Westminster Bank

Jack said, surprised, "You say you're a Coachman for Westminster Bank? You're doing a side job to earn some extra cash since you've got nothing else to do?"

The next problem was how to bring the truth to light. How could he make the Law Enforcers believe it wasn't him, but Freya's other side, who had killed her brother? By recording a confession?

But the Prole Court was clearly full of scoundrels who twisted the law. Behind them, as Soron had said, was a group of Old Blood Clans who couldn't stand him. Hoping for justice was out of the question.

Based on the strength and talent Baron had shown, he could certainly get some Old Blood Clans to offer him protection. Overturning the verdict, however, was a distant prospect. Yet, the thought of having to keep living on the Inner Side while carrying the blame for these baseless crimes... frankly, it made him feel like ants were crawling under his skin.

It wasn't that he was being stubborn or single-minded. Baron just felt that letting the matter drop would be letting the masterminds who framed him off far too easily.

With his current personality and way of doing things, he could let things slide if others left him alone. But since they'd made him carry so much blame, he had to return the favor. Even a dog knows to bite back when kicked.

While Baron was brainstorming, he heard Jack ask, "So you were recently relocated by Westminster Bank because of some trouble?"

The Coachman gave a sheepish smile. "It was nothing major... just some trouble at home..."

'Trouble...' Baron said, "Was it related to the Demon Hunter Association?"

The Coachman was surprised. "How did you know, sir?"

Then, feeling that wasn't quite right, he corrected himself, "You even know about that, sir?"

He then marveled internally, 'The Old Blood Clans' background checks are so thorough. A great family is a great family, after all.'

He added, "But it's all in the past now. That Demon Hunter was supposedly killed at Buckingham Palace by that legendary Bloodless... Actually, to be honest—"

'What a small world... or is it just a coincidence?' Baron exchanged a look with an equally surprised Jack, then asked thoughtfully, "How is the place Westminster Bank arranged for you? Your daughter... is she still selling flowers on the street? Or has she gone to school?"

'The Attendants of the Hestia Family are not to be underestimated. Is he warning me to keep this trip a secret and absolutely not tell any outsiders?'

The Coachman quickly pulled himself together and said, "The accommodations are good, but they can't compare to what the Hestia Family provides.

"As you know, sirs, those people at Westminster Bank are all a bunch of misers who love Gold. They're stingy and despicable, especially a commissioner codenamed [Tang]..."

Seeing the two Attendants suddenly break into an uncontrollable coughing fit, the Coachman asked with concern, "Is the Array letting in a draft? It wouldn't be good if you caught a chill. You two sirs should probably rest inside the carriage for a bit. We're only half an hour from Berthelili. We'll be there soon."

Baron said calmly, "It's nothing. We're just chatting. Don't worry about it."

'Just chatting...' The Coachman smiled. "Sir, you asked earlier about my daughters selling flowers on the street... I did consider it, but Martha and Annie are still young. I'm afraid they couldn't handle it...

"Besides, they and their brother Ferdinand have all successfully awakened their Spiritual Sense. I reckon they all have Entry Tier talent, so I plan to earn more money and send the three of them to a Wizard School together."

The Coachman tightened his grip on the Griffin's reins. "It's better than being a driver for a private Griffin coach like me... In the future, even if they don't become Law Enforcers, they can use their skills to open a Magic Potion or Magic Card Shop to make a living."

"A Magic Potion and Magic Card Shop... those are big taxpayers... but they make a lot of money, too..." Jack said. "That's not a bad idea. What do you think..."

He nudged Baron with his elbow, but Baron just frowned and said, "What about your other daughter..."

'Logically, it shouldn't be three siblings, but four.'

"Another daughter?"

The Coachman was a little confused, thinking the Attendant from the Hestia Family was prying into his marital status. He quickly said, "I haven't remarried since my wife's death... Even if..."

He hesitated for a moment. "Even if I occasionally visit Turkish Street, that's just... to satisfy the usual physiological needs."

Jack shot Baron a knowing look, the kind of smile shared between men, but Baron had no time for him. His thoughts were completely fixated on the Coachman's words: "since my wife's death."

