"Oh, then please go ahead!" Madam Shaun motioned for him not to hold back. She had worried that she wouldn’t be able to help at all but now, it seemed that there was at least a small chance to be useful. She would definitely tell the zhireng everything she could think of. She didn’t want her husband’s sacrifice to be for naught.
"Thank you for your help. I was wondering if you could tell me some personal things about your husband." He paused for a moment, not quite sure how to continue. He didn’t want her to know what had really transpired but he needed to know more about Shaun Reng and his life to figure things out. How to strike a balance …
He pondered for a moment longer and could finally only go about it in a roundabout way. "I don’t know if you are aware of this but a demon is summoned to fulfill a specific task, usually something immoral like killing a person. Basically, the demons are used to achieve a goal that the summoner isn’t willing to risk working toward themselves.
"Because of this, there is usually a reason as to why a demon attacks a specific person. Unfortunately, we don’t know yet what that task is in this case. We reckon that it might be to kill your nephew. That was likely what your husband thought as well. He probably went there with the fear that the demon might attack the king that day and wanted to stop it. Thus, he hindered the demon in achieving its goal and was killed in the process.
"But that is only one guess. There is also the possibility that not the dan but your husband was the actual goal of this summoning. It might be less likely but I can’t overlook anything at this stage. So I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about him just so I can get a better picture of what is going on and hopefully find out that this isn’t the case."
Madam Shaun slightly furrowed her brows. "I don’t even know where to begin."
Since he suspected that this had something to do with Jusha Lale’s family, Susha Unhuor tried to nudge her in that direction. "Well, considering that the demon appeared in the palace, it is still more likely that the demon is after dan Jusha. I know your husband saved him but how was his relationship with him in general?"
"Oh, I think it was a good one. To be honest, my husband probably wasn’t too close to him. But when they saw each other, they always got along very well. Lale is a very polite person. That sometimes makes him seem a little distant toward other people so it’s difficult to get close to him. Even with his own family, he was a bit like this. Not his father and mother but everyone else. But I guess in his situation that isn’t very strange."
"You mean because he became the king so young?"
Madam Shaun nodded. "That, yes. And also, his mother died very young. Maybe it is since then that he finds it a bit difficult to open up to others. I don’t remember him being like this when he was a child. But now … I mean even until now, he still hasn’t found a wife."
Susha Unhuor slightly raised his brows. Who would’ve thought that his aunt would actually gossip about the king like this? Well, this was something to take note of though. If he didn’t have a wife, he likely didn’t have a child either. So if something happened to Jusha Lale, and there was nobody from his father’s family line anymore, then his uncle or maybe his cousins’ chance would be much bigger when inheriting the throne.
That supported the original idea back onto the table that Jusha Lale’s uncle was the culprit behind everything. Not that he could tell that to Madam Shaun. He could only try to secretly fish for some more information. "Ah, but he will likely have somebody that he intends to marry, doesn’t he?"
The gaze of Madam Shaun indicated that that was not the case. "Seriously, I would really like to help him with that. But … other than being my nephew, Lale is also the king. How can I get involved in that? I had hoped his paternal grandparents would do something but they haven’t and he hasn’t indicated anything so far. I’m really worried. Especially with what happened with my husband. If something were to happen to Lale … What is going to become of the kingdom then? His father’s death hit Alo hard enough. If Lale were to also …" She shook her head and sighed.
Susha Unhuor nodded. Even if Madam Shaun wasn’t too involved in what happened at the palace, she did seem to have a general understanding of Jusha Lale’s importance. In that case, it was unlikely she knew anything if her husband had had plans to dispose of his nephew. "That is a very good question. Now, what about the king’s mother? You said she died very early? What was the reason for that if I may ask?"
In the next room, Jusha Lale’s expression was a little displeased. This was the kind of question that the zhireng could’ve asked him if he wanted to. There really was no reason to go and ask his aunt. But what could he do now? Since he was in another room and couldn’t appear without putting the whole interrogation at risk, he could only continue to listen in no matter how much he disliked what he heard.
Meanwhile, Madam Shaun started to explain. "Well, this is really tragic. Back then, the poor girl got sick. She originally probably had some trouble during the time she was pregnant with Lale. After he was born, she would always fall ill easily. Then, when he was still just a boy, she silently passed away. The king was devastated. He loved her so much. And naturally, the boy didn’t take it well either."
