Chapter 634: Secret Plan

In the Mansion of Elder Fredricks...

Crash!

A glass cup smashed against the wall of the study.

The impact echoed through the room.

Shards of glass scattered across the floor, some sliding beneath the large wooden desk while others landed near the feet of the servants.

"Damn it!"

Elder Fredricks shouted.

He was dressed in his night robes, but there was nothing peaceful about his appearance.

His face had twisted with anger, and the veins along his neck and temples stood out as he paced back and forth.

The young maids inside the study trembled.

None dared to approach him.

They stood in a line near the wall, their hands clasped before them.

Every time Fredricks turned in their direction, several of them lowered their heads even further.

"How dare she?"

He gritted his teeth.

A few of the younger maids flinched at the sound of his voice.

One even took a small step backwards, only to realize that there was nowhere else to go.

Yet the eldest maid remained still.

She watched Fredricks with a calm expression.

Having served him for years, she was already familiar with these outbursts.

Seeing the Elder lose his temper was hardly a surprise to her.

"How dare she humiliate me in front of those lowlifes?!"

His shout rang through the study.

"Ah... Ah..."

Several young maids raised their hands to cover their faces and heads.

Their bodies stiffened as they waited for his anger to turn towards them.

Fredricks noticed their reactions.

He stopped pacing and turned sharply in their direction.

"Did I scare you?"

His question carried a strange calmness.

One of the young maids parted her lips.

She tried to answer, but her voice failed her.

"A... n... no..."

The words came out in broken pieces.

Fredricks began walking towards her.

With every step he took, the young maid pressed herself further against the wall.

Her shoulders tightened, and her hands shook as she held the front of her uniform.

If only she could pass through the wall like a ghost.

Anything would be better than standing before the Elder in his current mood.

"Elder Fredricks, she is frightened by your brilliance. How could these lowlifes, who are only useful as your bed tools, not fear our Master?"

The eldest maid’s voice cut through the silence.

She spoke calmly, without a trace of hesitation.

Her words were flattering, but there was no change in her expression as she watched Fredricks.

She was one of the Head Maids responsible for leading the servants of the Ashenlocke Household’s third division.

Her position and long years of service had made her familiar with the Elder’s temperament.

Fredricks turned towards her.

For a moment, he simply stared.

Then he laughed.

"Haha..."

His shoulders relaxed slightly, and the anger on his face eased.

"You are right."

He accepted her words as though they had settled the matter.

The young maid remained pressed against the wall.

She did not move until Fredricks turned away from her.

The eldest maid had once again managed to calm him down.

Fredricks resumed pacing, but his thoughts soon returned to the reason for his anger.

"Portia, that bitch, made me give that bastard lowlife maggot a Seventh Grade Ese!"

His voice rose again.

"Does she know how much money I spent to acquire that Ese? I planned to hand it to either Felix or that eldest Laverdale daughter, so I could get her into my bed."

He spoke without caring who heard him.

There was no attempt to hide his intentions.

To Fredricks, the money he had spent and the plans he had made were reasons enough to justify his anger.

"But now, everything is ruined."

His fist tightened.

"Even Valentine rewarded that lowlife maggot with the right to own a Signature firearm. And that same bastard has been getting close to all the Flowers as though it were nothing!"

His expression darkened.

Envy had been building inside him for some time.

Every achievement Ezra gained only made it worse.

Fredricks remembered the holographic screen displaying Ezra and Willow Derlis standing close together.

The boy’s plain face had appeared on the screen, showing none of the embarrassment Fredricks thought the situation deserved.

Then there was Diane.

He remembered the image of her sleeping on Ezra’s shoulder.

That scene had also been displayed on the holographic screen for everyone to see.

Fredricks’ jaw tightened.

And he had not even considered Ezra’s numerous involvements with Vera.

My Vera.

The thought came with renewed irritation.

He clenched his fist again.

The more he thought about Ezra, the more difficult it became to control his temper.

At first, his dislike of the boy had begun with the humiliation Ezra brought upon Felix.

Fredricks doted on Felix more than any of his other grandchildren.

One of the main reasons was that Felix was the only grandchild who enjoyed learning from him.

He listened to the Elder’s teachings and showed an interest in the way Fredricks viewed power and authority.

To Fredricks, that made Felix special.

The others were different.

They did not seem to regard him as their grandfather, and several made little effort to hide their opinions of him.

Harlan Ashenlocke would mock the very idea that Fredricks had managed to father Valentine, Val, and Astraea.

He spoke of it as though it were a myth, no more believable than the Philosophers rank.

Silvia Ashenlocke was even less subtle.

Whenever she had to be near Fredricks, she made no effort to conceal her disgust.

Duchess Regina, her mother, often corrected her and warned her to treat her grandfather properly.

But Silvia paid little attention to those warnings.

Even her grandmother from the Viscount House of Cornwell could not convince her to change her attitude towards the Elder.

Bella Ashenlocke took a different approach.

She did not openly disrespect Fredricks, but she kept her distance.

She avoided being alone with him and never allowed herself to become trapped in a conversation with him if she could help it.

Duchess Hailey was equally careful about her daughter.

She made certain that Bella would not have to deal with Fredricks in the first place.

Byron Ashenlocke occasionally spoke with the Elder, but his reasons were mostly political.

He treated Fredricks as an Elder of the Ashenlocke Household rather than as a relative whose blood he shared.

Their conversations had a purpose.

There was little warmth in the way Byron dealt with him.

Bale, on the other hand, was perhaps the only one who had no real problem speaking with Fredricks as a grandparent.

