Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 115
“I don’t understand why you so adamantly refuse Miss Prima’s kindness.” A young man with short, dark brown hair was kneeling on the carpet. He adjusted his position, trying to wrap a large roll of cotton gauze around the exposed half of Louis’s body.
The fireplace inside was burning vigorously—seemingly unnecessary in this weather—but his boss was still feverish. Being half-naked in this condition could indeed turn a minor illness into a severe one.
Louis lay on a luxurious, long sofa with a cold towel on his forehead. Hearing this, he lifted his eyelids to glance at him.
“She’s not your type, Alexander.” This was his way of saying mind your own business.
“Look at what you’re saying. I’m just speaking out of justice. A lovely lady should not be treated so harshly.” Alexander finally decided to give up on his bare chest and abdomen, focusing instead on the areas near the collar and cuffs that could be seen with a bit of effort, and then generously wrapped up the precious white gauze.
“She’s just worried about you. After all, half of Fortuna City knows you were pulled into the water by the witch—news got back to White Bridge within an hour, and I bet she’d come over herself if you don’t return by dawn.” The young man kept chattering away, but his movements were deft. After finishing in the shortest time, he immediately pulled over a warm robe for Louis and flipped the towel.
There were things that Alexander left unsaid. In fact, it wasn’t news in the inner circles of the Wolves that the innocent and lovely girl preferred Louis—she wasn’t exceptionally beautiful (girls of her age were always lovely, and she indeed was pretty), but because of her delicate status—her father was the current Wolf King, Khalif.
In the Wolf Family, inheritance wasn’t the norm. It had always been about who was capable. Although Khalif himself had six sons, not one of them held a seat among the five elder chairs that symbolized the family’s power. From Khalif to the lowest dock worker, it was seen as natural; the family didn’t need a weak or incompetent alpha, including Khalif himself, who legitimately ousted his predecessor to wear the ring of power.
This stern and powerful family head was undoubtedly strict with his sons but quite gentle with his daughters. Each year, akin to the social season of the kingdom, similar events would take place within White Bridge. He would actively seek suitable young talents from the family for each of his daughters. As a result, during her first foray into the social circle at the age of 12, the youngest daughter Prima immediately took a liking to Louis.
At that time, Louis, four years her senior, was still not of age. Although Fahim had let him be exposed to various things early on, he was still just a child. Most people still saw him as Fahim’s shadow, but Miss Prima—her eyes set on this boy—hadn’t changed her mind for ten years.
Unfortunately, Louis was just as firm as she, never giving her any unrealistic hopes—from a certain perspective, both were equally stubborn.
“If it’s with her father, I’ll see her,” Louis said lazily.
The fever hadn’t muddled his brain. The hotter his body, the cooler his mind seemed to get. Louis was getting impatient with Alexander’s gossip about scandals, but the next thing Alexander said did make him perk up a bit.
“Lord Khalif is also very concerned about you. This was Miss Prima’s last message,” Alexander said. “So, what do you think?”
As a high-ranking family member, the news of Louis being attacked had indeed spread quickly in White Bridge, with everyone speculating what had happened and whether Louis had survived.
After all, he had been out of contact for seven hours, and Louis, who had secured one of the five chairs, was still too young—years later, some still believed he wasn’t deserving of his position.
If Louis had wished, he could have personally reassured Miss Prima during their expensive magical communication, telling her that although he was injured, his life wasn’t in danger, and he would soon be heading back to White Bridge. That would have quelled much of the simmering speculation.
But he wasn’t even willing to perform the superficial niceties, instead delegating his personal assistant Alexander to respond, which even Alexander couldn’t stand to watch anymore.
But he only murmured a few words about it. In reality, Louis was quite gentle with most women. If not for her status, starting a romance with a pretty girl wouldn’t be a problem for him.
It’s not that Louis was putting on airs. Everyone knew that although the Wolf family didn’t directly inherit power, having a senior paved the way, and grassroots efforts yielded entirely different results. Even Louis himself was brought up by Fahim’s hand. If he agreed to marry Miss Prima, Khalif would likely invest more heavily in cultivating him—if his capabilities and ambition lined up, he might well become the next Wolf King.
But that’s just public opinion. Louis didn’t think Khalif would hand-help his own rival because of affection for his daughter.
Yes, a rival.
The idea of the old stepping aside for the young was just nonsense. Who would willingly give up power after sitting on the throne for so long?
Especially Khalif. This man appeared dignified and fair, but as one of his closest high-ranking officials, Louis could sense how he was becoming more tense each year, no matter how well he tried to disguise it.
Khalif is getting old.
