Inside the great hall, after paying respects to Emperor Lubas, the two women walked to their positions in silence.
But while they said nothing, Emperor Lubas kept talking.
“Velis, you have disappointed me greatly. Two assassination attempts in a single day is an utter disgrace to my royal family’s honor! Is the Imperial Princess truly such a fooled existence?”
What followed was a barrage of scolding.
“Of course, the Empire is seething with undercurrents, so I cannot blame you entirely… These days, be more careful.”
“Yes, Father!” Velis obediently acknowledged.
But after finishing with Velis, Lubas turned his attention to scolding Xi’eryou.
“Xi’eryou, as the Grand Princess, you do nothing all day…”
“Father, how am I…”
Xi’eryou tried to retort but was immediately rebuked.
“Shut up! Listen quietly!”
“Oh~”
And so, Xi’eryou followed in Velis’s footsteps.
But compared to the stiff concern and unreasonable scolding directed at Velis, Lubas’s rebuke of Xi’eryou felt more like genuine affection.
Velis didn’t care about any of that, though.
She kept her eyelids lowered, constantly pondering the various events of these past days in her mind, searching for that pair of invisible hands…
But relying on the original Velis’s memories, no matter how she thought it through, no suitable target came to mind.
‘Am I overthinking this?’
Just then, Emperor Lubas, seated at the head, ceased his reprimand of the two princesses.
Today, he had traded his light armor for the magnificent imperial robes.
Seated at the head, the Emperor’s authority was on full display.
Having finished lecturing the princesses, the Emperor turned his gaze to the silent ministers of the Inquisition Office.
“Rodmenlin Lott, the Empire’s Inquisitor, speak up…”
The man called by Lubas was a middle-aged gentleman dressed in the Inquisition Office’s formal black-and-white attire.
And on his chest, the blooming White Lotus with seven petals was truly Radiant.
But at the same time, facing the Emperor’s interrogation, his pressure was the greatest.
The Inquisitor of the Inquisition Office wielded immense power throughout the vast Empire, but here, that meant nothing.
This square-faced, round-eyed Inquisitor, who appeared honest and sturdy, was currently cowed by Emperor Lubas’s oppressive aura…
Yet even so, Velis could still sense from him a breath like that of a venomous snake…
The intelligence the Emperor asked him to report had already been presented multiple times today by the Inquisition Office, earning them reprimands.
But now, with the arrival of the two princesses, Rodmenlin Lott calmly spoke of intelligence known to the Inquisition Office but not yet to Velis and the others.
“Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, based on the Inquisition Office’s investigation over the past day…”
“Among those who attacked the Second Imperial Princess yesterday morning were elves, as well as members of the Restoration Church that recently rose within the Empire…”
Pausing briefly, Rodmenlin continued.
“Furthermore… it appears members of the Storm Revolutionary Army were also involved…”
Hearing this, before Velis and the others could respond, Emperor Lubas above slammed his hand on the gilded throne and roared.
“Outrageous!”
“Calm your fury, Your Majesty!” In an instant, the entire hall knelt in unison.
Such scenes had played out many times before Velis and the others arrived.
Lubath Egbert only roared that one line, then let out a composed sigh.
“Enough, rise.”
One could hear the helplessness in Lubas’s tone, the resentment, but above all, a sense of powerlessness.
“Continue.” Lubas commanded.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Rodmenlin responded carefully, then continued.
“The Inquisition Office has sealed off that area, but we found no trace of the assassins who attacked Your Highness. Most of the elves who originally traded in the imperial capital had already relocated the night before…”
“It’s clear they were prepared for this. We cannot pursue the elven caravans, as such indiscriminate action could easily breed conflict between the Empire and the elves. This requires Your Majesty’s approval…”
At that mention, Lubas merely gave a cold snort without further comment.
Seeing this, Rodmenlin pressed on…
“We did capture some twenty or so members of the Restoration Church and the Revolutionary Army, but they were all small fry. Even beaten to death, they couldn’t provide any useful intelligence.”
“Then there were the assassins who attacked Your Highness last night…” Rodmenlin paused, then signaled Normankov behind him to step forward.
Knowing he couldn’t escape this, Normankov could only step out trembling, completely devoid of the ruthlessness he’d shown against those thugs the night before.
“Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, after this lowly one’s interrogation all night, all we could learn was that they belonged to the Restoration Church. Even in their final moments, they wildly spat accusations. There was simply…”
Normankov swallowed hard, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
“Simply… no more useful intelligence could be obtained.”
“Useless! A bunch of useless fools! The Empire feeds you, and this is how you repay us?” Lubas thundered.
