CHAPTER 42: VISITING THE WOLFSBLADE FAMILY

"Are you truly looking down on the Steelhearts, or did no one bother teaching you basic manners? Or perhaps..." His gaze sharpened. "Was it the Majesty himself who told you to act this way?"

"T-This..." Alexander’s heart sank.

He originally thought he could just brush off the matter with feigned innocence, but now Cassian had even dragged the King into the accusation. That meant Cassian was genuinely furious.

For a crown prince, mishandling this could cost him far more than his pride and if Cassian reported this to the court, even his right to succession could be jeopardized. Alexander instantly forced all of his brain cells to come up with a solution.

Bam!!

A few seconds later, he instantly struggled and banged his head on the table and apologized sincerely.

"Please forgive my rudeness, Duke Cassian! It was entirely my fault. His Majesty has no involvement in this whatsoever!" Alexander blamed himself while emphasizing that his father didn’t have anything to do with it.

Then, he continued as he tried to explain himself but got cut off instantly by Cassian. "Because—"

"Enough!" Cassian said as he retracted his power, tapping his finger on the table at a slow rhythm. "Alexander, remember this clearly. The Steelhearts are not your subjects. For generations, we cooperated with the Grimwald Kingdom by guarding the Grimwald Pass in exchange for your kingdom allowing us to settle here. On top of that, we’ve defended the surrounding region from beast tides that would’ve taken countless lives."

"So, don’t you dare disrespect the Steelhearts like this again. Or else... no matter who you are, you will definitely have to pay the price for doing so."

"Brother Cassian, Crown Prince Alexander is still young. Let this serve as his lesson for today. Let’s move on to why we came here." Rowan chuckled, easing the situation as he continued. "The Majesty was furious when he heard you killed that old man. Whether you hate the Wolfsblade Family or not, that old man was the main reason they could defend the border all this time."

"Now that he’s gone, the King demands a proper explanation. Or else he might make an example out of you." Rowan smiled bitterly.

"Don’t worry." Cassian waved his hand casually and smiled. "Naturally, I’ve already come up with a solution and a valid reason since I don’t want to enrage the Majesty if I were to do that just because of our lifelong enmity."

The Wolfsblade Family wasn’t a natural faction like the Steelhearts but Grimwald Kingdom’s subject. That’s why the king was furious when the Steelhearts killed the Wolfsblade’s previous Duke who held an important role in defending a border against the Veylmar Kingdom.

By doing so, it was similar to challenging the king’s authority since he declared to not fight against each other, especially this time around when there was going to be the biggest event that even the 3rd-rate kingdoms were excited to participate in.

"Solid reason’? Don’t tell me it was simply because Darik insulted the Steelhearts." Rowan frowned slightly.

"Of course not." Cassian shook his head with a smile.

However, a second later, his smile disappeared as he showed a furious expression and said with a chilling tone. "But, a part of it is actually because of that. Lucky for them that I wasn’t there, or else I would’ve killed that bastard too."

"Why do you seem to be so angry toward the Wolfsblade this time?" Rowan asked curiously when he noticed the genuine enraged expression, as he even felt the chill from the terrifying killing intent Cassian emanated this time.

Which meant that he would’ve really killed Duke Garrick if he were to be there at that time.

"You’ll know the reason when we get there because the solid reason and solution could only be revealed by then." Cassian stood up and started to walk away as he continued. "I don’t have all the time to entertain you because we’ll have so much to do after this."

"Halden, tell Corvin to stop hunting and return immediately. The six of us will visit the Wolfsblade Family and demand an explanation." Cassian glanced at Halden, who just enjoyed another Azuredew Berry.

"Yes, Duke!" Halden replied and informed Corvin as he took the white jade token on his waist.

Rowan knitted his eyebrows for a moment, thinking about something. He glanced at the silent Alexander and said. "Let’s go, we’ll see what they’re up to. From now on, don’t have any ideas on the Steelhearts, and let me take charge instead."

"I understand." Alexander gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

10 minutes later, Corvin arrived at the manor and surprised Rowan because another Epic Knight just showed up.

However, thinking of how Halden and Corvin were Cassian’s most trusted and strongest knights, Rowan thought that it made sense for them to become Epic Rank Knights since Cassian himself had reached Legendary Rank.

Even so, the most important thing was how they did that.

’Did they finally discover the treasure ground? If so...’ Rowan thought to himself.

"Sorry for the inconvenience," Cassian said with a smile, "but we’ll be traveling by horses instead of carriages."

"It’s fine." Rowan replied with a smile.

...

As they reached halfway on their journey, Rowan suddenly asked something that Cassian had been waiting for.

"Brother Cassian... did you finally find the treasure ground?"

Cassian laughed heartily. "Are you joking? Something so many generations failed to find? If it were that easy, it wouldn’t be a legend anymore."

"If you’re wondering why the Steelhearts have improved so rapidly, it’s because I found a small Legendary-rank mine. Sadly, its core was already taken." Cassian smiled bitterly as he shook his head helplessly.

He then glanced at Rowan and chuckled. "But at least it’s worth the heavy injury I received after fighting that ferocious tiger."

’Was it back then when the Steelhearts suddenly purchased a lot of spiritual medicine herbs?’ Rowan pondered to himself as he remembered that the Steelhearts once bought a lot of spiritual medicine herbs and attracted a lot of attention.

Looking at Rowan, who seemed to have something on his mind, Cassian smiled faintly.