Chapter Sixty-One: A Slice of Flesh from the Nobility

Evening.

A full moon hung high in the sky, its moonlight pouring down like water upon the grey stone walls of Black Wolf Keep, draping the centuries-old, weathered ancient structure in a silver veil.

The spire of the bell tower pointed toward the star-filled sky as if attempting to pierce the night, and right beneath the spire, a black-haired young man sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly closed, facing the bright moon.

Tonight was an excellent time for meditation, an opportunity that Xia Mingyu, who was single-mindedly eager to enhance his magic power, naturally would not let go.

Meanwhile, in the main keep not far from the bell tower, the windows remained brilliantly lit—so bright, in fact, that they pierced the eyes.

The castle hall.

Upon the soaring ceiling, a massive iron chandelier was laden with fiercely burning candles, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.

Having rushed about on official business from dawn until late into the night, old Sean returned here covered in dust.

Before him, Caron sat quietly upon the master's seat of the hall, while Madam Danielle stood beside him, cradling little Haydn, who was still an infant.

"My Lord, in accordance with your orders, I have investigated all the brothels and criminal gangs within the Black Wolf Territory, as well as the number of villages currently suffering from famine."

Old Sean knelt on one knee upon the carpet, speaking with deep respect.

"Report," Caron said with a wave of his hand.

"Across the three towns of the Black Wolf Territory, there were originally six brothels. Among them, the largest one located in Ore Town has already been cleared out by His Highness, leaving five remaining."

"Specifically, there are two in Wolf Fang Town, one in Bountiful Fruit Town, and one in Ore Town. Upon investigation, without a single exception, all of them engage in the forced prostitution of female and young male sex workers."

"As for criminal gangs... setting aside minor ruffians and scoundrels, there is only one organized gang of substantial scale: the Wolf Gang. Its headquarters is located in Ore Town, and all six brothels in the territory appear to be connected to it, or are outright managed by it."

"As for the villages suffering from famine, owing to your merciful reduction of taxes, there are currently only two. The cause in both cases was that during the harvest season, they were defrauded by a traveling merchant from Claire, burdening them with debts owed to the Wolf Gang, which resulted in some villagers starving to death or being sold into prostitution."

Old Sean reported truthfully.

The Wolf Gang...

Caron frowned slightly. He usually paid little attention to the administration of the territory, devoting himself entirely to martial arts and hunting, and truly had no idea when such a criminal syndicate spanning three towns had emerged within his domain.

However, the Kingdom of Sothia indeed possessed no laws making the operation of brothels or the formation of gangs illegal—or rather, even if such laws existed, practically no one ever enforced them.

After all, brothels were a major source of tax revenue for a territory, and quite a few brothels in various domains were even the personal properties of the lords themselves.

Beside them, Danielle, holding the child, narrowed her eyes slightly upon hearing the name of the Wolf Gang, a suspicion quietly forming in her heart.

During her time in Twilight City, she had frequently helped her mother process official documents. She knew all too well that what sounded like lawless gangs and brothels were, in the final analysis, simply flesh and blood connected to the nobility by ties of kinship!

"Nephew.... What a distant memory indeed!" Caron sighed deeply, his rugged face filled with melancholy.

A long time ago, upon returning to his bedchamber after a martial arts training session, he had discovered his older brother making advances toward his legally wedded wife.

In a fit of rage, he had hacked his brother to death with his own hands. Because of this, his father, the previous Viscount Hughes, had soon after fallen gravely ill of grief and died. Upon inheriting the title, he had "invited" his young nephew out of the castle.

Yet as the years passed and he gradually matured, he discovered that the events of that time had been fraught with suspicious circumstances, and it was quite possible that his wife had been... Ah, regardless, she had already died of illness.

"According to the oath demanded by His Highness, Eli is someone I must kill, but..."

A trace of struggle surfaced on Caron's face. His hands gripped the armrests of his seat so tightly that the iron armrests were nearly bent out of shape!

He could slaughter all unrelated villains without a second thought, but Eli was his own nephew, toward whom he already harbored a sense of guilt, and moreover, he was one of the bloodlines of the Hughes family...

Watching the conflicted and struggling expression of her husband beside her, Danielle's gaze turned cold.

She cared nothing for nephews or non-nephews; anyone who blocked her son's path had to die!

"Little Haydn, bear with it..." Looking down at the sleeping infant in her arms, Danielle hardened her heart and forcefully pinched his delicate, jade-like little foot.

"Wah-wah-wah-wah!" Struck by pain, the infant burst into loud wails.

"Don't cry, little Haydn. Rest assured, Mommy and Daddy swear to make you His Highness's godson!"

Distressed, Danielle flurried to soothe him.

Under Caron's watchful gaze, as if by a miracle, upon hearing Danielle's words, the infant abruptly stopped crying and once again drifted into a deep sleep.

"Caron, little Haydn can surely understand our words. If we abandon this opportunity that concerns his entire life's destiny on his behalf, he will hate us for the rest of his life!"

Danielle grasped Caron's hand tightly, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Caron, I want to be a good mother, and you surely want to be a good father..."

"Say no more, Danielle. For little Haydn's sake, I will not hesitate."

Caron took a deep breath, the struggle vanishing from his face, replaced entirely by coldness and murderous intent.

"Sean, tomorrow at dawn, assemble Knight Thorin, Knight Remy, and all the soldiers on the training grounds."

"Understood, My Lord."

"Darling, I love you. I'll accompany you tomorrow~"

...

At the top of the bell tower.

Xia Mingyu slowly concluded his meditation.

He knew nothing of what had transpired in the main keep not far away, save for shivering slightly from the bitter late-night wind.

"I should wrap myself in a quilt next time I come out to meditate,"

Xia Mingyu thought to himself with a sneeze.

Shortly after lying down on the soft bed in his bedchamber, he drifted off into sleep.

....

The Hall of Sparks.

The crystal dome tirelessly played scenes of epic warfare fraught with tears and fire, the roar of artillery echoing.

Thirteen sat alone at the long table, holding the literacy primer and writing and drawing upon the tabletop with his thick fingers.

"Your Highness." Seeing Xia Mingyu approach, his massive frame bowed its head.

"Tamerlane asked me to tell you that because he has to patrol during the day, he can only stay here for a short while tonight before leaving," Thirteen said calmly.

Remaining in the Hall of Sparks all night imposed no physical burden, yet it could not completely replace actual sleep.

"Very well, let us continue with yesterday's material."

Xia Mingyu snapped his fingers, and sheets of white paper along with a quill materialized upon the long table.

"These two characters mean freedom, this is equality, justice, civilization, integrity..."

During the teaching process, Xia Mingyu unexpectedly discovered that, contrary to his fierce appearance, Thirteen possessed exceptionally strong memory and comprehension skills. Almost any character he taught merely two or three times would be firmly committed to memory.

At this rate, Thirteen would master all commonly used characters within a month at most.

By that time, perhaps it would be time to grant him a true name...