At this, Xi’eryou stepped forward with clasped hands. “Father, it’s only been a single day. Expecting progress this soon is unrealistic. Please calm your anger, Father. The Inquisition Office has surely done their utmost.”
“Heh, if only that were true.” Lubas sneered but said no more.
Instead, he turned to the two women.
“Velis, Xi’eryou, you are both parties involved. Share your thoughts.”
The two naturally agreed and recounted everything they knew, though Velis withheld the suspicions in her heart.
Regarding these two incidents, given how hastily they had occurred, solving them would still take some time.
“Reportedly the Magic Swordman who might be Sword Saint Klenis’s disciple, and the elf Winnie Kanasha?”
Rodmenlin bowed to the two princesses with slight excitement.
“Thank you both for this intelligence. With these two pieces of information, combined with what we’ve already uncovered, I’m confident we’ll crack this case soon!”
Though Velis wasn’t particularly optimistic about them, she still asked. “What do you plan to do? Issue warrants for their arrest?”
“No. Warrants would make them cautious. Only by feigning ignorance will the Inquisition Office have more opportunities.”
With that, the matter of the case was set aside. Emperor Lubas also asked the two princesses for their views on the Empire and the surrounding situation…
Finally…
“Velis, you have your own territory. I’ll permit you to expand by one thousand men as your guard. Xi’eryou, and Kelis as well, the city defense forces will each allocate one thousand men to serve as your guards…”
“Xi’eryou, you’re the eldest. Go and inform Kelis personally.”
Kelis Egbert, whom Emperor Lubas had mentioned, was the Third Imperial Princess of the Okam Empire and Velis’s biological sister.
In contrast, Xi’eryou Egbert, Velis’s half-sister through their father, was actually closer to her than that younger sister.
The Emperor’s orders were quickly relayed. Given that an Imperial Princess had been attacked twice in one day, such an expansion of guards seemed perfectly ordinary.
But to Velis, this was grossly unfair.
She had to find her own thousand men, while Lubas handed Xi’eryou and the Third Princess theirs on a silver platter?
Such obvious favoritism. Velis stood there, expression as heavy as water, saying nothing, while Xi’eryou moved to fight for her sister.
“Thank you, Father! But why is Velis…”
“Enough!” A commanding voice cut Xi’eryou off. “Kelis has recently fallen ill at home. As her elder sister, go visit her along the way. Court adjourned!”
With that, Lubas left without waiting for Xi’eryou to object again.
“Velis… How about I give you my thousand troops? I’m a swordswoman anyway, so I don’t need guards.”
Hearing this, Velis smiled warmly. “No need, sister. You’d be defying the imperial decree. Let’s go.”
Exiting the palace gates, Rodmenlin led a group of Inquisition Office high-ranking officials in a bowing farewell to the two princesses.
“Thank you both for your assistance today. Should anything arise, the Inquisition Office is at your service. This one takes his leave.”
Rodmenlin departed with his men, and Xi’eryou was forced to take the thousand troops allocated to the Third Princess to find her.
And, per Emperor Lubas’s wishes, she would also visit her ailing sister along the way.
That left only Velis, alone, boarding the carriage back.
But on the way back, Velis suddenly felt her body growing restless.
For she spotted a golden-haired, blue-eyed girl standing dazedly by the roadside.
“Stop the carriage!”
The driver complied with Velis’s order, and Velis stepped down in a few quick strides, then slowly approached the girl.
When she felt the sunlight before her blocked, Ophelia Lyons looked up in surprise, and in that instant, her beautiful eyes filled with terror.
“V…Velis?!”
“How dare you! Utter the name of this Imperial Princess so freely!”
Velis spoke with authority, yet a wicked grin spread across her face.
“Isn’t this the second daughter of the Lyons Family who shone so brightly at this Princess’s Inaugural Speech yesterday?”
Facing Velis’s mockery, Ophelia instinctively clenched her fists, unable to meet Velis’s gaze.
“What’s wrong? Not talking? What are you doing here?”
“N…none of your business!” Ophelia finally squeezed the words through clenched teeth.
But judging by her slightly trembling body, she seemed to want to strike but dared not, as if gripped by some fear…
Quite amusing.
At that moment, Velis’s eyes turned slightly crimson.
“Whatever you’re here for, you’re coming with me now.”
“In broad daylight, what… gives you the right!?” Ophelia’s entire body tensed up.
Velis smiled with sinister charm.
“I couldn’t care less. My reputation’s already ruined anyway. But surely you don’t want the whole Empire to know by tomorrow that the second daughter of the Lyons Family is already a withered flower deflowered by yours truly, do you?”
“You!!”
In that instant, inexplicable terror flooded the golden-haired girl’s face.
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