with just its presence. But the person in front of him was just a weak and feeble drunkard who couldn't even truss a chicken, at most knowing some minor magic tricks. He himself only needed to think about it and he could immediately draw his sword and behead him... However, Klavius looked at his father's familiar face, trying hard to find something unfamiliar on it.

  However, the marquis still had a somewhat melancholic expression on his face as he looked at his son and continued to speak with a hint of sadness: "You're still too young, yet you've been deeply misled by the mundane things in this world. Power, fame, do you really understand what these things are? Do you really need them? Do you know how the world works? You don't understand; the world you see is one that others have given to you. Others covet power and fight for status and wealth, and you follow suit, even going so far as to worship it. Everything you do is just to make others admire you, affirm you. You're living for others. Life is short; how can you waste your time on such frivolous things...

  "It's precisely because life is so short that we can't waste our time on meaningless things, we should strive to achieve something eternal, and make the world, history, and every person remember your name." Klavius suddenly glared at the Marquis with a fierce tone.

  He was speaking his mind to his father for the first time in his life. Before this, he thought it was unnecessary to say these things to a drunkard who didn't care about progress and was a failure as a son. He looked down on him because he believed that such a person would never understand his ambitions, just like maggots wriggling in dung couldn't comprehend the greatness of an eagle soaring through the sky. But now he had to speak out. Because he vaguely felt that this good-for-nothing son he had always despised seemed not to be what he thought he was, and some things about him made him feel as if he really did have the right to despise the beliefs he held dear in his heart. Now, rather than a confession, it was more like defending his values.

  The marquis looked at Klaus and smiled, as if he was helpless against a child who insisted on going out to play. He shook his head and said, "There's no need to argue with me, the value of life will never be found in debates. Do what you want, do it wholeheartedly, with all your might, and see what you can get out of it."

  "The harder you climb, the higher you'll get, but the higher you get, the more painful it will be when you fall. And the more pain you feel, the clearer your mind will become." The Marquis's smile deepened, and an unusual glow began to emanate from his eyes. "Once you've woken up, I'll take you to see the true reality of the world. I've even prepared everything for you already. By the way, you haven't practiced magic before, have you?"

  "No..." Klaus shook his head. Although learning magic was an easy thing for him, he didn't. His master, Roland, had said that whether it was a sword or magic, one could only choose one. There were no true top-notch masters who were proficient in both, and only by dedicating oneself wholeheartedly, pouring all of one's spirit and soul into the craft, could one reach the pinnacle.

  "That's good." The marquis nodded, took out a book from his bosom and handed it to Klaus. "This book should be very useful for you, you can practice the contents when you have time. Hehe, I was inspired by a... well, let's call him a friend recently, and realized that this is actually meant for people who haven't practiced magic before. No wonder so many dead magicians in the past. Who would have thought that the notes left behind by the greatest magician of all time are actually contradictory to magic?"

  "Remember, never lose this book and don't let others see it. This is a book that will guide you on the path to truth, so you must practice well and treat it with care. Do you understand?" The Marquis said as his eyes seemed to flash with a small but dazzling light, Clavius was taken aback and replied: "Yes." Unconsciously, his consciousness fell into a strange haze, his father's words seemed to be vaguely heard and then forgotten, yet they seemed to be etched in the deepest part of his mind.

  "Alright." The marquis let out a long sigh, stood up, and clapped his hands. "You go take care of your business. I should get going too, there are things waiting for me over there."

  It wasn't until the Marquis's figure had disappeared from view at the end of the corridor for a while that Klaus suddenly came to his senses.

  Klauvis thought it was a complete waste of precious time to have spent so long talking nonsense with someone he originally disliked intensely. But the conversation just now gave him an extremely strange feeling. He waved the book in his hand, intending to casually throw it somewhere, but a certain corner of his heart suddenly had a bad premonition, and he carefully tucked it into his own arms instead.

  He took a deep breath and decided not to let these inexplicable accidents disrupt his mood anymore, but rather focus on the main task at hand. He walked out of the door towards the command center of the Imperial Guard.

  "It's like that... This matter must be absolutely confidential. Do you understand?" Klavius found the commander of the royal guard and told him the details of the search. He added a sentence with a severe expression and tone, politely. "Trouble you, go as fast as possible."

  "Absolutely, absolutely." The officer nodded repeatedly. From the official position, Klaus had no right to mobilize the Imperial Guard, but he had a huge background, he was the captain of the Knights Templar, the son-in-law of Duke Mlak... and so on, all these titles strongly suggested that even if it was troublesome, it must be done with great enthusiasm.

  The Imperial Guard of Wangdu took advantage of the local snake's information and spent only half a day to get the situation and whereabouts of the target from other prostitutes. Under the rapid deployment of the cavalry, this important witness was placed in the cell of the Imperial Guard by dawn the next day.