The Laws of Werewolf Hunting

Chapter 565 A Plan to Turn the Tide
Mr. Melcher knew quite a bit about the Courles family, but for some reason, he didn't reveal it all.

"Please forgive me, but although Carolingian's actions have disgraced our ancestors, I have no right to say more."

Clayton did not press Mr. Melcher, but instead asked him to speak again about the new mayor.

The werewolf was very curious about Mr. Kunti, but the image he heard from Roderick was incomplete. He hoped to complete Mr. Kunti's image from the perspective of an anthropologist.

Mr. Melcher's answer was valuable, as always.

"Mr. Kunti's election was not a coincidence; he was destined to become mayor."

"Is the election being rigged?"

"You can't say that, but Mr. Kunti is the candidate who is most likely to be selected."

Clayton, holding his teacup, recalled the contents of various newspapers before the election: "I remember he was named one of the most likely candidates to become mayor in the middle of last year."

“Yes, ‘one of,’ the two candidates ranked right next to him are both nobles,” Mr. Melcher said. “There are many nobles in the city council, but even more commoners. Commoners respect nobles, but they don’t want nobles to be mayors, especially the conservative landowners, whose interests are not the same as most people’s, and who are not good at pleasing their constituents.”

"When there are both nobles and commoners among the mayoral candidates, the city councilors who are of commoner origin will try their best to persuade their districts to vote for the commoner candidate—unless the noble candidate is clearly superior to the commoner candidate in that election, and they do not want to offend the nobles, so the person who comes in must be someone that everyone can accept."

“Mayor Kunti is not a nobleman, but his father works in the Queen’s Palace. This connection is enough to make him a half-nobleman, so choosing him was the right decision.”

Many people have a misconception that it is extremely difficult for a commoner to gain power in the king's court. However, the reality is quite the opposite. The moment a commoner stands in the court, he has already obtained the power that millions of people outside the court dream of.

His power comes from only one advantage—distance.

He was close to the king, so the king could hear what he said and see what he did.

People always trust what they can see, and so do kings.

If a commoner wants to make the king dislike someone from another city, he can slander that opponent to his heart's content. The wronged person cannot immediately stand up to defend his reputation. It may take a day, a week, or even a month for the letter to reach the king, during which time many things can happen. Even if the letter finally arrives, the king may still be unwilling to admit his mistake.

"It is better to offend the governor of a city than to offend the eunuchs around the Sultan."

The Edomites summarized this rule a thousand years ago, and Mr. Kunti gained widespread recognition because of his father's influence.

He could become a member of the nobility at any time due to the honors his father received.

“Actually, to the city council, Mr. Pupu and Mr. Kunti are pretty much the same; they are both outsiders. But Mr. Pupu seems to have other land elsewhere, and many people worry that he won’t pay as much attention to the interests of the locals.” Melcher said in a serious tone, referring to Philip’s comical nickname, which was given to him by a conservative newspaper and was so catchy that it almost replaced his real name most of the time.

Philip himself may have considered protesting, but the Druids behind him clearly didn't see anything wrong with it, because the nickname actually boosted Philip's fame and increased Pulitzer's sales of electronics.

"Whom does Sir Jon Rattle support?" Clayton asked.

“He supported Mr. Kunti earlier, and then Mr. Pupu later. I wonder if this change is related to the rumors outside.” Melcher propped his head up, otherwise he would unconsciously hunch his back: “Some people say that he is old and that when he goes to see the Father, the power he left behind on earth will be taken over by Mr. Kunti. Maybe such words make him angry.”

Clayton thought it was pure nonsense. If one mastered the Blade Secret Technique to the level of Sir Jonard, one could at least double one's lifespan. The old man would not take such rumors seriously.

"Why Mr. Kunti? I thought Mr. Pupu was more likely to do it."

Mr. Melcher lowered his voice with embarrassment: "Mr. Pupu has too close a relationship with the heretics. Some people suspect that he is already a druid, or that he has promised to hand over his eldest son to a druid. Of course, I have no problem with druids."

The scholar did not yet know Clayton's full identity, but most of the people who gave him the feeling of a "beast" in the past were druids, so he tried not to say anything that could be easily misunderstood.

"Do you know the Dominion family?" Clayton suddenly asked.

"The largest landowners in the city, this family owns more land than any local noble, yet they merely plant trees on the land. Although the family members do not openly admit it, everyone knows they are the representatives of the druids."

