Casualties Tally

Shortly after the woman had died from grief, the Crimson Guards followed the direction that Mirelle discovered to retrieve the deceased Maddie.

Maddie was only a child at the tender age of 4. When her body was retrieved and placed near her mother, the atmosphere turned sorrowful. 

"Is there a way to reattach the severed arm back to the child's body?" Leonard raised the question. 

"It's possible." Mirelle nodded. Reattaching was easy to do. It was just that even if it was reattached, the child wouldn't come back to life. 

Sometime later, the severed arm was attached to Maddie's body, allowing her to become complete again.

Once that was done, Leonard made sure to dispatch the Crimson Guards to retrieve everybody that had yet to be discovered and count them. 

Blood had dried on the cobblestones as bodies continued to pile up and were counted.

Leonard's expression gradually turned cold. He expressed fury and anger as he had Mirelle manipulate his body to float in the air. 

By floating in the air, he had ensured every person in the perimeter could see him clearly. 

"Today's tragic incident stemmed from a slave merchant who failed to monitor their slaves. I, Crown Prince of Aldros, promise everyone here that I will investigate the bottom of this incident. This included the capital guards in charge of patrolling for allowing major casualties to happen within the capital of Aldros Empire." He declared thunderously. 

"I don't care how powerful or influential they are. If I find even a sliver of involvement, they will have to answer to me." 

When Leonard finished his powerful declaration, it was quickly followed by loud applause and approval. 

"Hail the Crown Prince of Aldros!" 

"Only the Crown Prince can seek justice on us commoners!" 

"His Majesty really knew which prince was worthy of the Crown Prince's title!" 

In the blink of an eye, every major powerhouse in the capital had received news about Leonard's declaration and promises to the citizens. 

Although the majority of them addressed themselves as commoners, they were still citizens of the Aldros Empire. And citizens who could live in the capital weren't ordinary by any means. 

In the Imperial Chamber, Emperor Aldros received the news from the Royal Imperial Guard.

"Interesting… this son of mine actually made such a promise to the public." Emperor Aldros commented and said, "Since the Crown Prince has made his statement, then reject the Capital Justice Court's request. Let the Crown Prince investigate the matter by himself. Make sure they understand my message well, Russel" 

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Royal Imperial Guard, Russel knelt on one knee and obeyed the command. 

"Alright, you can leave now. I wish for silence and tranquility." Emperor Aldros waved his hand softly. After this open capital assassination attempt, he needed some time to ponder who the mastermind was. 

However, he reckoned it wouldn't be hard to figure it out as long as he tried. 

He simply didn't want to interfere or be bothered with this trivial incident. The Crown Prince was unharmed and only a few citizens and private guards of the Crown Prince died. 

'This son of mine sure kept some competent private guards. What a pity that they choose to submit to my son and not my royal court.' 

— 

23rd Street, 7th Avenue

Leonard had returned to his carriage by now and received the total number of casualties from Curtis. 

"In total, 137 citizens were injured and 32 citizens were killed in the incident. Our Crimson Guards also suffered, with 8 dead and 19 injured." Curtis reported with a solemn tone. 

To summarize, 40 people were killed in this escaped slave incident, and this didn't even account for the rogue capital guards or the escaped slaves who couldn't be suppressed and detained. 

Apparently, the werewolf that Curtis suppressed and detained was only one part of the escaped beastkin. 

There were also 3 additional escaped beastkin who ended up dying in the blades of the Crimson Guards and the real capital guards. But the 3 deceased beastkin had already wreaked enough havoc before being put down which resulted in a lot of deaths. 

Having heard the total tally of casualties, Leonard remained silent briefly. 

After pondering over how to resolve the issues without being burdened completely, he came up with a bright idea. One that would ensure nothing could possibly go wrong unless one wished for death. 

"Leave the matter to Spence to handle the rest. Make sure that the deceased families are properly addressed and compensated. Also, create a public donation venue and invite the other houses to contribute." He commanded. 

By forcing the other influential houses to contribute and be involved, who would dare to sabotage the process?

The prestige of the Aldros Empire had already taken a hit by allowing such an incident to take place at the heart of the empire. 

If the influential houses involved in the compensation and restoration process for the aftermath were to be disturbed as well, then people would soon start to question the Aldros Empire's power.

Moreover, Leonard's cunning plan to ensure the influential houses joined the restoration process was simply flawless. 

Unless one of the houses wished to be condemned for being heartless and lose complete public support, then they would know which was the wise choice to make. 

However, that wasn't even the end of the implication. 

Instead, it was an indirect response to the emperor that the Aldros Empire was united and disdained such cowardly action that aimed to damage the empire's foundation. 

Curtis only needed a few moments to understand Leonard's marvelous plan. 

"Yes, Crown Prince. I'll have Geo to handle the process." He responded excitedly. The more he interacted with the crown prince, the more he came to a realization that the crown prince was more than the eyes met. 

With the plan decided, Geo set off to complete the new mission. Meanwhile, Curtis controlled the reins of the horses to set out for the Western Port. 

They had wasted enough time on the capital's ambush incident, and the following aftermath didn't need Leonard to personally attend to it. He had already done more than what was required of him as the Crown Prince of Aldros.