The Young Master in the Shadows

“So that's how it happened…” Theodore nodded after Axel finished telling his story.

“Yes… I had no idea that I would be discovered right from the start!” Axel turned and glared at Margret hatefully. He was holding a grudge.

“What did you want me to do! Spread my legs and let you fuck me…”

“MARGRET! Watch it with the language!” Theodore scolded hitting his table.

“I am just saying, I needed to protect everyone!” Margret pouted. An hour ago Theodore grilled her about everything, and she told him that Victor already knew of his replacement plan. “You must be grateful I didn’t castrate you as I had originally planned to…” she added in a low voice, making Axel feel a shiver run through his spine as he remembered her invite to take him upstairs and…. DAMN BITCH!

“...” Theodore sighed. She was right. “Let’s put this behind us!” he said. “What do you think?” he turned to Mike and asked.

“We have three problems… “Mike said. “The first is that the infiltration might be even deeper than we first suspected… I could never have believed that someone would manage to get access to the blood samples let alone, managing to switch them without anyone noticing!“

Theodore nodded. The blood samples taken to test all the heirs' DNA after Aria’s incident were kept in a very secure position. Only the supreme elders had access to those. He doesn't believe that Tolin or the late Marcos was behind this, as they didn’t need to, so it must be someone else… Olaf couldn't access them either, not alone….

“Second, is why did they choose Victor out of all other heirs… It could have been me, or Max…”

“WHAT?” both Mike and Alice asked in surprise. As Axel frowned. Just how infiltrated was his family?

“We are not 100% sure, but after learning about the ritual we were going to conduct here, he began snooping around like a horny cat looking for a mate. George here has been keeping an eye on him… ” Theodore, who was clearly a little disturbed replied.

“Oh…” Mike frowned and looked at Geroge who was standing to the side. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, young master!” Geroge said. “My guts are never wrong!”

“...” Mike raised one eyebrow.

“We will look into that later, as he might be under some hypnosis skill like Rex… ” Theodore said dismissively. “As for those guys choosing Victor, I think they wanted someone close enough to the power, but not powerful himself, and Victor fitted the bill perfectly, especially with his… Ehm… ‘lively personality’.…” he said, choosing not to call his son a damn granny-loving pervert.

“Makes sense…” Mike nodded.

“What’s your third point?” Theodore asked.

“Ah, it is about how Axel got his class… Those guys might be working for von Geldstadt…”

“I don’t think so!” Margret refuted him before he could continue. “Elise would have known, and from what she told us, Harvey really thought highly of Victor…”

“Oh…” Theodore frowned.

“ I think those guys might have infiltrated all the families…” she said. “Though I don’t have a proof…”

“Then we will keep this matter open…” Theodore frowned. “What did they order you to do?” he turned to Axel and asked.

“Ah… As I told you… They told me that there were spies in the family, and they wanted me to help expose them…” Axel scratched his head. “Nothing else…”

“So no clue…” Theodore sighed.

“There is one…” Alice interrupted. “The timing of Axel’s introduction was too perfect… It is as if those guys knew what happened in the Mines before we even could! The only explanation would be that they knew of Marcoss’s plan beforehand and expected it to fail!” she analyzed.”

“This might not be true… “Margret said. “As I told you, Victor had been suspecting that someone was after him since the wedding, the last I heard from him, he said that a few heirs had been trying to isolate him in the Mines using a critical mission, but he managed to dodge them… That plan was set in action even before the incident!”

“Oh… “ Theodore frowned. “Why didn't you say something before?” he asked her.

“I already told you! Victor told me to keep it a secret… You can ask him when he returns!” she spat.

“IF he ever returned!” Mike sighed.

“Yeah… We only know that he is alive… Who knows he might be suffering in some hellish place struggling to survive…” Alice lamented as she bit her lip. She should have moved faster back then, or she could have saved him!

“HA… Suffering! That guy is definitely having the time of his life!” Margret spat.

“Why are you saying that?” Theodore asked. “You know something?”

“Yup…” Margret spat. “You just didn’t let me say a thing, scolding me as soon as I entered this place!” she said.

