The Useless Prince Is A Gangster
Chapter 96. Dark Guild

Chapter 96: 96. Dark Guild

In the heavy silence of a Caulem manor drawing room, Maria’s grief erupted into fury. Her hands held Leo’s collar, trembling as tears streamed down her face. "This is your fault, Leonhardt! Vivien’s gone because of you!" Her voice was a raw, anguished scream, her eyes blind with pain.

Leo stood motionless, his crimson gaze fixed on the floor, his silence a wall against her accusations.

Lucian’s face pale with shock and shouted, "Mother, what are you talking about? Why are you blaming him?"

Maria’s sobs drowned out his words, her grip tightening. Alric rose, and pulled her back. His hand struck her cheek with a sharp, resounding slap that silenced the room. Maria staggered, her hand holding to her face, tears falling to the polished floor as she stared at Alric, stunned.

Alric’s voice was low, edged with steel. "You caused this, Maria, and now you are blaming Leonhardt? Have you no remorse for what you’ve done?"

Lucian, struggling to comprehend, turned to his father, his voice trembling. "Father, please....explain what’s happening."

Alric’s gaze was heavy, his silence a moment of painful restraint before he spoke, his words measured. "Your mother hired the mercenaries to assassinate Leonhardt."

Lucian’s breath hitched, his eyes darting to Maria, his voice barely audible. "That... that can’t be true." It was a plea, not a statement.

Maria stood trembling, her sobs quiet but unrelenting, her lack of denial a confession. Lucian turned to Leo, who sat with a stillness that unnerved him. "Brother, tell me they’re lying," Lucian said, his voice shaking.

Alric shook his head, his tone grim. "It’s true. She orchestrated the first attempt on Leonhardt’s life as a bandit’s attack, the one we believed killed him. I know everything about her involvement but failed to stop it. That’s my failure."

Lucian rose unsteadily, holding his mother’s shoulders, his voice breaking. "Is it true?" Maria nodded, her tears falling faster, and Lucian’s voice cracked. "Why?"

Her response was a broken whisper. "To secure your place... to ensure you’d be heir. I feared Leonhardt would leave you with nothing."

Lucian’s face twisted with disbelief and anger. "Did I ever ask you to do that? Vivien’s missing because of you now, because of your damn greediness!"

Leo stood, gently pulling Lucian back, his voice calm but firm. "Enough, Lucian. Calm down."

Lucian spun on him, his eyes blazing. "How can you stay calm? She tried to kill you! Her schemes led to this!"

Leo’s gaze was steady, unflinching. "She was betrayed too. Look at her, she’s as lost as we are."

Maria sank to her knees, her voice a desperate plea. "Leonhardt, please... bring Vivien back. I’ll face any punishment, just save her. She’s innocent."

Leo’s eyes shifted to Dian, his tone sharp. "Even if mercenaries wanted revenge, there’s no chance tey would plan this kidnapping. Someone’s directing them."

Dian nodded. "The Carthorn dark guild leader would know their movements before their disappearance. He tracks all mercenary activity in the region."

Leo’s jaw tightened. "Then he’s our starting point."

Alric’s voice cut in. "Raiding the dark guild now is dangerous, Leonhardt. We need a strategy, our best men—Dian, assemble—"

"I’m going alone," Leo interrupted, his voice resolute. "I’ll get him in an hour."

The room froze, every gaze locking onto him. Maria lifted her tear-streaked face, her sobs pausing in shock. Dian stammered, "Young Master, that’s—"

"No time," Leo said, his tone unyielding. "Vivien’s out there, and every second counts."

In the southwest quarter of Carthorn, Leo walked silently through deserted streets, his dark cloak hiding his face as he approached a dilapidated warehouse that is the dark guild’s hidden lair. Nimbus walks at his side.

Two Caulem soldiers followed at a distance, their steps measured but tense. Near the warehouse’s entrance, Leo stopped, his voice low and authoritative. "Hold position here. No one leaves. I’ll return shortly."

The soldiers nodded, their faces hinting a doubt about Leo’s solo mission to capture the guild leader.

Leo glanced at Nimbus, his tone firm. "Let’s move." The cat’s eyes gleamed, and they walked toward a concealed stairwell leading to the guild’s underground base.

At the bottom of the damp stone steps, two grizzled guards stood watch, their hands resting on worn sword hilts. They squinted as Leo emerged from the shadows, mistaking him for a mercenary. "ID," one barked.

Leo patted his cloak with feigned confusion, his voice calm. "Must’ve misplaced it. How about... this instead?"

The guards’ brows furrowed, but before they could react, a chilling presence enveloped them. Shadow wraiths rose behind them and they grabbed the guards’ heads, snapping their necks with silent, lethal precision. The wraiths lowered the bodies to the ground without a sound and vanished. Leo walked through the reinforced door.

The dark guild’s interior was a cavernous den, thick with the stench of cheap ale and smoke. Rough mercenaries crowded around scarred tables, their laughter coarse, tankards clinking. Some glanced at Leo, their eyes narrowing at the cloaked stranger, while a few raised brows at the sleek black cat walking through the chaos.

He spotted a desk serving as a reception, manned by a lean, distracted clerk scribbling in a ledger. Leo approached. "Where’s the guild master’s office?"

The clerk barely looked up, muttering directions down a side corridor. Leo moved instantly, his boots silent on the stone floor. He reached a heavy iron door and pushed it open, revealing the guild master—a weathered man in his fifties, his face etched with scars, seated behind a desk littered with papers and blades.

The man’s eyes looked up, sharp and suspicious. "Who’re you?"

Leo lowered his hood, revealing his crimson eyes and a faint, dangerous smirk. "Leonhardt Caulem. I heard you track mercenaries in Carthorn. I need everything you have on the Wolves, names, locations, contacts."

The guild master let out a harsh laugh, rising and walking toward Leo, his broad frame imposing. "You think I’d spill guild secrets to a Caulem brat? Our code’s ironclad." He leaned in, his breath sour, his voice a growl. "You just walked into a death trap, kid. You’re not leaving."

Leo’s smirk sharpened, unfazed. "Death trap? That’s cute."

The guild master lunged, a dagger flashing from his sleeve, aimed at Leo’s throat. Leo sidestepped with fluid ease, lightning channeled at his fingertips. He struck a precise nerve point on the man’s neck, a jolt of mana sending him crumpling to the floor, unconscious.

Leo shook his head, muttering, "Weak. How’d you even get this job?"

Minutes later, Leo emerged from the office, dragging the tied and unconscious guild master by a rope tied around his wrists. As he stepped into the main hall, he stopped.

The room had gone deathly quiet, every mercenary, dozens strong, now standing in a tight semicircle around him. Their eyes blazed with hostility, swords, axes, and crossbows drawn, all aimed at him.

Nimbus growled low, his form tensing, ready to shift. Leo exhaled, a flicker of irritation crossing his face.

[Sub-mission activated: Defeat hostiles and secure Guild Master!]

"Figures," he muttered.

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