Inside the cramped basement, Cale found a group of people curled up without any space to move. Their emaciated faces wore matching looks of bewilderment.
“You’re safe now,” Cale told them.
He climbed back to his feet and turned to the Guiller heir, who realized Cale’s gaze was clear and lucid.
“Lord Antonio.”
The shield opened its wings above the next house. Screams rang out as the remaining human traffickers ran out of the other houses, having seen more than enough to know what awaited them.
Cale pointed to the unfolding chaos. “Let me borrow your knights.”
Antonio gasped, then deployed his knights to capture the criminals. He also dispatched one knight to the castle. Meanwhile, Cale signaled for Frizia and her team to move toward the other houses.
With a pair of quiet meows, Ohn and Hong also took action. They would block most of the escape routes with poison mist. Ron, still wearing his mask, waved at Cale; he had House Krish’s butler by the neck.
That vicious old man. Cale shook his head, listening to Raon’s griping.
‹How disappointing. I didn’t know he’d come this fast. We only destroyed one house!›
Right? Cale wished Antonio had waited until he’d destroyed all ten of the houses. “One more,” he said.
‹Really?! All right! I put a shield over the basement, so the kidnapped people are safe! My shield is great and mighty!›
Boom!
Another house bit the dust.
Since Antonio had arrived so quickly, Cale had no reason to destroy the house—but he chose to do so anyway. The sight of those pale faces in the basement had rage pumping through his veins; he wanted to destroy something.
Whoosh.
The silver light emanating from Cale’s hand winked out. His shield dissipated soon after, and a breeze rose up from the wreckage.
Cale let out a cough before wiping away the dab of blood trickling from his mouth. This is nothing. With the Unbreakable Shield and Raon’s magic put together, there hadn’t been much strain on his body. He didn’t stagger or hack up blood. Yet it seemed the shield was getting stronger for some reason.
He had no complaints about one little cough and a pinch of blood as the Energy of the Heart worked to heal him in short order. Raon flapped his wings with a murderous glare, but Cale missed it as he turned around.
“Lord Cale.”
Cale made eye contact with Antonio Guiller, who stood stiff. “Shall we have a discussion?” The discussion topic, as well as its beginning and end, were firmly in his hands.
Antonio looked around. Guiller soldiers were rapidly approaching from the distance, and droves of citizens were standing in the shopping district across the bridge. Most importantly, the denizens of the slums still hiding in their homes would be keeping their ears open.
The guard captain strode up to Antonio, accompanied by an administrator. “My lord!”
Cale handed Antonio a piece of paper with the ten houses marked on it. “The human traffickers have people confined in those buildings.”
“I… Thank you very much.” Given the clarity in Cale’s gaze, Antonio was convinced that the man wasn’t drunk at all. He’d obviously carried out this plan with a sound mind. When Cale passed him another document, Antonio’s face tightened. “This crest…”
He recognized the crest at the top—it belonged to Baron Krish. Then he noticed a person being dragged over by Vice-Captain Hilsmann.
“This is the butler of House Krish.”
“Lord Cale,” Antonio all but groaned. A terrible possibility flashed through his mind, and there was a high chance it would turn out to be true.
“Listen here, Lord Antonio.” Cale stepped closer. Taking stock of Antonio’s tense expression, he said, “Beating around the bush isn’t a talent of mine.”
Antonio felt his mouth go dry. The naive noble from this morning—the dim-witted lordling who’d boasted about drinking that day—was nowhere to be seen. The man standing before Antonio now was the same Cale Henituse known throughout the kingdom as the crown prince’s close confidant.
“I went out of my way to make a scene.”
Cale laid it out plainly for Antonio and the Guiller estate’s representatives. He had deliberately acted in the open, and there was a deeper motive behind his conduct. Had he shared this information with the Guillers in advance, they would have handled everything in secret. That would have been preferable for House Guiller; they could have concealed the fact that such atrocities took place in the heart of Guiller territory, practically on their castle’s doorstep. As things stood, it was no longer possible to clean up quietly.
But why? Antonio didn’t understand. If Cale had used this incident as leverage by promising to keep everything under wraps, Antonio would’ve had no choice but to agree to any condition he wanted. Cale had acted publicly by design, so surely he had a reason.
The redhead’s lips parted, perhaps to deliver the answer. “I need the southwestern region.”
The crown prince. Prince Albert rose to Antonio’s mind unbidden.
Cale declined to elaborate, however. “I’m sure you have much to do. Let’s chat later.” He sauntered past Antonio, toward the castle.
The Guiller heir watched him go, then sighed and returned his attention to the fuss ahead. He had to overcome this unexpected storm first. “I need a few knights to come with me to the Krish estate this instant!”
“They’re not following me, right?” Cale asked as Ron stealthily materialized beside him.
“No, young master. His Lordship seems focused on resolving this incident for the moment.”
Antonio was a domineering man who tended to fixate on a person’s qualifications, but at least he had the basics down. As Cale passed this judgment on Antonio’s character, he took his time walking back to the castle to attract onlookers and spark some gossip.
Cale hoped that the incident would take the southwestern region’s influence down a notch. The north would descend into pandemonium come spring, so shouldn’t the south be peaceful, at least?
The southeastern region’s border with the Kingdom of the Whipper, ruled by Commander Tunka, kept them occupied. They probably lived in perpetual anxiety wondering if and when Tunka might do something crazy again.
It’s weird that Tunka is so subdued these days too. The barbarian had gone quiet after his war with the Mogor Empire. Cale opted not to worry about it for now, though.
“I’m starving.” The Energy of the Heart’s repair work always left him famished. He picked up the pace.
“You must have a hearty dinner tonight, young master.”
“Yeah, I will. Too bad Vicross isn’t here.”
Though he’d said it without thinking too deeply, Ron’s reply grabbed his attention. “Why…I’m so proud of you.”
Cale’s expression pinched, a stark contrast to Ron’s benign smile. He hadn’t forgotten how happy Ron looked while clenching the Krish butler’s neck earlier. It had been a while since he’d seen Ron this energetic—someone might even think the assassin had recaptured his youth.
What a scary old man.
Cale took a slow half step away from Ron and then made a beeline for the castle.
Watching Cale hurry away from him, Ron said to himself, “He’s the same as ever.”
His young master had matured into a fully grown pup—no, a tiger—but the lad still didn’t know how to control his facial expressions.
“Meeeow.”
“Meow.”
When the two kittens sidled up to him, Ron scooped them up and trailed after Cale.