"Whoa!" Dalton was startled by this sudden sound, quickly turning around and placing his hand on his sword hilt.
When he saw Karl standing quietly less than a meter behind him, his face was full of surprise and disbelief.
The corners of his eyes involuntarily twitched several times, and he slowly released the sword hilt, his voice filled with awe and emotion: "Lord Karl! Your... your stealth skills are astonishing... magnificent! I didn't notice you approaching at all."
"I've asked all around the manor, and almost everyone said they haven't seen you since yesterday."
"You're like... vanishing from nowhere and appearing out of nowhere."
When Karl heard this, a slight smile appeared on his face, and he waved his hand: "Who said I was sneaking around? I left the manor and went out into the surrounding world to deal with some things."
"Besides, even if I did sneak in, with the manor's current defenses, even a Witcher would have a hard time guarding against it, let alone me."
He suppressed his smile and said seriously: "Back to business, what's wrong that you're so urgently looking for me?"
Dalton heard Karl ask about business, and his expression became serious.
He didn't answer immediately, but first looked around to make sure the servants and guards nearby were busy and no one was coming over to eavesdrop.
He stepped forward, close to Karl, lowered his voice very low, and spoke a few words almost as fast as a whisper.
At first, a slightly relaxed smile was on Karl's face; he thought it was good news about the territory's development or a routine business report.
But soon, the smile quickly faded from his face, his brows slightly furrowed, and his eyes became sharp.
By the time Dalton finished speaking, a cold arc had already appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Hmph... Let's go, let's go to Phillip's." Karl chuckled meaninglessly, but his gaze did not waver.
Dalton felt a chill in his heart and immediately nodded: "Yes, my lord!"
They didn't alert the others, led the horses prepared in the stables, mounted, and raced straight towards the village.
After more than ten minutes, they approached a location on the edge of the village that looked quite neat but was clearly much simpler than a wooden house.
This was now Phillip's residence in the village. Before they could dismount and approach,
a sharp, shrill, aggrieved, and hysterical woman's roar suddenly came from the house, piercing the not-so-thick wooden wall.
"Phillip! You have no regard for me or Tamara in your eyes at all! You don't care about us!"
"I know you're out all day, and what you say about loyalty to the lord is just an excuse!"
"You never accompany us, and you don't care how we're doing! You dare say you love us?! It's all deceptive nonsense!"
Immediately after, Phillip's beastly roar suppressed the immense anger:
"Shut up! You stinking bitch! I am Lord Karl's servant; being loyal to the lord is my duty and honor!"
"Back when I earned less, it was useless not to love me every day!"
"Now that I'm following you, my income has become much higher, so you and Tamara can eat and dress well, and you say I don't care about you?!"
"How dare you... how dare you run away from me to steal a man?! Do you think I'm Phillip? A fool who lets you trample on his dignity?!"
Dalton stood at the door, his face clearly embarrassed and flustered, and he raised his hand as if to knock on the door to remind the two arguing inside.
However, Karl could no longer tolerate it; just hearing Anna's words raised his blood pressure.
He pushed aside Dalton's hand, which was about to knock, and then, without hesitation, lifted his foot.
BANG!! A loud noise erupted.
The flimsy wooden door, along with its latch, was kicked inward by Karl, flying inside and crashing into the house's wall.
The loud noise instantly interrupted the fierce argument inside.
He saw that the house was in disarray; tables, chairs, and benches were crooked, many missing arms or legs, clearly having been through a violent physical struggle.
A young woman, much more glamorous than the average villager but looking somewhat vicious, Anna.
She had one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Phillip, her face full of anger.
She seemed about to continue arguing with Phillip but was stunned by the loud noise of the door.
She opened her mouth wide and looked in astonishment at the door—at Karl and Dalton, who had entered uninvited.
Tamara hid behind Anna's skirt in fear, her little hands clutching her mother's pants, her small face full of tears of terror.
And in the corner of the room, on the floor beside a simple wooden bed, lay a man in only his underwear, covered in blood.
He had several horrific sword wounds on his chest and abdomen, and blood gushed out, pooling into a small puddle on the ground.
The man was dying, only exhaling, not inhaling.
Phillip stood in the center of the room, holding a steel sword still dripping with blood.
Due to intense anger, his face was contorted, and his chest heaved violently.
When he saw Karl kick the door open, the anger on his face instantly turned to surprise, and he subconsciously exclaimed: "Ka... Lord Karl?!"
Dalton reacted very quickly. The moment Karl kicked the door open, he clearly saw the situation inside the house.
He immediately rushed into the house and barely lifted the falling door panel with his backhand, blocking the doorway.
He avoided the villagers who might be alarmed outside from seeing the horrific scenes inside the house.
Karl was expressionless, his eyes coldly sweeping across the room, and he nodded slightly in response to Phillip.
His gaze quickly swept over the dying man and the disarrayed furniture on the floor.
Finally, like two ice picks, it froze on Anna's angry and panicked face.
Anna shuddered under Karl's cold gaze and finally recovered from her shock.
She immediately realized that the young man in front of her, extraordinarily and luxuriously dressed,
was probably the high-ranking and powerful Duke, the lord spoken of by her husband, Lord Karl.
Instinct and cunning for survival made her react instantly.
She abruptly crouched down and tightly hugged her daughter Tamara, as if clutching a lifeline.
Her face instantly changed to pitiful and aggrieved, and she wanted to approach Karl and find refuge, holding her child.
But from the corner of her eye, she saw Phillip holding the bloodied sword, looking at her with eyes that seemed about to eat her alive.
She was too scared to step forward, so she could only stop in place and first complain to Karl in a tearful, trembling voice.
"Lord... Lord Karl! You... you must decide for me!"
"Phillip... Phillip has gone mad! He wants to kill me! Please help..."
However, before Anna's words finished, she saw Karl, standing not far from the door, his figure flicker.
CRACK!! Suddenly, a sharp, loud slap echoed in the room.