Yuriko's eyes widened. "You actually want me... to become a student?"
"Why not?" Rodney XVIII retorted. " Aren't Catherine, Olfina, Klein, and Lester all studying in Northwest Bay?"
"Speaking of which, I have an idea. Should I recall Catherine and the others to Crystal Radiance to continue leading the Kingdom Army?"
Yuriko jumped up like a cat whose foot had been stepped on, "Are you crazy!"
The king snorted, "I can tell from the words in the letter how enthusiastic Catherine and others are about new knowledge. Moreover, Rodney's blood flows in her veins. We share the same grandfather. This fits both my criteria for selecting the virtuous and capable and your criteria for choosing relatives. It's perfect!"
Yuriko stared wide-eyed and said, "But her last name is Glaeman now, and her first name is Catherine Glaeman, not Catherine Rodney anymore!"
Rodney XVIII didn't continue arguing with his brother about the issue; he was just trying to provoke Yuriko.
Even if he were magnanimous, he was still a king after all. As for the former king's daughter, it would be best to let her continue to stay in Northwest Bay, far away from Crystal Radiance.
He sighed and said, "In short, I will not grant your wish on this matter unless you fulfill my request first."
"I understand, Your Majesty Rodney."
Yuriko took a deep breath, bowed solemnly to Rodney XVIII, and walked out of the throne room.
The prince walked away quickly, and everyone he met on the way could see the gloom in his heart; no one dared to speak to him.
He boarded his magnificent carriage and hurriedly drove out of Crystal Radiance to the manor in the southwestern suburbs of the capital. This manor had once been the residence of Prince Jassim's family. After Ged ascended the throne, Ged and Prince Jassim often stayed in Crystal Radiance.
Yuriko and Auguste continued to reside at their suburban estate, where Yuriko frequently hosted lavish banquets, inviting her friends to party until day and night were reversed.
The young prince walked into the manor hall with a frown, and a group of servants immediately surrounded him to help him change clothes and wash up.
With a loud thud, the silver-plated tray bumped against the corner of the oak table.
The prince was untying his scarf when he looked in the direction of the sound and saw a porcelain cup on the tray fall to the ground and shatter into pieces.
The new valet stood frozen beside the coat rack, holding a tray. Some mouthwash spilled onto the back of the velvet chair next to him, leaving watermarks that crept over the gold-embroidered royal emblem on the chair's surface.
The air froze for three seconds.
Perhaps it wouldn't matter under normal circumstances; the prince would just shrug. Although the porcelain cup he bought from the western bay was expensive, it was nothing to him.
But anyone could tell he was in a bad mood today.
"Your Highness... I am very sorry. I will be much more careful from now on."
The sweat beading on the back of the young servant's neck gleamed in the lamplight, his face as pale as the color of his cuffs. He humbly begged his master's forgiveness in a cautious tone.
The viscount stared at the collar of the other man's clothes, which trembled slightly with each breath, and for some reason suddenly remembered the "humiliation" he had suffered in front of his brother.
The tortoiseshell-inlaid cane suddenly swept across the coat rack, and a large pile of things crashed to the ground. The terrified young servant knelt down with a thud, waiting for his judgment without daring to breathe.
"You lowly people are as stupid as pigs, you can't even do the smallest things right!"
Yuriko roared, losing control of his emotions, and kicked the kneeling male servant to the ground.
The butler stood frozen by the door, holding a pocket watch in his hand—perhaps checking the time—but the sapphire pendant on the watch chain trembled slightly with his arm, revealing his extreme fear.
He dared not step forward to dissuade him. Since Jasim and Ged left, Yuriko had become the supreme ruler of the manor. Unrestrained, he sometimes revealed a side that he had hidden when his father and brothers were here.
The prince took out his riding whip, and his figure gradually enveloped the trembling young servant.
"The extent of a person's capacity to shoulder responsibilities is indeed determined by their bloodline. Look at you, someone of such lowly blood, who can't even hold a bowl of water properly, let alone handle anything more complex!"
His tone didn't sound like a reprimand, but rather like he was venting.
The black riding whip was raised high and then fell hard, with a cracking sound, tearing a large hole in the boy's white shirt, and he cried out in pain.
Just as the whip was about to fall again, a voice came from behind the prince.
" Yuriko, your dear brother, has our esteemed His Majesty the King granted your request?"
Yuriko turned around angrily, glaring at the person who had come in.
"I'm sorry to say you guessed right, he refused."
...
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In the northeast of the Kingdom of Aldor, gray shadows appeared in the fields. Old Battelle squinted as she counted the distant targets—twenty-three wolves.
He chased them all the way through the forest, and the panicked wolves ran into human settlements.
He twirled the whip in his hand, and the three hundred cavalrymen behind him immediately changed formation, flanking him from the left and right.
The wolf pack sensed the tremors of the earth. The alpha wolf raised its head and let out a long howl, reminding its kin that the enemy was inescapable and that they should prepare for battle.
The west wind whipped up sand and gravel that clattered against Orc Cavalry's visor, and the hunting circle began to close in.
The moment the first signal arrow tore through the air, the alpha wolf transformed into a gray lightning bolt and pounced toward the southeast gap, followed closely by twenty-three gray shadows, like an iron chain that glided along the ground.
Battelle grinned, her chapped lips parted, and her whip cracked with a thunderous sound. Three hundred warhorses leaped up and charged simultaneously, their iron hooves thunderously flattening the wheat field beneath them.
Just as the wolf pack was about to crash into the moving wall, the Orc Cavalry suddenly split open, allowing the fiercest alpha wolf to pass. The second tier of cavalry raised their lances, and as the alpha wolf leaped, four lances shot out like venomous snakes, the wolf's fangs barely grazing the lance tips, sending sparks flying. At that moment, the third tier of cavalry's warhammer slammed down, the dull thud of the hammer striking the wolf's waist mingled with the sound of bones shattering, and the alpha wolf fell to the ground a twisted corpse.
Without their leader, the wolf pack scattered, splitting into three groups that rushed in different directions, only to be forced back one by one by the circling light cavalry.
Suddenly, a one-eyed old wolf leaped up, its front paws landing on Battelle's horse's neck. Its fangs pierced the throat guard, but hot blood quickly gushed from its body. The horse's owner struck its head with a scimitar.
The last few wolves were cornered. They stood back to back, white foam dripping from between their fangs, much like the enemies who had once fought against the Royal Tent cavalry.
Battelle waved her hand, and the surrounding cavalrymen released their horses' hooves and charged toward their prey.
As the hunt ended near dusk, the setting sun cast long shadows of the cavalrymen. Battelle found the alpha wolf and cut off its ear.
He proudly held the spoils high and sang loudly with the soldiers around him.
Orc Cavalry led his prey away, singing as he went, leaving behind vast fields of wheat trampled beyond recognition.