However, Hailey did not allow him to become involved with the Elder in the slightest.

One could say that Bale Ashenlocke was more unaware of what was happening around him.

His siblings, step-siblings, and stepmothers knew things about Fredricks that he did not seem to understand.

Veda Ashenlocke’s situation was different.

Veda did not disrespect Fredricks. Even so, the Elder himself barely cared about Veda’s existence.

It had started in the past, when Veda was regarded as a waste within the Ashenlocke Household.

Time had passed, but Fredricks had never truly changed his opinion.

Even now, he refused to acknowledge Veda as the current Young Lord of Ash.

The Elder did not like admitting that his judgment had been wrong, and rather than accept it, he continued to treat Veda as though there was nothing worth noticing.

Then there was Vera Ashenlocke.

Her attitude towards Fredricks was something everyone knew well.

She had never treated him as an Elder.

And she did not even seem to regard him as a proper member of the Ashenlocke family.

Vera had made her opinion clear on several occasions, sometimes in front of the other Elders and even her own father.

One of her usual comments had been:

’Why is this old man not dead after all these years?’

Another time...

’He should at least be sold into slavery, so he can enjoy his life as a sex slave.’

Those words came from her casually and directly.

She never seemed to feel the need to soften them. Whether Fredricks was standing nearby or other members of the family were listening, Vera spoke as though she were making an ordinary observation.

Duke Valentine had been forced to intervene more than once to stop the young Vera from making such comments about Fredricks.

Yet Felix Ashenlocke was different.

To Fredricks, Felix was like him.

Someone who understood how power and authority should be used.

Someone who knew that strength and position were not things to be wasted.

Fredricks genuinely liked Felix.

He believed the boy had the qualities needed to lead the Ashenlocke Household, especially since Vera was expected to be married off and become the next Queen of the Kingdom.

With Vera destined for such a position, Fredricks had believed that Felix should become the next Duke of Ash.

It was a plan he had wanted to see succeed.

Then Ezra appeared.

And everything began to fall apart.

The humiliation Ezra brought upon Felix had caused several members of Ash’s High Board, along with other notable figures in the Ashenlocke Household, to reconsider their support for him.

Those who had once stood firmly behind Felix were no longer so certain about their choice. Some had begun to think twice before continuing to support the person Fredricks wanted them to follow.

Felix lost a considerable amount of influence.

And Fredricks lost the plan he had worked so hard towards.

The Elder’s expression grew colder as he recalled it.

Ezra had ruined more than one occasion for him.

The boy’s actions had weakened Felix’s position and made people question the very person Fredricks wanted to see become the next Duke of Ash.

Yet that was not the only reason for his hatred.

Ezra continued to achieve more.

His progress had become difficult to ignore, and his growing relationship with Vera only made the situation worse.

Fredricks could not forgive the fact that a lowlife maggot, someone who had once been treated like a dead rat in his own household, was advancing at such a pace.

The boy had been disregarded for so long.

Now, people were noticing him.

He had to give Ezra a Seventh Grade Ese.

Duke Valentine had rewarded Ezra with the right to own a Signature firearm.

Ezra’s name was appearing alongside people Fredricks considered far beyond his station.

And Ezra was getting close to the Flowers.

Fredricks hated every part of it.

He hated Ezra’s achievements.

He hated the recognition the boy received, and he hated seeing his own plans fall apart because of someone he had once considered insignificant.

Most of all, he could not accept Ezra’s relationship with Vera.

My Vera.

His fingers tightened once more as the thought resurfaced in his mind.

The thought alone was enough to bring his anger back to the surface.

"Ezra needs to die."

The words escaped his mouth in a low mutter.

The eldest maid, who had been watching him quietly, finally spoke.

"But Elder, killing that child or sending assassins after him would not be advisable."

"I know that, bitch!"

Fredricks snapped at her.

His eyes narrowed, and his fist remained clenched.

He understood that killing Ezra outright would not be a simple matter.

The boy had already attracted too much attention, and there were people whose reactions he could not afford to ignore.

That did not mean Fredricks had given up.

He only needed to find another way.

His gaze shifted towards the large study table.

His Zphone 14 lay on its surface.

"Call the Prince back."

The eldest maid lowered her head.

"Yes, Elder."

She walked over to the table and picked up the device.

The screen lit up beneath her fingers as she began scrolling through the contact list, searching for the Prince’s number.

Fredricks glanced at the remaining maids.

"The rest of you useless maids should leave."

He waved his hand dismissively.

The young servants hurried towards the door.

None of them wanted to remain in the study a moment longer than necessary.

Their footsteps sounded across the floor as they rushed out.

Some wore expressions of faint relief, while others kept their heads down until they had passed through the doorway.

Only after the last of them had left did the room settle into silence.

The eldest maid remained beside the table, still searching through Fredricks’ contacts.

Fredricks walked towards her from behind.

"Before that."

The maid paused.

Fredricks caught her hand and forced her head down with his other hand.

Then he removed his robe.

The eldest maid did not protest.

She had grown accustomed to his behaviour over the years, and her silence did nothing to make the situation less uncomfortable.

Fredricks paid little attention to her reaction.

His thoughts were already occupied with Ezra and the plan taking shape in his mind.

The anger that had consumed him earlier had not disappeared. It had simply given way to another purpose.

A smirk slowly crept across his face.

"I plan on ruining his reputation first."

He reached towards the maid’s legs with his left hand, slowly moving her uniform up as she stood beside the table.

"Then the chance to kill that maggot will surely come."