Affinity: Chaos Chapter 561 - Where Is The Ring?

Ellis was surprised when a guard came to call him, saying he was summoned by his uncle. He felt a sudden uneasy feeling, but this was only because he was scared.
'Could Grey have been captured?' He asked himself as he walked towards the hall.
'Hmm, no. If he were, it would've caused a big ruckus. Then why is uncle calling me if not that?' He looked in the direction that led to his father's room.
It hadn't been up to five minutes since Grey left, yet, he had been summoned by his uncle. To be honest, he found it odd.
When he got to the door, he sensed a different presence inside, something he had never felt before. He didn't think much of it though, after all, this was his family's compound, one of the most powerful families in the entire Aurora Continent.
Creak…
The huge door to the hall opened slowly as Ellis' figure entered the hall.
All eyes turned to him, he felt a particular gaze staring at him as if it wanted to look at his soul.
"Huh?" He raised a brow while following his senses and staring at one person in particular amongst the guests, the old man with white hair.
"Uncle," Ellis called out to his uncle with a soft bow to show respect.
Even though he was angry with him, he still didn't want outsiders to know about the internal conflict in the family.
"Do you know these people?" Claude turned his gaze to the people from the Vaergahl family.
"No, uncle. This is my first time seeing them," Ellis replied.
He turned to stare at the group closer, but none of their faces rang a bell. He wasn't too focused on their clothing, so he missed the Dragon insignia some of them had on their shirts.
"They're from the Vaergahl family, apparently, they said you have something of theirs, is this true?" Claude introduced the group.
Ellis was taken aback when he heard the name and couldn't help but pause for a bit, "The Vaergahl family? I don't recall ever crossing paths with them,"
"You didn't, but someone you met not too long ago did," Claude said.
"Oh? Who's that?" Ellis asked, showing a slight confusion.
Of course he knew what this was about, but there was no way he was going to show that he did. First, before the Vaergahl family could travel this far meant there was something extraordinary among the items that he took from the bandit leader.
What was worth mentioning was that he wasn't the only one who took the items. So if he were to say he has any of the items, and they were to check him and what they wanted wasn't with him, it would expose Grey. Given Grey's current position and situation, he couldn't afford to do that.
"The bandit leader of Suyin Canyon. According to rumors, you were the one who cleared the place," The old man from the Vaergahl family spoke up.
He was starting to get impatient.
"Oh, it's not a rumor, I killed the leader here not too long ago," Claude intervened, using the opportunity to show off his family's superiority in young talent.
"Then did you acquire his storage ring?" The old man turned to Claude.
Since he was the one who killed the bandit leader, then it meant he saw him alive.
"I couldn't care less about what's in the storage ring of a crappy bandit. Just having such thoughts is like a blemish on my name," Claude replied.
Although he was taking every chance he got to annoy the Vaergahl family, he wasn't lying here. For someone as powerful as he is, things belonging to those weaker than he is can barely catch his eye unless he saw it physically.
When he told Ellis to bring the leader, it was only to make sure Ellis returned.
"That bandit has something important to my family. Where's the corpse?" The old man asked while standing from his seat.
"I've asked the guards to destroy it. But if I may, how did a small-time bandit like that take something important to you people?" Claude couldn't help but ask.
"None of your business, take us to the place where the guard destroyed the body. The ring should still be intact," The old man said.
"Hmm, alright," Claude thought about it for a while before nodding.
He was curious about what would make the Vaergahl family so frantic. The thought of a top secret treasure of the family being acquired by them made him a little excited.
Seeing the current strength of the Vaergahl family, he secretly summoned the Elders of the O'Brien family.
If whatever they were searching for was something that could increase the strength of the family, he didn't mind offending the Vaergahl family.
The guard he told to dispose of the bandit leader's body led them to a space at the back of the compound, behind a large garden. He pointed at the spot where the body was destroyed, and when the group looked closely, they could still see the charred ground. It was evident that the guard used the fire element.
Claude asked if he saw any storage ring with him, and his answer left everyone shocked. According to him, there was no ring on the corpse of the bandit leader.
"Are you certain?" Claude asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, My Lord, when I brought him here, there was nothing of value on him. I checked him personally before burning the corpse," The guard answered hastily.
He suddenly felt as if the sky had descended on him as a mountain-like pressure started to crush him.
"Do not lie to me, where is the ring?" The old man with the Vaergahl family asked, his voice cold and detached.
"I… I… didn't see any ring, Sir," The guard could barely get the words out of his mouth, but everyone could sense his honesty.
The second old man in the group waved his hand to dispel the pressure placed on the body of the guard. He turned to look in Ellis' direction.
"Since the ring was not on the bandit leader when he was brought here, it only means that it has been removed before he got here. Now, the question is by who?" He asked while looking at Ellis.
He wasn't the only one who had his eyes on Ellis, everyone from the Vaergahl family, as well as the O'Brien family who was there was staring at him.
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