Chapter 466
“I chose Baroness Wolfsbane faltered, then drew a hard, rattling breath.
Her mind spun, laying out outcomes like cards on a table. She counted them, then made her call.
“Listen to me, you bastard-Rosenheim!” she snapped, the name cracking across the room like a rifle shot.
“You ought to know,” she said, eyes aflame, “when I was young there was only one Saint-Claire-Marquis Saint-Claire. No Rosenheim. Only a poor servant with the name Rosenheim.” Her words struck the air like a war drum.
“My granddaughter Sofina is married to Alexander Saint-Claire. He is the rightful heir of the Marquis Saint-Claire. You-Rosenheim, ungrateful servant and thief— how dare you lift a hand and make me your enemy? Do you think I fear you? You are nothing but a thief p>
Silence fell. Even Alex’s breath caught. As he watched the woman who had hated him to the bone turn, in an instant, into his fiercest ally.
Katarina’s face went hard. Fury stole color into her cheek.
“Want to die, old woman? You reek of earth-half-buried already—and yet you still have the nerve to stir trouble p>
Baroness Wolfsbane’s laugh was a low animal sound. “I’ve fought wars before you were born,” she said.
“Who do you think you are? Alexander Saint-Claire will be part of the Wolfsbane name. I will recognize his claim. He is the heir of the Saint-Claires. The Wolfsbanes will back him and take back every property you stole. I am the one who will make war on the thief and the faithless servant p>
“You” Katarina sputtered, face flushing crimson. “You keep calling him a servant. That’s it. Guards, seize that old hag. Give her a lesson p>
“Guards,” Baroness Wolfsbane barked, “give her two slaps p>
At the command, the two groups of android guards lunged. Rosenheim’s guards were new-sleek models bristling with modern weaponry.
Wolfsbane’s guards moved like veterans-older, scarred, and harsher. They met in the room’s center with a metallic roar.
Steel rang. Shouts filled the air.
Everyone expected Rosenheim to win.
But when the first clash ended, the Rosenheim androids were locked up tight by Wolfsbane’s guards. The two sides stood their ground in a bitter stalemate.
“Unbelievable,” a noble muttered. “How can the old models hold against the newest units p>
Whispers spread fast: maybe Rosenheim bought cheap knockoffs. Robots that looked new but weren’t.
People leaned in, hungry for the spectacle. It was the first noble feud in decades and everyone wanted to witness how it all unraveled.
Katarina’s face went beet-red. Her family’s newest model had been routed by machines that were decades older. Humiliation burned through her.
“What are you doing?” Katarina barked. “Use your latest weapon—now! Show them these relics what real firepower looks like p>
A Rosenheim android’s hands and bodies began to split open, panels peeling back to reveal a terrible weapon-something that could turn the banquet into ruin in a heartbeat.
Glasses went still. Sofina’s hand clenched. Other guests paled.
Eve blinked, slow and mechanical. The Rosenheim unit stalled.
It folded its panels back as if reconsidering. The Wolfsbane guards swarmed and drove a brutal blow into the exposed metal. The would-be weapon never fired. Laughter broke out. The room filled with the sound—hard, relieved, merciless. “This is the first time I’ve seen a robot this dumb!” someone crowed.
“Lazy programming,” another snorted. “All flash, no grit p>
Katarina was too shocked to comprehend what was happening. How could her android guards suddenly ignore her command-lower their weapons and let themselves be attacked instead?
Baroness Wolfsbane fixed her eyes on Beatrix and Annabella. “Both of you don’t just stand there. Go teach our enemy some manners. Slap her a few times. We’re at war now p>
Beatrix and Annabella locked eyes. Both had been humiliated at this banquet; both burned for the sweet rush of payback. They moved toward Katarina with slow, deliberate steps, their faces carved in cold resolve.
“You bastards of the Wolfsbane name-don’t you dare!” Katarina spat, voice trembling as she tried to claw back control. “I warn you—I am Baroness Rosenheim p>
Beatrix and Annabella laughed-short, sharp. “We’re baronesses too,” Beatrix said, voice like a knife. “From the older line. Not like you-stealing a title, a mere servant pretending to be noble p>
Beatrix’s palm snapped across Katarina’s right cheek. Katarina’s head whipped to the side. Annabella didn’t want to be outdone-she struck Katarina’s left cheek just as hard.
Katarina staggered, humiliated and burning.
Beatrix didn’t hesitate. Her palm snapped across Katarina’s cheek with a hard, practiced motion.
Annabella followed-another sharp, ringing slap across the other cheek. Both women unleashed years of pent-up humiliation in two brutal, lightning-fast strikes.
