Spirit Prince (4)

Edited by: Kuro and Lille

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Fel diligently trained for the next couple of months. Every time the Earl had a "shipment", he would help them escape. Some survived and made it to their hometowns and reunited with family, some without family decided to leave the country and made it past the border, and others either got killed by monsters or bandits.

He could not do anything for them after they left behind these walls, so he knew he couldn't feel bad about it. It made him sad from time to time, but he was doing his best.

Each time Fel helped them, the Earl would get more and more upset. Since he couldn't execute any more people, he began to take his anger out in other places. He started to break the expensive objects in his home, and even went to try to rape a poor maid who was just trying to do her job. Luckily, he was stopped by his wife who calmed him down. Deep inside, she wanted him dead more than anyone else in the house.

Going back to Serena, Serena and her father immediately left the country after her rescue. The Yale Kingdom was invited to discuss peace treaties but quickly ended that thought. The King of Frayx was enraged. Who was bold enough to kidnap the Archduke's daughter and try to kill her? He, The King of Frayx, was the one who asked for the treaty since he knew their Yale Kingdom was a powerhouse with an abundance of resources. If he had them on his side, he would never have to worry about being lower than the other powers of the world.

His country once stood near the top, but with how the nobles bled the commoners dry, there were no advances to their society. The people got poorer and poorer, so the standards of living decreased compared to the other four powerhouses. The people were hungry so crimes were rampant. Illness swept through his lands.

How could he stand on the top with no people to keep him up?

Curses and the sounds of breaking objects could be heard coming from the King's study room.

*****

There was a group of people standing around a portable table in the forest. They were a distance away from the estate, making sure to not get caught. There was a handheld lamp, being held by a knight over a map. Two men, excluding the knight, were in front of the map of a mansion. It was a blueprint version with little to no detail but it had a basic outline of the estate. This map was gathered by a group of individuals who had no experience in map making, which was why it was crude. At least they knew the general layout and where the North, South, East, and West wings were.

"Liam, which part of the mansion would you like to investigate?" Jasper, Crown Prince of Efros, asked. He was a young Silver Wolf Beastkin with purple eyes. He was tall, but he was on the slimmer side. It could be seen that he was more brain than brawn, contrary to his fellow beastkins. In the world plot, he was the second male lead.

Liam, the Crown Prince of Floecia, rubbed his chin while thinking. The mansion was huge for an Earl. There was the North, East, South, and West wing. The basement area was in the furthest East corner while they were on the west side. The auction room was recently built in the South wing while the Earl's family lived in the North wing. The servants' quarters were in the West wing, but it was the laxest area.

"I can look at the South and East wings."

"Then I will look through the West and North wing. Let's meet up in the West wing and go back together."

"That sounds good."

Their men were going to stay on guard in the forest while the two were going into the mansion. It's not like they had no one who could scout, but they enjoyed doing this kind of work to get more experience.

"We have to meet in four hours, and if one of us doesn't make it to the checkpoint, you must send people to rescue the other. Of course, I will do the same." Jasper tapped on his pocket watch.

They were childhood best friends and went through a lot together. They definitely wouldn't leave the other behind regardless if they were dead or alive.

"It's a deal." The two lightly fist-bumped before going through the forest. They jumped over the wall and went their separate ways.

Jasper didn't really find much in the West wing as it was the servants' housing area. Most of the servants were asleep besides for a few guards who were patrolling the halls. Jasper was able to easily slip past them as he blended with the shadows. He had always been one for agility rather than strength.

In the Northern wing, he saw the Madam of the household staying in a room as far away as possible from the Earl. She was sitting at her desk calculating funds, but she was getting irritated. She was the reason why this family had the little money they had. Her shitty husband was the only one spending it on all sorts of horrid things. She barely had the money to scrap for a new dress for when she attended mandatory balls and such.

She hated that she was married to this man because of her parents falling into debt. It was arranged because the Earl paid off their debts. The irony was that she and the Earl were going into debt. She had always been stingy with money because of these circumstances. Her husband had once been a man who knew how to make money, but after meeting the wrong crowds of people and finding disgusting interests, things had spiraled downwards.

Even though she resented and hated her husband, what could she do in this kingdom? Even though their current King was trying to get rid of the corrupt nobles, there were still traditions and beliefs still held on to. One of those beliefs was that even though humans were "superior"; there was an emphasis on "men." She hardly had any rights of her own and was seen as property.

The Madam could only curse her unlucky fate and blame it on a past life that had done bad to make this life so wretched.

Jasper quickly left the room and visited Earl Rottrett's study. After going through mountains of different documents, he knew immediately that this was a treasure trove of information. Everything that he had read in 20 minutes was able to get the head of the Earl. There was so much black material, it was stained, making it impossible to wash off.

