Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 576: Investigation

Earl Laurent, an earl in a small city, actually holds a low status. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

In truth, someone like Duke, an outstanding Level 1 Crystalized Mage, holds a status far superior to Earl Laurent in the Seville Empire.

"Wizard Duke, welcome to Red Rock Castle, albeit at such an unpleasant time." Earl Laurent’s voice carried a slight rasp, as he extended his hand for a brief handshake with Duke, "Please have a seat, Ossen, prepare some refreshments."

Butler Ossen bowed and withdrew, gently closing the door behind him.

Duke sat down in a high-backed chair opposite the desk, speaking directly: "My lord Earl, time is of the essence, so let us begin. Please tell me all the details of the events as comprehensively as possible, especially concerning the activities and associations of the deceased before their deaths, and any unusual changes within the estate, no matter how minor."

He intended to thoroughly understand the entire course of events before conducting a field investigation to see if he could gather any clues.

The people from the Divine Hall of Light couldn’t solve the problem, which probably means it’s not that simple.

Earl Laurent took a deep breath, leaning slightly forward, and folded his hands on the table, beginning a detailed recount.

His account was more specific than the butler’s and better conveyed the impact and panic this matter caused within the family.

He mentioned that his eldest son Eric believed it might be a conspiracy by business rivals, while his younger son Calvin was indifferent and even somewhat dismissive, and his daughter Marjorie was deeply shaken due to her close maid’s death, with her emotions still unstable.

Earl Laurent also noted the odd behavior of old gardener Hans, but previously attributed it to the ramblings of an elderly man under distress.

"...That’s how it is, Wizard Duke." Earl Laurent concluded, with a final glimmer of hope in his eyes as he looked at Duke, "No clues, as if an invisible hand is randomly harvesting lives. If this continues, Red Rock Castle is destined to become a dead castle!"

Duke listened quietly, constructing a preliminary understanding of the personnel relationships and event sequences within the castle.

He stood up: "I understand. My lord Earl, I’ll need to examine all the death scenes and meet with the old gardener Hans you mentioned, as well as investigate the recent plants introduced to the castle."

Duke speculated that if it wasn’t due to malevolent spirits, there might be other factors at play.

If it’s certain plants, they might produce substances causing ordinary people’s deaths, which is not uncommon.

As the wizard plane conquered more planes, many new species from other planes have already entered the wizard plane.

Plants are one of them, with many other plane plants appearing extremely beautiful and attractive, leading many nobles and wealthy merchants to decorate their homes with them as ornamental plants.

However, some other plane plants are extremely dangerous, and many people don’t understand them thoroughly enough, leading to situations similar to those in the castle.

But this was just one of Duke’s hypotheses, merely a possible cause.

The specific situation would only be known after investigations were carried out.

Earl Laurent immediately summoned Butler Ossen, instructing him solemnly: "Ossen, Wizard Duke needs to inspect all incident locations and be informed of recent plant introductions to the estate. You must fully cooperate; Wizard Duke’s requests are my commands, with no concealment or obstruction allowed."

"Yes, my lord Earl." Ossen bowed in acknowledgment, turning toward Duke with a more solemn expression, "Wizard Sir, please follow me."

The investigation commenced, with Duke led by Butler Ossen, first visiting the various death scenes. Every room and corner was preserved as much as possible in its original state, but an undeniable emptiness lingered where life had quietly vanished.

The first site was the eastern garden, where gardener Bob had died.

This was a relatively secluded garden corner on the castle’s east side, adjoining a tall red rock wall, with dense rose bushes planted along the wall. It was the blooming season, deep red roses were in full bloom, emitting a strong fragrance. The ground was covered with small pebbles, and some pruning tools were scattered nearby.

"Bob was found right here," Ossen pointed to a small patch of ground in front of the rose bushes, speaking in a somber tone, "He was lying face up, holding a pair of pruning shears, his expression... very peaceful, as if he were just sleeping."

Duke nodded slightly, signaled Ossen to stay put, and he himself walked slowly into the area.

He closed his eyes and immediately exerted his formidable spiritual power, extending his spiritual perception naturally.

The rich aroma of roses enveloped his nose, mingled with the scents of soil and grass. A breeze carried faint sounds of distant voices. Everything seemed normal.

The next moment, his spiritual power spread like ripples from a stone cast into a calm lake, expanding gently outward from him to detail every detail around him.

This force lightly brushed over every rose petal, seeped into the crevices of pebbles, wrapped around the cold pruning tools, and even attempted to capture nearly dissipated energy imprints in the air.

Duke kept his eyes slightly closed, with his vast spiritual power rippling out like precise probes, expanding slowly from him to thoroughly scan every inch of space.

The information his spiritual power could see far exceeded what the naked eye could, including nearly completely dissipated energy residues in the air, micro dust traces, and He scoured for any sound not belonging to a normal environment, like a curse’s stench, the chill of negative energy, twisted imprints left by malevolent spirits, or energy signatures of some unknown toxin.

However, just like the conclusions reached by the castle guards and the temple priests, the result was extraordinarily clean.

Apart from naturally existing elements and Bob’s faint remaining life imprints, there were no alien, malevolent, or abnormal energies left behind.

Not even a fragment of a struggling, terrified, or painful soul remained as if Bob’s life had been quietly taken without awareness in an instant.

This unusual cleanliness itself was an uncommon clue.

Duke opened his eyes, sweeping his gaze once more over the rose bushes, with the rich floral scent seemingly becoming even clearer.

He crouched down, his fingers gently brushed over the pebbles where Bob had fallen, feeling the cool touch.

"Next." He stood up, his tone unchanged.

The second site was the maid’s quarters, the personal maid’s room of Miss Marjorie.

The maid’s quarters were located on the third floor of the castle’s annex, small and tidy.