When Swain returned to Deweide in the carriage, he deliberately stopped at the red windmill on Triumph Boulevard. Although it was late, and Swain had said he would be back in the evening before he left the house in the morning, Sven had more important things to do now.

Instructing the coachman to wait outside, Swain once again stepped into the imperial capital. Due to the not-so-good memories of the last time, Swain only ordered a cup of Uwo black tea that had just been shipped from the East this time, and this time, the old woman's attitude was much colder.

Swain sat across from Ramrem, who was already in the café, and stared at the maid who was intently enjoying dessert. "Why did you call me over all of a sudden?"

Ramrem licked a bite of the milk cake with a happy expression, as if he had entered heaven and enjoyed bliss on earth. But she just held her flushed cheeks and looked at Swain with watery eyes, as if she was affectionate, but she didn't answer.

Swain still knew the maid's temperament, and he knew what Ramrem meant when he saw her expression. "I'll pay for it, you can order whatever you want. ”

Sure enough, as soon as Swain said he would pay for it, Ramrem smiled. She placed a letter in front of Swain.

"Your butler wants to sell this letter to Viscount Jericho, and I bought it for a thousand imperial geals. ”

Sven frowned and picked up the letter. Looking at the sender on the envelope, it should be his vassal, Baron Deniz, who stayed in Midnight Fort to manage the affairs of the territory, but if it was the baron, he would not use his Midnight Raven's seal. The butler may not have understood this, but Sven knew it.

He opened the envelope, and there was only one piece of stationery inside, and there was only a short sentence on the letterhead, not even a signature.

"Everything you did, I expected, my child. ”

This short sentence made Swain stare for a long time, and the maid who had been enjoying the cake by herself also felt that something was wrong.

"What's wrong with you?"

She wisely did not ask what was written in the letter.

Sven just looked at the short sentence on the letter calmly. But Ramrem could clearly feel that Swain's calm was completely different from usual. Although Swain is usually expressionless, it seems that he can face anything that happens in front of him, but that calmness is an unpredictable feeling. The person facing him could feel that he was thinking, but they could not guess what he was thinking, and the unexplained secret was like a poisonous snake staring at him from behind, sending chills down his spine. But now Swain's calm was different, and Ramrem felt that his brain had been completely emptied, as if he had been completely detached from thinking.

The silence lasted for a long time, and the black tea that the old woman had served him had cooled, and the dusk outside was almost over, and Swain finally spoke.

"Has anyone read the letter?"

"No, the mud is intact. The maid knew who Swain was referring to.

Swain let out a long breath. Ramrem felt that he was not relieved that no one had read the letter, but that he was about to do something important.

"I need you to do me some favor tonight. ”

"Is that good?" Ramrem frowned, "I'm not your maid, or do you really call me like one?"

"It's fitting for you to wear this. Sweyn ignored Ramrem's complaints. He walked over to the counter, paid the bill, then asked the shopkeeper for a pen and paper, and hurriedly wrote a sticky note.

"You wait for me for a moment. Swain explained to Ramrem, and then walked out of the door and told the coachman to go back first, and take the note with him. The coachman was an honest man, and when he heard the master's instructions, he hurriedly got into the carriage without asking a word.

After sending the coachman away, Swain and the maid rented a carriage and drove towards the Phil family's mansion.

Herbert was surprised when he received a report from the servant that the maid of Viscount Jericho's family wanted to see him. Although the two families are quite close because of the unusual friendship between his father Wood and the Jericho family, Herbert himself has little contact with the Viscount Jericho, whom his father is very optimistic about. And now at this time, the maid of Viscount Jericho's family is coming to see him, is there anything important?

Although he couldn't figure out the other party's intention and why he wanted to see him by name, since the other party came, he couldn't avoid it. Putting on his coat and hurrying to the door, Herbert saw the maid lady.

For Ramrem, Herbert still knows, this maid who often follows behind the Jericho woman and Miss Jericho with a cold face and an expressionless face, Herbert even sent someone to collect information about her, but it seems that although the other party has a cold personality, she is just an ordinary civilian girl, and there is not much worth noting.

Herbert glanced at the carriage behind the maid, frowned, and stepped forward. "Is there anything important for Viscount Jericho to ask you to come to me at this time?" he smiled flirtatiously, looking like he usually behaved as a swinger.

"Sorry to disturb your rest at this time. Ramrem bowed slightly to Herbert and whispered, "Can you please come to the car and talk?"

Herbert's eyes narrowed, and he put his hands in his coat pockets. Touching the pistol hidden at his waist, he nodded.

Ramrem opened the carriage door for him, and by the light of the street lamp, Herbert could faintly see a young man sitting in the car. He looked at the man in front of him with a puzzled look, and Ramrem followed, sat down next to the man, and closed the door with him.

The carriage went awry, and Herbert regretted it a little, he felt that he had just been overconfident, and that the person around the maid had never seen it himself, and he could not judge the situation.

"Who are you?" he asked, intending to test his suspicions.

