The Useless Prince Is A Gangster
Chapter 99. Letter

Chapter 99: 99. Letter

Leo sat in the Duke’s office, his fingers tapping the polished table with growing irritation, each tap echoing his mounting frustration. Someone had played the Caulem family like pawns, and the trail was growing colder.

Alric stood by the window, his face grim, while Dian shifted uneasily, clutching a stack of reports.

Leo exhaled sharply, his voice tight. "What’s the update on Marzella?"

"Our soldiers reached her daughter’s house, but we were too late. She’s dead, someone got to her first."

Leo’s fist slammed the table, the wood creaking under the force. "Damn it," he muttered. He’d suspected someone was manipulating Maria, pulling strings from back, but he hadn’t acted fast enough to secure Marzella. The loss of that lead stung, a misstep he couldn’t afford.

He forced a steadying breath. "What about the dark guild search?"

Alric nodded. "We recovered logbooks detailing mercenaries in Carthorn. The records show the remaining three Wolves checked out three days ago. No mention of their destination."

Dian added, "We detained some civilian workers from the guild, clerks, cleaners. They’re being interrogated now, but so far, they claim ignorance of the Wolves’ plans."

Leo’s gaze shifted to Dian, his voice deliberate. "The bodies at Marzella’s house, what was their condition?"

Dian’s face paled, his throat bobbing as he recalled the scene. "It was... horrific. We couldn’t identify the remains. The bodies were shredded, torn into pieces, like they’d been caught in an explosion. But the house itself wasn’t heavily damaged, no structural collapse, just blood and debris. Whoever did this used precise explosives, contained but devastating."

Leo’s eyes widened, a chilling realization dawning. He leaned forward, his voice slow, probing. "The blood splatter, was it concentrated on one side of the house, or spread everywhere?"

Dian frowned, thinking back. "Everywhere. Walls, ceiling, floor, the blood coated the entire interior, not just one area."

Leo’s voice dropped to a murmur, his mind connecting the dots. "Body explosion."

Alric’s head snapped up, shock spreading across his face. He’d been informed of a hunting cage incident, where a cult member who’d died during interrogation, their body erupting in a gruesome blast of blood and flesh.

Leo leaned forward, about to say something, then a sharp knock interrupted. A soldier entered, saluting. "My lord, the guild master’s awake."

Leo stood, his voice cold. "Move the mother fucker to the interrogation room. I’ll handle him."

Outside, atop the manor’s roof, Nimbus sits in the fading evening light, his purple eyes narrowing as he spotted a shadow moving in the sky, a large, unnatural bird gliding closer.

In the interrogation room, a dimly lit chamber with bare stone walls, Salvek, the guild master, sat handcuffed at a heavy table.

Leo entered, pulling a chair across from him and sitting with deliberate calm, his crimson eyes locking onto Salvek’s. "Mister Salvek," Leo began, his tone deceptively light. "Age 56, no family, master of Carthorn’s dark guild. Nice to see you again."

Salvek’s eyes narrowed, but he remained silent, his indifference a challenge. Leo sighed, leaning closer, his voice dropping to a mock-friendly whisper. "There’s this mercenary group, the Wolves, call themselves the nation’s best. I need their movements before they left Carthorn. Help me out, buddy, and I’ll be grateful."

Salvek leaned back, smirking. "You think you can waltz in and make me talk? Getting me out of the guild was a cute trick, but you’re dreaming if you think I’ll break."

Leo scratched his neck, his tone casual. "Oh, you were out cold, so you missed it. There is no dark guild in Carthorn anymore."

Salvek’s smirk faltered. "What’s that supposed to mean? You think capturing me shuts it down?"

Leo chuckled, low and dangerous. "No. I killed everyone there."

Salvek’s eyes widened, shock breaking his facade. Leo snapped his fingers, signaling the soldiers. Three stepped forward, seizing Salvek and forcing him face-down onto the table, pinning his arms wide. One drew a heavy cane and brought it down on Salvek’s hands, the crack echoing.

Salvek grunted, his jaw clenching, but the soldier struck again, each blow bruising bone. Salvek held, his teeth gritted against the pain.

Leo’s patience thinned. He stood, grabbing a steel rod from a rack and waving the soldiers back. "You’re wasting my time," salvik said, his voice icy.

Leo swung the rod, smashing Salvek’s right hand, the crunch of fracturing bone filled with Salvek’s raw scream. Leo hits the left hand next, the sound of shattering bones filling the room as Salvek’s cries turned guttural, his face twisted in agony.

Leo grabbed Salvek’s hair, yanking his head up. "Talk." Salvek gasped, silent, and Leo’s anger erupted.

He slammed Salvek’s face into the table, blood smearing the wood, then again, leaving a blood imprint. Stepping behind, Leo pressed a hand to Salvek’s shoulder, twisting with precise force, dislocating it with a sickening pop.

Salvek’s scream choked, and Leo dislocated the other shoulder, the guild master’s cries echoing. "Where are the Wolves?" Leo demanded. "Talk, or I can do this all night."

Salvek gasped, his voice ragged. "I... don’t know much."

Leo released him, returning to his seat. "Tell me what you do know."

Salvek struggled to breathe, his broken hands limp, pain etching his face. "The Wolves... after one of theirs died, they said they’d work for someone new, for revenge."

"Who?" Leo pressed.

Salvek shook his head, wincing. "Don’t know... but they said he’s strong, stronger than anyone they’d seen. I caught a glimpse of him with them."

"Describe him," Leo said, leaning forward.

"He was... different. Wore a white robe, like a priest. "

Leo froze, his breath catching. A white-robed figure tied to the cult, a piece of the puzzle snapping into place. "Anything else? What did they say?"

Salvek hesitated, and Leo’s voice turned sharp. "Need a second round?"

"No!" Salvek rasped, panic flickering. "I... overheard them mention a prophecy. Something about a king or ruler."

Leo’s blood ran cold. "Prophecy?" he repeated, his voice low.

Salvek nodded weakly. "That’s all I heard... ’king or monarch prophecy.’"

On the manor’s rooftop, Nimbus, in panther form, crouched, his eyes locked on the strange bird circling above. It was too large, too fast, its movements unnatural.

With a leap, Nimbus hits, claws tearing through its body. The bird fell, lifeless, but as it hit the roof, it exploded in a spray of blood, splattering Nimbus’s fur. The panther shook its head, blinking, and noticed a blood-soaked letter amidst the gore, its seal glowing faintly with an ominous rune.

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Hello readers,

Initially, I planned to release the side Chapters about Reo’s past.

Then my dumb brain remembered that side stories are meant to come after the main book ends.

So anyway...

I’ll try to do a mass release of 4 Chapters this week as a thank-you for the support on Castle.

Please keep supporting me!

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