RTW

451-470

Chapter 451: Aspirations

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Rene walked out of the Earl's mansion, squinted instinctively, and took a deep breath. It'd been half a month since he last saw daylight and snow.

To Rene's surprise, there were soldiers in uniform everywhere, not shamelessly plundering the mansion, but guarding crossroads in an orderly fashion. A few blood stains dotted the snowy ground, but there were neither bodies nor scattered clothing around, which meant the soldiers didn't pillage the dead when they cleared the battlefield. What he saw confirmed his supposition that these troops were different from any he'd ever seen.

"Is Petrov alright? " He looked at Iron Axe. "How is... Longsong Stronghold?"

"Everything is alright." The tall, strong, foreign man spoke very little, but he'd answer as long as Rene asked.

"That means Jacques Medde's plan didn't work." Rene was slightly relieved. "If Stronghold is intact and the Honeysuckle Family is unharmed, Petrov is bound to put in a good word for me." He didn't care about Jacques' fate. "That idiot almost dragged the Elk Family into a catastrophe, so whatever happened to him isn't my concern."

"Brother... what in the world did Jacques do?" Aurelia leaned over and asked quietly.

Rene hesitated, shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Aurelia instantly made an expression as if to say "you're lying".

Rene smiled bitterly. He really didn't know how to answer that question... He couldn't simply say that Jacques intended to rebel, because he only knew about the planning stages and didn't know how that plan turned out. After some silence, he asked, "Do you really want to go to the castle with me?"

"Of course. I'm very curious about what exactly happened to give these men a reason to break into the Earl's mansion in broad daylight." She stared at Iron Axe and said, "I think Milord Petrov wouldn't just sit by and do nothing about it."

Rene understood that his sister was actually worried about Petrov, so he finally nodded and said, "Alright. If you ask him in person, he might tell you the details."

The group of people rode on horseback for about an hour along the snow covered roads and reached the Stronghold castle at noon.

With Iron Axe leading the way, Rene and his sister stepped onto the third floor, which was heavily guarded by sentries placed every few steps.

When he entered a room that looked like a study, Rene finally saw Petrov Hull, his childhood friend. However, Petrov only stood next to his desk respectfully. A gray-haired man sat by the desk, looking at Rene and Aurelia with interest and playing with a quill pen. Almost instantly, Rene recognized who this man was.

He instantly went down on one knee. "Your Highness, Rene Medde is here to salute you."

"He is ..." Aurelia was a little surprised, but Rene tugged her clothes gently and hinted at her to bend a knee and bow.

"We met each other in Longsong Stronghold," the prince said with a smile, "right in the castle's basement. According to what Iron Axe just told me, you were locked up there again?"

"Uh..." Rene was embarrassed and didn't know what he should say.

Luckily, the prince wasn't expecting an answer. "Please rise. Before I ordered the attack on the Elk territory, Petrov had repeatedly assured me that you would never take part in Jacques Medde's rebellion, and it seems he was right about you. But... how did you end up in the basement?"