Chapter 136: What Is the Relationship Between You?
“Quite an excessive father, isn’t he? Letting a daughter who cannot stand in the light help him manage businesses that cannot stand in the light.” Ophelia said to Leon in a self-mocking tone.
Leon listened, considered his wording, and replied, “But looking at it another way, aren’t those most important businesses of the Earl intended to be entrusted to you for inheritance?”
Running a Mana trade underground and maintaining connections with the Great Witches of Moirland, to the Church, the Earl Foyle was undoubtedly a heretic among heretics.
Yet according to the information Leon had, there were no internal records about him within the Inquisition. Instead, there were rumors that the upper echelons of the Church knew his identity but dared not touch him. This was likely thanks to the network of connections the Earl Foyle had cultivated within the Church.
On the surface, the Earl Foyle remained a glamorous grand lord. His other family members showed no signs of involvement in Underworld business. His eldest son studied at a Church school in the Central Diocese of the Imperial Capital, while his twelve-year-old younger son still lived within the territory. The Countess was the daughter of a powerful Marquis from the eastern region.
The Earl Foyle’s legitimate industries within his territory were enough to keep his current family prosperous for several generations. They had no need to interfere in underground dealings.
Yet the underground kingdom he had built with his own hands was not something that could simply be abandoned.
If Ophelia was indeed the child of the Earl and the Witch who had sacrificed herself twenty years ago, then she should be his eldest child. She had accompanied him since he was merely an Apprentice Knight, yet she was an illegitimate daughter who could not be publicly acknowledged. Even if made known, under the laws of the Empire, the inheritance rights of illegitimate children were not protected.
Judging from the fact that she had become a Witch and was here conducting an inspection on the Earl’s behalf, she had likely begun helping him manage this side of the business long ago.