“What do you know…” Alice sighed and asked.

“Not a lot…” Margret said. “You remember that we did all that ceremony at the wedding right?”

“Yeah… What does this have to do with it?” Theodore asked.

“Our marriage with Victor is a System marriage…”

“AH! RIGHT, THERE WAS THAT!” Theodore quickly remembered.

“We are connected through the system…” Margret continued.

“YOU CAN CONTACT HIM?” Theodore interrupted in shock, making everyone look at Margret.

“As if… We tried, but it failed…” Margret shook her head. “It is just that there is an indicator on the system, signifying the number of ‘System Marriage’ wives… It was 10 before, now it is 11… Victor had just got married again!” she shrugged.

“Ah…”

“Ah…”

“Ah…”

Everyone opened their mouths in shock, not sure what to say. Epically Theodore felt a little defeated. His son was more of a hunk than him, managing to marry even in a dungeon!

“Are you sure?” Mike asked.

“Yup! We are all here sitting worried about him and he is busy fucking someone…” Margret sighed. Victor was still in his quest to catch them all!

“...” Theodore sighed. “At least that is some good news…” he said. Damn that pervert son!

“Yeah…Ture…” Mike nodded.

“WAIT!” Alice flared. “You said he had 10 before? Victor only had 8 wives at the wedding!” she said, making both, Theodore and Mike turn to look at Margret again.

“There was?” Margret asked, playing dumb. Choosing not to tell them about Lily and Alex.

“...” Everyone glared at her.

“...” Margret shrugged and looked away. “Who knows…”

“...” Theodore sighed again, deciding not to ask her any further about his son’s private life. This girl was as tight-lipped as an expensive hooker getting asked how much money she makes. Still, he didn't hate her for that.

Axel on the other hand felt very strange. For a brief second, he really wished he was that Victor for real, getting laid left and right!

“Let me ask you this then…” Theodore said. “Did Victor learn anything when he eavesdropped on those guys at the wedding?” he asked Margret.

“I told you everything I know! He leaned nothing,” Margret said. “Even those guys’ invitation card was from the unnamed ones we sent to the family… That’s why Victor chose not to say a thing to the family in the first place!”

“I understand... Is that really everything you know?” Theodore glared at her. Something was telling him that this slut was hiding something, but he couldn’t tell what.

“Yeah…” Margret nodded.

He just gave her another glare.

“So… What should I do now?” Axel asked nervously.

“Shouldn't we just capture Olaf and interrogate him?” Mike proposed.

“No… We don’t want to startle the snake!” Alice said. “I think Axel should keep his cover and become a double agent! And at the same time, we keep an eye on Olaf!” Alice said, then turned to her father. “What do you think…”

“Release the small fish to catch the bigger one later…” Theodore pondered. “I think this might work… But since we don’t know their original goal, it might be dangerous… Those guys would never truly trust Axel after all,” Theodore sighed. Their only lead right now was Olaf.

“Yeah… he is a disposable pawn!” Alice nodded. “No offense!” she turned to Axel and said.

“... None taken…” Axel sighed. He was not a fool, hearing how his father phrased it, he was really getting used like a pawn.

“So we can only wait and watch?” Mike asked. He didn’t like this approach, usually preparing the direct route.

“Do we have any other choice?” Alice asked.

“How about I act as bait?” Margret suggested.

“You do what?” Theodore asked, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“Simple… I just need to ‘accidentally’ discover that Axel is fake, and then threaten him to divorce me and give me a lot of money!” she said. “This way, he will contact Olaf and tell him about it, and those guys might really try and eliminate me!” she said.

“Although this might work…” Theodore sighed as he tapped on his desk. “It would be too dangerous… Victor would never forgive me if anything were to happen to you!” he said, looking at Margret’s stomach. Yup, he got the news.

“BUTT…. It is our best shot! Don’t worry, I can fend for myself….” Margret said. “And this is really our best chance… Those guys wouldn’t suspect a thing…”

“NO! Means no!” Theodore interrupted and shook his head. “I would never put the life of my grandson in danger!”

