Imperial City, the Lefirut Family.
Unlike the imposing coldness of the Bigusler Family, the residence of the Lefirut Family exuded a somewhat sinister aura.
It seemed as if it were shrouded in shadows, tucked away in dark corners. Not only were its outer walls overgrown with various thorns and vines, but the vegetation inside appeared somewhat grey and gloomy, with even some old trees that had died. Coupled with birds resembling crows that occasionally flew overhead, it was unsurprising that even within the Imperial City, this family was unwelcome.
Indeed, this was the case.
Although the Lefirut Family held a notable position among the Imperial City's nobles, they were the object of exclusion.
They specialized in training spies, assassins, and death soldiers. They were inherently unwelcome, with unscrupulous methods of operation. For the martially inclined Empire, they naturally belonged to those who couldn't show their faces in public and resorted only to insidious tricks.
Such was the Lefirut Family, unwelcome except to those at the center of power who needed someone to do unspeakable jobs.
Especially the noble knights who held their honor in high regard, their disdain for the Lefirut Family ran deep in their marrow, and even if they didn't voice it, their hearts looked down upon them.
However, it must be said that the Lefirut Family was indeed very popular with the Imperial High-level.
After all, they truly needed people to do the dirty work.
Thus, the Lefirut Family had always been highly valued by the Imperial High-level, and had long received substantial support from them, holding a rather unique presence within the Imperial nobility.
Particularly after they received support from the Imperial Concubine ten years ago, the Lefirut Family's status gradually climbed, and now they were nobles of the Marquis level. Apart from the dukes related to the Imperial Family, in the circle of nobles, their status was among the highest.
And to note, both the Bigusler Family and the Renitra Family were merely Marquis as well.
That is to say, even just based on peerage, the Lefirut Family was a peer to both the Bigusler Family and the Renitra Family.
Perhaps, that was why, when Harvis originally petitioned to go to the Kingdom, the Lefirut Family was able to intervene righteously and send William along with Harvis and Rocque?
Although the purpose of the Lefirut Family was certainly to supervise Harvis and Rocque, if their status wasn't sufficient, how could they have managed to force their way into traveling with the Prince and the Knight Captain?
When Harvis made his appearance in the Kingdom, only Rocque and William were by his side, which was sufficient to prove William's position in the Empire�—at least not much inferior to Rocque.
Otherwise, why would standing next to the Empire's strongest Knight Captain be an easy task?
Under such circumstances, despite the Lefirut Family being so unwelcome in noble circles and their base being situated in such a gloomy corner, in reality, they were thriving in the Empire.
At this moment, as the adopted son of the Lefirut Family Head and the most outstanding assassin of the younger generation, William appeared here.
This was the Lefirut Family's underground hall.
In the hall, five figures each sat around a 'U'-shaped conference table, their bodies enveloped in darkness, their true faces unseen.
William was among them, surrounded by the conference table and those five figures.
He didn't look at them but lowered his head, displaying a respectful demeanor, though it was unclear what he was thinking, his gaze flickering slightly.
Then, the five figures spoke in succession.
"Haven't you found Thielle Elbe yet?"
The speaker was the dark figure in the middle.
William couldn't see his face, but he knew his identity.
"I'm sorry, Father," William respectfully said, "That woman is just too cunning. We have used all the tracking methods we can, but each time she has escaped, even luring us into traps she set, resulting in considerable loss of manpower."
Hearing this, the other four dark figures immediately became agitated.
"How long has it been and you still haven't caught her?"
"She's just a sixteen-year-old kid, not even Level seventy. Isn't grabbing her supposed to be easy?"
"The Lefirut Family has trained you for so many years, consuming countless resources and efforts. Yet, you can't even complete such a simple task and have even lost manpower?"
"If the Imperial Concubine comes back and starts to blame, can you handle it?"
Four furious voices then rang out, chastising William relentlessly.
Even the adoptive father sitting in the middle spoke coldly, clearly in a very bad mood. The full series is hosted on My Virtual Library Empire, known as *.
William's gaze grew cold, but his expression remained very respectful.
