CHAPTER 377: BLOOD ON THE PALACE WALLS (II)

An attack like this had also occurred once before, when Edmund was close to entering his rut cycle, far worse than a simple fever.

"Say what you mean," Edmund snapped coldly. "I know you’ve already thought it through."

Edmund flicked his sword to the side, shaking off the blood that clung to the blade. Crimson pooled beneath his boots, staining the carpet so badly he already knew they would have to replace every carpet and wallpaper in the palace. He didn’t want his wife to smell blood lingering in their home.

"Only three people know about your illness; Dr. Celdric, Sir Dorne, and myself. Well, four, if you count your wife, but we both know she’s not the one." Leofric stomped down hard on another werewolf’s skull before adding, "Dr. Celdric is a deer. He’d never side with the Blackpeak Pack because those filthy dogs only ever turn weaker beasts into slaves and breeding stock."

Edmund strode through the hall, his eyes sharp, searching for his royal advisor. "It isn’t Sir Dorne," he said firmly. "His whole family was slaughtered by the last king. I gave him a share of my business, so he would never betray me."

Sevrin would be a fool not to support Edmund and instead help the Alpha of Blackpeak take the throne.

"Alright, maybe it’s not someone," Leofric countered, his voice low. "I think it’s something leaking the palace’s secrets. You’re not the only one who can turn shiny objects into spies."

Edmund froze mid-step and turned his head toward him. "I’ve scoured every inch of this damned palace since the day I became king. I know which things carry my magic and which don’t. I checked three times."

"But you only checked back then, didn’t you?" Leofric said with a sly look. "You never did another random inspection, and if the device was crafted by a high-grade magician ... you might not even notice it."

"But you would, wouldn’t you?" Edmund asked, narrowing his eyes at Leofric.

Leofric shook his head. "I hardly ever came to this palace, so of course I never had the time to wander around."

"But ever since I started living here to look after Lorelle, I’ve had this constant feeling of being watched. I tried again and again to search for something carrying magic—something that could spy on us—but I couldn’t find a single trace."

"Then maybe the objects are too small for me to detect," Leofric went on, his tone darker now. "And whoever crafted them is no ordinary magician. I heard the last king once kept a few powerful ones under his service."

"I killed them all," Edmund cut him off sharply. "Not a single one of the last king’s magicians remains in this palace."

But deep down, they both knew the truth. That only applied to those within the palace walls. The last Alpha’s son—now the current Alpha of the Blackpeak Pack—had managed to steal away some of the last king’s loyal men from the dungeon.

"Or maybe the magician isn’t from the last king at all," Leofric muttered. "Maybe he’s someone newly hired by the current Alpha."

But if that was the case, then it meant the spying objects hadn’t been planted long ago. Which meant ... there were traitors inside the palace.

"This is why I told you not to spare any of the last king’s people," Leofric said. "Slaves included."

Edmund’s eyes darkened. "They were just slaves," he replied. "They don’t bear the sin of their master."

Leofric snorted. "They were slaves who were brainwashed by the last king. You let them serve as maids, soldiers, even the ones who clean your rooms." He let the smile drop from his face. "This is why I always warned you, don’t be so soft."

"I wasn’t being soft," Edmund shot back. "I gave them a second chance to live, just like you once did for me."

Leofric fell silent for a moment when he heard that. All the bitter words perched on the tip of his tongue finally stayed in. "I didn’t help you for free," he said at last. "I was interested in something in you, and I even used you as my experiment rat for two years or so."

Edmund answered without hesitation. "That still doesn’t change the fact that you gave me a second chance." He added, "I was once made a slave too, which is why I decided to give them another chance. But if they bite the hand that feeds them ... then I have no choice but to annihilate them."

The answer remained unclear. But if their suspicion proved right, Edmund wouldn’t offer mercy a second time.

He wasn’t a kind man after all, not when the safety of his people was at stake.

Before they could argue further, something shattered the hallway window with a loud crash.

Edmund snapped his head aside, narrowly avoiding the storm of glass shards scattering like knives. Through the broken frame stepped a towering, broad-shouldered man whose presence seemed to suck the air out of the corridor.

He was clothed in garments stitched from human skin and the hides of weaker beasts, the grotesque pieces sewn together like trophies of his cruelty. His black hair fell in wild strands across his face, matted with dirt and streaked faintly with blood.

His gray eyes were cold and merciless, the kind of gaze that promised death without hesitation.

"Weston," Leofric spat, his voice low and venomous, as though even speaking the name left a bitter taste in his mouth. "The Alpha of a pack of filthy dogs."

Weston smiled crookedly at the insult, tilting his head as if amused. "Still as sharp-tongued as ever, Leofric. Tell me, do you hiss like that because you’re angry, or because you’re afraid?"

Before Leofric could reply, Edmund stepped forward. "How dare you smile after breaking into my home and slaughtering my people."

Weston laughed, glancing around at the blood-soaked floor. "Look who’s talking. You killed my family as well!"

Yet his eyes never softened, not even for the lifeless bodies of his own wolves littering the ground. To him, they were nothing but failed tools, worthless now that they lay still.

"Do you know how hard it is to raise them for years?" Weston sneered. "Their mothers would weep to see their children die so quickly." He shrugged, mocking. "Well, I suppose I’ll just have to make more."