“...” Marget pouted. “It is a granddaughter!” she spat looking away.

“Wait… What am I missing here?” Alice, who had no idea, began looking between the two.

“You are going to be an aunt!” Mike shrugged.

“AH!” Alice blinked as she looked at Margret. That was shocking.

“Master… I think Lady Margret's idea might be feasible…” someone suddenly said. It was George who was standing in the back. “Let’s just use someone else… Someone who knew Victor before, and has a probable chance to discover Axel is a fake!”

“Oh… The problem with this is that Victor had been a little timid and reclusive ever since he was young…” Theodore sighed. “He really has no close friends!”

“Adding to that the Amnesia factor, The bait must be really close to him to find a fault!” Mike added. “And he has to be someone weak and shameless enough to extort Axel!” he added glaring at Margret. This slut was really the perfect candidate.

“Add to that, he should be in a high enough position to make disposing of him silently not an option… Otherwise, Olaf would just use the family forces or some cheap assassin to get rid of him!” Alice, who finished glaring at Margret, turned and said.

“We also need someone who is disposable or powerful enough to fend for himself in case things go south, and on top of that, we should be certain of his loyalty, we need to be certain that he doesn’t work for those guys in the first place!!” Mike added.

Theodore nodded. With those conditions, the list was really short… He could really only think of Margret. None of Victor's other wives would really fit the bill!

“I think we should think about this differently!” someone suddenly asked. It was George who stood silently in the back, making everyone almost forget that he was there. “Our main target is just to pull the snake from its lair, nothing else… We don’t need the bait to know he is one!”

“Oh… Do you have someone in mind?” Theodore asked.

“Yes….” George sighed.

“Who?” Everyone looked at George.

George sighed then slowly approached Theodore whispering one word in his ear.

“Wait… You want me to make him do that?” Theodore asked in shock.

“Master, just think about it… he doesn’t have to know he is a part of the plot!” George said. “Just let young master Axel display a mistake in front of him and then we might be able to eat more than one kind of meat over dinner…”

Theodore just glared at George. He seemed hesitant. “I will need a few days to think about it!” he said.

Geroge nodded, he could understand his master's hesitation.

Theodore paused a little then turned to face everyone. “You can leave for now… Pretend that this conversation never happened!” he said as he slowly stood up.

Everyone nodded.

“Ah…. There is something else I want to report… “ Axel said.

“What?” Theodore asked.

“Someone just tried to assassinate me in prison… He thought I was Victor!” Axle said.

“WHAT?” Everyone looked at him. “Who?”

“No idea, he said it is about the rights of crimson pearl movies…. He made me sign them away!”

“SIGN WHAT?” Margret stood up.

“A document giving all the rights to adapt the novels to an anonymous 3rd party,” Axel said, after talking to Alice, he suspected she might be behind this trying to eliminate him, but he seemed to have been wrong.

“SHIT…” Margret cursed. “And you just signed those?”

“I had no choice, he would have killed me if Alice didn’t save me in time!”

“What is this about?” Theodore asked, looking at Margret. “Didn’t you say that this Abe thing was just a coincidence?

“Ah… I really thought that….” Margret sweated a little. “I think we need to investigate this…”

“We will!” Theodore said. “Did you subdue the assailant?”

“Ah… No… He used a weird talisman to run away…” Alice was the one who replied. She winked to Axel to keep the fact that his memory was erased momentarily a secret for now. He quickly got it.

“A player?” Mike frowned as he pondered about what he just heard.

“Yeah…” Alice nodded.

“Didn’t he say anything about who is behind him?” Margret asked with a frown.

“Ah! Not exactly, but he was pretty chill taking his time… “Axel found it a little hard to remember. “He did ask about a girl named Lily,”

“Lily?” Theodore asked in shock. “Right! Where is that lass now?” he asked Margret.

“Victor sent her on a secret mission before leaving, no idea…” she shrugged.

“Did he say anything else?” Theodore turned to Axel again.

