Chapter 488: The Silent Well

They wouldn't dare!

But as Thaddeus's expression grew increasingly dark, one of the guards swallowed hard. With trembling hands, he pulled out his keys, unlocked the gate, and respectfully ushered Thaddeus inside.

Watching Thaddeus storm into the tower like a whirlwind, the other guard's face turned ashen. He jabbed his companion in the ribs with his elbow. "Have you lost your mind? The master just ordered that no one disturb Noah Ditch while he's recovering. If you let Lord Thaddeus in and that guy ends up dead, we're dead too!"

The guard who'd opened the gate seemed to snap back to reality. He took a deep breath, his tone fatalistic. "Didn't you see Lord Thaddeus's face just now? If we'd kept blocking him, he would've cut off our heads and used them as soccer balls. Tell me—would you rather die right now, or give yourself a reason to stay alive a little longer?"

The other guard considered this and found the logic sound. His worry eased somewhat. "Then we'd better hope Lord Thaddeus doesn't lay another hand on the guy upstairs. If he actually dies, we'll have to figure out how to get the hell out of here!"

Upstairs, the moment Thaddeus entered the tower, he sensed that severed trace of energy again. But its faint, elusive quality made it impossible to pinpoint. The only certainty was that the intruder had been here before vanishing.

With that thought, he rushed up the tower stairs. Noah Ditch's room had been completely rearranged—all the bookshelves shoved against the walls, leaving no corners or gaps where someone could hide. Noah Ditch himself still lay unconscious on the bed. The whip marks combined with the beating had left his face deathly pale, which, paired with his somewhat delicate features, made him look fragile and pitiful.

The sight of Noah Ditch's face infuriated Thaddeus, but reason kept him in check. He knew Noah Ditch needed to stay alive. So he simply strode to the bedside, his gaze sweeping the room mercilessly, hoping to detect something different.

Unfortunately, he failed.

Noah Ditch's room was quiet as another world. Standing there, Thaddeus could only smell the medicinal potions on the table and that irritating herbal scent clinging to Noah Ditch.

No. Something's wrong.

Why is there no one here?

Thaddeus clenched his fists, his eyes burning with frustration as they scanned the room. Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, he grabbed a lantern from the table with his left hand and bolted downstairs. When he reached the first floor, the guards at the door started to greet him, but Thaddeus didn't spare them a glance—he headed straight for the basement stairs.

The tower's basement connected to the Kendya Manor kitchen. Thaddeus moved quickly through the dim passage, his lantern lighting the way. But even when he reached the kitchen entrance, he sensed nothing unusual.

Except for the chaos still raging inside the kitchen.

The commotion grated on Thaddeus's nerves. Already on edge, he kicked open the half-closed kitchen door. A fat rat darted out. Thaddeus stomped on it. After one piercing shriek, a pool of bloody pulp stained the floor.

The kitchen maids had been busy catching rats. Seeing Thaddeus crush one underfoot, their screams caught in their throats, emerging as trembling gasps. Only Lady Sharon, gagged with a dishrag, could only plead desperately with her tear-filled eyes.

Thaddeus ignored Lady Sharon's gaze. He glanced irritably at the chaotic kitchen. "Have you seen any strangers come through here? Or anyone passing by?"

The maids looked at each other uncertainly. Ever since the masked woman had lectured them and sent them back to the kitchen, they'd been occupied restraining the frenzied Lady Sharon and catching rats. They'd had no time to notice whether anyone had passed by outside. But as for strangers entering the kitchen—no, there hadn't been any.

Thaddeus didn't get the answer he wanted. The frustration in his chest burned hotter, like a fire threatening to consume what remained of his rationality.

"Damn it, don't let me catch you!"

He furiously grabbed a nearby wooden bucket, ready to hurl it to the ground. But the bucket's dampness made him pause. "What's this bucket for?"

"It's for transporting water after we draw it from the well," the plump cook answered shakily.

She'd clearly seen that Lord Thaddeus had intended to smash someone with that bucket but had suddenly stopped for some reason.

Well? Water?

Thaddeus suddenly remembered—the last time he'd sensed something unusual, hadn't he seen a well in the tower's basement?

Without another word, Thaddeus tossed the bucket aside. Lantern in hand, he raced back through the passage even faster, heading for the well in the corner.

Someone's hiding there! They have to be!

Thaddeus couldn't stop imagining what cruel tortures he'd use once he caught the intruder—tortures brutal enough to extinguish the flames of rage burning inside him.

But when Thaddeus reached the well with his lantern, the dark opening looked just as it always had. Last time, he'd only seen a dim hole. This time, even with the lantern, the light only illuminated the calm water surface. Thaddeus couldn't swim, so he couldn't see the currents swirling beneath, nor did he know where this well led.

All Thaddeus knew was that the dark well contained nothing he wanted to find.

He couldn't imagine how he'd answer if Batiatus asked what he'd tracked down.

Would he have to admit that he, one of the six elite knights, had failed to even track an intruder's trail?

Thaddeus could have murdered that intruder on the spot!

Suddenly, as if remembering something, his expression shifted dramatically. He strode out of the tower, heading toward the back garden.

Meanwhile, Arnell's situation was far more complicated.

Though Lord Azrael's map had roughly marked the underground waterway's direction, once submerged in that cold, pitch-black underwater world without any light, Arnell could only rely on memory and instinct to navigate forward. Fortunately, the distance wasn't particularly long, and she encountered several wells along the way where she could surface for air. Thanks to these relay points, Arnell finally glimpsed a faint glow above the water.

It was the cold moon shining on a pool, casting just enough light into the underwater world below.