These were almost identical to what Clayton knew.

However, he also noticed an interesting phenomenon from Mr. Melcher's account: people would question whether Philip and the Druid were too close, but no one said anything bad about the old knight when a semi-public Druid attended Des Joannard's banquet. This certainly cannot be explained simply by "respect for the old man".

On the one hand, people revered Jonrad; on the other hand, people had no expectations of him.

Elder Desce has influence, but that influence isn't enough to make people trust him. Perhaps the bookstore isn't ready to become a tourist destination.

The conversation was interrupted. The werewolf suddenly turned his head. Mr. Melcher looked at him in confusion. About fifteen seconds later, footsteps sounded outside the door. It was Mrs. Melcher. It turned out that a new guest had arrived. He demanded to see Mr. Melcher immediately and did not allow Mr. Melcher to refuse.

Mr. Melcher's face turned very ugly. Although the visitor did not give his name, there were not many people who could boss him around.

"Really." He shook his head, not giving his true assessment.

"Excuse me, may I take my leave?"

Seeing Mr. Melcher stand up, Clayton also stood up: "I've never seen such a rude person, Melcher." He said indignantly, "I have to go with you to see him and teach him a lesson in manners."

Mr. Melcher took another look at Clayton's physique and decided that it would be good for him to have him around, so he readily agreed.

The guest was waiting for his host in the living room. He stood there impatiently and spoke as soon as he saw Mr. Melcher appear.

“Mr. Melcher, I am Derren of the City Life Committee. The committee needs a veterinarian to examine the physical condition of all the participating horses in order to organize the highly anticipated horse race. You should understand what I mean, so feel honored. We think of you whenever there is a good job.”

“I refuse.” Mr. Melcher stood in the doorway without moving.

"You can't refuse."

"why?"

The clerk named Delron sighed insincerely, as if he genuinely cared about him: "Mr. Melcher, are you really going to pretend you don't know anything? Who but your master would give you such a good opportunity?"

“The Melcher family’s service to the Kules family ended in my father’s generation.”

“That’s what you think.” Derren looked at Mr. Melcher with a sneer, until Mr. Melcher stepped aside and Clayton ducked out from behind the door frame, his unpleasant expression turning to astonishment.

After Clayton stepped out the door, he stretched out his body, making the other two adult men present look like two children.

“I’m a judge at this conference and I’ve been dealing with the City Life Committee a lot lately, but I don’t remember seeing your face.”

"Of course I am a member of the City Life Committee. If you don't believe me, you can ask someone else to verify it."

As the lieutenant's imposing figure drew near, Derren's tone softened involuntarily, and he lowered his head slightly.

“No need to verify, I know you’re real,” Clayton said coldly. “You’re the kind of person who’s placed in a public office by the noble master you’re loyal to, receives a regular salary, but doesn’t actually do any real work. I don’t think you’re qualified to interfere in such a high-profile event as the horse races. Besides, Mr. Melcher has already placed bets on the race results, and to avoid any appearance of impropriety, he can’t take on this task.”

“I...I understand.” Derren nodded with difficulty. He didn’t press the matter further and quickly took his leave, not wanting to stay under Clayton Bello’s nose for even a moment longer.

Mr. Melcher breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him leave the house.

"Thank you, Bello, but how did you know I placed bets on horse racing? Did I mention it before?"

“No, I was just guessing.” Clayton sat down on the sofa in the living room, looking like he had been thinking. “He’s from the Kules family.”

Mr. Melcher's expression turned somber: "Yes, as you know, my grandfather used to be a retainer of Curles. That was a long time ago. Some of the things he did were not honorable, so I'm sorry I don't want to say more."

Clayton tapped his fingers on the sofa armrest, as if waking from a dream: "Melcher, do me a favor."

“I did my best,” Melcher said.

“Go out and catch up with Delren now, and tell him you regret it and want to take the job back. You have the ability to convince me to agree, but you'll need extra compensation.”

Melcher was taken aback: "Why is that?"

“The Kules family has ill intentions. As a referee obligated to maintain the fairness of the competition, I need to know what kind of conspiracy they are planning at the horse racing event. With your help, I will definitely succeed.”

Mr. Melcher did not immediately agree, so Clayton then promised, "I will guarantee your and your family's safety, I swear on my own name. If we're lucky, we can ruin Curles' reputation and make sure he can never bother you again."

The animal behaviorist paused for a few seconds, nodded in agreement, and then quickly walked out of the house.