“Ah… Right… He said Victor killed his friends and he held a grudge… And… His name is Malcolm!” Axel said as he finally remembered.

“...” Margret gasped. She couldn’t help it.

“What?” Mike asked.

“Nothing… I just don’t know anyone who fits that description…” she said as she sweated again. She really needed a bath after this. No… She needed to contact Lily first!

“...” Theodore glared at her.

“...” she just tilted her head.

“Whatever… Just be careful!” he finally said after a sigh. “You can go… Oh, and Axel you will be staying here from now on, go meet Elena, act as if you are Victor, and don’t let her suspect a thing….”

“Wouldn’t staying here make Olaf suspect something?” Axel asked.

“No… In the next few days, I plan to awaken all my offspring as Players using a secret method!” Theodore said then waited to watch the shock on Axel’s face, but there was none. Axel had no idea how hard it was to become a player in the first place…. “Anyways… I want you to help supervise this, it will also be a good chance for you to get to know the family… They are your half-siblings after all.” Theodore continued.

“Oh…” Axel frowned and nodded. He didn't mind that, and he didn't really dare to go back to that loli-filled mansion.

“Also… Let Olaf know about the awakening and what I asked you to do… ” Theodore said. “Let’s see what that scumbag will do now!” he smirked!

”I understand!” Axel nodded.

***

It was already noon when Victor woke up and stretched his arms and failed…. A little girl was resting on one of them, sleeping peacefully.

Emira seemed to have stayed with him last night after seeing how sad he was because Aerith refused his company and ran away… DAMN, IT… His acting fooled the wrong girl!

Whatever!

“So You are awake!” someone said, making him startle and look up. It was Aerith on a chair next to his bed, dressed in her knight uniform and sitting with her perfect legs crossed.

“AH! HOLY SHIT! I THOUGHT YOU ARE SOME POLICE OFFICER!” he exclaimed, keeping his voice low. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Just came to wake you up… But decided just to wait a little bit…” she said, looking away. Yup, as a horny girl, she was so enchanted by her husband's handsome sleeping face that she decided to just watch for a little bit.

“Oh!” Victor who read her horny little mind chuckled. As he slowly sat up, making sure not to wake the little girl.

“She is quite attached to you…” Aerith commented.

“Yeah… a poor girl,“ Victor sighed as she slowly stood up, leaving Emira to continue her sleep. She reminded him of Lara somehow, so he really treated her like a young sister.

“Come on then… Go get yourself ready, and go downstairs, we will have a late breakfast and then head out to the library!” Aerith said as she also stood up and turned to leave.

“Wouldn't you accompany me to the bathroom and wash my back?” he asked.

“... NO!” she spat. “If you keep acting like a pervert, Careful! I do to you what Lyra did to that Elf!” she added a warning.

“... Ouch… You would never do that… You are a horny girl! ” Victor said, remembering what Lyra did to Macil…

“... Who knows what I would do…” Aerith shrugged. Deciding to ignore the way they addressed her.

And Yup… The Macil was castrated! …. Lyra was so angered by the way that the elf talked back to her like she was some lower kind of creature that she took action with her own hands! She totally ignored her mother’s warning to take it easy on him as she seemed to really suffer from a Young Master Trauma! Send her to interrogate Macil was really a bad idea!

Rosette reached them just in time to stop the bleeding and then stop the fight that ensued between Lyra and Meril! Those girls kept glaring at each other after that.

Thankfully, according to Rosette who was a doctor, hope was not all lost, this world had a cure for that, but growing it back would not be a good experience as it involved submerging the body in a tank of blood and insects for a few weeks…

He didn’t even want to imagine how it would feel!

“Now hurry up!” Aerith, who watched him instinctively pinch his legs together, nodded with a smile then left.

Victor shook his head. The girl had no idea…

She thought she was really smart, managing to develop a strategy to combat his irresistible charm in just one day.

It was to never stay alone with him for too long and that whenever she felt that her body began to be uncontrollable she would run away!

Too bad she had no idea that she was a cooked duck, pointlessly squirming in a young master’s dinner dish, just waiting to be eaten when he felt like it.

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