Chapter 660: Caught Between Front and Back

"You mean my brother and that wine merchant?" Hilley asked.

"Yes." Thales nodded and calmly explained. "On the surface, Dagori Moss was a wine merchant from the Central Territory. In secret, however, he was serving your brother. Of course, he was also stealing your brother's money and filling his own pockets. Until Secret Intelligence found him and used that to turn Moss."

"Mm. Not surprising at all."

"What I know is this. The kingdom's Secret Intelligence sent Moss back to Jade City and had him find your brother, proposing that he come to my side as a double agent. In the end..."

"In the end, my brother unexpectedly arrested Moss in public on the first day," Hilley said indistinctly from the corner of her mouth, biting the pipe mouthpiece while exhaling smoke. "Using him to splash filth all over you and say you sheltered a crooked merchant?"

"Thank you for reminding me again." Thales frowned. "But that is the problem."

"What problem?"

"Moss had only just found me. He had not even had time to attend any banquets with me before he was arrested," Thales said. "Logically speaking, if Zayen waited until Moss had mingled with me for longer, had a closer relationship with me, and had more contact with me before arresting Moss and listing his crimes, would that not strike my reputation harder and make it even harder for me to defend myself? Why was Zayen in such a rush to act?"

Hilley's eyes turned.

"Perhaps because that wine merchant once served him, and my brother worried he knew too much, so he struck first to gain the upper hand?"

"Perhaps."

Thales revealed a thoughtful expression.

"In short, that move caught me somewhat off guard. In order to remain peacefully in Jade City, I had no choice but to reveal a little secret to Zayen."

"A little secret?"

Thales nodded.

"I told your brother that Moss was a spy turned by Secret Intelligence and was being used to sow discord between me and him. As for me being sent here to marry you, that was the king's conspiracy, meant to take Jade City and swallow the South Coast Territory."

Hilley snorted softly.

"In other words, you sold out His Majesty and Secret Intelligence to clear yourself?"

Thales' expression did not change.

"This was for the greater picture. They will understand. Besides..."

You should count how many times they have sold me out.

Thales thought unhappily.

"Besides what?"

Thales returned to the current conversation.

"After several days of repeated probing, I discovered that Zayen knows the kingdom's situation and his own circumstances perfectly, as clearly as looking at fire."

Thales remembered what Zayen had said to him at the Strife Banquet, and his expression became grave.

"As early as when the marriage letter reached Emerald Palace, Zayen had already guessed my father's designs on Jade City, guessed what Renaissance Palace sent me here to do."

Hilley showed a doubtful expression.

"Are you sure?"

"To that end, he deliberately rushed to Eternal Star City and used schemes to obstruct Renaissance Palace's ambitions," Thales said with certainty. "At the worst point, with only a sword he sent out, he nearly forced two lives to die at the royal banquet and threw the Imperial Conference into chaos."

"That sounds very much like his style." Hilley nodded, then her expression changed. "Wait, but that means..."

"Yes. Zayen knew everything from the beginning," Thales said coldly. "He has merely been acting with me the whole time. 'What? Your father actually wants to harm me? What? You also oppose your father? That is wonderful, Thales. Let us set aside our past grudges and cooperate!'"

Hilley looked at him with disgust.

"Exactly how many brainless stage plays from the Temple of Dark Night have you watched?"

Thales coughed awkwardly.

"Since that is so, with Zayen's suspicious and distrustful nature, he must have begun suspecting that this wine merchant who once served him had already been turned by the kingdom's Secret Intelligence as soon as Dagori Moss first found him and proposed coming to approach me."

"I see." Hilley understood. "Therefore, my brother made up his mind to arrest that wine merchant on the very first day he mixed into your group, both preventing him from playing the role of Secret Intelligence spy and ruining your reputation."

But Thales shook his head.

"Too fast."

"What was too fast?"

Thales took a deep breath.

"Based on my understanding of Zayen, if he truly suspected Moss was a spy of the kingdom's Secret Intelligence..."

Hilley reacted.

"Then my brother should have remained calm, turned the scheme back on itself, allowed that wine merchant to approach you, allowed Moss to put on a show of reporting to him, and allowed Moss to be a self-satisfied spy?"

