I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Zig threw down his whip and glanced at the soldiers present.

When they left, did anyone know where they were going?

The soldiers looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I don't know, sir."

"We only discovered afterward that Mrs. Anna and Miss Tamara were missing."

"Madam and Miss rarely go out, and we don't know where they are."

Philip's face darkened again.

"A bunch of useless idiots."

He pointed at the soldiers, his voice laced with suppressed anger.

"Two women went out together, and you didn't even try to stop them? What are you all good for?"

The soldiers lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.

The soldier who had just been whipped mustered his courage and spoke in a low voice.

"Captain, it's not that we're not doing our duty..."

"You still have the nerve to argue?"

Philip glared at him, his eyes practically spitting fire.

The soldier shrank back, but still forced himself to continue.

"Captain, on the night they disappeared, a fog suddenly rose up in the castle."

"Mist?"

"Yes, Captain. The fog was abnormally thick. Even with torches lit, it couldn't illuminate more than a few steps before it was just a vast expanse of white."

The soldier's voice carried a hint of fear.

"None of us dared to wander off; we could only stay put and wait for the fog to clear. The fog lasted for several hours, only receding just before dawn. When we could see clearly again, we realized that Mrs. Anna and Miss Tamara were missing."

Philip's face was terribly grim.

"Mist? What kind of mist could be that thick?"

He wanted to ask more questions, but Zieg interrupted him.

"Take me back to their room."

Philip paused for a moment.

"What?"

"We'll search their rooms carefully this time; perhaps we can find some clues."

Philip took a deep breath.

"Come with me."

Sakia, Zoltan, and Dandelion were about to follow, but Sieg stopped them.

"You all wait outside."

"Why?" Dandelion looked at him, puzzled. "We can help too."

"The more people go in, the more likely they are to mess things up," Zieg said. "I can manage on my own."

Dandelion was about to speak when Zoltan reached out and pressed down on his shoulder.

"Let him do it. He knows more about this kind of work than we do."

Sakia didn't ask any more questions, but stopped and nodded to him.

Zieg and Philip went up the stairs to the second floor and first went to Tamara's room.

This is a small bedroom, simply but neatly furnished.

A single bed was placed against the wall, with a small bedside table at the head of the bed, on which sat an oil lamp and a few books.

Zig walked to the wardrobe and opened the door.

It was completely empty inside.

Not a single piece of clothing, scarf, or sock was left behind.

Zig checked the bedside table drawer again, but found nothing inside.

"They took all the clothes."

He muttered to himself.

"What?"

Philip leaned closer and, seeing the empty wardrobe, his expression darkened even further.

What does this mean?

Zieg did not answer, and turned to leave the room.

"Go to your bedroom."

Philip quickly followed.

The two went to the master bedroom.

This room was much larger than Tamara's, but it felt just as empty at the moment.

Zieg went straight to Anna's dressing table and opened the drawer to check.

empty.

The perfumes, cosmetics, jewelry, combs, and hair clips were all gone.

He walked to the wardrobe and opened the door.

The wardrobe was divided into two sides, one side for Philip's clothes and the other side for Anna's.

Philip still had a few clothes hanging there, but Anna's clothes were neatly tidied up.

He glanced at it: "She took all her clothes with her."

Philip asked anxiously, "What does this mean? Have you discovered anything?"

Zieg still did not give a direct answer.

"Take me to the storeroom."

"The storage room? What are we going there for?"

"have a look."

Despite his doubts, Philip did as instructed.

The storeroom is located on the first floor of the castle, near the kitchen.

This is a spacious room, filled with all sorts of supplies.

Barrels of liquor were placed on the wooden shelves, and boxes of cured meat and dry rations leaned against the wall.

There was a large cabinet in the corner, with tableware and utensils neatly arranged inside.

There were also several small jars containing precious seasonings such as salt, spices, and sugar.

A wooden board hung on the wall, with several sheets of parchment nailed to it; these were inventory lists and ledgers.

Zig's gaze swept around the room, finally settling on a certain corner.

There should have been a silver box there.

But now, only a few shallow marks remain on the ground.

"Philip."

Zieg spoke.

"Aren't there any silver items in the crow's nest?"

"What do you mean, 'not there'? It's right there..."

Philip stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

His gaze fell on that empty corner, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

"What about the silverware?"

He strode over, staring at the four marks on the ground, his face turning ashen.

"Where is the box that held the silverware?"

Not only are the silver items gone, but even the wooden box that held them is missing.

That was a whole chest of silverware—silver plates, silver cups, silver candlesticks, silver tableware—all valuable items, worth quite a bit of money in total.

Philip strode out of the storeroom, his roar echoing throughout the entire castle.

"Adal, where the hell have you been? Get out here!"

Adal was the soldier who just explained how Anna and Tamara disappeared.

He ran over tremblingly, but before he could even speak, Philip grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to his knees.

"Is this how you guard the crow's nest when I'm not around?"

Philip glared down at him, his eyes filled with rage.

"Baron, you couldn't protect me. You couldn't protect my wife. You couldn't protect my daughter. And now you can't even protect that huge chest of silver."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"What use are you anyway?"

Adal clutched his chest, his face full of grievance, but dared not utter a single word in rebuttal.

Zig also came out.

He already had the answer in his heart.

They took all the clothes, cosmetics, jewelry, and silverware.

This wasn't a hasty escape; it was a planned smuggling of money and departure.

The statement in that letter, "Let them live a good life as a family of three," now seems to have been more than just an angry outburst.

Anna was truly planning to run away with her daughter and the man named Evan, and she took everything of value she could with her, intending to use the money to start a new life.

As for that sudden fog...

Zieg squinted.

If he wasn't mistaken, it must be some kind of magic or supernatural ability.

Someone or something is helping Anna.

In Velen, however, the answer is already obvious.