Chapter 383: Ambition’s End [Part 1]
Chapter 383: Ambition’s End [Part 1]
The next day, William was about to do his own investigation to gather news in the city in regards to the movements of The Organization when he felt a very familiar presence within the academy.
It didn’t take long for William to identify who this presence belonged to and he felt both shock and joy at the discovery. Immediately, he headed towards the garden in the First Year Magic Division where he recently had a face-off with Carter.
“It’s good to see that you are safe, Fourth Master,” William said. His tone was laced with relief and happiness knowing that one of the most dependable veterans of Lont wasn’t affected by the Continental Spell that had turned everyone into statues.
“Mmm,” Ezio hummed as he patted William’s shoulder. “You did well.”
Among William’s Masters, Ezio was very straightforward and didn’t like sugar coating his words. This was why William was quite happy to receive praise coming from the man who always walked in the Shadows.
“You’re going to gather information, I presume?” Ezio asked.
William nodded, “Yes, Fourth Master.”
“Very well. I will also share the information that I have gathered while staying here in the capital,” Ezio stated. “First off, Crown Prince Lionel and Prince Rufus are no longer in the capital. They were taken by the members of The Organization to their headquarters in the North East.”
William listened attentively to Ezio’s explanation. Frankly, he had wanted to give the Crown Prince a good slap on the face for trying to kidnap his Big Sister and Big Brother during their return to Lont.
Unfortunately, he had missed his chance because they were no longer in the capital.
Ezio explained that The Organization had also started to pull out from the capital and were all gathering at their Headquarters. He had tried to gain some information by capturing some of the members of the organization, but none of them knew anything.
All they knew was that their leader was recalling all of them without giving any further explanation.
After telling him about the current state of The Organization, Ezio returned to the domestic problems that the Kingdom was currently facing.
“Brendan Schwartz is a very capable young man. He was able to handle the immediate problem within the capital which was the food shortage.” Ezio praised the son of the Prime Minister due to his ability to quickly solve the problems that had propped up after the adults had turned into statues.
“However, because he is very capable, he has started to have thoughts about this Kingdom. After the two Princes had been taken away, he thought of himself as the De-Facto Regent of the Hellan Kingdom. Since he is the son of the Prime Minister, he indeed has the authority to give out orders while the members of the Royal Family are not present in the capital.”
William scoffed because he had already seen how greedy people could be when they gained power and influence. “You mean to say he is planning to become the King’s Regent, Fourth Master?”
“Exactly.” Ezio nodded. “The leader of The Organization sent one of his subordinates to inform Brendan that they would pass the control of the Hellan Kingdom into his very capable hands temporarily, while they handled some important matters. I think this is where Brendan’s plan to become the new ruler of this nation started to bloom.”
William sighed and scratched his head. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an ambitious mouse who thought that it could play king while the cat was away.
Ezio looked at the young man with a smile on his face. Although the time he had spent with William was short, he knew that the red-headed boy had already formulated a plan about how to deal with the son of the Prime Minister.
—–
Brendan sat on the throne of the Hellan Kingdom with a smug expression on his face. If he had done this during normal times, he would have immediately been charged with treason and sent to the gallows to die.
However, right now, no one in the kingdom had the authority to make him pay for this crime. The Organization had already taken away the two Princes’ leaving the throne unattended. As for the youngest Prince, traces of his whereabouts were nowhere to be found.
Although this raised a concern towards his plan of becoming the Regent of the Kingdom, he didn’t think of it as a big deal. Prince Ernest was just a child and posed no threat to him.
One of the lackeys standing by his side smiled as he looked at the imposing throne in front of him. He had seen this throne several times in the past, but he had never seen it this close before.
“Lord Brendan, it seems that the fate of the Hellan Kingdom is now on your hands,” the lackey said with a flattering smile on his face. “If there’s anything that you need just tell me, I, the House of Caldwell, will follow it without fail.”
The other lackeys that had become part of Brendan’s small circle had also raised their voice to proclaim their allegiance.
Brendan smiled and nodded his head as if he was indeed a King who was showing benevolence to his subjects.
“Your loyalty will not be forgotten,” Brendan stated crispily. “As long as I sit on this throne, your families will prosper.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency!”
“Lord Brendan is truly magnanimous!”
“A prodigy among prodigies!”
Words of flattery fell like rain and Brendan basked on it with a benevolent smile on his face. The dozens of noble heirs that had pledged their allegiance to him may not be the heads of the Ducal families, but they were influential families nevertheless.
Sons of Marquesses, Viscounts, and Barons were fighting against each other in order to get into his good graces. Brendan allowed them to flatter him for the sake of raising his ego.
Suddenly, the doors of the throne room swung open and a red-headed boy, holding a wooden staff, swaggered in as if he owned the place.
Brendan frowned because he recognized who the uninvited guest was. How could he possibly not recognize the youngest Knight Commander of the Hellan Kingdom. He then gave the red-headed boy a kind smile as he stood up from the throne.
“Lord William, it is good to see that you have recovered from your injuries.” Brendan nodded his head to acknowledge William’s rank and position. “Right now, the Kingdom is in a state of strife. Foreigners have invaded the land and the peace of our Kingdom is in danger. If possible, I would like to humbly request your help in order to protect our citizens from the threat of invasion.”
Brendan had been schooled properly by his own father about how to talk to high-ranking nobles of the Kingdom.
William had to agree that Brendan was indeed a capable young man because his choice of words were on point. If not for the fact that he had already known about his greedy ambitions, William might have considered working hand in hand with him in order to deal with the current problems that the kingdom was facing.
Sadly, William had no time for bullsh*t, so he decided to handle the matter his own way.
“Brendan Schwartz, as the Knight Commander of the Hellan Kingdom, I hereby find you guilty of treason,” William announced in a righteous voice. “You are hereby asked to surrender obediently or suffer the consequences!”
The corner of Brendan’s lips curled up into a smile when he heard William’s words. A moment later, he laughed out loud as if ridiculing the boy for his stupid declaration.
“Lord William, I tried to be civil with you, but it seems that your position has clouded your vision.” Brendan sneered. “The one who can bring him down will become my Prime Minister! Get him!”
William smirked as several portals appeared behind him. The most notorious member of William’s Legion appeared inside the throne room and hurled a barrage of… curses at the snot-nosed nobles who thought that they could beat the Half-Elf with their superior numbers.
“Fck off!” A Yellow Bird headbutted one of the noble brats and sent the latter flying.
Several other Rainbow Birds dealt with their targeted nobles the same way which made William chuckle from the side.
Although the Rainbow Birds didn’t look imposing, they had already raised their rank to the peak of the Class D and were also equipped with William’s lollipops. Several magical darts flew through the air as the Angray Birds unleashed their Magic Missiles.
The Angray Birds were like miniature, cursing, Kamikaze Jet Fighters that brought fear into the hearts of the young nobles that had sided with Brendan.
Brendan snorted and raised his hand to summon his Beast Companion.
A Winged-Tiger appeared inside the Throne Room and gave out a mighty roar. It was a Class A Beast that the Prime Minister had given Brendan on his eighteenth birthday. It had been with him for more than a year already, and their bond had grown quite strong over that short period of time.
“Kill him, Alistar!” Brendan ordered.
Brendan had seen how strong William was during the battle against Kingsley at the Half-Elf’s Knighting Ceremony. However, he didn’t believe that the red-headed boy was capable of dealing with a Class A monster that could only be fought by a team of Mithril Rank fighters.