This was no joke; at that moment, Kal'tsit really hadn't expected Jeanne to suddenly burst forth with such terrifying speed. By the time she tried to follow them inside, it was already too late.
As a result, Kal'tsit could only watch as the area surrounding Sergei's house grew increasingly frantic, while she remained in the dark regarding the specific details inside. Ultimately, she had to find a way to sneak into the hospital specifically to examine the wounds of the soldiers who had fought. From their bodies, she could deduce the specifics of Jeanne's situation.
The result was that the more she understood Jeanne, the deeper she sank into a fog. Kal'tsit considered herself the keeper of all secrets on this continent, yet that confidence proved useless when it came to Jeanne.
Over the past few days, Kal'tsit had been unable to grasp Jeanne's true nature at all; the woman was surrounded by a massive shroud of mystery. This caused Kal'tsit to have doubts about purchasing the medication to suppress the progression of Oripathy from them.
Now, Kal'tsit could only keep her questions to herself and wait to see how things unfolded. She was currently on her way back to Azazel, while the surrounding soldiers searched everywhere for the assassin's whereabouts—though they currently had no leads whatsoever.
No matter how hard they worked at this moment, it was all destined to be in vain. Like a car heading in the wrong direction, they would never find a single valuable clue.
At that moment, Kal'tsit suddenly realized something: whatever secrets Jeanne held had nothing to do with her. She had simply been stubborn and overthinking it. She only needed to know what they wanted and then conduct the trade. This wasn't a war against Theresis where she had to know everything about the opponent to kill them.
Thinking of this, Kal'tsit took a deep breath. She hadn't expected herself to have such a lapse in composure. She recalled how she used to mock the Doctor for being stubborn and overthinking; fortunately, the Doctor didn't know about her current state, otherwise, she didn't know how much she would be teased.
Looking at the soldiers searching for Jeanne and the others like headless flies, Kal'tsit felt a sense of relief in her heart. Those poor fellows didn't know that their targets had already left quite some time ago and had arrived back at Azazel.
All of this made Count Boris so angry he wanted to curse. Had I raised a group of rice-worms who only know how to eat? I could find a dog that does a better job than these guys!
At this moment, he really wanted to severely reprimand the officer responsible for training these men and kick the man's backside hard with his size 48 military boots. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that right now.
Not only could he not do it, but he also had to wait with gentlemanly grace for the other party to come and beg for forgiveness, and then he would have to generously pardon them. This wasn't just a matter of face; it was a performance for his "friends" to show off his seemingly tolerant temperament—especially for this friend who had done many shady things with him: Ivan, the head of the Rostov family.
Although this was a long-distance communication, he could imagine the other man's distressed face from the slightly raspy voice. Ivan Rostov was currently exhausted from the busyness of recent days, his eyes bloodshot. Speaking before the communicator, Ivan—with his family's ancestral white hair—looked like an albino brown bear caught in the Arctic, full of rage with no one to vent it on.
"Oh! Boris, my friend. You know exactly how big of a mess this has become! Those fellows who have been working so hard to pull you down won't pass up such a great opportunity!"
The voice coming from the other end was clearly tinged with urgency and anxiety. Just as Boris had imagined, those who coveted his position had already begun to move, surely starting their maneuvers against him.
"The Ursus Daily, the Pineapple Daily, Ursus News Today, the New Ursus Paper... not only that, but all sorts of small media outlets are preparing to report on this! They are like crows smelling rotting meat! And now you actually want me to suppress this?"
Ivan Rostov angrily slammed a stack of papers onto the table, the sound coming through clearly to Count Boris on the other end. He knew exactly why the other man was angry; the favor he had asked was a bit too much. They were partners, not an agent who spent all day answering the phone to wipe his backside.
"Calm down, my friend. I only hope you can persuade those hyenas to delay publishing this news. Just for... ten days! Let them delay it for ten days to get through this period!"
Count Boris didn't expect those guys to treat the incident as if it didn't exist; he only hoped it wouldn't be blown out of proportion within Ursus for the time being. If he could achieve that, everything would be fine. Ten days—he only needed to fight for these most crucial ten days. Once the delegation left the city and he could free up his hands, he would have the final say in this city again.
"You just need to reach an agreement with them. Even if they demand a high price, agree to it! I will pay whatever the amount is!"
This time, for the sake of his position, he was prepared to bleed money. The cost of bribing those fellows would certainly not be a small figure, but as long as he could keep his position, it was worth it.
"Fine, I'll work on it, friend. I'll do my best to make them postpone the report. But you should still look for those people behind you; they are definitely more effective than I am."
Hearing the voice from the communicator, Boris spoke kind words in a feigned, highly emotional tone. However, the moment the communication was cut, his face shifted into an expression of disdain.
If it weren't for the fact that it was inconvenient for him to move personally right now and he needed the other party to handle these issues, how could he be so easy to talk to? He was a dignified Count and a Mayor—why should he speak so submissively to another person? It was simply because the other man was useful.
Besides, they had done so many shady things together; it was absolutely impossible for Ivan to just watch him fall. If he did, Ivan wouldn't have a good ending either.
On the other side, Ivan Rostov let out a long sigh after ending the call, leaning back against the seat.
"As you can see, he is currently so busy his head is spinning. He no longer has the energy to protect his pile of shady little secrets. He doesn't even have time to monitor when you go out. So, there is absolutely no need for you to waste time here with me, Grand Councilor Witte."
Sitting before him was an attendant of the Ursus delegation. At this moment, he stood respectfully beside a communicator. On the other end of that communicator was Grand Councilor Witte, the representative of the Ursus Emperor.