Katarina, her pride bleeding along with her lip, glared up through clenched teeth. “Seems like you really want to die,” she hissed. “Don’t forget what the Rosenheims can do to you p>
For a beat, Beatrix and Annabella froze. The name had power-Rosenheim still carried weight in the room.
The hot taste of revenge cooled. Their faces hardened; suddenly the slaps felt like too much. Regret and adrenaline tangled in their eyes.
Baroness Wolfsbane stepped forward, her glare slicing through the air.
“Tell me what can a bastard Rosenheim actually do?” she barked. “A servant who once stabbed his own marquis in the back-how fitting. Treachery’s the only thing your bloodline’s good at p>
She raised her chin, her voice growing louder, prouder.
“The Wolfsbanes stand together. Sofina is my granddaughter-she married into the Saint-Claires, and we will protect her and her husband with everything we have. And now with the Eden Group standing behind us, do you truly think the Wolfsbanes fear the Rosenheims p>
Katarina’s mouth twitched. With the Wolfsbane-Eden alliance, Rosenheim had no path to victory. The color left her face.
“You thief,” Katarina spat at Sofina, desperate. “Give me back my dogs p>
Sofina drew a slow breath, descended from the stage with steady grace, and planted herself between Katarina and the crowd. Her eyes were cold as flint. “You stole Heinrich from me first,” Sofina said, calm and sharp.
“So what?” Katarina screamed, her voice cracking with rage. “You’re just a bitch nobody likes! Even Heinrich threw you out like trash! You’re worthless so you went and stole my useless dog to fill the hole he
left!
Sofina smiled, but there was steel in it. Her fist flew like a coiled thing-tight, precise-smashing into Katarina’s nose.
The sound of bone and breath was ugly and immediate. Katarina’s knees folded; she crumpled to the floor, stunned and bleeding.
“I, Sofina, declare this,” she said, her voice cutting through the hall like a blade. “From this moment on, I will not work with anyone tied to the Rosenheim family p>
Heads turned. The message was unmistakable-Eden Group’s alliance and the Wolfsbane family’s support made Sofina untouchable.
Her refusal could shatter alliances, cancel contracts, and ruin reputations in a single breath.
Marlena von Adler leaned toward Alex, her whisper a soft, hungry thing. “Looks like our plan might speed up p>
Alex didn’t expect any of this. But as he watched Sofina stand tall-hands steady,
chin lifted—he felt something open inside him.
The chance to reclaim the Marquis title, to take back the lands and give his people in Estoria a real place in Prussia, suddenly felt within reach.
They’ll hide behind his marquis title.
Marlena stepped forward. “The Eden Group is aligned with Sofina. Her enemies
are our enemies. Starting today, the Rosenheim family is ours to crush. We will not stop until they are destroyed p>
A ripple of shock moved through the hall. Sofina’s punch at Katarina might have been personal-but Eden Group’s backing turned it into a declaration of war.
The nobles shifted. If Wolfsbane and Sofina declared war and Eden poured fuel on the fire, everyone knew which side to pick.
One by one, houses stood up. “We are the Dönhoff family,” a baron announced. “We refuse to work with Rosenheim ever again p>
Another man stepped forward. “Löwenstein—never liked Rosenheim. We join this stand p>
All around, the nobles rose and closed ranks. “We stop business with the Rosenheims,” someone else declared. Voices multiplied until the hall hummed with agreement.
Katarina, who had come to this banquet to drag Alexander home and reclaim her claim, went suddenly pale.
Her plan had been simple: take him back, take the lands. Now the entire Winchester turned against her family. Every patron, every contract-gone overnight.
Sofina Scheinwald’s name spread through Winchester like wildfire. Her stance with Wolfsbane, sealed by Eden Group, isolated Rosenheim.
People began to believe the Rosenheims were finished. It felt inevitable:
Wolfsbane rising again, Rosenheim falling.
Back at Rosenheim Manor, the mood was different. Otto slammed his fist on the
table.
“Even if all of Winchester turns on
us,” Otto barked, slamming his fist on the table, “we won’t go down without a fight. Our backer shields us, They wiped out a marquis marquis family once now they want the last Saint-Claire heir dead so every piece of his estate falls into ourhands p>
Katarina, face swollen and trembling, grabbed his sleeve. “Father-please. Don’t
kill him. Not Alex,” she begged, voice breaking.
Otto’s jaw worked. Rage burned behind his eyes. “You soft fool,” he spat.
“Our sponsors blame us for hiding Alex for three years. They want him dead. That’s the order. No questions. No mercy. He won’t live past twenty-four hours p>