Even though he knew the value of those documents, he didn't take everything. The Earl wasn't going to be expecting anyone to crack down on him anytime soon. It was very simple to just capture the Earl and grab these documents afterward for the trial. He did take one folder that had the information for some human trafficking business and left the room.

Meanwhile, Liam was standing in the auction room. It was recently constructed so it still smelled of sawed-up wood and fresh paint. He took note of every entry and exit. Then he went behind the curtains and found ten clean cages sitting behind the stage.

There wasn't much else but it told him there would be ten females coming in.

Liam quickly left the area and headed towards the basement.

.

.

.

.

[Host, Adelia will be arriving tomorrow with nine other females. They will be sold at the auction the following day.]

'So the time has come...'

Fel put his sword away and did some stretches. He ate some of the food in his storage box quietly. He was planning for many scenarios to happen, but all of them needed to have Earl Rottrett at the very end.

As he was mentally preparing himself, he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. They were faint, almost as if the person was walking on air.

Fel quickly got up and went up against the wall next to the door. He was on the side where the door didn't open. After a moment, the door was unlocked and opened. With great force, Fel grabbed onto the man, and swiftly but silently, shut the door. He held a dagger to the man's neck.

Looking at the man's face and registering their touch, that familiar tingle ran through his body.

He saw a handsome man, with bright amethyst eyes and platinum blonde hair. His usual narrowed eyes were now widened in shock. He had a chiseled jawline and a well-built physique. He was wearing all-black, skin-tight clothing. It was for stealth and mobility. He was tall, 6'3, and had good body portions. He was also perfectly symmetrical. He wore a cloak with a hood but it had been knocked down due to Fel's force. He had a sword on his side and was holding two metal sticks in his right hand, probably used for pick-locking the door.

'This...'

[Crown Prince Liam Floecia, Host.]

"What are you doing and why are you here?" Fel whispered fiercely, not holding back any killing intent. Even if this man was God System, he had to continue with his act. If he suddenly softened without hearing a word, it would seem a bit suspicious.

Liam knocked himself out of a stupor before putting his hands up. "I am going undercover and infiltrating Earl Rottrett's mansion."

He was honest because he saw that the younger man in front of him had a slave collar on. He was also being locked in the furthest part of the basement. He was just shocked by his strength and skill which shouldn't have been possible when wearing a collar. Maybe it was defective?

"My friend and I are investigating the disappearance of many young women and children. Our sources guided us here where a slave auction would be held tomorrow. That is why I am scouting every corner of this mansion. I do not mean any harm to you." His words were clear and concise, making Fel feel a little reassured.

He felt his emotions were complicated at the moment. He was prepared to search this world for God System, just to find that he was so close, and the future lover of the female lead.

He would pursue Liam if possible, but if he fell in love with the female lead… That was a hard thought. After he accepted God System in the previous world, he felt that he could trust the man more, but he realized that he was still paranoid and anxious. Why couldn't he just trust his man, his lover? They both clearly loved one another so why did he always feel so… possessive?

Fel slowly let go of Liam's collar and put down his knife. It looked as though he had admitted defeat like he lost the battle and had no will to continue. Liam knew Fel was going through complicated feelings but didn't quite understand what.

"I understand, it seems we are both on the same page. I was going to do it myself, but it seems there's no need." Fel smiled as though his negative feelings never surfaced. Even though he said he was "going to do it himself," he already planned to wait for Liam and Jasper, the second male lead, to save the day. His mission was just to make it easier for them to catch the Earl. If they somehow deviated from the storyline and couldn't catch the Earl, he planned to do it himself.

"Then let us help you," Liam offered, "It would be easier to work together instead of working separately."

There was a moment of silence before Fel nodded.

The two told one another of their plans. Liam and Jasper were going to blend into the crowd as buyers. They would wait for their troops to infiltrate. After hearing the signal, they would act.

Hearing the plan, they adjusted it so that Fel would become one of the slaves to be sold. This would shock the Earl, and in a moment of weakness, Fel would knock the man out. When the Earl hit the ground, that would be the new signal to capture everyone there and save the captive people.

After discussing the plan, Liam headed back to the place where Jasper was. They met up in the West wing before finally going back to their campsite in the forest. They discussed what happened in the mansion with their comrades. They talked about the study room, the auction room, and finally about how Liam met Fel who was inside the basement.

Jasper was a little worried about getting help from Fel. "Are you sure he can be trusted?"

"Of course. He was wearing a slave collar but it seemed like it didn't have any effect on him. He was probably waiting for the best opportunity to get rid of the Earl. Even if we didn't team up, he's still going to kill that Earl anyway."

That young man was also stronger than him. He would have no problems killing the Earl.

Jasper knew that his friend was stubborn so he nodded his head.

If his friend wasn't going to keep his guard up, he would.