The villainous prince who bullied Feng Aotian was actually myself.

Page 42

Early morning is when a city is at its most vibrant.

The palace was some distance from Finn's residence, and Leon felt he couldn't just sit there alone looking at the scenery outside the car window, because Bloomfield was sitting next to him.

"Sir, I've heard you've been going to the Guberland University Library quite often lately?"

The University Library of Guberland is the largest library in Guberland and consistently ranks among the top three libraries in the world, making it world-renowned.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Hawkeye replied, "Because I feel that if I want to improve myself, I need to read more books."

"What kind of books do you read, sir?"

Leon laughed.

"I want to read 'A Brief History of Civilization,' as well as 'Mathematical Philosophy in the Natural World,' and other literary, mathematical, and theological knowledge like 'What God Said.'"

Hawkeye answered.

"Want to see?"

Leon focused on the keywords. These books are readily available for borrowing from the Guberlin University Library.

"Yes, I just wanted to look at them. When I opened these books, I found them so boring that I couldn't read them at all."

Hawkeye was helpless.

"So what have you been looking at at the library these past few days?"

Leon was curious.

"'The Last Warrior of Spartacus,' um... and 'The Villainous Prince Was Actually Me,' the latter one is quite good."

Hawkeye paused for a moment, then replied somewhat embarrassedly, "I think novels suit me better. Academic, theological, philosophical, and prose-like texts give me a headache. Oh, right—I quite like poetry."

"Hmm...it's pretty good."

Leon gave an awkward laugh.

While chatting with Hawkeye, the carriage had already arrived at the Duke's mansion.

It was nine o'clock in the morning. Hibbert, who had stayed out at the Red Theatre until two or three in the morning before returning home to rest, was still snoring like a dead pig in his bedroom when Leon arrived at his house, since he hadn't given any prior notice.

"Your Highness Leon, what brings you here so suddenly?"

Leon waited for about five minutes before Hibbert appeared in the reception room with a smile on his face.

He got up in a hurry, and his formal attire wasn't very neat; his red Mediterranean-style hair was a mess.

"I've come to check on your progress regarding the operation to capture Helena."

Leon got straight to the point.

“Your Highness, you don’t need to worry about that. Helena can’t escape. We have already obtained her latest movements and will soon be able to determine her approximate location before making her arrest.”

Hibbate laughed.

"Latest developments?"

Leon raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes."

Hibbate laughed.

"His Majesty sent me a message yesterday inquiring about this matter, so I need to know the general progress of your operation in order to report to His Majesty."

Leon was talking nonsense with a straight face.

Caesar didn't send him a message at all; he was just betting that Hibbett wouldn't dare to confirm the matter with Caesar, so he used Caesar to force Hibbett to admit it.

After all, it's clearly impossible to get information from Hibbate through normal communication.

"Is that so?"

Hibbs probed.

"Yes."

Leon remained unmoved.

"Alright, Your Highness, just reply to reassure His Majesty."

Hibbett replied.

This……

You can't even get a word out of me?

No, perhaps this old fox is still testing me.

"Very well, since Lord Hibbert has said so, then I will reply to His Majesty as such, Your Grace. Farewell."

Leon got up to leave.

Hibbert did not stop Leon.

"Sir, let's go back."

"Okay, Your Highness."

"Wait a moment, Your Highness."

Just as Leon was about to step out of the drawing room, Hibbant called him back.

Leon stopped in his tracks.

Tsk, what a cunning old fox.

"What is it, Lord Hibbert?"

Leon turned and asked.

"Tell His Majesty that it has now been confirmed that Helena is in a small border town in the northern part of the Empire, near the Snow Capital."

Hibbate stated.

"Alright, I'm sorry to disturb your rest, sir. However, as a high-ranking official of the Empire, I think you should set a good example."

Leon chuckled softly.

"Of course, I was busy with official duties yesterday and slept in late. Besides, Your Highness—today is Sunday, a day of rest."

Hibbs smiled.

"So I didn't mean anything by it."

Leon smiled calmly, "Alright, I won't bother you any longer."

