"That old hag claimed she delivered a beast child, didn’t she?"
"She’s a drunk and drug-addled lunatic. Her claim of working as a midwife might be a lie as well."
"That’s fine. Right now, just the possibility is enough."
A child born as a beast—at that specific time. Others might dismiss it as nonsense, but for Jerpeneus, it was not something he could simply overlook. Resting his chin on his hand, he crossed his legs. He would have preferred to sit back and watch things unfold at a leisurely pace, but the situation was far from ideal. The old High Priest was seizing the opportunity to manipulate divine decrees, eager to tighten his grip on the imperial family, and the hound he had raised had finally turned to bite its master’s heel.
"If only Natalie had stayed behind, this would be much more tolerable. What a shame."
Jerpeneus’s lips twisted into a crooked smile, his usual smirk warping with irritation. Now that Cabelenus was in his grasp, the High Priest would never willingly let Natalie go. If Jerpeneus wanted to complete the unfinished deal from eight years ago, he would have to offer something even more enticing than Cabelenus.
"Enough about her. It’s unfortunate, but I can always get her back later."
"The child is more valuable than her now. Focus on that."
Even as he spoke, Jerpeneus absentmindedly stroked the bracelet hidden beneath his left sleeve. His feelings for Natalie were genuine. No other woman had ever been as special to him. But that specialness had its limits. He had loved her as Natalie, but not as the fallen daughter of the disgraced Marquis Leonard, branded a traitor and stripped of everything. He could have freed her from her priestly vows at any time, but he wasn’t willing to pay an unreasonable price for it. So, instead, he had played a waiting game, constantly renegotiating terms with the High Priest.
He had known that time was only causing her more suffering, but he had never regretted it. Power was built on a series of choices, and he could not afford to create a weakness that his enemies could exploit. Someday, he intended to grant Natalie a position befitting her—but not yet.
"You said Cabelenus has already met with them?"
"Yes. Lady Natalie acted first and intervened…"
"My dear little brother is such a troublesome one. Should I send the army?"
Jerpeneus’s eyes curved into a crescent shape. A small village like that could be razed to the ground in no time.
"If we deploy troops, the temple will notice."
"It can’t be helped. If they reach Schwarhan, retrieving the child will be even more difficult."
"If only we had found them a little sooner. My brother was simply too fast this time."
If he had secured the child before Cabelenus got involved, this would have been much easier. But the initiative had been stolen from him. Unfortunate, but unavoidable. There was no longer any way around a direct confrontation with Cabelenus.
"How many troops would we need to take on Cabelenus?"
"Honestly, it’s difficult to gauge. His Highness the Grand Duke is… special."
Peltion let out a bitter smile. He had watched Cabelenus for as long as he had served as Jerpeneus’s shadow. The Wolf of Schwarhan was so monstrous that even his terrifying reputation felt like an understatement.
"Even he must have his limits."
"The losses will be significant."
"I’d like to disagree, but I can’t. My dear little brother is an excellent ally but an incredibly troublesome enemy."
For someone supposedly in a difficult situation, Jerpeneus’s expression remained bright. But Peltion had learned from experience—whenever Jerpeneus looked , he was devising something truly ruthless.
"Or… why not send her?"
"She has plenty of grievances from what happened eight years ago. This could be a good chance for her to vent some of that frustration. And while we’re at it, we can test the shackles."
"If the shackles break as easily as they did with Cabelenus, that would be a problem. I need to refine what our father overlooked and create shackles that are truly unbreakable. This is the perfect opportunity to see if hers work as intended."
Jerpeneus’s smile deepened as he recalled that beautiful face twisted in agony, how she had screamed like a beast. She was too emotional and foolish to keep by his side, but her abilities had their uses. It had been thanks to her that the events of eight years ago were so flawlessly covered up.
"Oh, and make sure to bring the child back alive. But if it looks like you might lose him… just kill him."
"Didn’t you want the child?"
"It would be ideal to have him. But if I can’t, then it’s best to eliminate the threat entirely."
Better to cut down potential dangers from the root. Jerpeneus chuckled.
"Is the child really that valuable?"
"Right now, it’s only a possibility. It’s too soon to say he has any real worth. I don’t even know if he truly has the power to control monsters. And if we’re unlucky, maybe he doesn’t."
Jerpeneus licked his lips slowly, savoring the thought like a fine delicacy. It was all speculation at this point—there was no certainty. But even so, it was an enticing possibility.
"If that possibility turns into reality, everything will change. This petty power struggle between the imperial family and the temple will finally come to an end."
"Is a power to control monsters really that valuable? There are plenty of skilled warriors who can take them down. The military doesn’t need uncontrollable creatures when it has trained fighters."
"That may be true, but brute force isn’t the only kind of power."
The High Priest had spent years manipulating divine decrees, creating and erasing disasters at will, using the people's faith to maintain control. The temple had only managed to sustain its authority by molding situations to its advantage, whispering the ‘will of the gods’ into the ears of the masses. There was no tool of persuasion more powerful than divine revelation.
"So, Your Majesty intends to…"
"There’s no reason I can’t use the same strategy."
Jerpeneus’s eyes gleamed. The Prime Temple had always labeled monsters as sinners abandoned by the gods. That made them the perfect instrument to turn against the temple itself.
"The so-called messengers of the gods, crushed under the very monsters they scorned. Who would trust such weak, helpless saviors?"
"So it’s not the power of the monsters you want—it’s their name."
"Their infamy is worth more than mountains of gold. Nothing controls people better than fear."