He asked carefully, "Lady Cavendish?"

"How do you know her name?" The Coachman's face went pale. "She passed away from the Gray Mist Sickness six years ago..."

Baron's heart sank.

From the very beginning, he'd had a feeling of unease. Why hadn't this Coachman mentioned Julis at all?

It seemed there was indeed some hidden mystery here.

"Julis," Baron said. "Do you know that name?"

As he said this, he looked not only at the Coachman but also at Jack, because it was Jack who had settled Julis' Family, so he couldn't possibly be unaware.

But to his surprise, Jack just said, "Julis? That's a nice name."

The Coachman's reaction was different. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost in broad daylight. "Sir, how do you know the name of my daughter who died young?"

Baron sighed. The hairs on his arms stood up as he thought, 'I knew it.' At the same time, he felt a wave of exhaustion.

He hadn't even solved his own pile of problems, and now another heap of questions and mysteries had sprung up around him.

'Tired. Exhausted. Just let the world be destroyed.'

In the ensuing conversation with the Coachman, Baron learned that both Julis and Lady Cavendish had passed away from the Gray Mist Sickness six years ago. Now, he was living alone in a rented place in London, raising three children.

Through Baron's subtle probing, the original narrative—where his hiding at Julis' Family had caused them to attract Bill's attention—had been changed. Now, the story was that they had incurred Bill's harassment because they couldn't afford the mist-clearing fee.

As for Baron, the legendary Lawbreaker, he was naturally uninvolved. The only connection was likely through newspapers, news reports, and street gossip.

And the reason Westminster Bank had relocated the Coachman's family was out of humanitarian concern—because the Coachman's Griffin coach had been hijacked by Baron, who at the time held A-Level privileges as an S-class intern.

'Something's wrong... very wrong... Why me again? Even the star of a tragedy gets a break now and then, and it's not like I just put on the Necklace of the Goddess of Fortune.'

Baron thought of the flower girl he had seen on the street that day, and the time he spent with her. He was almost certain it hadn't been an Illusion Realm... 'Could it be Lankao again?'

He remembered the Blood Twin experiment.

After being asked, the Coachman shook his head. "Lankao? Never heard that name."

"Cavendish?" Jack suddenly said. "That sounds like the surname of an Old Blood Clan..."

Baron raised an eyebrow. He suddenly remembered that Lady Cavendish's "Cavendish" was her surname, and the Coachman's children also seemed to have the surname Cavendish.

In the United Kingdom, it's common for a wife to take her husband's surname after marriage—like the current Prime Minister of Britain, Mrs. Thatcher, who also took her husband's name. But he never expected it to be the other way around for this Coachman.

The Coachman was secretly alarmed, thinking, 'The Hestia Family's information network is terrifying. They even know this.'

"My surname is Badar. The reason I had them take the surname Cavendish was... to borrow some of its prestige."

'Just for the prestige...' Baron scoffed internally. 'But if it's not Lankao, then who is it?'

'Julis and Lady Cavendish both died of illness six years ago. So why did they just happen to be resurrected the moment I arrived on the Inner Side? Even if it was someone in disguise, why impersonate them right when I came back? And why was I the one who just happened to run into them?'

'It's a coincidence. Too much of a coincidence. If it wasn't arranged by someone, it would be too fantastical—though it's not like this world runs on science anyway.'

In the midst of Baron's long deliberation, the Coachman said, "We're almost there." He pulled back on the reins and uttered a few strange syllables to the Griffin. The Griffin's wing beats slowed dramatically, and the carriage jolted and lurched as it descended. If Baron hadn't been quick, Jack would have almost been thrown from the carriage.

Seeing this, the Coachman apologized, "This is what you get with a Griffin of impure blood. No matter how you train them, they're still a bit wild. If I have the money in the future, I'll have to get a Scottish Celestial Horse (Unicorn)."

Baron waved his hand, looking up at the clouds falling away toward the sky. He was suddenly reminded of the first time he'd flown in an airplane in his previous life...

He shook his head. He could never go back.