Chapter 75 Ethan Gets Promoted
"Ethan?" She was somewhat surprised.
The one who opened the door was Ronin, with Ethan following behind him.
As soon as the door opened, Ethan hurried in.
"Cressida, are you alright?" Ethan asked with concern, glancing at Michael.
Cressida shook her head.
Ronin bowed with clasped hands and said, "Ms. Cressida Hamilton and Mr. Michael Hamilton have been wronged. The matter has been investigated and cleared up. You two are free to leave the magistrate's office."
When they walked out of the magistrate's office, they found carriages lined up outside, with guards from various families holding up torches that lit up the entrance like broad daylight.
Patrick and Clio were waiting eagerly. When they saw them, Patrick and Clio rushed up first and hugged Michael tightly.
"Michael, don't be afraid. You're safe now. Come home with me!" Clio choked up.
Mabel and Donny also came to Cressida: "You've been wronged, but thankfully the matter has been cleared up. It had nothing to do with you and Michael, and you even made a contribution."
"Made a contribution?" Cressida pretended not to understand.
Mabel said, "We'll talk about this in detail when we get home."
At this moment, Rodolfo Chambers walked over and asked in a gentle tone, "Ethan, your cousin's matter has been resolved, right?"
Ethan immediately responded with a modest smile: "Rodolfo, thank you for your help."
He immediately introduced Cressida: "Cressida, this is Mr. Rodolfo Chambers, one of the leaders of our King's Guard."
Rodolfo, dressed in a blue-brown robe with a clean and steady manner, looking to be in his twenties, bowed to Cressida with clasped hands.
"Ms. Hamilton, you've been frightened."
Cressida returned the courtesy.
But she frowned inwardly. The Chambers family was the maternal family of the current Queen Odette, and although Rodolfo wasn't particularly prominent yet, Cressida knew his name well.
Because he was Odette's own nephew, and the future Commander of the King's Guard.
He looked refined and scholarly, but actually had excellent skills.
How could Ethan be so familiar with someone from the Chambers family?
Ethan said, "Thanks to Rodolfo, I told him about Cressida's wrongful treatment, and he immediately helped, asking someone to expedite the case. That's why within just eight hours, they could clear things up and prove Cressida was innocent."
Rodolfo smiled, "Those thieves at the Flower Festival were all men, and Ms. Hamilton comes from a noble family, so naturally she was implicated by them."
Cressida suppressed the turmoil in her heart and thanked him calmly.
"Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Chambers."
"Ms. Hamilton, no need to be polite. I've admired General Hamilton for a long time. Being able to become acquainted with Ethan is my honor."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Cressida left with her family.
Rodolfo watched them leave with a smile, which then became more meaningful.
Cressida didn't ride in the same carriage as Patrick and the others, but got into Mabel's carriage instead.
As soon as she got in the carriage, Cressida asked about the situation, and Mabel told her.
The authorities had searched and found Sean's abandoned boat.
Inside were not only two sets of bloody clothes, but also a blood-stained large knife.
Following the leads, the authorities investigated and found that Sean had been to a pawn shop, and the jade pendant he pawned was Michael's.
This showed they had kidnapped Michael long ago.
Daryl never woke up. After the doctor came, he died from excessive blood loss.
But the testimonies and witnesses collected from gambling dens, brothels, and blacksmith shops all proved that even before the Flower Festival, Sean and Daryl had been planning the crime. They had even prepared masks.
Probably because the authorities were too eager to solve the case and didn't want to keep being questioned by Doyle, plus with all the solid evidence, and the fact that Sean and Daryl were both criminals who had been imprisoned for theft before.
So Sean and Daryl were confirmed to be two of the fugitive bandits who caused trouble at the Flower Festival.
Mabel said with certainty, "His Majesty the King will know about this tomorrow, and will most likely reward you and Michael."
But Cressida's eyebrows remained furrowed, not relaxing.
Although things had turned out as she expected, the process was somewhat unexpected.
She had already coordinated with Miguel, who had pulled all the necessary strings to clear Cressida's name.
She had planned to wait a day or two, but now Odette's forces had forcibly intervened.
Cressida asked Ethan, "Isn't your duty to patrol the outer palace? How did you happen to know Rodolfo?"
Rodolfo, young as he was, had already taken an important position in the King's Guard because of his connection to Odette.
Most of the time he should be working in the inner palace.
Ethan said, "I haven't had time to tell you yet. Last time there was a fire at Whispering Hall in the palace, I rushed in to put it out and accidentally got burned. When the King's Guard leadership found out, my position was elevated."
"I also patrol the inner palace now, just within the library area, which is how I got to know Rodolfo."
Cressida was shocked: "You got burned? When did this happen? Let me see."
Mabel shook her head and sighed, "He was stubborn and wouldn't let you know, afraid you'd look down on him."
Ethan smiled awkwardly and just said, "It's a minor injury."
He rolled up his sleeve. On the outer side of his arm near the elbow was a wrinkled scar about three inches long.
You could tell his injury wasn't too serious at the time, but he had lost a layer of skin and had blisters.
Cressida frowned, "Whispering Hall is empty. Even if it burned, there would be no loss. Why risk going in?"
But Ethan said righteously, "Because everyone in the King's Guard works very hard. If I want to accomplish something, I have to work harder and be more willing to risk my life than they are."
Cressida looked at the burning light in his eyes and felt somewhat heartbroken.
She said, "Ethan, I'm not against you making friends, but you must remember that favors are the hardest debts to repay. In the future, don't easily ask the Chambers family for help. This noble family's status is too high. If we want to repay the favor, we'll probably have to pay much more."
Ethan looked serious, clearly taking it to heart.
He nodded gently, "I'll listen to you. It's also my fault for not being capable enough. If I were capable, I wouldn't need to ask others for help."
Cressida smiled at him.
"You've already done very well, you're excellent."
Donny chimed in from the side, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. When Cressida was in danger, we couldn't just ignore it. If you ask me, Ethan did nothing wrong."
Mabel patted Donny, "Cressida has a point. Don't contradict her."
After returning home, Clio went to Michael's courtyard and personally washed and combed his hair. Looking at the scar on his forehead, she shed tears again.
At this moment, she saw Michael playing with two glass beads.
"Michael, who gave you these?" Clio asked.
Michael didn't look up: "Cressida."
Clio was surprised: "Why did she give you these?"
Michael was about to speak, then covered his mouth and shook his head.
Clio found it even stranger.
She always felt tonight's events were odd. Cressida seemed innocent, but why did it feel like this matter was connected to Cressida's scheming?
After a whole day of turmoil, Patrick was also frightened.
He was drinking calming medicine when Cressida came.
Echo immediately stood up to greet her.
"You rebellious daughter, what are you doing here? I didn't scold you today, yet you dare come in looking for a scolding." Patrick was upset and immediately criticized and lectured Cressida.
Cressida's expression didn't change: "Father, I need to tell you something very important now, concerning the lives of the whole family."
Patrick almost couldn't hold his medicine bowl steady.
He was now too afraid of Cressida speaking up.
"What else is there that you're hiding from us?"