A slow, creeping smile spread across Jerpeneus’s lips. His heart raced at the thought of having the child in his grasp.
"Once I have that child, even the will of the gods will belong to me. Finally, we will no longer be forced to share power—we will become the true rulers of this world."
Just as his father had dreamed.
Jerpeneus reached out, tracing his reflection in the glass window before slowly covering his eyes with his hand. He should have been used to it by now, but his eyes—lacking their golden hue—still felt like a flaw he could never overlook.
Mikael stopped running and plopped down on the ground. Sitting quietly and listening to Cabelenus was just too boring. Training alone was no fun at all.
'I followed him so perfectly, but his senses are like a damn ghost’s…'
Resting his chin on both hands, Mikael glared at the path where Cabelenus had disappeared. He had already been caught several times trying to secretly follow him, so he couldn’t even attempt it again. It was pure torture.
“I was gonna help if he got attacked by a boar…”
But instead of appreciating that, all Cabelenus did was threaten him—saying that if he followed again, he’d never train him again. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became, his lips naturally pouting.
“Good thing he’s not my dad. That would be the worst! An absolute disaster!”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Mikael threw his hands up dramatically, then let out a deep sigh. Despite swearing he wouldn’t help, his eyes remained fixed on the direction Cabelenus had gone.
Then, suddenly, the sound of movement in the bushes made Mikael jump to his feet.
He had expected Cabelenus, but it wasn’t him. Mikael blinked in surprise at the unexpected visitors.
“What are you guys doing here?”
His gaze darted between the men surrounding him. They were all familiar faces from the village, yet the wooden clubs in their hands were anything but familiar.
"You’ve been spending a lot of time with him lately. Do you know where he went?"
"Why are you looking for him?"
"That’s none of your concern."
Mikael frowned as he turned to look at Louis, the village chief. Unlike his usual friendly demeanor, the man’s expression was harsh—filled with an anger Mikael had never seen before.
“He went to hunt boars.”
“They’ve been wrecking the fields.”
Louis scoffed. “Ridiculous. What’s one man going to do alone?”
“So, which way did he go?”
Mikael hesitated. There was no mistaking it—Louis’s voice was cold, dripping with hostility. After a brief pause, Mikael lifted a hand and pointed in the opposite direction from where Cabelenus had actually gone.
“It’s been a while since he left, so you’d better hurry if you want to catch up.”
Louis gave a curt response before hastily striding off. A group of young men—some of the strongest in the village—trailed closely behind him. Mikael waited until they disappeared from sight before spinning on his heel and sprinting in the opposite direction.
Cabelenus is in danger.
Mikael knew Cabelenus was strong, but even he couldn’t take on that many people at once. He had to warn him as quickly as possible.
"He should be around here somewhere…"
But as he ran deeper into the forest, everything started to look the same. Mikael anxiously shifted his feet—until he noticed a broken branch above his head. His eyes widened in realization.
The snapped branches were positioned at just the right height for Cabelenus, not Mikael. They were markers—Cabelenus had left a trail.
Mikael grinned and rushed forward. If he followed the signs quickly enough, he’d catch up.
He ran as fast as he could. Eventually, in the distance, a dark figure came into view. Mikael’s face lit up, and he called out as he leapt forward.
"You lied to me, Mikael."
A voice rang out above him. Mikael’s body froze. Slowly, cautiously, he lifted his head. His ashen gray eyes trembled with unease.
"Does your mother know you’re a liar?"
"If you keep behaving , your mother will be put in a very difficult position."
"My mom did nothing wrong."
“We’ll see about that. But after all, isn’t it your mother’s fault that he got involved?”
A firm grip tightened around the back of his collar. Mikael winced, tugging at the neckline of his shirt as it dug into his throat.
"Such a feisty little thing. Don’t worry—we’re not monsters. We wouldn’t hurt you, would we?"
Louis smirked, jerking his chin toward one of the young men standing behind him. The man hoisted Mikael over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“What should we do, Chief?”
“That bastard’s no ordinary man. We’ll keep the kid as insurance. No way he’d ignore his own flesh and blood.”
"Shut him up. If that man notices us first, we’ll be in trouble. We need to strike while he’s off guard."
Mikael struggled with all his might, but it was useless. They gagged him with a cloth, and he could do nothing but kick his legs helplessly.
A dull thud was followed by a scream. One of the men, Milly, the tallest of the group, clutched his leg and collapsed to the ground.
Another voice shrieked. Gail, one of the village’s strongest fighters, grabbed his shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers.
"Where?! Where is it coming from—?!"
"That way! No, wait—the other side—urk!"
Mikael’s eyes darted wildly. His breath caught as he spotted something rolling across the dirt—a rock covered in blood.
Before the villagers could regain their bearings, another thump echoed through the forest. John, the burliest man in the village, toppled forward, crashing face-first into the ground.
And atop his fallen body stood a lone figure, pinning him down with ease.
"Picking on a child? Shameful."
"Don’t just stand there! Get him!"
Louis barely had time to shout before the remaining men lunged at Cabelenus, clubs raised.
Cabelenus merely clicked his tongue. Without hesitation, he grabbed John’s massive body and hurled it straight at them.
The weight of the unconscious man sent two of them crashing to the ground. Before they could scramble to their feet, Cabelenus grabbed another and flung him onto the pile.
Then, in the sudden silence, he turned to Mikael.
His voice was calm. But Mikael—unable to catch his breath—could only blink in stunned silence.