[AFYC] Chapter 55

“Your Majesty.”

Leopold’s face twisted into an angry grimace as he ran a rough hand over it before erupting in fury.

“Why are you so silent? I asked out of frustration!”

They had dismembered the bodies of the captured Reinhardt agents and fed them to the dogs, but even that had not sated his anger.

“What about the two wolves we captured? Have we gotten anything useful out of them?”

Count Jerome let out a short sigh before responding.

“As I mentioned before, no matter how much they are tortured, even if their limbs are cut off, they won’t say a word about their master.”

“Then gouge out their eyes.”

“....”

“If they don’t talk even after losing all their limbs, then don’t stop there. Throw them into boiling oil. And if that doesn’t work, skin them alive. We need to find out how many wolves are under that bastard’s command, where they are, and what their range is. We need to figure out how to kill him!”

Count Jerome clicked his tongue softly in his mind. They had already savagely butchered three Reinhardt agents. Boiling the remaining ones alive or gouging out their eyes might yield results, but more likely, it would be a futile gesture. Worse, it would only provoke Oscar, who was already fuming with anger.

But the problem was that even such extreme measures were necessary to slightly cool King Leopold’s wrath. And for Count Jerome, it was better that way. Since they had failed to achieve any results, they needed to do something to appease the king’s anger.

“I understand, Your Majesty. However, please be aware that the ongoing torture may lead to their death from shock.”

Leopold closed his eyes tightly, then opened them, flicking his hand dismissively. The maid, who had been standing rigidly, saw this and immediately poured a drink. But instead of handing it directly to the king, she used a dropper to take a single drop and placed it on the back of her hand. Only after tasting it herself did she offer the glass to Leopold, who accepted it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“If I’m to take full control of the steel company, said to be the pillar of Luxen, then that bastard needs to die.”

It was an era where monarchies were crumbling. Land was no longer the source of wealth and power. In such times, if the steel company, known as the Furnace of East Norfolk, were nationalised and became a royal asset, the king would hold true power and wealth in his hands. The fear of the monarchy collapsing would no longer be an issue.

But for that to happen, Oscar needed to die. And for that, they needed to draw Reinhardt’s wolves out of hiding.

Like lava hidden beneath the earth, Oscar had concealed his military forces with astonishing skill. Some days, it seemed like there couldn’t be many of these secret wolves. On other days, it felt like there were more of them than the royal army combined, making it impossible for Leopold to sleep.

As a throbbing headache spread through his skull, Leopold grimaced and downed his drink in one go.

It was then that the maid spoke up.

“It seems that the Marquis has met with the King of Felphe. It’s expected that Grand Duke Baden will soon be dismissed from his position as governor.”

Leopold’s scowl deepened.

About three years ago, Oscar had turned the fool of Felphe into someone befitting a royal. He had even managed to get him appointed as the governor of the Felphe Bank.

Why? What was in that bank that Oscar coveted so much?

But Leopold had never been able to find out. The real reason he had approached Grand Duke Baden in secret was to discover this, but the fool seemed just as clueless.

“How can one man know absolutely nothing?”

Grand Duke Baden had no idea who had opened the vault Oscar coveted, what was inside, or any other useful information. Instead, all he had gained was a sense of unease. And to top it all off, the assassination attempt had failed.

His father had always said:

“Reinhardt is a wolf. A wolf is not a dog. It knows neither loyalty nor obedience. It moves solely for its own purpose.”

He had left a dying wish that Leopold must never let the lone surviving young wolf grow up.

“Never let the lone young wolf grow up.”

And yet, it seemed the wolf would die of its own accord. The family had fallen, and his mother had abandoned him. He hadn’t even enrolled in the academy, which even low-ranking nobles attended. There had been days when Leopold had completely forgotten about his existence.

A fatal mistake.