"Felena has declared full-scale war on Theodore?"
Hulim Heyerar could hardly believe her ears, asking for confirmation.
"You heard right. It’s true. To be honest, I was just as shocked as you when I got the report."
Alicia Serions replied.
"......"
Hulim fell into deep thought.
"So it was the Third Prince all along? How did this happen? There must be more to this than ets the eye......"
"And this letter."
Hulim pulled out the crumpled letter.
"So this is where the discrepancy lies."
Under normal circumstances, after Lord Crawford’s assassination, the First Prince Drehack Serions would be the primary beneficiary—and thus the pri suspect.
But judging from Felena’s reaction, she clearly knew sothing, and was certain that Theodore was the mastermind.
If the person who’d threatened Crawford in this letter was indeed the Third Prince Theodore, then everything made sense.
The letter must have been sent by soone in Theodore’s faction—probably a key player in his political operations. But for so reason, this person had no intention of helping Theodore; instead, they’d subtly betrayed him by leaving clues that would point to the prince.
There was no doubt that Theodore had originally ordered Crawford’s assassination. But sothing had gone wrong in the middle. The person in charge of arranging the hit, having already betrayed Theodore, had deliberately left behind evidence that would implicate the Third Prince.
Yet the fact that this person had still followed Theodore’s order to kill Crawford ant they couldn’t possibly be loyal to Felena, the Fourth Princess.
"So in the end, does this lead back to the First Prince? No...... No, that doesn’t add up either......"
Hulim stared at the letter in her hand, her brow furrowed.
Sothing was still off, but she lacked the information to figure it out......
"Alicia, there must be more direct evidence pointing to the culprit hidden in Crawford’s residence. We have to find a way to get our hands on it."
Even though Felena’s reaction strongly suggested that the letter referred to Theodore, the letter itself didn’t explicitly na him. If the letter writer had betrayed Theodore long ago, there must be other letters or evidence hidden sowhere that would directly prove the Third Prince was the mastermind!
"Agreed. A morial service will be held at the Minister of State’s residence later. We can attend as the first to discover the body—that will give us a legitimate reason to be there. But...... do you really think we’ll find sothing there?"
"I don’t know. But we have to try. Besides, we can shift our focus to suspects within the Third Prince’s faction when investigating the assassin."
"I’ve already given the order. But it will take so ti to dig up any leads."
"In that case, let’s head to Crawford’s residence first......"
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......
Two days later.
Upper City of Langard.
A large crowd of nobles had gathered at the residence of Lord Crawford, the Minister of State, to attend his morial service.
Alicia, Hulim, and Miko Kedar were also present.
"The Honorable Crawford Banoren, Minister of State, served his post with unwavering dedication throughout his tenure. He made trendous contributions to the stability and prosperity of the empire. Every single day he held office......"
At the morial service, Crawford’s casket rested in the center of the hall, surrounded by a sea of rare and precious flowers. An imperial envoy sent by the Emperor stood before the casket, delivering a eulogy on His Majesty’s behalf.
The nobles and dignitaries filling the hall listened in solemn silence.
On the surface, it was a peaceful morial service—but beneath the veneer of calm, the atmosphere was charged with tension.
The reason was clear: among the attendees, the group led by the Fourth Princess Felena exuded an aura of barely contained fury, as if they were ready to draw their swords at any mont.
It was only because the First Prince Drehack was away from Langard, and the Third Prince Theodore had chosen not to attend the service, that the situation hadn’t spiraled out of control......
"So that’s the Fourth Princess Felena. She’s just as formidable as the rumors say......"
Watching Felena from a distance, Hulim thought to herself.
How much did she really know about what had happened? If they could talk to her, they might be able to get their hands on more valuable information......
After the imperial envoy finished his eulogy, the guests stepped forward one by one to pay their final respects. Finally, after a mber of the clergy declared in the na of the Six Gods that Crawford had embarked on the cycle of reincarnation and returned to the embrace of the gods, the morial service officially ca to an end.
The mont the service concluded,
Felena and her entourage wasted no ti, preparing to leave imdiately.
"Please wait a mont, Fourth Sister."
Alicia called out, stopping her.
"What is it?"
Felena’s tone was cold, but she halted her footsteps nonetheless.
"Fourth Sister, I’d like to ask—how can you be so certain that the Third Brother is the mastermind behind this?"
Knowing Felena’s straightforward personality, Alicia didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"Hmph!"
Felena let out a sharp snort.
"Why else? That bastard is furious because Crawford betrayed him! But so what?! Crawford was my man now! Daring to lay a hand on him is a declaration of war against !"
With that, Felena paid no heed to Alicia’s reaction, turning on her heel.
"Let’s go!"
Then she and her retinue stord off in a flurry of activity.
No doubt they were heading back to continue their campaign against Theodore......
"She’s certainly a decisive and straightforward person."
Watching Felena’s retreating figure, Hulim comnted with a sigh.
"Decisive and straightforward? I think she’s just being rude and arrogant!"
Miko huffed, clearly displeased.
"I’m sorry about that. Fourth Sister has always had a fiery temper. But she treats her subordinates very well, which is why she’s extrely popular among the lower and middle-ranking officials."
"Huh, really? I never would have guessed that from the way she acted."
"Uh......"
"Alright, let’s not dwell on Felena anymore. We have more important things to do."
Hulim spoke up, reminding them of their mission.
"You’re right. Let’s get moving."
The three of them returned to the mansion and found Crawford’s wife, Lady Banoren, explaining the purpose of their visit.
"......My husband has been so distraught these past few weeks. I’ve been worried sick about him, but he always brushed off whenever I asked what was wrong. I never thought...... I never thought this would happen to him!"
Lady Banoren burst into tears, her voice wracked with grief.
"Your Highness, please—you may search this residence from top to bottom, however you wish. I only ask one thing of you...... Please, find the person who did this!"
"Rest assured. We will find the culprit, no matter what it takes."
With her permission, Hulim, Alicia, and Miko headed to the rooms where Crawford had spent most of his ti, starting their search.
Their first stop was the bedroom.
But even after conducting a thorough search—checking every inch of the room, even tapping on the walls to look for hidden compartnts—they found no clues whatsoever.
"It looks like there’s nothing here. Let’s head to the study next......"
Soon enough, the three of them arrived at Crawford’s study.
But the mont they stepped inside, they knew this would be a monuntal task.
Because Crawford’s personal library was absolutely massive—a common vanity among nobles. Even if they never read a single book, they amassed large collections for show; otherwise, they would be seen as vulgar and uncultured in noble society.
But in their current situation, this extensive collection was nothing more than a massive headache for Hulim and the others.
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