Romanoff Dukedom: Eschira Forest (8)

The old man went on to heave a sigh. Even though he wanted to retaliate, Ius' scrutiny was making him cautious. There was no room for him to maneuver.

Furthermore, Ulysses and Aaviren were slowly approaching them, prepared to engage him in battle if Ius ordered them to. Riberto Ilvos wouldn't be able to help him, considering that the man was on the verge of passing. Erwin was left all alone to confront the three of the candidates.

Ius was already the personification of trouble by himself. In the event that a fight was inevitable, Erwin would have to take down Ius first.

'There might be a possibility that the other two would be disheartened if they saw their leader be defeated. They're the type to trust Ius' ability through and through, so my idea isn't far-fetched. I just have to hold on until I can find an escape path. I have to recuperate before getting my revenge. I've used the ability for far too long today. I'm drained.'

Erwin continued to contemplate his situation as he glowered at Ius. He really did loathe the privileged appearance of the young man to the extent that he wanted to spit at him.

"None of my business? Well, I guess it's none of your business too if the maid you've been protecting will be killed on your behalf?"

Once Ius was done speaking, Fluger emerged out of the shadows all of a sudden. On his shoulder was the slumped body of an unconscious woman.

The moment that he identified the woman brought by Fluger, Erwin's eyes widened. The grip that he had on Ius' wrist loosened almost immediately.

Of course, Ius didn't miss the change of expression on the old man's face. He was delighted, to say the least. The young man took pleasure in seeing how bothered Erwin was.

"What seems to be the problem, Erwin? She's one of your conspirators, isn't she? She's the one who attacked Herkel." Ius said, forcing the old man to awaken from his shock. "I've already arranged for the capture of all the individuals who were involved in this incident, mind you. You should be pleased. You always praised me for being quick to leap into action, Erwin."

All the while he was speaking, Ius' tone went from being commonsensical to contemptuous. As what had been said, the young man couldn't get enough of mocking the traitor who dared serve his esteemed family.

He was seething with anger, now knowing that the former butler was acting under their surveillance without being caught for several years.

It was nothing but downright insulting.

Ius believed that Erwin had underestimated the capabilities of the Romanoff wolves. That was not an offense that he could forgive. He viewed his father and mother in high regard, so it made the situation even more confounding for Ius. No matter how much the old man would beg, there would be no possibility that the young man would earn his leniency.

"Why are you so silent, Erwin? Did you not expect that I would be doing this? Do you think I didn't notice that my mother was hiding something from me?"

He then tightened the grapple on Erwin's neck as he recalled the time when they were in his mother's study.

"Come to think of it, my mother doesn't know that half of you is a snake, right? What if she did? What if she was informed that the servant she had entrusted the estate to was nothing but an irksome, slithering worm?"

Hearing the uncertainty in Ius' voice, Erwin thought of something. A small smile shortly appeared on his pallid face.

"Why don't you inform the Duchess this instant, young master Ius? She might've already known before. Why don't you confirm that?"

The old man's intentions were clear even to the onlookers. He wanted to instill mistrust among the family members of the Romanoff family. If he could just put a hole in the unwavering confidence that Ius had in his parents, then he might have a chance of manipulating the young man to do his bidding.

Lamentably for him, Ius was not the gullible type. He should've been aware of that, being that he raised the young man from birth.

"Did you really think that your plan will work, Erwin?" Flummoxed, Ius questioned his former butler.

From the beginning, Ius was a step ahead of the man. He had already formulated the possible courses of action that the enemy could take. The young man also took into account the factors that could be used against him, mainly the Duke and the Duchess' mercy.

"Are you that desperate to be this shortsighted? Did you really not think that I had gone to my mother for advice prior to coming here?"

"Adults are more secretive than you believe, young master. Even your esteemed mother will have a bunch of secrets that she has no plans of divulging to you. As the next head of the wolf clan, you should not trust everybody, even family." Erwin answered, his smile unfading.

The old man acknowledged the fact that Ius was an exceptional talent. However, he was still young. He had yet to experience being encumbered by the oppositions of his comrades.

As of now, the support of his parents could be seen in every action that he took. The rejections to his propositions were minimal at best. When it came down to it, Ius Romanoff had it easy. The responsibility of leading an entire clan hadn't registered in his adolescent mind. He would have the tendency to question what he believed in based on the information being fed to him.

Erwin was merely grabbing the opportunity to stain the young man's nearly impenetrable judgment.

"To prove what I'm saying, I'll tell you one among the myriad of things that the Romanoff Duchess is keeping from you. Are you aware of the--"

Before the old man could even begin, he flew in the air and landed on the same tree trunk that Ivar was sent to.