"Sven Noe Jericho. ”

Really. Although his suspicion was confirmed, Herbert was not happy at all. His gaze circled between Swin and Ramrem, and once again he used a flirtatious tone to hide his heart: "I have heard that you and your father, Viscount Jericho, do not have a very good relationship, but now it seems that you still have a good relationship with his maid." ”

Although the sarcasm in Herbert's words was obvious, there was no change in the expression on Swin and Ramrem's face. And in the face of these two people who didn't even smile, Herbert was still a little bottomless in his heart, and he couldn't judge what they were thinking from the faces of these two people.

If Swain and Ramrem's expressionlessness only made Herbert a little uncomfortable, then Swain's next words made him feel extremely shocked. "The relationship between me and Miss Ramrem, you better not speculate too much, the Director of the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Herbert Noe Fair. ”

Although Herbert tried his best to hide the shock and shock in his heart, he inevitably showed some of it on his face. He struggled to control his mouth muscles as he spoke, but he stammered. "Y-What did you say?"

"If what I'm saying is so clear, and you want to hide it, it's too ugly. ”

Hearing Swain's words, Herbert's originally shaken heart now calmed down. Now that the other party is fully aware of his identity, it is really ugly to cover it up. "So, who are you? If you can't give a reasonable explanation, I'll still put you on the Bureau's investigation list. Now that you can name me, you should know quite a bit about the Ministry of the Interior and the Bureau of Investigation. Although Swain took the initiative of the topic, Herbert was not so easily frightened, and when he calmed down, he immediately began to verbally attack. Even if Swain tells his identity, it doesn't mean that he will be afraid of him, on the contrary, knowing such a secret and telling it is likely to cause death.

"I suggest you don't do that, then you'll steal the work of the thirteenth class, Count Hecate is still in his hospital bed, you'd better not be angry with him. ”

The information revealed by Swain surprised Herbert again, although this time he was mentally prepared and did not show his surprise on his face, but the surprise in his heart was indeed real. Section 13 and the Investigation Bureau are the two most mysterious departments of the Ministry of the Interior, although the Investigation Bureau is more mysterious in the eyes of ordinary people, but in fact, even Herbert himself has to admit that the authority of Section 13 is higher than that of the Investigation Bureau, not only because Section 13 is directly responsible to the emperor, but also because even Herbert himself does not know the specific scope of responsibilities of Section 13.

And this man also knew the news of the injury of Count Hecate. Herbert's vigilance in his heart was even worse, he also guessed this news from the comprehensive analysis of a lot of intelligence, and Swain actually knew it so clearly, so Herbert had to wonder if Swain was also from the Ministry of the Interior.

But even with such speculation, Herbert still did not let his guard down, and even the hostility in his heart became even heavier. Herbert was not so loyal, and his ambitions were not just a bureau chief to satisfy. Because of this, if Swain was a member of the Home Office, such a person who seemed more mysterious and knew more secrets was something Herbert had to rule out.

Just not now. Herbert secretly touched the gun he had hidden under his clothes again, and thought to himself.

"So tell me about your purpose for today. Both sides knew that Herbert would definitely investigate Swain in the future, but now he couldn't force Swain's identity because it wasn't his home turf.

"Please don't be so nervous, Mr. Phil. Ramrem smiled very lightly, "We are here to cooperate with you." ”

Herbert frowned and stared at the maid, who looked like the young little maid was a pawn placed by the equally young Count Jericho next to Viscount Jericho. I'm afraid it's not as simple as bribery, Swain also shows his trust in this girl by letting this girl participate in this conversation. Moreover, this maid doesn't look like it's that simple.

Before Herbert could turn his attention away from Ramrem, Swain spoke: "I think we have something in common at the moment, and cooperation should be something we both need. ”

Although Swain expressed some goodwill and sought cooperation, Herbert did not agree so easily, on the contrary, he was still a little nervous. "My father must have said when he went to Midnight Castle to attend the funeral of the Earl of Midnight that you could go to him if you needed anything, so why didn't you ask him for his cooperation?"

Although Herbert's words sounded like a gesture of favor to Swain, they were actually mocking and provocative. Swain didn't know how well Herbert knew his father or how much Wood trusted his son, especially when Herbert held the position of Director of Investigation. He was actually deceiving Swain, he knew very well what kind of polite words Wood would say when he saw Swain, this was already a kind of professionalism of his, but he wanted to deceive Swain, Fort Midnight was impenetrable, even the powerful Investigation Bureau could not intervene, therefore, Herbert planned to deceive Swain to see how much the Midnight Earl trusted his territory and vassals.

However, Sven did not waver in any way, his expression was more rigid than Ramrem, at least the maid had a faint smile, but Swain was in front of Herbert, like the report of the Investigation Bureau, this person would hardly have any expression.

