After leaving Valoria Palace, William did not return home.
Instead, he headed straight for House Smith, his steps unceasing, his mind weighed down by urgency.
The drastic change he had seen in Aurek—and the dangerous task the emperor had entrusted to him—were not matters he could shoulder alone. He needed the counsel of House Smith.
Back inside the palace, silence once again fell.
Only Aurek remained within its towering halls, the vast chambers echoing faintly with the stillness of an empire on the brink.
But Aurek did not allow himself the luxury of idleness.
He pulled toward him the stack of briefings that William had most recently submitted, spreading the parchments across the desk. One by one, he read through them with sharp eyes.
A pattern emerged quickly.
The most frequently reported problem was the rampant spread of gangs in city after city, their lawless power grinding the lives of common folk into misery.
Time and again, the local police bureaus had attempted crackdowns. And time and again, their efforts had ended in failure.
So, naturally, they submitted petitions to parliament—pleading for additional funds from the treasury, claiming they needed more resources to recruit men and stamp out the gangs.
Aurek's jaw tightened.
He didn't need to be a genius to see through their ploy.
Even if the treasury granted those funds, how much would actually be used for fighting crime? The majority would vanish into private pockets. The so-called police would fatten themselves first—and as for the gangs, Aurek suspected many of them had been propped up by these same officials.
Vile parasites…
His hand clenched into a fist, knuckles whitening.
But the gangs were not the only matters of note.
Two other items in the reports drew his attention.
The first: his marriage.
His fiancée—Josephine, of House Tascher—was renowned throughout the empire. A beauty so radiant that countless young noble scions dreamed of claiming her hand.
The Taschers were among the most powerful families in Crossbridge. By all accounts, the wedding should have already taken place.
But when Aurek had first arrived in this world, his predecessor had still been in a coma.
The Taschers, clearly, had other designs in mind. And so the marriage had been delayed again and again.
Aurek's lips twitched faintly.
Others might envy him for being betrothed to the famed beauty. But in his memories, Josephine was nothing more than a snot-nosed girl running around the palace gardens. Hardly the dazzling flower of noble society.
Frankly, he didn't care much.
The second matter, however—this he cared about very much.
Because it concerned the capital itself: Eryndor.
According to the briefings, a gang had risen in Eryndor unlike any other. They called themselves the Blackfish Gang, and unlike common thugs, they counted awakeners among their ranks.
Once established, the Blackfish spread like a plague.
They extorted and terrorized. They preyed upon the weak. Their usurious loans drove families into ruin. Men unable to pay were sold into slavery; women were dragged into their dens and taverns, reduced to toys for their patrons.
Worst of all—they operated Eryndor's only tavern open to beastmen, a den infamous for its depravity.
There, they offered human flesh as delicacies—human flesh prepared as "special dishes" for beastmen to devour.
And as for where that meat came from? No one dared say it aloud.
Aurek's entire body trembled with fury. His fist clenched so tightly that his nails cut into his palm.
Monsters. They're worse than monsters.
Yet even through his anger, a sliver of caution stirred.
For the presence of awakeners within a gang in Eryndor raised troubling questions.
By all rights, the capital was under the direct eye of Cardinal Austin, the Theocracy's supreme bishop in Crossbridge.
How, then, had awakeners managed to worm their way into gang life so brazenly? Surely such things could not have gone unnoticed.
Was some greater force backing them? And if so… which faction?
Aurek's eyes narrowed.
No matter. Whoever stood behind them, it made no difference.
If they dared cause chaos in his capital, then they would be eradicated—root and stem.
Rising to his feet, Aurek strode from the palace chambers to the battlements.
From the high walls of Valoria, he gazed far across the sprawling city.
His eyes pierced beyond the inner city, stretching to the outer rings of Eryndor, where the gangs held sway.
And there, his voice rang out, sharp as steel and heavy with imperial authority:
"Exterminate the Blackfish Gang with the cruelest of means.
"Skin every last one of them alive, stuff their hides with straw, and mount them upon spears for all the city to see!"
At once, his assassins stirred.
Two remained at his side to guard him. The other eight melted into the shadows, vanishing like mist before the morning sun.
The order had been given.
The hunt had begun.
But Aurek's thoughts did not stop there.
The gangs could not have flourished so easily without protection. It was inevitable that they paid bribes to the Prefect of Police.
And the Prefect, Aurek knew, was no ordinary official. He was one of the closest confidants of the Minister of War, Nock.
Could it be, then, that the Blackfish Gang's shadow stretched back to the Minister himself?
His jaw tightened.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city…
Imperial Guard Headquarters.
Commander Gaia sat in stern silence, his face set in hard lines as he turned to his deputy.
"Harland," he said gravely, "reports say the outer city is boiling with gang activity. And this Blackfish Gang… their excesses grow bolder by the day.
"What is your opinion?"
Beside him, Harland's brow furrowed deeply.
"Commander… don't you think something is strange about all this?"
Gaia's eyes narrowed, his mind racing. He said nothing, waiting for his deputy to continue.
Harland leaned forward, voice low and tense.
"By rights, with Cardinal Austin himself residing in the capital, no awakener would dare cause such public unrest. And yet here we are. The Blackfish Gang flaunts its crimes openly.
"This… this cannot be simple.
"And more than that—have you noticed how quiet the other factions have been? Too quiet. Their silence is too convenient.
"It's as if everyone has agreed to turn a blind eye."
Gaia clenched his fists, his voice tight with fury.
"You're right. These wretched beasts… for the sake of their own profit, they trample the common people as if they were nothing.
"Do they not understand? If unrest breaks out in the capital, they will be caught in the flames as well!
"Short-sighted fools!"
His voice echoed through the hall, hot with rage.
The commander's fury burned bright, but Harland's weary sigh cooled it.
"Commander… you know as well as I do.
"The Imperial Guard is strong, yes. But if we act without orders, the Grand Marshal will seize the chance to strike at you. She's been eyeing your position for years."
At that, Gaia's jaw tightened further.
He knew it was true.
The Imperial Guard was one of the few forces left that the royal house could still rely upon.
If his command were stripped away, the Royalist Party would suffer a devastating blow.
Harland pressed on, voice heavy with worry.
"And beyond that… the Blackfish Gang has awakeners. If they have backers among the great factions, then even the Guard's intervention may achieve nothing.
"In truth… this may already be beyond our ability to resolve."
For a long moment, silence hung heavy between them.
Finally, Gaia exhaled sharply, his face carved with frustration.
"…Then we will not act rashly. Not yet.
"We wait to hear William's orders. Our first duty remains to protect His Majesty."
His hand clenched again, his voice low, bitter.
"But the Blackfish Gang…"
He could not finish. His words trailed off into a growl of helpless fury.
The night deepened.
And in the shadows of Eryndor, the storm gathered strength.