CHAPTER 166: TAKING OVER

While Curtis lashed out at the Crimson Guards for repeatedly knocking on the door, he subsequently paused when his eyes trailed toward Leonard.

Instantly, his voice caught in his throat as he wanted to slap himself for not seeing the situation first before lashing out.

’Crap! These damn guards didn’t tell me the real Crown Prince has returned!’ Curtis cursed silently.

Despite cursing so, Curtis knew only a selective few guards were informed that Leonard was going in disguise.

"Greetings, I’m Vincent Bond, invited here by the Crown Prince." Leonard calmly said.

"Ah, yes, the Crown Prince did mention that he was waiting for you, Mr. Vincent." Curtis quickly suppressed his internal turmoil and played along with the act.

’Hopefully, the Crown Prince will be lenient.’ Curtis was fearful of the repercussions he might face for his earlier outburst.

It was unbefitting of a Crimson Guard, especially when he failed to check the surroundings before acting. Such a grave mistake was unacceptable for those in the Crimson Guards.

’Ugh, it’s all those damnable nobles and merchants who wanted to test their luck repeatedly.’ He cried inwardly and promptly guided Leonard inside the room.

This action caused the other guards to become curious about Leonard’s identity.

Naturally, their curiosity only lasted for a brief moment before they returned to their duty.

Since Curtis had personally guided them inside the Crown Prince’s suite, it meant that they weren’t enemies.

While they resumed their duties, inside the Presidential Suite, Number 13 was stripped of his clothes.

He was quickly alarmed and startled by the sound of multiple footsteps.

"Who is it?" Number 13 scurried to grab his clothes to put on his disguise.

Alas, it was a little bit too late.

Curtis had already brought Leonard over in a lightning-fast manner.

’Sorry, Number 13, but I would rather you be punished than me.’ Curtis knew Number 13 had his disguise removed, so he made sure Leonard’s attention would be focused on him instead.

After all, Leonard had repeatedly emphasized the need to have the disguise on to avoid any exposure.

Number 13’s face twisted in an ugly expression when he realized he had been sold out by Curtis.

’You bastard!’ Number 13 cursed silently.

Ignoring his glare, Curtis feigned a shocked reaction and said, "Number 13, why are you not in disguise?"

He then knelt on one knee and pleaded for forgiveness from Leonard. "Apologies, Crown Prince. I should have made sure Number 13 was constantly in disguise and not exposed in such a manner."

"Y-You...!" Number 13’s finger trembled as it pointed at Curtis, his face twisted between rage and disbelief. He had never seen such a shameless guard before!

The one who told him to take it off because he was having trouble breathing was Curtis. Yet the one who accused him of disobeying the Crown Prince’s order was also him!

Just how despicable was this Curtis??!

"Enough of the farce!" Leonard was unamused by the play and promptly gestured for Mirelle to effectively remove the disguise spell on him.

In the blink of an eye, Leonard’s true appearance was revealed, startling both Elise and Nadia.

Vincent’s appearance was already quite handsome, but now that he had assumed his true appearance, it was even more mind-boggling.

His current appearance was something even Leonard himself felt inferior to when compared to Vincent.

After all, Vincent was only a rich man in the old world with no magic, whereas Leonard got to be nourished by magical products to maintain his facial appearance.

"Stop drooling over him." Caroline rolled her eyes when she spotted Elise and Nadia reacting like some thirsty women. "He’s no different than any man except for a difference in status."

"Who said we’re drooling over him because of his status?" Elise scoffed and explained, "He’s my savior, and that’s all I needed to know."

To survive in this dreadful environment, her hands were stained with a lot of blood. This included the blood of innocent people who were simply against the Marquis.

Despite this, Leonard had not once pried or mentioned her past deed.

The possibility of Leonard being ignorant of her deeds was next to zero.

In other words, he was willing to forgive her past and only focused on the present. With such a temperament and broad mindset, how could she not drool over him?

Caroline was rendered speechless by their shameless behavior. Just a while ago, they were still hostile toward them.

And now, in less than a few hours, they became some loyalists.

How fickle could they be?

Naturally, Caroline only thought they were fickle because she was kept in the dark about their actual predicament.

To avoid further conflict among them, Mirelle promptly took the time to explain the situation to Caroline.

While that was happening, Leonard had already put on his Crown Prince’s outfit.

In the meantime, both Number 13 and Curtis were kneeling on one knee.

One of them was caught losing his composure and demeanor as a Crimson Guard, and the other was caught having their disguise removed.

"I’ll remember this favor dearly." Number 13 whispered softly to Curtis.

"No need to remember," Curtis responded. "I’m a generous person who only does good deeds. If everyone remembers my good deeds, then I’ll be swamped."

’Go kill yourself!’ Number 13 roared internally.

"The two of you can stop whispering among yourselves." Leonard suddenly said and crossed his legs. "I’m not that stringent with the rules to punish any of you."

He didn’t care about such trivial aspects. Instead, he was more focused on advancing the plan early.

"Curtis, start having the Crimson Guards begin taking over the slum and critical points in Velastra." He commanded. Given the current mess of a situation, Leonard reckoned it was a golden opportunity to start planting his people in every vital aspect.

At the same time, he needed to start closing the net.

He had been in the city for a few weeks already. Too much time had been spent understanding the city’s circumstances and the ruling parties.

Although the free trade city aspect had indeed impressed him in terms of revenue, the rest of the situation had only caused him to be disgusted.