"They didn\'t find any assassins."

That was the conclusion that everyone heard after a night of searching. Rumor has it that the soldiers of the four great clans stormed the other nobles, searching their tents. They even stormed the crown prince\'s tent and checked it. They said they wanted to keep the crown prince and it is essential to search his tent to make sure there were no assassins inside.

This caused a bit of uproar among the nobles and even the church. After all, the four great clans actually dared to disrespect a royal and not just any royal but the actual heir to the throne.

*BANG*

The sound of glass being thrown against the floor was muffled by the carpet that they carefully laid just for the crown prince.

*BANG*

"How the hell did this happen?" Hiram was gritting his teeth so hard, he could taste blood coming from his gums. His usually calm gaze was full of anger, resentment, and frustrations. How did it happen? He sent tens of assassins. It should be enough to defeat that woman! In the end, the La Roche Family embarrassed not just him but the whole royal family!

"Your Highness…"

"What!"

"Young Lord La Roche is coming to check on his sister."

"That La Roche?" Hiram squinted.

"Yes, sir."

"I thought he was badly injured while guarding my brother?"

"Sir, It was known that the young lord cared about the lady. When he heard that…"

"You can leave now."

"I understand." The attendant bowed before leaving. He didn\'t dare overstayed his welcome. After all, the crown prince would easily kill anyone when he was in this state.

"Carmichael La Roche." Compared to Cassandra, Carmichael was someone he should fear. It was simply because of the man\'s brute power. He was not only talented in martial arts and swordsmanship! He was also someone gifted with the ability to wield fire! And more importantly, he was very hot-headed.

This was something that most fire wielders have in common.

"Your Highness, the King summoned you in his quarters."

When he heard the attendant\'s voice, Hiram\'s face turned even darker. "Alright. I will go and see him."

…..

"You wanted to give them the award?" Hiram asked his father. "After what her grandfather did? Father, that old man disrespected you!"

"She burnt a portion of the forest, killing demons and demonic creatures. They have evidence."

"But…"

"She won the hunting game. There is no denying that she won the games."

"But father, the people would laugh at you! After what happened, everyone knew that we are scared of that old man. How could you— "

"I have plans."

"Plans?"

His father got up and looked at the map that was sprawled on top of the pristine table. He pointed at the place where the La Roche Mansion and camp were located. "This place… is going to be ours soon."

"What?"

"The four great families thought that they still have the power just because people respected them. They were wrong."

"Father… what are you…" Hiram\'s words were interrupted when a woman suddenly appeared next to his father. "Who— "

"Atalanta," his father smiled at the woman. In response, the woman\'s eyes glowed. It was red.

"You— A dark one?"

"She\'s different. She is not like those mindless people." His father said.

"Father… what are you planning?"

"Through the years, I already did my best to restrict their movements. I gained the respect of the people, I had power and the nobles are showing their loyalty to us. However, the four great families still acted arrogantly and did their best to provoke me. Tonight… was the last straw."

Hiram shivered at the intensity of his father\'s gaze. Seeing this, the older man smiled as he continued. "The four great families are going to perish. We will take back everything that was once ours. And I will start with this award."

"Father… are you planning on using a dark one to kill them? I mean… the four great families were…"

"Dark ones?" The king snorted. "No, Hiram. I would never reveal my advantages at the start of this war."

A war…

Hiram clenched his jaws as he recalled the arrogance of the four families that had been enjoying the people\'s praises in the past few decades. That\'s right. If they want to beat them. They needed to go all out. They needed to go to war.

"So, the award is just to let people think that we are scared of them," Hiram stated. In every war, deceiving one\'s enemy is always the best course of action. They needed to let the enemies think that they are weak, that they were scared and intimidated by their enemy\'s presence. And then… strike them when they least expect it.

"First, we would let the church send her to the tombs."

"The church? Are they planning to…"

"I cannot tell you the details. All you have to know is the fact that… Cassandra La Roche may not survive the tombs. After all, accidents happen outside of the tomb all the time. One should expect that accidents could happen inside too."

"But father… isn\'t this too obvious?"

"Obvious?"

"Yes." Hiram stood next to his father. He too stared at the lands and mountains that the La Roche family-owned. "Her grandfather was pretty powerful. If something happened to his granddaughter he would once again, raise hell. I don\'t want them to harm you and the family."

"Hmph! That is only possible if the old man is healthy enough!"

"You— "

"I will teach you a lesson, Hiram. As the future leader of this kingdom, you should learn to use everything at your disposal. The La Roche Family has hundreds of enemies. Some people envied them, some were praising them and some people just wanted them dead. There is no harm in using those people, right?"

"Father… you…." It seems that his old man already has everything planned.

With this Hiram started smiling. He gave his father a glass of wine that they both love. "As expected, father is indeed the smartest human in this kingdom."

"Of course…" the King accepted the glass and smiled.. "Of course."