These five despicable individuals were the highest presences within the Lefirut Family. Apart from the adoptive father who was the Family Head, the rest were undoubtedly the decision-making high-level, the family elders, whom he, a mere adopted wild seed, could not defy.
Moreover, regarding the delayed capture of Thielle Elbe, William also felt extremely vexed.
Recalling the events in the Kingdom, William instinctively covered his chest.
He had been stabbed there by that woman.
Even though it was just a "tentacle" that got pierced, everything the "tentacle" experienced was also a firsthand experience for him.
He, William Lefirut, had been killed by that woman once.
Remembering the pain from back then, seemingly hallucinating, William seemed to hear those words again in his ears.
"To the Imperial City, I will go on my own."
"Things, I'll find them myself."
"Trying to trick me into going?"
"But whether you can find me, capture me, and achieve your goal, we'll see what you're capable of."
"I'm really looking forward to the strength of the Lefirut Family and even more to the strength of the person behind you driving you."
The chill of the words lingered by his ear, making William's hand clutching his chest suddenly tighten to the point of breaking the skin.
He had been brought in from the outside and raised by the Lefirut Family.
At that time, he was an abandoned infant.
In order to survive in that devouring training facility, he desperately trained and killed, stepping on the corpses of his peers to become the finest assassin, chosen by the Lefirut Family Head, thus becoming his adopted son.
To reach this point, he had sacrificed much and lost much, yet he had never been humiliated or looked down upon .
The girl's icy, ruthless voice was like a sharp blade, and together with the weapon in her hand, it penetrated William's heart.
From that moment, William probably went mad.
But not a mad delusion, rather a frenzy-devoured madness.
Every moment, he thought of that woman.
Every moment, he thought of killing her.
He imagined piercing her heart just as he had done before, watching her scream in despair as she fell into a pool of blood.
Yet at the same time, he developed a burning passion for her, wishing to dominate her and make her solely his.
There is a saying that love can breed hate.
For William, it seemed hate had bred love.
After all, she was the only woman more ruthless and indifferent than he, even capable of defeating him and making him taste death thoroughly.
Furthermore, William had initially looked down on Tielle, going to the Kingdom to kill and deceive Tielle; however, it ended up with Tielle killing and deceiving him instead, intertwining all his hatred and resulting in a twisted obsession.
He also wanted to possess that woman.
Thus, while the Lefirut Family prepared to ambush Tielle, he, being one of the key players, stayed hidden in the darkest corner, waiting for her to show a flaw before suddenly launching an attack and piercing her abdomen.
If not to push that woman to the brink and then take possession of her, William would have perhaps gone for her heart instead at that moment.
Unfortunately, in the end, Tielle managed to escape.
This placed the Lefirut Family, who were under the Imperial Concubine's orders to kill Tielle no matter what, in a difficult situation.
As one of the family elders said, failing to capture her would leave them in a bad position with the Imperial Concubine.
It was a plan devised by the Imperial Concubine herself; if the Lefirut Family failed to execute it, they would not escape blame, and their fate would not be good.
However, William felt helpless.
"I suspect there's someone with considerable magic skills secretly supporting Thielle Elbein."
William reported with his head down.
"Whether it's that time in the Imperial Palace or the recent assassinations, every time Thielle Elbein reaches a desperate situation, something inexplicable happens, like a person disappearing out of thin air, or a trail being cut off midway, or even a mysterious reduction in personnel; all these indicate that Thielle Elbein is not fighting alone."
William had noticed this.
But, they didn't care.
"Whatever the reason, failure to complete the mission is still failure, and you cannot escape the blame."
The Lefirut Family Head said coldly.
"I'll give you two more days; before the Imperial Concubine returns, you must capture her by any means."
"Alive or dead, I want to see a body."
"If you fail, you know the consequences."
At those words, William closed his eyes.
The next second, William responded,
With that, the secret meeting ended.
Suddenly, a strong vibration occurred.
"This vibration is...!?"
The family elders exclaimed one after another.
The Lefirut Family Head also stood up.
William abruptly raised his head.
A trembling that felt like the earth was moving and the mountains were shaking abruptly emerged, causing the entire underground hall to quake.
As if the sky was collapsing and the earth was caving in.