Find Henry III

After speaking with Lety, Carolyn approached Benedict with her answer. Having watched her expression, he already knew her response, but he asked nonetheless.

"So, have you made your decision?"

"Yes. I still don't feel comfortable hurting people, and I'm afraid of what I might do if I suppress that feeling, but compared to that, I'm much more fearful of letting him create future victims and having them suffer like the children here. For their sake, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to capture him."

This was in line with what Benedict expected. When Hanson first told him about her, he had wondered if she would be the type of dainty young lady that felt sympathy for a dead spider, but once he started observing her, he realised that she wasn't one to avoid using violence if it was necessary.

"Good. Ms. Lavender should be making preparations on her end, so let's return to my office and finish our discussion."

"Yes."

Once they were back inside Benedict's office, he gave a simple outline of his plan. Thanks to his investigation, he had managed to narrow down Henry's potential base to three locations. He suspected that Henry might have multiple residences, so he might only use one of them, or he could use all three, but Benedict was certain that he resided in at least one of these bases. With this knowledge, he planned on having himself, Lavender and Carolyn each watch a location and capture Henry once he appeared. Fortunately, based on the data gathered, Benedict was able to estimate that Henry usually returned home between 9pm and 11pm. If he didn't appear within that interval, then Benedict would send people to take over watch duty, and the operation would be considered a failure.

The plan sounded simple to Carolyn, but given its importance, she didn't dare treat the matter lightly.

"Will it just be us three?"

"I'll assign a few more eyes to each of us, but in terms of confronting Henry, yes. I can't go into details, but it's not opportune for me to have my squad infiltrate the city at this time, and it's difficult to source trustworthy muscle locally."

Carolyn couldn't claim to understand the circumstances that Benedict was talking about, but she got the answer to her question, so she nodded.

"Do you have any information about how strong Henry is or how he fights?"

"It's not clear since he rarely engages in combat, but it's likely he's on the level of an experienced soldier or a mercenary. You should be able to defeat him as long as you're not careless."

Carolyn didn't ask how he measured her strength as she continued to clear any questions she had about the operation. After discussing a few adjustments, they agreed on a final plan before the sun sank below the clouds.

Carolyn soon left the church with a downtrodden expression and returned to work to apologise to Rome. Unfortunately, he had already left, but there was a note left on her desk saying, 'See you on Sunday.' This fit Rome's easygoing image, but she still would have preferred apologising as a way to ease her guilt. She would have to either stay quiet or lie if he asked why she was gone for so long, but that was still preferable to leaving the matter unsettled. For a moment she considered locating his residence and heading there since this was the last work day for the week, but it would be too brash to visit without notice, so she could only give up that line of thinking and head to Wild Boar Inn.

She knew that she had been gloomy recently, so Carolyn didn't make any clear differences in her behaviour once she returned to the inn. Kanna was at the front desk, so Carolyn greeted her with a forced smile before going to her room. She felt guilty for inspiring the concern in her friend's eyes, but her sense of duty allowed her to act without letting the emotions affect her too much. Carolyn had never taken any lessons on acting, but both her parents had taught her how to view herself from an outside perspective and consider how her behaviour would be perceived by others, as this was useful in both combat and communication. She might not be a convincing actor on stage, but she could fake her emotions well enough to deceive most for a brief period.

While reminding herself to stick to the script, Carolyn ate dinner, changed clothes and went to bed. Besides skipping work, there was little difference between how she acted on this day compared to the day before, but that was only until 8pm.

Once the clock struck 8, Carolyn opened her eyes, switched her outfit, prepared her equipment and left the inn through the window. She dressed for a hunt with her bow and quiver on her back and wore a set of brown pants and blouse along with a black vest. She also wore one of the white masks she had bought from a merchant at Hamridge Camp, since Benedict had suggested that she disguise herself. There was a dagger strapped to her left thigh and a few emergency medical supplies in her pocket, but nothing that could be used for protection. She had to make do with what she had, but Carolyn considered making certain purchases once this was over. The night might pass without a conflict, but it was always better to be prepared.

At this time there were still a few people on the streets, so Carolyn chose to use the rooftops to travel as much as possible. She had raised a small concern in a previous weekly meeting that Henry might have figured out where she lived and sent people to watch the inn, but Lavender assured her that even if he did know, she wouldn't allow anyone to skulk near the inn. There could still be eyes watching the general periphery, but it wouldn't be a problem once Carolyn gained some distance from the inn. She didn't expect her time at the inn to last much longer, so she didn't want there to be any trouble near the end.

The location where she was supposed to meet with the helper that Benedict mentioned was an abandoned mansion near the eastern edge of the commerce district, facing the nobility district. It was an old-fashioned mansion with a short clock tower extending from the roof. The building was decrepit, with vines and shrubs attached to the walls, while random holes decorated it. According to rumour, the owner had been a wealthy merchant eager to buy his way into nobility. Unfortunately, back then, even with money it was difficult to be accepted into various noble circles.

And so, the man withered away, eventually becoming one with the fog of history. On his deathbed, he made his descendants promise to finish what he had started, but in monetary matters even his family couldn't be completely trusted. His doubt and lingering frustration apparently gave birth to a ghost after his death. This ghost would aimlessly wander the mansion, ignoring common folk but jumping at anyone who dressed pompously. Of course, the ghost story was unverified, but looking at the mansion certainly made it seem more real.

Once she arrived at the mansion, Carolyn carefully checked around to ensure she wasn't followed before entering. There was no time to explore the spiderweb-laden old hall, so she went straight to the top of the clock tower while being mindful of the creaky floorboards. When she reached the door that led inside the clock tower, Carolyn knocked twice quickly and then three times slowly. Shortly after, the door was opened by a cloaked figure. Based on their height and stature, they seemed to be a young man, but Carolyn didn't look any further into their identity since they were likely one of the helpers that Benedict arranged. He hadn't specified the number, but there would be more eyes than this on the lookout for Henry.

After walking past the helper, Carolyn began ascending the spiral staircase behind him. The helper closed the door and followed behind her until they reached the top of the tower. There was a clock face on each of the four walls, but the darkness of night ensured that it was hard to see outside. She didn't know where to go from here, so Carolyn waited on the helper. He went to the northern clock face and reassembled a tripod and telescope that had been lying on the ground. Once the assembly was complete, he took a look through the telescope, adjusted it and then gestured for Carolyn to use it.

Not a word was exchanged between them, but Carolyn was able to catch his message, so she moved to the telescope and looked through it. She was rather curious since it was her first time using one, but her excitement quickly settled down once she spotted the building that matched the drawing she had received from Benedict. There was still a quarter hour left before 9pm, so she might have to wait for over two hours at the latest. For an ordinary person it might be difficult to keep watch for that long, but Carolyn was a trained hunter. Waiting for her prey was a basic skill for her.