Reginald and Max walked downstairs and then through the broken in entrance.
As they stepped out, they saw six of their soldiers surrounded by a squadron of roughly twenty city guards.
'Shit.'
Max approached their soldiers first. "Where's the rest?"
"They went after Ivan, when we saw him jump out the window."
"Good."
He didn't need to ask about what was happening right now though. It was very obvious from the sight of the organized row of city guard and their squadron captain in front of them. A few others were keeping spectators away and investigating the corpses everywhere.
"Wait. Captain, isn't that the third Greydell heir?"
"Huh?"
"What is he doing here?"
The city guard were all shocked, including the captain. They were conflicted on what to do.
Reginald was standing in the middle of dozens of corpses and seemed to be involved in this big fight between criminals—
But the city guards belonged to House Greydell as the lord of the city.
"What should we do captain?"
'This is troublesome. If I arrest a direct heir from the Baron, who's our ruler, I might be screwed. But there are too many witnesses. Can I really just let him go?'
Reginald cleared his throat before speaking up.
"It's good you came, but you are quite late. We had to intervene in this mess ourselves since we happened to be nearby and couldn't allow these criminals to run wild."
It was a ridiculous statement, considering the reputation Reginald had, but this gave the captain of the city guard the perfect excuse to let him go.
—
Meanwhile, Samuel was already back at the Greydell castle and was being accompanied by the head butler.
They quickly arrived in Baron Alric Greydell's office.
"I heard a real commotion was happening in Lowbrook. Why did I hear the name Stoneclaw and why have you come to see me right now without Reginald?"
"Explain yourself, Samuel."
Samuel gulped.
'This is it. What I say here will decide my future.'
Samuel spoke for a long time.
He told the Baron about Stoneclaw.
About Luke.
About the internal conflict.
About Reginald's involvement.
About the assassination attempt against Osric and how the guild found out about it.
And about the chaos currently unfolding in Lowbrook.
Not every detail.
But enough.
Far more than enough.
As the explanation continued, Baron Alric Greydell's expression gradually darkened.
The room grew colder with every passing minute.
The head butler remained silent.
Even he could feel the Baron's anger building.
When Samuel finally finished speaking, silence filled the office.
Nobody dared interrupt it.
The Baron slowly rose from his chair.
"Where is Reginald now?"
"In Lowbrook, my lord."
The answer came immediately.
The Baron's jaw tightened.
"Of course he is."
For several moments he simply stared out the window into the dark night beyond.
Then he began issuing orders.
Messengers were summoned.
House Greydell officials were awakened.
Soldiers were mobilized.
The castle quickly entered a state of controlled urgency.
Meanwhile, reports continued arriving from the city.
Every new report made the situation worse.
Stoneclaw members had been seen fighting throughout Lowbrook.
Multiple fires had broken out.
Dozens were dead.
Many more were injured.
The city guard had begun making arrests.
And perhaps worst of all—
Rumors were spreading.
By midnight, half of Ashbrook already knew that something major had happened.
The Baron sat behind his desk reading report after report.
Each one deepened the crease between his brows.
The damage was already done.
Stoneclaw could be destroyed.
Witnesses could be arrested.
Bodies could be buried.
But rumors could not be recalled.
Eventually, the Baron placed the latest report down.
His expression was colder than Samuel had ever seen.
Reginald had been given one simple task.
Recruit a promising adventurer.
Instead, he had somehow turned it into a political disaster.
For the first time in years, Baron Alric Greydell genuinely considered whether keeping his third son involved in any meaningful responsibility had been a mistake.
"What a useless idiot. I said he could get rid of that adventurer if he couldn't recruit him, but to try it in such a sloppy manner and creating such a huge mess because he couldn't control simple thugs."
He did his best to suppress his anger. One of the scariest things about Alric Greydell, was his ability to remain calm and cold towards everything.
"Bring me Reginald."
"Right now."
—
By the next morning, everyone in Ashbrook knew about what happened with the Stoneclaw gang, as well as Reginald's involvement.
Many citizens weren't scared to voice their opinions and demanded for the third heir to be punished for his criminal conduct.
All this also reached the ears of the adventurers guild.
Currently inside Franklin's office—
He was facing his most loyal and capable subordinate.
"Beorn. Have you found him?"
The 1-Star Knight and most powerful adventurer under Franklin nodded.
"Yes. We barely managed to capture him before Reginald Greydell's soldiers reached him."
"Good. Where is he now?"
Beorn, the rough but handsome knight in his early forties ran his hand along his slightly long reddish brown hair with a playful smirk.
"Downstairs in a cell."
"Don't worry Franklin—
Ivan has already started talking."