Chapter 108: ¹⁰⁸: Loyalty?

"It would have been my duty!" Derek shot back, growing angrier with every passing second. "If only I were still in the Army! The moment I was transferred, didn’t you see what started happening?"

He took a breath, but his anger didn’t lessen. "First, that man got caught, and I don’t know what he told Kael! Then, right after him, another man I had planted in the Army was caught. That bastard told them about the other five people he had been in contact with. Just because of him, we had to carry out those explosions in a hurry, without any initial preparation, to make sure no other link fell into Kael’s hands."

Derek took another step forward, his gaze locked directly onto Zerek’s. "Do you even realize how hard it was for me to get that bastard killed in his cell to stop him from spouting more of our secrets? You don’t know!"

His voice echoed through the room as he pointed a finger toward Zerek. "So don’t come here telling me that I am doing nothing! It is because of me that you were even able to enter our Empire!"

Derek’s chest rose and fell heavily as he continued, his frustration finally spilling over after having been silent for so long.

"This is not that little pack you were talking about earlier, where your stupid Gaer or whatever was able to get into without anyone knowing. This is the Starlight Empire!"

He glared at Zerek. "Without my help, you would have never been able to get in, let alone bring in so many of your men."

"Okay... okay... take it easy, both of you guys." Maddox finally stepped between them, placing a hand against each of their chests and pushing them slightly apart before their argument could escalate further.

"We don’t have to fight with each other. We have to make sure we do something to bring Kael Dreven down so that we all get what we want!"

"But now that Derek has been transferred out from the Army, how will we be able to keep our work up?" Zerek took a step away from Derek, deliberately turning his gaze away from him. "We will need someone close enough to him on our side. Someone Kael Dreven would never even think would betray him."

"Yes..." Maddox started, his expression turning thoughtful as he considered the problem. "How will we—"

"Stop." Zerek’s sudden interruption made Maddox fall silent..Zerek turned around toward the news screen, his eyes slowly darkening as he listened to the reporter.

"Listen to the news."

The others followed his gaze. The room fell silent as the breaking news continued playing.

[Alpha has chosen his younger brother, Louis Dreven, as the current bearer of his heir tally.]

[It is said that after the explosion, the council had once again highlighted the topic of our Empire needing an heir after Alpha Kael. So, following both the demands from the council and his decision of not having a Luna for the time being, Alpha Kael has decided to make his younger brother his heir instead.]

[Alpha’s younger brother, Louis Dreven, was presented with the Heir’s Tally in front of the whole council just today, giving him the ultimate authority to inherit Alpha Kael’s position without having to get approval from the council.]

[The decision is receiving mixed reactions from the citizens, with most saying they believe in whatever decision the Alpha has taken. More on the topic from our...]

"What if we use Louis Dreven against Kael Dreven?" Zerek spoke suddenly, looking at the screen in front of him. His eyes gleamed with a calculating, scheming light as he stared at the news still playing on the screen. "He has already gotten that tally from his brother. What if we use him to kill Kael Dreven?"

Maddox looked at Zerek with a confused expression, clearly unable to understand the reasoning behind his suggestion.

"But, Brother Zerek, Louis Dreven is Alpha Kael’s brother. He is also a descendant of those cursed people. We will eventually have to kill him as well, so why make him as powerful as his brother before we do that?"

"We will kill him as well, Maddox." Zerek smiled sinisterly, as though he had already considered that part of the plan.

"We won’t let him become the Alpha after his brother. Just imagine it - Louis Dreven killed his own brother to take the Alpha’s throne from him. When that news comes out, will he be able to defend himself?"

He spread his hands slightly, his confidence growing as he explained the idea.

"He will kill his brother, and his Empire’s own rules will kill him. Won’t that be the best for us?"

Zerek’s smile widened. "Both of them will be eliminated just like we want, and we won’t even have to deal with the Starlight Empire. Otherwise, if we kill either of them ourselves, then the whole Starlight Empire’s resources, army, everything, will be used against us."

He paused, letting the thought settle in the room. "However, if they get each other killed, that won’t happen."

"It is not possible." Derek’s voice came from behind him, making both Maddox and Zerek turn toward him. "Louis Dreven can kill for his brother. He is too loyal to him. There is no way he will ever go against Kael."

"Why are you so sure about it?" Zerek asked, clearly annoyed by his words.

"Kael has practically raised Louis. I don’t think Louis will ever betray him," Derek answered.

"You were also raised alongside Kael, didn’t you betray him?" Zerek threw the words back at Derek, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Derek’s expression tightened, but before he could say anything in response, Zerek turned away, refusing to give him the opportunity.

"Louis Dreven has been loyal to his brother until now because he has never tasted the sweetness of power." He glanced back toward the news screen, where Louis’s name was still being mentioned. "When he tastes that sweetness, there is no way that he won’t eventually go against Kael Dreven."

Zerek’s expression became thoughtful for a moment before he continued. "Power is a strange thing in this world. It can make a son betray his birth father. What is an elder brother in front of that?"

He turned back toward Derek, his sharp gaze making the other man’s expression grow wary. "You should keep a keen eye on Louis."

Zerek’s lips curled into a faint, sinister smile. "It won’t be long before we get the chance to use him in our favor."