Reginald frowned.
The smile disappeared from his face almost instantly.
Samuel rarely interrupted him while he was drinking.
Especially not with that expression.
Max, his second retainer and a powerful apprentice knight, also sat up straighter.
"What happened?" Reginald asked.
Samuel glanced briefly at the women sitting nearby.
"Private."
The older retainer's tone immediately made the atmosphere change.
Reginald waved his hand impatiently.
"Out."
The women quickly stood and left the room.
The moment the door closed, Samuel spoke.
"The Stoneclaw Gang is collapsing."
Silence.
Reginald blinked.
"What?"
"There is fighting inside their headquarters."
"Large-scale fighting."
"Multiple groups."
"According to reports, the gang is splitting apart."
For several seconds, Reginald simply stared at him.
Then he laughed.
A forced laugh.
"That isn't funny."
Samuel didn't respond.
The laughter slowly died.
Max's expression darkened.
"You're serious."
Samuel nodded.
"Yes."
The room suddenly felt much colder.
"Luke has lost control."
Reginald slowly stood up.
His drunkenness seemed to disappear almost instantly.
"How bad?"
Samuel didn't answer immediately.
That alone worried Max.
"Samuel."
The older retainer looked at Reginald.
"Bad enough that people are already talking."
Reginald's face paled.
"What?"
"Lowbrook residents have seen the fighting."
"There are witnesses."
"There are injured men running through the streets."
"With this many people involved, the city will know by tomorrow morning."
Max cursed under his breath.
"Shit."
Reginald began pacing around the room.
"No."
"No, no, no."
"This can't be happening."
Samuel remained silent.
Allowing Reginald's imagination to do most of the work.
"What about Luke?"
"What is he doing?"
"We don't know."
"And Ivan?"
Samuel shook his head.
"We don't know that either."
Reginald clenched his fists.
"How could they be this incompetent?"
The broad and armed Max looked toward Samuel.
"What's the biggest risk?"
Samuel already knew the answer.
"Captured members."
Both men froze.
"If the city guard starts arresting people, they'll talk."
"If one of Luke's men decides to save his own skin, he could expose everything."
Reginald felt his stomach drop.
Because he knew exactly what "everything" meant.
Meetings.
Payments.
Orders.
Years of involvement.
Max's expression darkened too.
"We need information."
"Yes," Samuel agreed immediately.
"We do."
Reginald stopped pacing.
His breathing had become uneven.
"What if we stay here?"
Samuel almost laughed.
"What if we do nothing?"
Reginald snapped.
"Yes."
Samuel looked him directly in the eyes.
"Then you're blind."
Silence.
"You won't know who's winning."
"You won't know who's talking."
"You won't know what evidence exists."
"You won't know whether someone has already exposed your connection."
Every sentence landed like a hammer.
By the end, Reginald had already made his decision.
Samuel could see it.
Even the muscle brained Max could see it.
The young noble cursed loudly.
"Get the soldiers."
His small guard squad of a dozen soldiers under Max's command were downstairs drinking as well.
Max immediately nodded.
"I'll gather them."
Reginald grabbed his coat.
"We're going to Lowbrook."
Max didn't waste any time.
The large apprentice knight immediately left the room and headed downstairs.
Reginald followed only a few steps behind.
Samuel brought up the rear.
The moment they entered the main floor of the pub, several soldiers looked up from their drinks.
Most of them immediately noticed the expressions on Max and Reginald's faces.
The relaxed atmosphere vanished.
"Up."
Max's voice cut through the room.
"Right now."
Nobody questioned him.
Chairs scraped against the wooden floor as the soldiers stood.
The men quickly grabbed their weapons and winter cloaks.
One soldier frowned.
"What happened?"
Max strapped his sword to his belt.
"Stoneclaw."
That was all he said.
It was enough.
The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.
A few minutes later, the group stepped outside.
The cold hit them immediately.
The sun had already disappeared behind the distant horizon.
Ashbrook's streets were growing darker with every passing minute.
Small snowflakes drifted lazily through the air.
The roads and rooftops were covered by a thin layer of white.
Their boots crunched softly against the frozen ground as they began moving.
Reginald pulled his cloak tighter around himself.
He hadn't entered the city in a carriage today.
Nor had he ridden openly from the castle.
The entire purpose of this visit had been secrecy.
Only Max, Samuel and a small squad of trusted soldiers had accompanied him into Ashbrook on foot.
Unfortunately, secrecy meant very little when the man responsible spent half the afternoon drinking while his problems spiraled out of control.
As they moved through the city, Samuel immediately noticed something worrying.
People were talking.
Not everyone.
But enough.
Fragments of conversation drifted through the cold evening air.
"—heard fighting in Lowbrook—"
"—Stoneclaw—"
"—someone said dozens of men—"
"—city guards heading there—"
Every rumor made Reginald's face grow paler.
The situation was spreading faster than he had hoped.
Much faster.
Nobody spoke for the remainder of the walk.
The closer they came to Lowbrook, the more obvious the signs became.
People were gathering at intersections.
Groups whispered to each other.
Several city guards hurried past them toward the southern districts.
Then they heard it.
Shouting.
Distant.
But unmistakable.
Reginald stopped walking.
Ahead of them, beyond the first rows of Lowbrook buildings, smoke rose into the darkening evening sky.
His stomach dropped.
The situation was already worse than he had imagined.
Once they were close enough to the gang's headquarters, they could see a bunch of criminals fighting it out on the streets. Some were armed while some weren't.
It was a brutal fight to the death for both sides. Dozens of men, young and old were killing each other without mercy.
People nearby were screaming and running away in panic.
Reginald stopped again.
"Samuel, stay here and keep your eyes and ears open."
Samuel was glad he didn't need to say anything himself.
"Max, you help me find Luke. We need to find the root of this shitty mess."
"Got it."
"As for you, soldiers—
Kill every gang member in sight. Doesn't matter what side they're on."
They looked confused but ready to carry out his order despite not belonging to the best trained soldiers of House Greydell.
They started moving.
"Why give that order, my lord?" Max asked.
"You want to risk anything surviving and getting questioned by the city guard? The city and its guard force might belong to Greydell, but even they can't ignore something this big."
"We need to silence everyone before the city guards arrive in full force."
"Right!"
'Hm. That's pretty smart of him.' Samuel thought to himself.
'But it's not enough. I'm afraid it's too late for you, young master.'