Lord Howard waved his hand and said, “You don’t need to worry about the money. Treating the illness is what matters.”

After speaking, he personally ladled a bowl of soup for Grace Clark and said, “This chicken soup was made by your mother herself. Drink more of it—it’s good for your health.”

Grace Clark picked up the spoon and silently drank the soup. The warm chicken broth slid down his throat, bringing a touch of warmth to his heart as well.

Most of the time in the past, he ate alone, ordering takeout or making do with instant noodles. It had been a long time since he’d had such a home-cooked meal, and even longer since he’d eaten with someone else.

After finishing the meal, Grace Clark went straight back to his own room.

Getting along with the Lord Howard couple and feeling their care and affection, Grace Clark still wasn’t quite used to it.

It was almost laughable—what he hadn’t felt from his biological parents in his previous life, he was now experiencing from two strangers. For someone like Grace Clark, who was used to being alone, it left him at a loss.

To avoid being alone with them, early the next morning, after breakfast, Grace Clark left the house.

Not long after, at the Qinglisi, Grace Clark was slowly flipping through a dossier in his hands.

The case of the woman from yesterday had already been closed by the Qinglisi.

A thief had come to the Qinglisi to turn himself in yesterday, admitting that he had broken in the night before, stolen money, and then, driven by lust, tried to force himself on Mrs. Bennett. In the struggle, he accidentally strangled her to death. To avoid being pursued by the authorities, he staged the scene to look like Mrs. Bennett had hanged herself.

With someone confessing, Charles Foster was naturally released as innocent very quickly.

This dossier was full of holes, the biggest being that if the burglar hadn’t turned himself in, the Qinglisi would have had no way to investigate. Yet he had walked right into their net, making his motive all too clear: to clear Charles Foster of suspicion.

The methods of that first-rank earl were even more formidable than Grace Clark had expected.

With this, everything Grace Clark had done yesterday was rendered meaningless.

Grace Clark put the dossier back in its place, left the records room, and as he entered the courtyard, someone approached him head-on.

Grace Clark looked up, stopped, and cupped his hands slightly, saying, “Greetings, Dr. Carter.”

The newcomer was the Qinglisi Dr. Carter, also the head of the Qinglisi. Yesterday, he had wanted to close the case hastily, but Grace Clark had disrupted things, and under pressure, had no choice but to detain Charles Foster. He was surely quite displeased with Grace Clark.

The Twenty-Four Bureaus were directly under the central government, and each bureau’s Dr. Carter was a high-ranking official with great power.

If things went badly, this hard-won position of his could be lost.

The Qinglisi Dr. Carter had a thin face and sharp eyes as he looked at Grace Clark. Grace Clark met his gaze, neither humble nor arrogant, without a hint of retreat.

After a moment, the Qinglisi Dr. Carter looked away, then nodded slightly and walked past Grace Clark, as if nothing had happened yesterday.

Grace Clark glanced back in confusion. It seemed Dr. Carter didn’t intend to blame him.

Thinking about it, if he were to vent his anger directly on Grace Clark, wouldn’t that confirm his own unfairness in handling the case? But whether he would make things difficult for him in secret was another matter. Grace Clark still needed to stay alert.

At this moment, in the main hall of the Qinglisi, an official following behind the Dr. Carter couldn’t help but speak up: “Sir, this son of Lord Howard acts recklessly and doesn’t understand the rules. We should find an excuse to send him away, lest he causes more trouble in the future…”

The Qinglisi Dr. Carter turned his head and gave him a cool look, saying, “Are you teaching me how to do my job?”

The official immediately bowed and said, “I wouldn’t dare.”

The Qinglisi Dr. Carter said indifferently, “Mind your own business. For things that aren’t your concern, it’s best not to speak out of turn.”

“Yes, sir…”

“You may go.”

“Your subordinate takes his leave.”

The official hurriedly withdrew. The Qinglisi Dr. Carter stood in silence for a moment, then looked up at the plaque above his head that read “The Bright Mirror Hangs High,” gazing at it for a long time…

……

After leaving the Qinglisi, Grace Clark went straight to the Institute of Special Arts.

At the entrance, a figure blocked his way.

It was the young man he’d seen in court yesterday, standing in front of him, smiling at Grace Clark as he said, “The son of Lord Howard William Clark certainly knows a lot…”

As expected, this person still bore a grudge.

If Grace Clark hadn’t stepped forward yesterday, Charles Foster wouldn’t have had to spend those two hours in the filthy, stinking Qinglisi prison. This had caused the son of a first-rank earl to lose face, and he remembered the meddlesome guy who’d caused it.

Grace Clark, son of Lord Howard—after leaving the Qinglisi prison, Charles Foster had easily found out his identity.

Although the man before him was smiling, there was a chill in that smile no matter how you looked at it.

Grace Clark didn’t bother with small talk and got straight to the point: “What do you want?”

Charles Foster extended his hand, and his entire arm gradually became covered in a layer of earth-yellow armor. He looked at Grace Clark with a smile and said, “You made me spend two hours in that filthy, stinking Qinglisi prison. If I break two of your ribs, that’s not too much, is it?”

Seeing the change in Charles Foster’s arm, Grace Clark’s pupils contracted. This person was also an awakened special arts user, and his ability had at least awakened twice.

With his own ability only just awakened, Grace Clark was no match for him at all.