"Your Highness, walk slowly."

Leon and Hawkeye quickly left Finn's residence.

So, Helena is indeed heading to the Snow City?

Leon had probably guessed this from the day Helena told him she wanted to go see the north.

They are still unsure of Helena's exact location, so there is still plenty of time; they must intervene as soon as possible.

Leon was making plans in his mind.

"Your Highness, shall we return to the palace now?"

"Hawkeye asked."

"Yes, let's go back to the palace."

Leon answered.

With Hawkeye nearby, Leon can't move easily. He needs to go back to the palace first and distract Hawkeye.

To be honest, Leon's move today was too risky.

If he openly inquired about Hibbert's progress, he risked being exposed if Hibbert failed to capture Helena.

However, among those involved in the capture operation, Leon only knows Dora and Heathcliff, and according to Raymond's description, Dora is the key figure.

Although, Hibbert's most trusted subordinate might also know.

However, Hibbert's men were nowhere to be found, and going to see Dora rashly would raise even more suspicion than going directly to Hibbert.

Logically speaking, Leon shouldn't have known that Dora was also involved, because he only learned about Dora from Raymond.

However, Leon had no idea how far they had progressed.

Therefore, after thinking it over, it's best to go directly to Hibbert.

As for being suspected, the possibility is relatively small, because the original owner's persona was set up too firmly. Just a few months ago, one of the masterminds who imprisoned and controlled Helena was the original owner.

So if Leon didn't want to capture Helena, even if he told Leon, who considered himself the one who knew his brother best, Leon probably wouldn't believe him.

Leon...

If he hadn't been born into a prominent family, he and I might have actually been very good brothers.

In the original anime, Leon died, and his grief was genuine.

but……

If you want to reach a higher position, you must learn to be ruthless.

Thinking of this, Leon felt a chill creep down his spine.

P.S.: When I first started brainstorming ideas and got featured, nobody read this book. I didn't expect it to become so popular, and the data has changed so much. I'll try to make time to update more often from now on. Thank you all, dear readers...

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Lychee Is Not Enough

The city of Guberland has four districts.

First is the West District, which is located at the uppermost part of the Merlin River and is an upscale residential area. The top and upper-class people of Guberland basically live here.

Then there's the East District, located in the middle and upper reaches of the Meilin River. It's mainly inhabited by middle-class people with moderate incomes and generally respectable jobs.

Next is the South District, located in the middle and lower reaches of the Meilin River. The main residents here are ordinary workers who, although their income is not high, are able to make ends meet.

Finally, there is the industrial zone located at the very downstream of the Meilin River. This area is filled with factories, has poor conditions, and is a gathering place for the lower classes, with many unemployed vagrants and chaotic public security.

Dora lives in the eastern part of the city of Guberland.

It is a two-story building.

The door was closed; Dora wasn't home.

Opposite Dora’s residence, there is a five-story teahouse.

Within the ancient Belland aristocratic circles, they enjoyed holding "salons" in places like teahouses and coffee shops.

As for what a salon is, it's actually similar to a party, only perhaps a bit more elegant. In short, it's a group of people gathering together for entertainment.

Because of the market demand, service industries such as teahouses and coffee shops began to spring up in large numbers in Guberland.

At this moment, Leon was sitting alone on the fifth floor of the teahouse, near the window.

From this height, the roof of Dora's residence is almost completely visible.

It's around 2 p.m. now. After yesterday's heavy rain, the sky has cleared up again.

On the roof of Dora's house, there was an iron pole on which her clothes were drying.

For Leon, who is capable of casting spells, it is not difficult to randomly select and take one of these clothes without anyone noticing.

Uh……

However—the difficulty was that Leon felt he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Stealing girls' clothes is such a despicable thing...

Previously, Leon, one of the top ten youths in the Stinky Tofu City, would never have even considered such a thing.

But now...

Actually, it's not really a question of whether or not to steal.

The main reason is that Leon just thinks about Dora's face... hehehe.

It turns out that looks really do matter. If it were to steal Helena's or Hazel's clothes, Leon wouldn't hesitate at all!