"If I'm looking for Marquis Phil, then I don't have to ask you to come out, so why bother. I don't want to work with you, not with the Phil family, you know what I mean. ”

Swain's words were very straightforward, and it seemed that Swain was not willing to waste any more time, and Herbert couldn't help but wonder if the young Earl Midnight was in eagerness, or if he was really so confident.

"So, what exactly do you want to work with me?" Herbert already had some speculations in his mind, but he didn't quite want it to be what he thought, if that was the case, then the depth of Swain's secrets really scared him, this Swain was even more like the director of the Bureau of Investigation.

"We all have a common adversary, don't we?" said Swain's stagnant gaze that made Herbert deeply uneasy, "to me, Viscount Ernest's claim to the title of Earl of Midnight is the greatest threat, and isn't he a great threat to you, whether it is a rivalry for the position of the Ministry of the Interior, or a partisan dispute, or a dispute over property. ”

When Swain spoke of the last point, the last thing Herbert wanted to see was finally ruthlessly confirmed. Although he didn't know how Swain knew about these extremely secret things, with just a few words, Swain could make Herbert understand that those secrets were already in his heart and there was nothing to hide them.

Herbert let out a long sigh, and several times he wanted to take out his gun and shoot the young Jericho in front of him, but in the end reason prevented him from doing so. "So, what do you want to do with your father?" Herbert still wanted to test it, even though the other party had a secret that forced him to obey. The other party has too many secrets about him, but he still doesn't know anything about this Jericho.

"You should know about the rebellion in the South, although the Empire hasn't officially announced it yet. ”

Swain's terrible shadow had completely enveloped Herbert, and the chief of the investigation couldn't figure out why the young earl was so powerful. If his secret can still be said to be the result of Swain's years of investigation, then the news that the Imperial Government only got today, and he, the director of the Investigation Bureau, did not know until before dinner, why could this person say it so easily.

Could it be that he was actually a member of the Southern Rebels? First of all, Swain was a member of the Southern Lords, although this time Prince Pritown started a war on the grounds of recovering the de jure territory of Midnight Fort, but this reason was obviously not the real purpose of Michel VII, and even this may have been their deliberate performance, and the Midnight Earl was originally a supporter of Prince Pritown. Moreover, there was no news from the Ministry of the Interior about this southern rebellion until Prince Pritown sent a telegram declaring war, and the enemy's intelligence system was clearly beyond their strength, just like the Earl Jericho in front of him.

Thinking of this, Herbert felt that he could cooperate with Swain, of course, in the same bed. Although Herbert is not yet fully sure that Swain is the man of the Southern Rebels, this is enough to be a suspicious direction, and it is not unlikely. On top of that, if he's a rebel from the South, then maybe this will be a chance for himself.

With this in mind, Herbert tried not to move and said, "Your news is really well-informed, but what does this have to do with Viscount Jericho?" He couldn't expect the Imperial Capital garrison to go to battle, right? Herbert thought to himself.

"For me, the biggest concern is that Viscount Ernest will inherit my title of Earl of Fort Midnight, so as long as he can't inherit it, wouldn't it be fine? According to the Empire's inheritance laws for nobles, nobles other than the royal family are not allowed to have more than one title at the same time. ”

Herbert couldn't help but be stunned by Swain's idea, he had thought of many ways to deal with Ernest, but he didn't think of one. Herbert couldn't help but admire in his heart, if Swain really just wanted to solve the problem by murder, although Herbert was happy to see it, after all, the other party would have a handle in his hands, but Herbert would not look down on Swain too much, murder was the worst means after all. But Swain's approach was different, not only did he avoid the most dangerous pretender of his title, but more importantly, he didn't have to worry about infamy at all, and even Herbert couldn't use this as a lever to threaten Swain.

"So, how do you want to give Viscount Jericho an actual title, do you want to make Viscount Jericho make a military contribution through this counterinsurgency war?"

"I think that as a direct party to this rebellion, His Majesty the Emperor should summon me in the near future. I will find an opportunity to make this proposal to him, and I think that with the strength of you and His Highness Beria, it should not be difficult to push forward such a decision. ”

Herbert considered the plan, and it was indeed very feasible. Although it is not very suitable for Ernest to lead the troops as an official of the Ministry of the Interior, he is the commander of the imperial capital garrison after all, he is half a soldier, and he also has a military status, and it is also very suitable to be his biological father of Earl Midnight, after all, Earl Swain is too young to lead the troops by him. And he and Interior Minister Beria will also be happy to see such an arrangement, the best situation for them is that Ernest dies on the battlefield, because of Ernest's close relationship with Wood, he is very close to Crown Prince Alexander, it can be said that it is a nail in Beria's Ministry of Internal Affairs, if Ernest is not dead, then even if he has a mediocre record, Beria and Swain will try to build momentum for him, knight him, and then drive him out of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Herbert had to sigh again at Sven's resourcefulness.

"If you can convince His Majesty the Emperor, His Highness Beria and I will support you. With that, he held out his hand to Swain and smiled a friendly smile for the first time.

"It was a pleasure to work with. ”

"It was a pleasure to work with. ”