Second World

After Luciana exited, Duchess Isabelle walked in. Even after seeing her for the second time, Jack was still stunned by her beauty. He was mute for a while even after the duchess sat down and waited for him to begin asking her question. She smiled and made a small cough to wake Jack up from his daze.

"Ah, forgive me. That's very improper of me. Your Grace must have gotten used to men turning their heads on you."

The duchess giggled softly, "I would think that you outworlders have a fair share of beauties, I do not think that I will be special if compared to your kind."

"Oh, on the contrary, we find it hard to discover among our kind someone as elegant and as fair as you in both manners and look. You can easily topple our top beauty."

The duchess let out a straightforward laugh now, "I do not know you outworlders are such teasers. Don't let my husband hear you, he is a jealous sort."

Hearing that, the memory of a level 65 Rare Elite came back to Jack. He immediately threw his fascination on the duchess' beauty out of his mind.

"Let us begin then, shall we?" He said in a serious tone. "Where were you in the morning two days ago?"

"On my bed, in my bedroom," the duchess answered.

"The whole morning?"

"The whole day."

"I'm sorry to pry, the head maid informed me of your weak body. Was it because of this condition that you have stayed in bed for the whole day?"

"No need to feel sorry. It is not really a secret, everyone in this mansion knows about my condition. I have good days and bad days, badly most of the time, unfortunately. During these bad days, I stayed mostly in bed and have medications regularly."

"Then I guess today is one of your good days?"

"It is. Lucky for you, ain't it? Not so for me, as I have been planning to go for a walk in the garden on this rare occasion."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I won't take much of your time," Jack said with an apologetic expression.

The duchess giggled, "I'm just messing with you. A walk in the garden is something I can do some other time. Having a conversation with an outworlder though, is not something so common. So, I'm actually looking forward to this talk."

"Oh… Then… I'll try to make this talk… longer?"

"As long as it does not cause my husband to become suspicious, hm?" The duchess narrowed her eyes teasingly.

"I think we better keep this conversation formal," Jack went back to a serious tone. "Did you see anyone during the morning two days ago?"

"My husband, as he left to his workroom in the morning. Then head-maid Jimena came in to clean my room and accompany me and took care of my medication. The maid Luciana came for a bit as well to talk with Jimena. Apart from that, not many things happened. My days during bad days were pretty much boring."

"When did you find out about the theft?"

"When Jimena came back again in the afternoon with my lunch. She told me about the coming of the castle guards and the theft."

"You didn't see the barrier formation around the estate?"

"No, I was in my bedroom all the time, remember?"

"Don't your bedroom have windows? I thought the main bedroom for Duke and Duchess should have large windows showing the best view of the estate, shouldn't it?"

"We have windows, but that barrier formation is not exactly clear to see through a window, right?"

"Is it?" Jack didn't notice this, he had only seen the barrier when he was outdoor.

"Yeah, try seeing it. It was not obvious, unless you open up the windows and peer outside, it will not be obvious in a glance. And that's what I do after I heard about the theft from Jimena, I asked her to help me to a window and had it opened so I can see the dancing light in the sky. It was not every day you get to see such a view."

Jack was deep in thought as he pondered something.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?" The duchess asked.

"I think that's it for now, I will look for you again if I think of some other things to ask."

"Then how about I give the questions now? Tell me about you outworlders, where you came from, and how did you get into this world?"

Getting invited to a conversation by beauty was every man's dream, but as Jack was about to gladly converse with the duchess, the memory of the level 65 Rare Elite came back again. He courteously said, "maybe another time. I need to finish these interviews as soon as possible while the clues and memories are still fresh. The longer we delay, the harder it is to get back the duke's stolen item."

Duchess Isabelle smiled, she did not seem to be bothered by Jack's rejection. "All right, we can find some other time to talk when you are free. You will have to excuse me then."

"A moment, one more question," Jack said as he thought of something. "Do you know what kind of painting that was stolen?"

"It was a painting?" The duchess gave him a frown. "I can't recall a painting that warranted this much attention. But then again, I don't exactly know what my husband keeps in his workroom, I never venture there."

"I see. Okay then. Thank you for your time. Do you need my help going out?" Jack offered.

"It is fine. I can walk on my own in my good days," the duchess replied.

Jack kept the last interview for the main suspect. Maid Joselyn came into the study room accompanied by a guard, who then left after making sure that there was no other exit in the room. Joselyn sat on the chair quietly, Jack could see a trace of nervousness in her eyes. Was it because she was worried about being framed as the thief or because she really was the thief?

"Maid Joselyn, I'm going to…" As Jack was about to begin asking his questions, the maid cut him off, "I'm not going to say anything."

Jack frowned. "That is unwise, maid Joselyn. If you are not telling your story, people will consider you to be the thief. You don't want that, do you?"

The maid kept his mouth mum. She was not even looking at Jack, her eyes were on the exit door.

"If you can explain what had happened in the morning two days ago, perhaps I can help you to prove your innocence," Jack tried to persuade.

Still no response.

"This is not the way to do it, maid Joselyn. It would be in your best interest to talk to me. Perhaps you were just in the wrong place and the wrong time when the painting was stolen. I'm sure there is an explanation. If you will just tell me, I can help you to work it out."

No change of expression in the maid's face.

Damn! this woman is adamant, Jack cursed in his mind. Since he could not persuade her to talk by trying to place her as an innocent party, he decided to change tactics with a conversation that placed her as the culprit.

"You threw the painting out through the small opening below the window, right?"

While Jack was saying, he paid good attention to the maid's expression. His Dragon's Eye skill granted him incredible perception on details, he could detect minute changes on a person's face if he put his focus into it. He could see the maid's eyebrows made a small twitch after he asked the question.

"It must be a shame that the Duke decided to go back to his room. He ended up finding about the theft too soon. You have no chance to go and retrieve the painting you have thrown out of the window."

She was still not giving any response, but Jack could see the restlessness in her eyes.

"But fortunately, you have made a backup plan. You didn't need to go and take the painting which you have thrown out of the window by yourself."

The maid's eyebrows started to make a small frown.

"Admit it, you have an aide who collaborated with you. He or she was the one that picked up the painting that you have thrown out of the window."

She finally turned to look at Jack, she uttered with a trembling voice, "You… know nothing!"

She then leaned back on her chair, folded her arm, and kept quiet with a troubled face.

Jack frowned. Her reaction was a bit different from the raging retort he was expecting. Why did she sound more like a helpless victim?