The Herb King

Madilyn glanced at Aethelwolf and cleared her throat before she started speaking. "Sir Joseph followed the last task you gave him and he even used the private soldiers of the Maynard Household to complete the job faster." Suddenly, she frowned as she continued. "Just that, I noticed that he seems to be on edge lately. It's as if he is hiding something."

Aethelwolf leaned on his chair and pondered upon her report, especially the last sentence she said. This time, he was certain that Joseph Maynard was responsible for the death of his friend, Enrique Maynard.

After a moment of silence, Aethelwolf looked at Madilyn and said. "When you return to the Urgel Household, please tell Miss Julie Irish to look for a guy named Chris Maynard. He is the manager of the weapon shop in Vale City owned by Enrique Maynard."

Madilyn nodded her head. "Yes, Headmaster." She replied.

"Be careful in handling Joseph Maynard or anyone from the Maynard Household." Aethelwolf warned her.

Madilyn furrowed her eyebrows in surprise, but she still nodded her head. "I will."

"You may leave." Aethelwolf dismissed her.

Madilyn stood up and bowed to him before leaving his office.

When she left, Princess Aenwyn stared at Aethelwolf and asked. "Why are you investigating that man named Joseph? Is he your enemy?" Although she couldn't understand the human language, she felt that there was a friction between Aethelwolf and the man named Joseph.

Aethelwolf raised his head and looked at her. "He killed a friend of mine." He said calmly.

Hearing this, Aenwyn's eyes narrowed. "Do you want me to kill him for you?"

Aethelwolf chuckled at her words. "Just get me a cup of coffee, while I write a simple book for you. You should learn some of our words for now."

Aenwyn looked at him silently and nodded her head.

Soon, the first day of the class ended and Aethelwolf went back home with the others.

After returning to the mansion, he headed straight to his room and asked for the servants to deliver some snacks. He wanted to take a short break.

Aethelwolf went to the balcony and took a seat. A little girl jumped onto his lap and looked at him with a big smile. "Papa, I have new friends now. One is Michael Singler from the Singler Household. There's also this guy from the..." She talked non-stop and Aethelwolf just quietly listened to her.

He stroked her head as she excitedly told him about her new friends.

"Papa, can I bring them here?" Olivia looked at him with her pretty eyes.

Aethelwolf nodded his head and smiled gently. "Of course. You can tell them tomorrow."

"Yay!" Olivia gave him a kiss.

Not long later, the servants arrived and brought his snacks to the balcony.

***

In the imperial castle, Harold Reynolds and Prince Calvin bowed at Emperor Ragnar who was seated on his throne.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"How was your investigation?" The emperor asked as he looked at the two.

Harold nodded at the second prince.

Seeing this, Prince Calvin turned his gaze to the emperor and said. "Your Majesty, we discovered the tracks of the Northern Viper Group's remnant forces. They are headed outside of our Leone Empire's territory. We are not sure where they are headed, but based on the evidence we gathered, the Northern Viper Group has some relations to the Ford Empire."

"The Ford Empire?" Emperor Ragnar frowned upon hearing this.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I believe the Northern Viper Group is an elite force sent by the Ford Empire to spy on our activity. We should bolster our defenses. I think the Ford Empire will attack us soon. I sent Dimitri to observe their military forces. He should be back soon with a report." Prince Calvin reported in a solemn tone.

Emperor Ragnar took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "Calvin, tell your elder brother to come back."

"Elder brother? But Your Majesty, elder brother is stationed in Vale City. They need him there. Vale City would be severely weakened without him. Even if the Ford Empire sneaks their way to our territory, they couldn't pass by Vale City without being detected by our soldiers." Prince Calvin said.

Emperor Ragnar knew that the second prince was right, but his instincts were telling him that they would need his eldest son in Lion City. He was rarely wrong about things like this so he couldn't decide right away.

In the end, Emperor Ragnar said. "Send General Gavin and General Robert to Vale City and recall your elder brother."

General Gavin had recently become a Level 4 Esper and his Flame Tiger Army was a lot stronger now, while General Robert was the oldest General of the Leone Empire and his strength was already at the late stage of Level 4. On the other hand, Emperor Ragnar's eldest son, Prince Renz Conrad Leone, was secretly a peak stage Level 4 Esper. His power has been kept a secret until now and even the upper echelons of the noble households were unaware of his true power.

Prince Renz Conrad was known as an alcoholic and a lazy prince, but no one knew that this was merely a facade to hide his real power!

At the age of forty-five, the first prince was already a peak stage Level 4 Esper!

"Yes, Your Majesty." Prince Calvin could only agree since the emperor has already given his command. He was one of the few people who knew about his elder brother's true abilities.

"Your Majesty, I will lead a force and send them to support Vale City. I will also tell my father to stay here with the rest of our Reynolds Household's soldiers to help the imperial family in strengthening the defenses of Lion City." Harold suggested.

Emperor Ragnar nodded and didn't reject him. They need all the forces they can get.

"Summon all the family heads of the noble households and merchant families. Tell them to come here tomorrow morning!" Emperor Ragnar commanded in a serious tone. He had to inform the upper echelons about this and let them prepare for what was about to come.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Prince Calvin and Harold Reynolds answered in unison.