The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 287: Lockwood (3)

Rafael entered one of Tobias’s studies and sat down to catch up with them since it had been a long time since they were all seated like this. They were no longer young boys with no responsibilities to meet with each other as they wanted.

He enjoyed Tobias and Edgar bickering like an old married couple, being asked to move to Lockwood, and then catching up with Dominic who was a relative of Edgar and also a long-time friend.

Rafael grew bored when the topic of having a test to see who was better than who was brought up by none other than Tobias, but luckily, Edgar ended the game before it could start.

As childish as their conversations became, Rafael enjoyed every second of it as it reminded him of the past when they would be running around the palace, getting into all kinds of trouble. It was the best distraction from thinking about Annalise.

Their conversation was soon interrupted by a knock on the door and after Tobias gave the command for the person to enter, Rafael watched as a guard came in with an expression that said something was wrong.

"Word was just sent from the town guards that the body of a young girl was found not too long ago. It has started again."

Rafael looked at Tobias who clenched his fists upon hearing this news. He kept up with what was happening in Lockwood and knew about the missing women. It wasn’t normal for a crime like this to be happening in Lockwood and for the culprit to not be found, especially when Edgar was leading the search for these women.

Tobias sent the guard away to send a message as the four of them tried to think of who it could be to be taking the women and killing them. Eventually, they all agreed to split up to help Tobias take care of his kingdom. He was in need of a break trying to solve every issue the kingdom faced so they would take some of that weight off of his shoulders.

"I will head to the border now," Rafael said as he stood up. The sooner he left to deal with the border, the sooner he could return to his manor. Before he left the room, he advised the king not to let all of these problems stop him from going on a trip he was meant to take with his wife.

Life in the palace was hell for the queen these days and right now, there was a lot of pressure for an heir to be announced. Tobias was looking to have some time alone without anyone disturbing them to try for an heir again.

Rafael wished him the best, hoping that Tobias and Hazel would get the child they sought after not only because the kingdom needed an heir, but because the two of them had been waiting long to add another to their family.

Rafael exited the room with Edgar and Dominic just as the queen arrived to speak with Tobias. She was the best person to take some of the burden of keeping a kingdom safe off Tobias’s mind. The king was only one person, yet he was expected to keep thousands safe which was impossible since there were evil people looking to harm the innocent. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Rafael found the duchess along with other women standing outside the room when he stepped out. He recognised Heather who was a woman he saw in his youth because she would always be trying to get near to Edgar.

’The wife and the woman with a crush are here,’ Rafael thought, finding it to be an amusing pair. He would have bet that with Edgar married, Heather wouldn’t want to be near his wife since she would be somewhere crying her eyes out.

Rafael glanced at Dominic whose attention was now on Heather only. Now that Edgar was married, Dominic might finally have a chance. The man had been in love with Heather for as long as Rafael knew him.

"Rafael Callahan, have we ever met?"

Rafael turned his attention from Dominic who was a new sucker to a young lady he had not seen before. If she had to ask, clearly they had never met each other. "No," Rafael bluntly replied.

Rafael took two steps back from her to get away from her gaze. He didn’t think a woman with a ring on her finger showing off that she was engaged should be looking at him so. He recognised that gaze as desire. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was undressing him now. Unfortunately for her, there was only one woman Rafael wanted to strip him.

Rafael was doing her a favour by putting some space between them so the jealous woman in his life would not scold him for being too close and try to scare the young woman with a snake should she come to Lockwood.

"Why are you here in the palace? Have you come to deal with all the murders? It wouldn’t be surprising since it would take someone like you to crack this case," a young woman named Emma complimented him, taking a step forward to get close to him.

If only she had been able to get engaged to him. He was far better than the man she was set to marry. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to change it all.

Rafael contemplated following Edgar and Dominic who were leaving to check on the body recently found.

"You should remember your fiance is the one leading this case right behind the duke. No wonder the two of you aren’t close. You should be saving this compliment for Oliver."

Rafael could only think of Oliver, a man who was a town guard as the person the young woman near him was engaged to. This caused him to move further away from her and closer to Alessandra.

Rafael wasn’t close to the young woman’s future husband because the man was in love with Edgar and became jealous of anyone too close to Edgar for his liking.

Rafael already felt a headache from the problems he would face when he had to return to take his mother back home if Oliver were to learn of his future wife’s interest in him. It was time to leave, but before that, he had to give Alessandra a proper goodbye.

He stopped listening to the two women arguing until the young mentioned the need to complement him. He wasn’t here for compliments.

"I am not here for that case. I will be heading to the border to deal with the trouble there," Rafael said to Alessandra. "I wish-"

"You’ll be dealing with those barbarians!" Emma gasped.

Alessandra looked at Emma, confused by who she was referring to as barbarians.

"They are not barbarians, duchess," Eleanor answered after seeing Alessandra’s expression. "They are people who choose to be free in their life and not have so many rules as we do. Only the close-minded call them that," she said, looking right at Emma.

Eleanor liked the way the people at the border lived and if she had a chance, she would pack all of her things to go there. To a place where she wouldn’t have to hear about her father’s business in the red-light district and be free to expose that she was a writer.

Emma huffed, disliking how Eleanor kept picking at her. She was yet to understand why Eleanor was standing with important people. The daughter of a man who let women sell their bodies for money should not be here. "Well, they are causing trouble so they are barbarians. Right, Rafael?"

Emma smiled, waiting for him to correct the foolish woman who knew nothing.

To her dismay, Rafael wasn’t going to be wrapped up in the conversation of calling people from the border barbarians. He certainly wasn’t going to let the annoying little woman hear him refer to them as such. "They are not barbarians. I find people who use that name should check their hearts. It is normally quite hollow. Excuse me," he said, turning to Alessandra since he was not in the mood to keep speaking to the young woman.

"I will try to come again to get to know you better," Rafael said, bidding her goodbye. There was much he had to learn about her like how she convinced Edgar to get married, but right now, he had to leave to go to the border.