Louis thought.
The fear of aging turned into a pervasive vigilance. No matter whom he talked to, saying good things about Louis and wishing for Prima’s wishes to come true, he never once used his position to force Louis into submission on this matter.
Khalif was wary of anyone being labeled as his successor.
Since that was the case, Louis hadn’t bothered to spend time with Prima. That girl was truly innocent, likely one of the few people in this world who believed her relationship struggles with Louis stemmed from differences in poetry preferences, heavy workloads, and the ever-changing weather.
“What do you mean?” Louis glanced at the bed in the inner room, his skin aching, not wanting to move.
Alexander frowned. “What will you say when you return? No normal person could stay submerged in the water for hours without surfacing, especially with so many people looking for you. Then, in the middle of the night, you suddenly emerge, wounded.”
He gestured at the remaining strip of gauze in his hand. “In truth, you don’t have a scratch on you. If anyone asks, will you tell them a fantastical story about being swept away during a struggle with the witch, attracting a big fish with blood, and fighting it before struggling ashore and walking back? And those gift baskets… Since when do we apologize to guests over trivial matters? Especially when some aren’t even our guests.”
This time, when tasked with protecting the Countess, Alexander was left in White Bridge to wrap up the work, arriving in Fortuna City just after Louis. It was there that he noticed his boss’ increasingly erratic behavior.
Hopefully, it wasn’t a delayed rebellion. In the family, Louis was hardly everyone’s favorite, with countless people watching him like hawks. If he was too careless, he would reveal flaws. In a place like White Bridge, letting your guard down often meant death.
He felt he needed to remind Louis of this.
“He won’t ask,” Louis said. “And if anyone does, add more details and use your imagination.”
Alexander raised his hand. “Fine, fine—if you’re that tired, should I carry you to bed?”
He had noticed Louis glancing at the inner room, and since it was already late into the night and Louis still had a fever, continuing the discussion was unwise.
Louis closed his eyes. “Just turn off the lights.”
“You’ll be more comfortable in bed—” Alexander began to say, but he saw his boss turn his back to him on the sofa. A clear sign to stop talking.
Alexander had no choice but to compromise. He headed for the door before returning to grab a blanket from the inner room and placed it snugly over Louis. “I’ll come back in an hour to check if your fever has gone down.”
Louis remained motionless.
He only opened his eyes again once he heard the door click shut.
Many in the family believed that Fahim gave Louis everything—his name, identity, wealth, and career prospects—but the useful things Louis inherited from his uncle were fewer than they imagined. Alexander was one of those few.
Even without Fahim, Alexander had proven his loyalty and trustworthiness as he grew up with Louis. But Louis never shared his secrets with him.
That’s why Alexander was often puzzled by his boss’ behavior. He might think Louis was unambitious, yet he had been striving to climb since his teenage years. The elder’s chair and brooch weren’t gifted to him by Fahim. But he also had a subtle attitude towards those in power, staying on the fringes of the family’s core authority. Miss Prima was just one example.
Including tonight, he sensed Alexander’s excessive chattering was expressing his dissatisfaction, feeling frustrated because Louis hadn’t explained what happened with the witch. Alexander believed he was wholeheartedly helping Louis, and his concern and anxiety over Louis’s disappearance were genuine, but Louis remained silent, treating him like anyone else.
Louis knew what his assistant was thinking, but as long as it concerned Charlie, he couldn’t tell anyone.
He fought for power and status in the Wolf Family, not because he wanted to be the Wolf King. In fact, he had always felt disgusted by this decaying, dark, colossal family.
He only did it for Charlie and himself.
Fahim’s lie made him believe Charlie was the Holy Grail, and as one of the few families in history to have had a Holy Grail, the Wolves had the most clues. Even the prophecy of the astrologer who died years ago about “one of the twins falling in the southwest, igniting the fires of hell” came from the Wolf Family’s head at the time.
So if anyone identified Charlie and tracked him down, that person would likely be from the Wolves.
If he didn’t fight and lived a mundane life in the old walled house in Fortuna City, then it was likely that when his brother was brought back and used to reignite the life of the demon, he would be oblivious.
This horrifying idea kept Louis moving forward.
He needed to rise to the head of the family, sit in the closely guarded study, and listen to them discuss their deepest secrets.
To extinguish the dangerous flames before anyone else could notice, and if things spiraled out of control, personally end that ominous prophecy before it became irreversible.
That was what he lived for.
The author has something to say:
Louis doesn’t like sleeping in bed, but he is disciplined. Normally, it’s fine, but people tend to be more willful when they’re sick.
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