The Outlaws

Chapter 8: "The Priceless Treasure"

Duke Kinsley ran his hand through his beard, just remained silent and walked away. He walked faster than before, as if so Jovie wouldn't see his present expression and wistful face. Looking at Kinsley's current appearance made Jovie think of Babilo's servant. He knew it was a woman and suddenly realized that he was extremely curious about that girl. I think:

“Babilo once mentioned before members of the royal family that in his spoils, when he was gone, he even brought a little girl to the king. I once saw her when I was 15 years old and entered the Voidenorten palace to meet the king with her father - then the leader and also the representative of the Violeska labor union in general and the working class of the country. Violeska then specifically asked for a pardon for Todoliori, a member of the federation who had been arrested on charges of stealing and fraud just for the sake of his family even though he had sincerely confessed and confessed, then my father also asked the king to abolish harsh laws related to taxes, women's rights, workers' rights, etc. at that time."

Jovie began to piece together clues from the past and kept thinking about them:

“I remember at that time she just hid behind Babilo and ran out in fear when she heard the king's high-pitched screams with her father during a debate between the two about the issue of working class rights before he refused to pardon Todoliori and sent my pop back by force. For a moment, I saw the scar on her hand and blurted out that she was cute - which indirectly gave rise to friendship and cemented the relationship between us. The two became friends and told each other about each other's background and there was a time when I used to be very sad when I could not meet the girl that day. Was the girl that day was…”

He began to act thoughtfully like Kinsley, the two remained silent for a while, while still walking in the grounds around the Voidenorten, during which time they did not notice each other's presence or surroundings. …

While thinking about Babilo's servant, he was tapped on the shoulder by Kinsley and returned to the present. Kinsley smiled and asked:

“I noticed you looked back at Babilo's valet and thought deeply. Are you also curious and intend to find out her background?"

“Absolutely not, Duke.” – Jovie shyly – “Who would want to get to know the subordinate of that obnoxious Babilo? I've been mad at him since morning."

"Well, forget it, kid. That kind of person isn't worth your trouble. But I think she's real. My actions just now say it all. Even though you said that, but the fact that you were very attentive to her. look. Tell me what you think of that little girl. Your eyes don't lie. I know you don't just notice that action. What do you find special about her? "

"It's true that nothing can't escape your eyes."- Jovie laughed, replied- "To be honest, when I look at her, I suddenly remember my old friend. Both cases have a scar on their left wrist.”

“Ah, the girl that made you sad, sad, didn't come to your rendezvous the day before you saw your father again at the protest in front of Voidenorten five years ago? This is worth noting, if the girl I fell in love with is the same girl, I don't know whether to call that meeting a coincidence or fate arranged for the two of us? Haha”

Kinsley's hoarse, amused laugh made Jovie happy, removing his sorrow. In his heart he still wished that was true, whatever Kinsley's judgment might be. The truth is not haunting him because the image of the father collapsed after their quick meeting at the protest after many years of separation, it was the death of the little girl that changed Jovi's personality, making him happy. he was depressed and didn't want to make friends for a long time before his illness subsided and his burden eased after he became a sad student at Colvard where he had many friends and fond memories , then decided to stay as a lecturer at the school through the persuasion of Linc - the school current principal.

“Even if I want to get in touch with her, it's hard for me to flirt with her. Since you and Babilo hate each other, he won't let you get close to her,"- Kinsley advised with sincerity.

“I understand. I'm no stranger to Babilo, he's seen me as a thorn in his eyes for a long time. I have to get it out of my head now. There is something that makes me uneasy after the conversation between Princess Elvina and King Algorik.” -Jovie nodded

“Good. Ah, before that, there's something I want to tell you about that girl, so keep that in mind."

Looking at the more unusually serious expression than usual made Jovie pause: "This is certainly not trivial, rather, it is very important that Duke Kinsley is so serious and careful to remind me like that."

He was quite attentive when Kinsley began to say:

“Listen, Jov. Babilo considers her a loyal servant, taking her with her wherever she goes, like a picture with a shadow. She is a trusted subordinate of Babilo, trained, trained and trusted by Babilo. He trained her to become a bodyguard with excellent marksmanship. In addition to her work as a bodyguard, she was also a blacksmith with skills comparable to the skilled blacksmiths in the royal family - the result of Babilo sending her into a good environment with many masters in the field of weaponry atmosphere for the Royal Family to learn, practice plus natural talent.”

"I guess he considers her nothing more than a priceless treasure, no treasure in his mansion can compare to a living treasure like her. How more interesting she is than I thought. Maybe I will change my mind to investigate her"

“I agree with your guess. But don't underestimate daring to mess with her.”

“Why?”

“Even though she is a girl, she also possesses the ability to fight with her, improvisation and excellent judgment. She won't let anyone touch Babilo or his secret."

Kinsley turned his face to look at him with a relieved expression, breathed a sigh of relief, and said:

“Now, tell me what bothers you after your audience with the king earlier.”

“I really don't understand the king. How could he let it go so easily when Babilo was put as a suspect? He didn't even consider your well-founded, logical-sounding evidence surrounding the death of the late Empress? Wasn't he more than anyone in the past who wanted to unmask and execute the murderer of the queen? As if he trusted Babilo completely and implicitly asserted his innocence rather than letting the case go into the past like what Elvina said.” Jovie raised her voice in displeasure.

“Do you see how much His Majesty has changed?”

“Yes, in the past, His Majesty was a mild-mannered, tolerant, kind-hearted person who loved the queen and his children very much. Even when he was terminally ill and had to be bedridden, he did not complain to anyone, even willing to give the royal court to the queen to take care of. Somehow, His Majesty has completely recovered from his illness. Even the doctors could not explain his miraculous recovery, so they concluded that His Majesty was the son of heaven, so he was blessed by Viole. But after returning from the dead, His Majesty was no longer the same as before but became the person we see now.” “Yes, it is true that since the end of his illness, His Majesty has become a completely different person. Everything can't be by chance."

“So you already suspect someone in the palace has a hand in this, right? Can you name the person you are suspecting?"

"There's only one name on my list of suspects, and that's Babilo."

“Didn't expect us to be so similar. I also think he is the number one suspect. No one is more suspicious than him. I wonder what he did to His Majesty after he recovered from his illness.”

“Do we have telepathy or something? You always agree with me.”

“I see you and I have a lot in common, like a father and son.”

“But I need to correct your words. It had to be: “What did Babilo do to Algorik before he recovered?”

"You mean he was involved in Algorik's recovery?"

“It's just a personal opinion. Of course, there are many twists and turns in this that need to be thoroughly investigated, but the number one suspect in all this mess had to be Babilo.”

"There are many solved mysteries behind this, as you just said, they annoy me."

Walking on the lawn of the palace grounds, Jovie suddenly had many thoughts and concerns. He blurted out to Kinsley:

“I've always wondered what 'The Great Adventure' is, what it has brought to our planet and why the late Queen Kate was so opposed to an idea that Babilo considered so promising. As far as I know, the queen always supports bold, new ideas that have the potential to bring achievements to the country."