Uva's eyes were red, and her hat almost fell from her head. Liam was not surprised by her outburst. He knew that Uva had moved to Svebrial and had cut ties with her family. However, since this was a quest Liam still kept up the act.
"Your opinion of your brother and father seems quite bad?"
"Hah! You can say that! But don't think I will reveal our family affairs to a stranger! Especially since you are unwilling to tell me how you learned that I am living here."
"I'm sorry but I promised not to reveal the name of my source. But I can guarantee you that I won't tell anyone. The same goes for my source."
"And I am supposed to believe this?"
"This is up to your decision. However, no matter whether you believe me or not I hope you can comply with my investigation. The earlier I can clear this case, the earlier your life can return to tranquillity."
Uva looked Liam up and down. For someone facing such an unexpected, sudden situation, she remained incredibly composed. With such a character it was not surprising that she had such a high talent for magic. Eventually she left out a reluctant sigh.
"Alright. What do you want to know?"
"Thank you. First, let me ask you. When was the last time you have seen your brother?"
"About half a month ago. He came to Svebrial for some business, and I saw him coincidentally. But he didn't recognize me."
"So, you cut ties with your family? When did this happen and how did you manage to do so?"
"This was roughly two and a half years ago. There is not much to say. Teleportation stations in Talor constantly have spies of the big families linger around. So, I paid someone to smuggle me out. I used magic to change my appearance and passed the academy's entrance exam with flying colours. There is a professor who saw through my disguise but after hearing my story and appreciating my talent they decided to support me. I haven't had any troubles since. Well, until you arrived…"
Liam ignored the jab and continued:
"Why did you leave your family?"
At that Question Uva frowned and hesitated but eventually she still answered honestly:
"My mother died during Tem's birth when I was two. From that day on my father became a tyrant. He would hit servants and treat even his children coldly. Sometimes he has short phases where he tries to make up for it but those don't last long. As I grew up, I learned from others that my father has always been difficult to get along with, but it has never been this bad.
But the reason why I finally decided to flee was when that bastard sold Fon, the nanny who raised Tem and me, to a brothel. At that point I had enough. I secretly helped Fon to escape, and she came to Svebrial together with me. She is one of the few people who know my true identity. But I dare not meet her often."
"And what about your brother? You don't seem to like him much."
"He's just like my father. Violence has become normal to him. He is mistreating our servants every day. But worst of all…"
Uva hesitated for a moment, so Liam brought up a guess:
"The torture chamber?"
"You even know about that?"
"Yes. That was where he has been found."
Hearing this, Uva couldn't help but laugh hoarsely. It was really a fitting end. The place had seen so much death and now even witnessed its master's demise.
"The torture chamber… Tem didn't even try to keep it a secret. All those cries were too obvious. Sometimes I wonder if he wanted others to hear it. Perhaps he felt satisfaction from it. A form being in control. Just thinking about it disgusts me."
"When did Tem start using this torture chamber? Did he have many victims?"
"Of course. I estimate Tem killed about a dozen poor girls a year. And no one dared to touch him. As for when it started, I know exactly. It was four years ago when Tem had his first girlfriend. It was her who placed the idea in my brother's mind. She seemingly liked being on the receiving end. Of course, this doesn't mean that Tem would have been innocent without her. He had always been violent."
"Which girlfriend are you talking about? From what I heard your brother had many different girls?"
"Hmpf. Those could barely be called girlfriends. I am talking about his first girlfriend, Cecily Hellstone. A strange name, right?"
Uva obviously misinterpreted Liam's expression. The latter wasn't surprised by the name's strangeness but by its familiarity. Cecily Hellstone was a prominent NPC. She was one of the Witches of the Great Circle. Other than their prowess these witches were known for their proficiency in the art of curses!
Was this the hint he had been looking for? Liam contemplated for a moment. Although the process seemed too easy, this was only the case because he knew about Uva van Deeran. Otherwise, he might have ran circles around Talor until he somehow received a hint allowing him to find either Uva or Cecily. From this perspective, perhaps Cecily could really be the perpetrator? However, why would she only act now after four years? Liam had to ask a few more questions to clear his doubts.
"Cecily… how was the relationship between Tem and Cecily? Did they end on good terms?"
"At least from what they showed, their relationship was great. Especially Cecily seemed to be enamoured with my brother. She would almost never let go of him. However, one day they suddenly broke up and I never saw Cecily again after that. I can imagine that this was a heavy blow to her."
"Your brother was killed by a curse. 'Curse of the Debtor'. Due you know about it?"
"Hmm. No, sorry. I haven't come into contact with such sinister magic yet."
"No problem. According to priestess Ivreya this curse can be used to harm people who owe oneself a debt. Do you think this description fits Cecily?"
"Well, probably… yes. However, Cecily loved my brother so much. I don't think she would be capable of something like that."
Liam slightly raised his brow. He realized that although Uva seemed intelligent she was also quite naive. Well, this was a matter for her teachers to deal with. At this point Liam had cleared most of his doubts. He pondered for a moment before saying:
"Alright. I think I have my answers for now. If there are any more questions, I won't hesitate to come again."
"Mhm. Then I hope you won't have more questions. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Miss Veerano."
Uva let out a snort as Liam finally left the room. Fenvi was still waiting dutifully. She led Liam back to the reception. The adventurer left her and soon he was back in front of the academy's gate. This round of questioning was incredibly fruitful. He now had a major suspect. Thus, he didn't hesitate and rushed to the teleporter. With a flash of light, he bridged an unimaginable distance and appeared in Tewnstar Kingdom. This was the small kingdom close to the Western Ocean where he and his friends recruited Zeuerch the Arachne.
Liam didn't linger long in the capital city. He summoned his loyal mount Reen and sped into the distance. After twenty minutes he reached a barren, hilly area. From a distance one could see many cave entrances leading into dark holes.
[Discovered Filth Hive. Reward: 100EXP]
[EXP: 103.120/154.034]
This place was as its name suggested a gathering spot for filthy. Bandits, murderers, even being of the chaos faction lived in a vast cave system underground, seemingly impossible to eradicate. Twenstar Kingdom and the surrounding countries launched multiple raids to clean this place, but new filth always emerged after a while.
Fortunately, Liam didn't need to probe the underground cave system. He rode his basilisk towards a certain entrance, disposing of some bandits on the way. The enemies on the surface were only level 42, not able to pose a threat to Liam.
Advancing fearlessly Liam stepped into the dark entrance. But he didn't head deep. Instead, he scanned the wall until he spotted a big rock with only a single HP, an obvious sign of a secret entrance. Liam swung his sword, and the rock broke apart at the slightest touch. A silver-grey vortex of swirling mana appeared in front of him. It appeared mysterious and enticing but Liam could feel the danger it emitted. Yet Liam couldn't turn around. He patted Reen's head, and the duo stepped into the vortex.
After a bout of dizziness Liam's vision cleared up and he scanned the scene in front of him. There was an area of brown rocks and deep, brown and black soil up ahead. Strangely enough, although the soil looked healthy there were no plants growing from it. The entire area was surrounded by a silvery barrier. With one look Liam could tell that this was a hidden realm, either formed naturally or man-made.