I Level Up When I Make My Wives Happy-Chapter 31. A Worried Father.

Once Sue had spoken to all of Austin's retainers, Leo and the guards got rid of the bodies.

But after they were done, Austin and his caravan continued on their journey to The Western Estate.

A few hours later, back in the capital, a certain prince was growing increasingly restless by the second.

Galen sat by the window of an inn, tapping his finger impatiently on his desk as he stared outside, waiting for Marco and his men to return.

'What's keeping them so long?'

'I gave them a simple task.'

'Ambush the fourth prince's caravan and kill him, but leave everyone else unharmed.'

'That was the plan. It was simple and straightforward.'

'In fact, it was foolproof.'

'I even instructed Marco and his men to bow before Lord Han's daughters once the fourth prince was dead.'

'Why?'

' Because I knew that if Sue and the rest of Austin's retainers witnessed it, they'd immediately believe the mercenaries were sent by Lord Han, and everyone in the empire would blame him for the prince's death.'

'No one would suspect me and that was the brilliance of the plan.'

'So why... why do I feel this creeping sense of dread?'

'It's disgusting, and I hate it.'

Just as Galen thought this, a man dressed in gray robes stormed into the room.

"Your Highness!" the man called out, quickly spotting Galen by the window. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Then he approached and bowed deeply. "Your Highness, something terrible has happened."

Galen's brow furrowed and he spoke in a stern voice. "Speak. What happened?"

The man raised his head and answered, "Marco and his men failed, my lord."

"What do you mean?"

"They're dead, my lord. And now the Crimson Moon Order is blaming you for feeding Marco and his men false intelligence."

"What?!"

"They're demanding a hefty compensation for the thirty mercenaries they lost and they expect full payment by sunrise or they'll report your failed assassination attempt to the Emperor."

"What?!" Galen yelled.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He didn't even know how Marco and his men had died and now the Crimson Moon Order had the audacity to not only blame him but also extort him under threat?

Galen's fury increased even more, and with a clenched fist, he slammed the desk in front of him, reducing it to splinters.

'Crimson Moon thinks they can corner me?'

'Hell no!'

'I'm the third prince of this empire, and I won't let anyone make a mockery of me.'

Galen wasn't about to let them walk all over him.

And so, he stood from his seat and stepped out of the room with a determined look burning in his eyes.

But as much as he wanted to lash out immediately, Galen knew now was not the time to act recklessly.

Moreover, if he didn't take immediate action, Crimson Moon's Guild Master might really report him to the Emperor and that was the last thing Galen wanted right now.

But as for how the assassination had failed, Galen couldn't think of a valid reason why Marco had failed to kill the Fourth Prince.

He pondered a bit more before turning toward his subordinate. "Did Crimson Moon find out why the operation failed?"

"Y-yes, Your Highness. When Crimson Moon sent scouts to investigate, they discovered that Marco and his brother's arms had been severed cleanly before they were either split in half or decapitated."

Hearing this, Galen immediately understood why Marco had failed to complete his mission.

Only a Fifth Order Exorcist or someone with an even higher power rank could have defeated both Marco and his brother so effortlessly.

But Galen had never heard of Austin having a Fifth Order Exorcist under his command.

'Wait a minute...' Galen froze mid-thought as he suddenly realized something.

Sue.

She had been a Fourth Order Swordswoman for more than a decade now.

So, it wasn't far-fetched to assume she might have reached the Fifth Order by now, especially given how talented she was.

Now it all made sense.

Galen couldn't believe he hadn't considered the possibility earlier.

But that didn't matter now.

What mattered most was reaching the Guild Master before anyone else learned what had happened tonight.

However, what Galen didn't know was that nearly everyone within the inner court had already heard about Crimson Moon's failed assassination attempt.

And no one could explain how the information had leaked so quickly.

—

Elsewhere, in the royal palace...

The Emperor sat in silent meditation on the lotus pond.

Yes, that's right.

He was floating and levitating on the surface of the water, surrounded by shimmering moonlight and a school of koi fish that circling around his calm form.

From the shadows nearby, a dark serpent slithered across the ground before transforming into the Shadow Guard General.

He approached the edge of the pond and respectfully bowed.

"Your Majesty," he said and added, "The rumors of Crimson Moon's failure are spreading through the inner court."

Hearing that the Third Prince had failed to predict Sue's ascension to the Fifth Order, the Emperor smiled faintly.

Fifth Order Exorcists and above had the ability to suppress the amount of mana flowing around them for a long time, and this would make it difficult for anyone to discover what their true power rank really was.

And this was exactly what Sue had done to fool The Third Prince.

While thinking about this, the emperor chuckled softly when he realized how fortunate his youngest son was to have someone as dependable as Sue by his side.

His smile deepened even more as the moonlight shimmered and glimmered on his golden, majestic robe before he resumed his meditation.

Seeing this, the Shadow Guard General sank into his own shadow and vanished from the courtyard without a trace.

—

Meanwhile, in the farthest part of the empire...

A handsome middle-aged man with pointed ears and long blonde hair stood in a candlelit study, reading a pigeon-delivered message with a clenched fist and a worried expression.

Lord Han couldn't believe what he was reading.

The scouts he had sent to discreetly follow his daughters had failed to do their job.

According to the message, if not for Sue, a Fifth Order Swordswoman, accompanying the Fourth Prince, something terrible could have happened not only to the prince, but to his daughters as well.

But because Lord Han's spies had arrived late to the scene, they had no choice but to rely on second-hand information gathered from Crimson Moon's scouts, who, like everyone else, assumed a Fifth Order Exorcist had protected the prince.

This was the same rumor that was spreading throughout the empire.

But In truth, no one aside from Austin and his retainers really knew what had happened that night.

And that was exactly how Sue wanted it to be.

Because if the world learned that Austin had awakened his bloodline, a civil war would almost certainly erupt between the Emperor and Austin's grandfather, who was still imprisoned in the coldest region of the empire.

---

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for the beautiful support, everyone. It is with great pleasure that I announce the conclusion of Volume One: The Fourth Prince's Pavilion Arc.

The next Chapter will mark the beginning of Volume Two: The Wedding Arc.

See you all there.