"I see." Susha Unhuor really didn’t know what to make of this. That was so … normal. It was a really good explanation. He didn’t think that there was anything wrong with it. This kind of thing could very well happen. "Do you have children of your own?"
"Oh, yes, two girls and one boy."
"Ah, I see."
"What about you? As a zhireng, it must be difficult to settle down with a wife."
Susha Unhuor awkwardly smiled. "It’s indeed a little difficult." Although that had less to do with being a zhireng. He was sure that he would be able to find somebody who would be willing to follow him on his journeys or settle down with him somewhere. Anyway, he wasn’t against it. It was just … to actually find a person was much more difficult. By now, he had actually given up hope that he would ever find someone. Maybe this was just not the life that was destined for him.
"That day … was your husband any different?" He got back to the subject at hand to make sure that she wouldn’t continue to ask him about his love life.
Madam Shaun shook her head. "No, I think he was like always."
"Really? He should have known that there was likely a demon in the palace at that time. Didn’t that influence him in the least?"
Once again, Madam Shaun shook her head. "No, at the very least, I didn’t notice anything like that. But maybe he was just trying not to worry me and the children."
Susha Unhuor nodded slowly. This was actually quite interesting. Even if her husband tried to keep something hidden from his family, something would normally slip through. It might not be much but when asked about it and thinking back, people would usually be able to see it even if they hadn’t at the moment it happened.
But if Madam Shaun said with such conviction that he had acted as usual, then there had to be something more afoot. Most likely, this man had been pretending in regard to something for quite a while. At least that would explain why there was no change in his behavior that would be obvious to her. The pretension had already become his normal behavior so she didn’t become suspicious.
Thinking of that, Susha Unhuor gave Madam Shaun another smile. "Thank you, you’ve already helped me a lot. Say, would it be possible to speak with some of his servants? If your husband really knew something but was trying to keep it from you and your children so you wouldn’t worry about him, then maybe he let something slip when you weren’t around and one of the servants noticed."
Madam Shaun nodded. "But of course. It is just … I don’t quite know where everyone is. General Zhayai told me to wait here for you so that we could talk without anybody noticing. So I think they will still be back at home. Maybe you can ask somebody to bring them over?"
Susha Unhuor nodded and then got up. "Thank you, I will do that. You’ve really helped me a great deal. I will try my best to avenge your husband."
Madam Shaun teared up a little and nodded. "Please do that. I know that nobody but a zhireng can do that now. I really hope nobody else will be harmed before you manage to do it. I don’t want my husband to have given him his life without reason."
"I promise you I will do my best. With the demons, one can never make promises lightly so that is the only thing I will say: I will definitely give my best." He inclined his head again and then left.
Entering the room next door, the gaze he was given by Jusha Lale was a little less friendly. Susha Unhuor gulped and motioned for Shunche to get a servant and have Madam Shaun escorted back home. As soon as he was sure that she was gone, he turned to Jusha Lale. "I will ask whatever is needed to be asked to finish this."
"I’m not angry that you asked, merely a little … miffed that you would not use the time on our journey to ask such questions. You could have known quite a bit more if you had just done that. Why wait until now? Is there enough time to waste?"
Susha Unhuor gave a sigh. "You telling me these things and her telling me these things are two different situations altogether. You might be able to give me the same information that was contained in her words but nothing more than that. As for her, there’s something more valuable she is able to supply me with, and that are the things that she doesn’t say.
"Anyway, I need to talk to the servants now. It would be best if it is somebody who had a lot of contact with your uncle but could maybe not be counted as a confidant. Somebody like that might be willing to talk a bit more and might have seen things even if they weren’t told."
Jusha Lale put his own feelings aside and focused on the question. He wasn’t quite sure about how to answer it though and turned to look at Shunche instead. "Which servants had the most contact with him?"
"There would be the old housekeeper. He has more or less grown up with the dan’s uncle."
Susha Unhuor shook his head. "No, that’s too close. If he knew something, he might feel guilty and won’t divulge anything. Isn’t there somebody directly involved with him but less close personally? Maybe a maid that was tending to him that he wouldn’t necessarily talk to but that is able to hear something just by being close by?"
Shunche nodded but looked at Jusha Lale. "There is one. Shall I go and have her brought over?"
Jusha Lale nodded. "Do that. Just bring her to the room where my aunt was just waiting."
Shunche bowed and then left to fetch the girl. Meanwhile, Jusha Lale waved for Susha Unhuor to sit down. Anyway, he wasn’t really angry. There was no need to let the atmosphere get tense.
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