Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening-Chapter 149: More Than Enough

"Yes?"

Duke Coldmere had been busy the entire evening with the issue pertaining to Caleb and Jess coming to his domain.

While it was not entirely clear why they were in his domain, the working theory was that the fugitives needed a secluded land where they could hide and grow stronger.

However, the extensive network for gathering and sharing information thwarted that plan. As one of the individuals advocating for the arrest of the two fugitives, he coordinated with the other nobles, sharing the information and personnel necessary for the operations.

The call he just received was one such matter.

[The preparations on our end are complete.] The voice on the other end of the call said, sounding male and very deep. [Any news on the target?]

"I’m afraid not." The duke replied. "I only have the cat with me."

[No matter. The friends of our mutual friend will be arriving in an hour.] The voice continued. [Be warned, Coldmere. Those guys aren’t simple. We’re fortunate they’re doing this instead of...]

The person didn’t complete his words, but the Duke understood the message.

"I understand..." Duke Coldmere gulped slightly. "What of the other plans...? How far along is it?"

[It’s still in the works.] The voice continued coldly. [Another team has been assigned to handle that one. Hopefully, it goes well...] The person trailed off slightly before adding a final word.

[I hope to hear from you soon... They seem to want to push this agenda forward, and the faster we move, the better for us.]

"Right..." Duke Coldmere nodded and ended the call.

He placed the call artefact on his desk and sat back with a tired sigh. "How did it even come to this...?" He muttered in a daze, his eyes glued to the ceiling. "Just because..."

With a shake of his head, the duke sat up and got back to work. He needed to clear these reports before those guests arrived.

Meanwhile, Caleb furrowed his brows in thought. He wasn’t clear on what most of the conversation was about, except for the mutual friends who were sending other friends over.

’Probably the backup forces or something...’ He reasoned, not entirely worried about that. ’Other plans in the works, huh...’ That part of the conversation stuck with him.

Moreover, whoever those mutual friends were, they were probably some big shots from the underworld or from enemy nations — he had a lot of guesses but no evidence.

Regardless of what it was, what he heard was more than enough to make the Duke a major suspect in the mess occurring within the kingdom.

It also looked like the Duke was more or less dragged into whatever was happening. ’Whether he was forced into this or not, he had the option of reporting to the king... Unless, of course, he was threatened in some way...’ That was the most likely.

’The question is: what would make the aristocrats betray their own kingdom?’ He had a few guesses as a man of culture. Even so, he needed evidence as they were still speculations with no substance.

He put his suspicions aside and focused on the chamber before him. Whoever the Duke was expecting would be here within the hour. That meant he had to speed things up.

Flying past the opening, Caleb was welcomed to a dimly lit space filled with rows of square shelves holding documents of all kinds.

The space was clean and devoid of any signs of dust or cobwebs, kind curtsy of the many miscellaneous spells built into the space.

In the centre was a stone table a meter and a half long and waist high. On the table was a map of the kingdom, marked with red wax symbols indicating specific locations within and at the borders of the kingdom.

Lying over the map were opened documents/scrolls and a leather-bound journal. At the far corner of the chamber was a chest Caleb noticed was protected by magic.

’Looks like your typical hidden vault.’ Caleb thought as he flew forward and came to a stop before the stone table. He pushed the documents aside and came to stare at the map with a frown.

’While it’s not strange to have a map of the kingdom, why would it be kept in here?’ He pondered as he directed his system to make a copy of the map and the marked locations.

He wasn’t very knowledgeable about the layout of the kingdom and the strategic positions of important destinations. Caleb could only rely on the king to help decipher what the marked regions meant.

Once that was completed, he turned his focus to the scrolls and journeys. Grabbing one of the opened scrolls, he skimmed through its content, not finding anything significant.

He grabbed the leather-bound journal next, and this was where things got interesting. The journey contained coded records of transactions and observations of the Duke himself.

A particular paragraph of the Duke’s observation caught his attention.

’The shadow that fed upon the withered garden grew from seeds I sowed in greed. I failed to bury the roots deep enough, leaving trails for the hounds to follow. In the game of fox and hound, I gifted the leash willingly, binding my own paws and muzzle.

’When the scales tipped under the weight of inevitable judgment, I chose the serpent’s path—one that preserves the den, even if it poisons the field.’

The words written in the journey were deep and gave insights into what the Duke might have been caught in. ’It’s not outright admission to treachery or what he did... More like his sins are being used against him, and he chose the path of self-preservation.’

He flipped the pages and read a few more paragraphs that hinted at other nobles the duke knew were in on this. ’More than saving his skin, he’s also attempting to gather his own evidence against the others.’

Caleb could see through the Duke’s thoughts. Regardless of his motives, the Duke pretty much named some of the nobles who were in on the agenda, especially the one who pointed out his sins.

The journal didn’t go further into what the ultimate scheme was, but he could infer it had something to do with the ’other plans’ he heard the Duke converse about. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

’This is more than enough for what I need to do next...’ Caleb came to a decision as he tossed the journal into his storage. He then turned his attention to the shelves on the wall and to the chest lying in the corner.

’Let’s get this over with...’