The Herb King

In a concealed location of the Maynard Household's estate, there was an underground prison that was heavily guarded by top Espers. It was said that the Maynard Household would imprison violent criminals who violated the rules in their territory in this place, but there were also a few who were only here because they had provoked the members of the Maynard Household.

At this moment, more than ten guards were tightly guarding this underground prison and all of them were Level 2 Espers. There was even a Level 4 Esper monitoring the situation!

Inside the prison cell, the inmates were emaciated and their faces were sunken from the constant beating and malnutrition. Even the most violent criminal inside this cell no longer had the fierceness in his eyes.

The place was so dirty and there was even a putrid stench in the surrounding, but the people inside seemed oblivious to the terrible conditions as they sat lifelessly on the cold ground.

"How did it come to this?" A thin and sickly man muttered with a remorseful look on his face. If Aethelwolf was here, he would have been able to tell that this guy was Chris Maynard, the former manager of Enrique Maynard's weapon shop in Vale City. After being tortured repeatedly and being deprived of food, Chris who was once a fat person had turned into a thin and sickly man.

Because of the succession of the Maynard Household, his cousin, Enrique Maynard, was killed after being plotted against. He didn't even know that it was his own brother who killed him. Even Chris only found out the true culprit after he was captured.

"Dogs, your food is ready! Line up properly or you won't get anything!" A condescending voice echoed, making the lifeless eyes of the inmates glow in anticipation.

A group of guards armed to the teeth came and one of them opened the cell. The inmates weakly got up and lined up obediently in front of the guards.

As for Chris, he could only lift his head with great difficulty as he stared at the emaciated inmates going out of the cell. His limbs were tied in chains so he couldn't line up with the rest. It has been more than a week since they last fed him and the last meal they gave him was the leftover food from the Maynard Household's cattle.

"I-I'm hungry... G-Give m-me food..." He said in a pleading voice to the nearest guard.

The guard turned his head and smirked as he gazed up and down at Chris. He then entered the cell as he muttered in a disdainful tone. "Didn't you hear what we said?" He deliberately paused as he moved his mouth close to Chris' ears. "Only dogs can eat. Insects like you can just wait for your death! Do you understand?!"

Pa!

The guard gave him a crisp slap that left a red handprint on his face.

Chris groaned in pain. He glared at the guard, but he only received another tight slap on the other side of his face.

Pa!

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Chris coughed up blood violently and his face bulged as if he was stung by a bee. He could no longer raise his head because moving it increased the pain he was feeling. In the end, he could only whimper from the maltreatment.

The other guards and the inmates witnessed this scene, but they were already used to it.

"You son of a b*tch! Who do you think you are to glare at me like that?! Ptui!" The guard grabbed Chris' hair and spat a mouthful of saliva on his face.

Chris struggled from his grasp, but this only further infuriated the guard.

"You're quite lively, aren't you?!"

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

The guard gave him the ultimate beating of his life which made him pass out.

The guard rubbed off the dirt and blood from his hands before he exited the cell with a satisfied look.

***

Two days later, a messenger arrived at the estate of the Lassiter Household to inform Aethelwolf about the date and the venue of the fallen soldiers' funeral. The messenger also stated that the emperor would give generous rewards to those who contributed so much to the war.

"Sir Aethelwolf, His Highness Prince Renz specifically told me that he will be expecting your presence." The messenger said.

"Is that so? Please tell His Highness that I will be there on time." Aethelwolf said as he took out a small pouch filled with shiny gold coins. He then handed it to the messenger who immediately beamed after getting the pouch.

"Don't worry, Sir Aethelwolf! I will tell His Highness of your words." The messenger patted his chest confidently. Aethelwolf was so generous that he even gave him a lot of money for sending a simple message. From the weight of the pouch, he believed that there were at least ten coins inside! With his meager salary, this amount of money was already equivalent to a few months of hard work and all he needed to do was deliver a reply to Prince Renz!

Aethelwolf smiled as he nodded his head. "Good." He muttered in satisfaction.

The messenger then left the estate in high spirits after bidding farewell to Aethelwolf.

Aethelwolf returned to his study and a figure suddenly appeared behind him.

"Are you really going there?"

Aethelwolf turned his head and looked at the expressionless elven woman as he replied. "I have to. His Highness wants to see me so I have to be there."

Aenwyn sat on a sofa with one leg on top of the other. This action caused her long white legs to be exposed. "I'll go with you."

Aethelwolf took a quick glance at her legs before hurriedly retracting his gaze. "Of course, you have to be there as well. You were a great help to the injured soldiers in the Vale City camp. I believe that His Majesty will reward you for that." He muttered as he busied himself by brewing his own coffee.

Aenwyn changed her sitting position when she heard this. "It was nothing. I was only following what you told me to do." She muttered in a calm voice. If it wasn't for Aethelwolf telling her to use her healing spell, she wouldn't even offer any form of assistance to those humans. After all, she still had an inborn repulsion toward humans.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. You're just following my commands." Aethelwolf muttered halfheartedly as he handed her a cup of coffee.

***

In a mansion owned by the Linaza Household, Brian sat on his office chair as he listened to the report of his subordinates.

"Boss, according to our informant, the elven woman can now converse in our language. He got this information from a few soldiers who came from the Vale City camp."

After hearing the report, Brian's eyes shone with a mysterious glint. "Did that really happen?"

The man nodded his head. "Many soldiers witnessed this and I have already investigated the matter."

"Good! Good! Good!" Brian Linaza revealed a strange smile. He tried to interact with the elven woman after capturing her, but she was speaking in a language that he couldn't understand. He tried to seek the help of various scholars, but none of them understood the elf. Left with no choice, Brian decided to sell her at a high price in his Golden Dragon Auction House. He also placed numerous restrictions on the Slave Rune that was tied to her neck to ensure that she wouldn't be able to escape his grasp. He was only waiting for the right opportunity to gain more information about the language of the elves and who would have thought that Aethelwolf actually managed to teach her the human language? 'You are giving me a lot of surprises, Aethelwolf...' He smirked as he muttered in his heart.

"You are dismissed. Take this." Brian handed a bag filled with coins to his subordinate.

"Thank you, boss! Thank you!" The man immediately left after thanking him.

Brian stood up from his seat and stared at the scenery outside through the glass window. "Aethelwolf, oh Aethelwolf. It seems like I have to visit you in person soon. Hopefully, you won't go against me or I wouldn't have a choice but to eliminate you. The treasure of the elves can only be mine! I wouldn't allow it to land in the hands of other people!" He muttered coldly. His strength was already at the peak of the Leone Empire and even his wealth had surpassed the imperial family's wealth! The only thing that makes him worried was his age. No matter how strong he was, the human body would still reach a certain limit before dying. He didn't want to die just like that. He wanted to live for hundreds of years more and the only thing that could help him achieve this was the treasure of the elves!

Brian's narrowed into slits as he dissected a plan in his mind.