Thales nodded.

"So that he could know himself and his enemy, wait for a chance to move, and use Moss' value to the greatest extent, in turn probing the actions of Secret Intelligence and Renaissance Palace. It seems you understand your brother quite well too."

Hilley narrowed her eyes.

"But my brother did not do that. On the contrary, he arrested the wine merchant."

"And it was only a few short hours after Dagori Moss met me," Thales said. "He even had the Jade Legion fully armed and listed the charges in public."

The prince said gravely,

"That was equivalent to directly abandoning this chess piece. Even if Moss did not die, he would be trapped in prison and could never appear before people again, never produce value again, much less be used in turn to probe Secret Intelligence or Renaissance Palace."

Hilley understood.

"So this chess piece, which originally could have been very valuable, was discarded too quickly by my brother."

Thales nodded, his suspicion deep.

"So quickly that it did not fit his interests."

----

"Our investigation has met obstruction."

In Thales' lounge, Mallos' brief summary darkened the prince's face.

"First was Komuto. He tried, as before, to find acquaintances he knew in the patrol hall, hoping to obtain the files on Dagori Moss' case and learn about Moss' activities in Jade City before this. But after Moss died, the relevant case files were sealed. And..."

Mallos did not continue, instead looking behind him.

Komuto coughed and stepped forward, continuing with embarrassment.

"And what is even stranger is that a friend of mine in the patrol hall only tentatively mentioned it and was warned by his superior, saying that things one should not ask about should not be asked. That frightened him badly, and he refused to reveal anything more to us. I think it will be very difficult to dig anything from the patrol hall line."

Clearly, someone did not want them to find the answer.

Thales' face was cold and expressionless as he rubbed the little cloth bear in his hand.

"So the clue ends here?"

Mallos turned his head. On the other side, Wya stepped forward with excitement.

"Fortunately, Your Highness, thanks to Jade City's management regulations, the document filing system for each department is quite complete."

"Documents? Filing?" Thales narrowed his eyes.

Wya nodded.

"There is a report file in City Hall. A few days ago, the patrol hall sealed off an intersection in the Gold Point District, saying they were searching for a fugitive. But the signature was unusual. It belonged to the patrol hall chief himself. The timing happened to be the day after Moss was arrested, and the personnel sent were all patrol officers connected to Moss' case."

Thales' eyes lit up.

"So it must be related to Moss. But how did you know this report file existed?"

At this point, Wya's smile froze, and his voice lowered.

"There is a newly arrived trainee clerk at City Hall whom I met at the dinner banquet. He is... he has an uncle serving in the capital, coincidentally in the Department of Foreign Affairs. So he was willing to provide us convenience."

The Department of Foreign Affairs...

Thales was somewhat silent. So this was thanks to Gilbert.

"Good. And then?"

"Morgan and Oskalson went to that intersection," Mallos took over. "The blockade had already been lifted, but..."

The Watchman looked behind him.

Oskalson stepped forward, carefully staring at the adorable little bear in Thales' hand with fear and trembling.

"That is an area where wealthy gentry and merchants live in clusters, Your Highness. So even searches by the patrol hall have to be reported to City Hall. But the problem is..."

"That place had been 'cleaned,'" the old soldier Morgan could not stand it and spoke decisively, full of killing intent. "The surrounding neighbors, the gate guards, the street snack vendors, and even the carriage drivers who often run that road were all warned. Each of them treated words like 'wine merchant,' 'fugitive,' and 'arrest' as taboo, as if they knew someone would come asking. No one was willing to speak."

"There were also people watching the intersection," Oskalson added, nervously glancing at Morgan. "They should be local patrol officers, perhaps even Jade Legion. We... we only shook them off with difficulty."

Damn you, Zayen.

Thales sighed.

"So the clue is broken again?"

"Not entirely," Oskalson said. "There was a carriage driver who said that not long ago, he carried someone whose build and appearance looked very much like Moss. He watched that person enter one of the residences."

Thales' expression moved.

"Really?"

