Chapter 50: Reporting for Duty

"Boss, I, I don't know..." The blonde youth looked as though he was about to cry. "I saw the report about Robin and thought you'd sent him back overnight..."

"What?" The assassin froze for a moment, then snatched the newspaper away.

*Astonishing! The Inside Story of Robin Rommel's Escape from the Hospital*

The gist of the news article was that Grand Duke Benito approved of this duel between brave warriors, but he pointed out that Marquis Cide was a despicable villain. Allowing Robin and Vincent to duel on his home turf was unfair to Robin, and given Marquis Cide's vile character, he was entirely capable of tarnishing a warrior's duel.

Therefore, Grand Duke Benito had taken the initiative to rescue Robin.

The article elaborated in detail that the warriors under Grand Duke Benito were not afraid of a duel, provided it took place under fair conditions.

Today at noon, the two would duel outside the city as promised.

*Marquis Cide's City Defense Forces Are Not Even Worth a Sheet of Paper*

This piece of news was rather amusing, focusing primarily on the fact that while Vulsini City remained in the hands of Marquis Cide, the Grand Duke's men had nevertheless managed to rescue Robin.

They had even successfully smuggled Robin out of the city despite the lockdown imposed by Marquis Cide.

This report was an absolute smear on Marquis Cide's military prowess.

Just as the assassin was reading the paper, Matthew emerged from his room, his face drained of color, holding a letter.

"Team Leader Matthew, why aren't you resting..." The assassin's head was spinning, as if a thousand birds were chirping inside his mind.

"The teacher came last night. He took Robin away, and he also said..." Matthew handed the letter to the assassin with a trembling hand. "Our vigilance and professionalism are far too poor; after the war, he is going to retrain us for another month."

The chirping of the thousand birds vanished, as if the entire world had fallen silent.

The sky in the assassin's world collapsed yet again.

He thought to himself that it would have been better if the person who came last night had been Marquis Cide's man, wiping them all out right here!

***

*Vincent's Confession: I Never Intended to Use Underhanded Means From the Start; I Wanted a Fair Duel With Robin*

Vincent's portrait was printed on the newspaper, looking solemn and fiercely murderous.

The report claimed that Grand Duke Benito was simply measuring a gentleman's heart with a villain's yardstick, adding that if Vincent had truly wished to humiliate Robin, he could easily have left Robin's injuries untreated.

The report was reasoned, grounded in evidence, and utterly convincing.

However, when Jennifer saw this newspaper, her whole world fell apart.

***

Naturally, there was more than one report in the newspaper; it contained other contents as well.

For instance... Jennifer's wanted poster!

Jennifer stared in disbelief at her own photograph on the wanted poster.

"I'm... wanted?" Jennifer murmured. "They've lumped me in as an accomplice of yours."

"Indeed..." G尼斯 nodded.

As for the fact that Robin had been spirited away without a sound, the only ones who knew were the blonde youth, the assassin, and Matthew.

Such a disgraceful matter was hardly something they would mention to G尼斯.

When G尼斯 had asked, the assassin merely replied with a mysterious air that Robin was already with the Grand Duke.

That expression, that gesture, and that utterly nonchalant demeanor would have led anyone unaware of the truth to believe he was the one who had sent Robin away.

G尼斯 was filled with apprehension regarding what Robin would have to face next.

One could call Vincent evil, call him a libertine, or call him brutal, but one could never call him weak!

"What should I do?" Jennifer grabbed G尼斯's hand, panicking. "My, my parents have been arrested by them..."

"I, I have to go find Vincent and explain..."

One of the reports stated that Grand Duke Benito was a despicable villain who had actually used a honey trap spy to lure Vincent into a trap.

In an interview, Vincent expressed his shock that such despicable tactics had been deployed against one of his own, strongly condemning the Grand Duke's actions.

Following that, Vincent issued a declaration: all spies deserved to die!

Consequently, Jennifer now had a bounty on her head.

As for the disposition of her parents, Vincent had said nothing.

"No!" G尼斯 flatly refused. "Vincent has already published in the paper that you're a spy. Even if you explained it to him and he believed you weren't, would he take back those words? Would he admit to a flawed investigation? You've nursed so many nobles—don't you know what kind of virtue these aristocrats possess?"

"They care more about their pride than they do about human lives!"

"Besides, he might not even believe what you say. If he subjects you to interrogation and you lose your life, what will happen to your younger brother?"

G尼斯 was all too familiar with how these matters worked.

Let alone nobles, even ordinary officials who botched a case or made a mistake would never admit it; instead, they would double down on the error unless a powerful figure held them accountable.

Even if they were held accountable, the original investigators might not face any punishment at all.

For instance, a certain guard eager for promotion and keen on boosting his case-clearance rate had forcibly fabricated a pile of wrongful convictions using extreme interrogation techniques.

Even when the truth of certain cases came to light, it had zero impact on her—she had long since been promoted.

"My brother, Heinz... What, what on earth should I do? I can't just abandon them!" Jennifer burst into tears, weeping in earnest this time, her makeup slightly smeared.

Had it not been for her younger brother, she might genuinely have done something rash.

Fortunately, her brother was being sponsored by Vincent and was currently studying abroad, temporarily out of harm's way.

"At this point, we can only trust Robin. Only if he wins will we have a chance to rescue your parents," G尼斯 said with a hint of anxiety. "This is the true cruelty of Marquis Cide!"

"Even if you really were a spy, the punishment should fall on you alone, not dragged out to involve your entire family. He is simply venting his frustrations on the innocent!"

In truth, the gap between what Matthew had done and what Vincent did was not all that wide, seeing as Jennifer was completely innocent and yet Matthew had forcibly dragged her into this mess.

"I, I..."

Jennifer's mind was in total chaos.

Previously, she had romanticized the idea of two men dueling over her; now, she had been drawn into the game in a completely different way.

Jennifer felt deep regret, wondering if she hadn't foolishly leaped down into the basement, perhaps none of this would have happened.

***

*Vincent's Treatment of Robin Is Pure Theater; He Merely Wants the Public to Perceive Him as Fair*

The gist of this report was that Vincent intended to defeat Robin through underhanded means, and his medical treatment of Robin was merely a sham to make the public view him as a benevolent man. In reality, he was secretly administering anesthetics and the like to Robin every day to weaken him.

To convince the public, the article even attached a prescription for sleeping pills issued for Robin...

"Reasoned, evidenced, and thoroughly convincing."

Wade Wilson silently gazed at the newspaper in his hand, then pushed open the inn window and looked outside.

Swarms of citizens were marching toward vantage points with views of the battlefield, and rooftops of uncontrolled buildings were already selling tickets at exorbitant prices.

"Regardless of anything else, this fight is definitely happening."

Wade stretched lazily, showing not the slightest shred of concern for the affairs of Roland's Art Studio.

"Let's go take a look. If he dies in this duel, consider that I never did anything at all."