Chapter 163: Price

Paris, Left Bank of the Seine

In the heart of Paris, on the Left Bank of the Seine.

Inside a nineteenth-century classical apartment building completely shrouded by plane trees.

Under Pierre's guidance, Leo passed through several layers of tight security checks and took the elevator to the top floor.

The heavy oak door swung open.

Leo stepped into the dimly lit fireplace room.

The fire blazed brightly, its dancing flames casting the entire room in flickering light and shadow.

A young man in a charcoal gray cashmere cardigan stood before the fireplace, his back to the door.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned around.

Erwin Valois.

On that handsome but slightly haggard face, in those deep eyes, flickered extremely complex emotions—excitement, gratitude, awe, and a hint of cautious probing.

"Mr. Ashford."

Erwin took a deep breath and walked solemnly toward Leo, bowing slightly.

"I've finally met you."

"I'm Erwin Valois, the only son of the former head of the Valois family."

"Twenty-five years ago, my father was assassinated by Louis, and my mother died protecting my escape. Pierre risked his life to save me..."

At this point, Erwin's voice caught.

He took a deep breath, forcibly holding back the tears welling in his eyes, and continued, "For these twenty-five years, I've waited every single day—waited for a chance to avenge my parents and reclaim my rightful position as family head."

"And you..."

Erwin raised his head, his eyes full of sincere gratitude. "You accomplished what I wanted to do but couldn't. You exposed Louis's crimes. You made Antoine pay his blood debt."

"You gave me the first glimpse of hope I've had in twenty-five years."

Erwin bowed deeply, his tone extremely solemn. "Mr. Ashford, from this day forward, I pledge my absolute loyalty to you!"

"Whatever you need, just say the word! As long as I can help you achieve it, I won't refuse!"

Hearing Erwin's words—practically a vow of fealty—Leo merely smiled faintly.

He walked to the sofa and sat down, exhaling a stream of smoke before speaking unhurriedly, "Erwin, I'm afraid you've misunderstood something."

"I have absolutely no interest in becoming the master of the Valois family. I came here simply to return the Valois family to its rightful owner."

"Return it to its rightful owner?"

Erwin froze, clearly not understanding what Leo meant.

Return it to its rightful owner?

He didn't want the Valois family's loyalty, nor this massive European aristocratic empire?

Had this Reaper who'd cut a bloody path through Europe really come to Paris just to play hero and right wrongs?

In this cutthroat underworld, such a notion seemed absurdly like a fairy tale!

However, Pierre, standing to the side, was after all an old fox who'd lived nearly sixty years.

Gazing into Leo's deep eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything, his heart sank abruptly as he immediately grasped the chilling implications behind those words.

There's no such thing as a free lunch—much less a blade handed over by the Reaper.

Pierre took a deep breath, his aged eyes gleaming with shrewd and grave light. He stepped forward, probing carefully, "Mr. Ashford, since you say you're returning it to its rightful owner and don't want our family's loyalty..."

"Then... what's the price?"

Hearing Pierre's probe that struck straight to the core, Leo moved the cigar from his lips, a flash of undisguised appreciation crossing his deep eyes.

"Pierre, you're a smart man."

The corner of Leo's mouth curved into a cold arc as his gaze swept between the old steward and Erwin. "Talking to smart people certainly saves effort."

He casually flicked cigar ash onto the bricks beside the fireplace, his tone flat yet radiating an irresistible controlling force. "Right now, you have no value to me whatsoever, and there's no subordinate relationship between us."

"But when you step over Louis's corpse and reclaim the position of Valois family head, you... will become the perfect blade for me to tear open The Evernight Order's defenses."

At these words, both Erwin and Pierre froze simultaneously.

"A blade?" Erwin's brow furrowed slightly, as if struggling to digest the massive implications behind Leo's statement.

"Exactly."

Leo turned to face the floor-to-ceiling windows and the endless rain beyond, his voice low. "What I need you to do is legitimately retake control of the family, then openly take over all of Louis's connections to The Evernight Order!"

"I need you to become their new proxy, to become my strongest breakthrough point in finding their true lair!"

Louis was now a dead piece on the board.

Between the storm of public opinion and Leo's assassination schemes, those rats hiding in the shadows of The Evernight Order would likely choose to cut their losses and completely abandon Louis, this watchdog who'd gotten himself into such a mess.

But if The Evernight Order wanted to continue manipulating events in Europe, they absolutely needed a massive pool of funds and power cover in the secular world.

The Valois family—they could never easily give that up.

Once Louis died, the Valois family would be leaderless.

At that point, the Evernight Order would urgently need to prop up a new, obedient puppet.

And Erwin Valois, as the only bloodline of the previous family head, would be that perfect, most legitimate replacement.

Pierre and Erwin exchanged glances, both seeing in each other's eyes undisguised shock, followed by sudden realization.

This was an extremely insane plan—one could even say it was making the entire Valois family dance on a knife's edge!

Leo wasn't just going to kill Louis—he was going to pull a switcheroo, using Erwin, the legitimate heir, as bait to hook that prehistoric leviathan that had hidden for seven hundred years!

Once Erwin took control of the family, the moment The Evernight Order proactively made contact would be when Leo followed the thread to uproot The Evernight Order completely!

"I understand..."

Erwin took a deep breath. Not only did he feel no humiliation at becoming Leo's "breakthrough point," but in those eyes that had endured twenty-five years of patience, fierce ambition and resolve now burned.

"This life was borrowed time anyway. As long as I can kill my way back to Louis's estate, avenge my parents, and reclaim what belongs to me!"

Erwin straightened his spine abruptly, looking directly into Leo's eyes, and declared resolutely, "Mr. Ashford, I agree! Once Louis is dead and I take power, all intelligence the Valois family holds regarding The Evernight Order will be completely open to you!"

"Thank you for giving us this—"

Erwin was about to bow deeply in gratitude again when Leo's raised hand coldly interrupted him.

"Don't thank me yet."

Leo took a deep drag on his cigar and exhaled thick blue smoke. "Before this deal is officially sealed, I need you—or Pierre—to answer one question."

"Please ask." Pierre stepped forward respectfully.

Leo leaned forward slightly, radiating intense pressure as he asked seriously, "Twenty-five years ago, why was Louis able to kill your father so easily?"

Hearing this question, both Erwin and Pierre's bodies jerked simultaneously, their expressions instantly stiffening.

Leo ignored their reactions and continued his cold analysis. "According to The Evernight Order's operating logic, they need a stable, obedient puppet family. Your father, as the legitimate family head controlling family power, should have been The Evernight Order's primary target for support and protection."

"Yet Louis was merely a second son back then. If it was just about internal family power struggles, why would The Evernight Order permit such a bloody coup that could shake the family's very foundation?"

"In fact, The Evernight Order didn't just permit it—they even deployed Antoine's military connections to help Louis clean house. That's equivalent to The Evernight Order personally intervening to help a second son kill their original proxy."

Leo's fingers holding the cigar tapped lightly on the table, his gaze sharp as a blade. "The Evernight Order never loses deals. What exactly did your father do back then to anger The Evernight Order? Or rather... what bargaining chip did Louis offer—something even your father wouldn't give—to earn The Evernight Order's utterly unprincipled support?"