Chapter 14 Ch. 14: The Returnee [3]

Maids and butlers bowed the moment Nathaniel exited the room.

Adrian's Nanny, Marie, approached him with a benign smile and asked.

·ƈθm "How is it going, Your Highness?"

Nathaniel could only sigh, disappointment evident on his face.

"He can't seem to remember me. It saddened me, but I'm just glad that Ian is all right."

"Your Highness, please cheer up, His Highness Prince Adrian's memories will return soon."

Nathaniel nodded weakly.

"Yes, I hope so too. Then, I will take my leave."

"I wish you a safe trip."

She curtseyed, followed by maids and butlers.

Nathaniel rolled his feet and was soon shadowed by his Knight Escorts.

His mood turned dark and his face was devoid of any expression.

Thanks to his very mother, now the little brat had no recollection of him.

Adrian's assassination was planned so neatly without leaving any evidence behind, which then led to the case being closed as an accident.

Despite its failure, Nathaniel reckoned his mother still succeeded in breaking the relationship between him and Adrian–as she had always hoped.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and spat every single curse he could think of inwardly.

Seeing the Prince's grim aura swirling around him, the knights behind him could only swallow their nervousness.

After minutes of walking, Nathaniel got in the carriage to return to his Palace.

He stared at the scenery outside boredly through the windows.

–Ring –Ring –Ring

Nathaniel picked up the call without much thought.

// Boss! //

"What?"

There was a brief silence, and guessing from Nathaniel's curt answer, the caller knew; his boss was not in a good mood.

It did not bode well and anxiety devoured him.

// So, We… Uh, I… //

"Are you a kid? Speak properly!"

Hearing his tremulous voice, Nathaniel's anger intensified; he had no time for jokes now.

// Y–yes! W–We found the Mercenary Agency that received your mother's orders! //

"And why the hell did you guys take so long just to figure it out?!"

As he had expected, Nathaniel was in Evil Boss: Mode On.

Even though he didn't see his Boss directly, somehow his head could vividly picture Nathaniel's terrifying face–and it gave him goosebumps!

// Boss, we literally snuck into every Mercenary Agency looking for their archives, because we had no leads. //

The man begged the boy for understanding.

"Fine. So, which agency?"

// Uh, It's the Ssera Mercenary Agency. //

Nathaniel leaned against the couch and crossed his legs.

If he remembered correctly, it was a Platinum Mercenary Agency.

"Which branches?"

// Their main office. //

Nathaniel's eyebrows furrowed.

"Aiden Knightdom?" **

// Yes. //

"Ha!"

Nathaniel scoffed, to think she requested a Mercenary Agency from such a faraway kingdom just to carry out her plan–it was ridiculous!

Mercenary Agencies were divided into five different ranks, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond.

They were classified by how many quests they accomplished divided by how much income they earned, and their contribution to the Monster Subjugation each year to their Kingdom.

Also, only Platinum rank and above could establish branches in other kingdoms.

Furthermore, it was true that they were taking assassination jobs, however, it was only done behind the counter and each agency had a different method of accepting the quest.

Because they would be in deep trouble if it leaked that they were accepting assassination jobs, such as the Agency would be banned or forced to shut down.

Just requesting an assassination behind the counter made the client difficult to track, let alone request it outside the Empire and it seemed his mother planned everything very intently to kill Adrian.

"What about the evidence?"

// I sent it to your head butler, he should have received it by now. //

"I see."

Nathaniel massaged his nose bridge in frustration.

"Burn them."

// P–Pardon? //

The man was baffled.

"You hear exactly what I said."

// Uh, their headquarters or their branches? //

The cease on Nathaniel's forehead deepened.

"Why are you asking something so obvious?!"

// I–I understand. //

The boy heaved a deep breath to alleviate his raging heart.

"List participating members and give them a bonus worth their incomes this month."

// Really Boss?! //

The man couldn't hide his excitement.

"Yeah."

Even though Nathaniel appeared ruthless, especially when it came to Agency matters, he was someone who treats his employees fair and squarely.

He had been working with Nathaniel for four years.

He remembered how pitiful his Bronze rank Mercenary was back before Nathaniel took it over.

And look at it now, their branches spread across the continent in just a short amount of time!

// Hehe, is there anything else, Boss? //

His voice was so cheerful and bright as if his frightened self just now was an illusion.

"Nothing and… good job."

// Hehe, don't mention it! Alright, see you later, Boss! //

With that, their conversation ended.

Nathaniel rested his head on the couch and closed his eyes.

Soon the carriage stopped and knocks were heard.

"Your Highness, we have arrived."

Nathaniel reluctantly opened his eyes and exited the carriage.

However, his eyes caught an unexpected figure standing next to his head butler.

She had long black hair and golden eyes, she wore an ornate black dress.

Even if her mouth was covered by a hand fan, he could easily tell how wide her smile was.

Wasting no more time, Nathaniel approached them.

His head butler bowed at his arrival and Lucia immediately opened her mouth.

"So, how is your little brother? Does he remember you?"

Instead of a greeting, she mocked him in the face.

Ignoring her, Nathaniel turned to his head butler.

"Give me the letter."

The man handed Nathaniel the letter and he opened it.

His eyes skimmed through the paper before switching his attention to the woman who stood in front of him.

"Here, take this with you."

"What is that?"

"..."

As her son said no more, in the end, she received it.

However, soon enough, her body was stunned and her face contorted into one of horror after seeing its contents.

In contrast to the expression his mother emitted, Nathaniel was overjoyed by the sight before him.

He loved to see how her mood turned 180° within a second–it was so satisfying.

He wanted to laugh at it but chose not to and continued his way.

Of course, he didn't forget to spit his mind as he walked past her.

"If you don't want me to become a whistleblower, behave yourself."

She crumpled the paper in her hand and spun around, only to see her son's back.

"Can you really do it?! To your own mother?! The one who gave birth to you?!"

Her screams echoed throughout the hall.

Nathaniel halted his step and sighed tiredly, he peered at her behind his shoulder.

"I believed I already told you that I won't stay still if you hurt Adrian."

"Are you threatening me right now?!"

Deafening his ears, he resumed his stride.

"Nathaniel!!"

.

.

.

–Bam!

The door closed as they entered Nathaniel's room.

He took off his tie and jacket before tossing them carelessly.

Behind him, the head butler was picking up his clothes.

Nathaniel plopped down on the couch and started massaging his temples.

"Ah, how troublesome…"

It was a public secret that the relationship between Lucia and Nathaniel had never been good, and their quarrels were something very common to see in this Palace.

"Would you like something to cool off?"

"I'd appreciate it."

Afterward, his head butler left the room.

"Tsk."

Nathaniel clucked his tongue in annoyance.

Who would have thought that Lucia would initiate an assassination and cause Adrian to lose his memories.

Those two did not happen in the past.

For Nathaniel, Adrian's memory loss made the trust he had built up over the years come to naught.

"Haa…"

Nathaniel sighed. He raised his arm and a slender tiny hand came into view.

Here he thought turning back time would make things easier, but it turned out the other way around.

Now, what should he do to fix Adrian's head?