"Wait," Wya could not help asking. "But you just said the people around there had all been warned, and no one was willing to speak?"

Morgan glared at him and snorted coldly.

"Yes."

"Then why was that carriage driver willing to speak?"

"Because we were civilized and polite," Oskalson hurriedly took over. "We asked him nicely and gently, and only then was he willing to speak."

Wya narrowed his eyes and looked at Morgan's arm.

"Vanguard Officer Morgan, why are the knuckles on your fist bruised?"

Morgan calmly hid both hands and said coldly,

"I practiced boxing today. Against... a sandbag."

Everyone suddenly understood.

"You mean," Wya asked suspiciously, "civilized and polite boxing practice?"

Morgan's gaze was like a knife, overflowing with killing intent.

"Have you asked enough?"

"In short, Your Highness," Oskalson hurriedly interrupted and smoothed things over, "we learned that the residence Moss visited belongs to a wool merchant named Diop."

"Wool merchant? Diop?"

Thales pondered.

"So Moss visited this Diop. Then what?"

Mallos nodded.

"Madam Diop said that on the day Moss was arrested, her husband left home early and did not return for a long time. To this day, his whereabouts remain unknown."

The prince immediately frowned.

"The clue is broken again?"

Mallos coughed softly.

"That may not be the case."

"All right." Thales sighed. "Which divinely capable Star Lake Guard is it this time?"

Mallos looked at his subordinates, and his expression was rarely somewhat... unnatural.

"Guard Officer Danny Doyle, through unconventional channels, learned that Mister Diop has a mistress outside, along with another residence."

Thales froze.

"What do you mean, unconventional channels?"

Mallos paused, seeming to blame Thales for speaking too much, but he still continued.

"As far as I know, Mister Diop's wife looked favorably upon Guard Officer Doyle and was persuaded by Doyle..."

Looked favorably...

The moment this was said, the Star Lake Guards made sounds of "as expected."

Thales narrowed his eyes.

Everyone began discussing in scattered voices, full of insinuation.

"Wonder how he 'persuaded' her..."

"With his mouth, of course..."

"Doyle's eloquence is very good..."

"And where did he persuade her?"

"In a warm, narrow bedroom?"

"Mister Diop had no objections?"

"Mister Diop did not know..."

"Best that he does not need to know, right?"

"Quiet!" Mallos had no choice but to maintain order. "We are discussing serious business!"

Thales rubbed his forehead and reacted.

"Wait. Where is Doyle?"

"I was just about to mention this. He and Vanguard Officer Glover volunteered," Mallos frowned, "to go ahead to the residence of Mister Diop's mistress and gather information."

These words provoked another round of strange whispers from everyone.

"Eeh..."

"Why is he so eager..."

"Trying to steal credit..."

"It must be for that mistress..."

"Could it be for Mister Diop?"

"Who knows..."

"But he also brought Zombie..."

"Three people is more fun..."

"You mean attacking from front and back?"

"There is also Mister Diop, so that makes four..."

"Why do you like Mister Diop so much..."

But amid all these inexplicable discussions, Mallos keenly noticed that Prince Thales' brows were deeply furrowed.

----

"Have you considered that Moss was arrested so quickly because my brother is extremely wary of Secret Intelligence?"

Hilley raised a question. "He did not want to take the risk of using this chess piece, so he cut off Secret Intelligence's hand at the root and smothered the conspiracy in its cradle from the start?"

"It is possible." Thales nodded. "But in that case, he was too slow."

"Too slow?" Hilley asked in confusion. "You mean that if my brother is so wary of Secret Intelligence, he should never have allowed Moss to meet you at all. The moment he suspected Moss, he should have killed or arrested him to avoid further complications?"

"Yes," Thales said. "That is what I cannot understand. If Zayen still wanted to use Moss, then he abandoned Moss too quickly. If Zayen was wary of Secret Intelligence, then he arrested Moss too slowly."

"Then perhaps his mentality lay between the two. He both wanted to use Moss to hit you hard and feared Secret Intelligence in the dark, not wanting to give them any chance?"

"Perhaps. It barely makes sense." Thales sighed. "Until last night."

Hilley exhaled smoke.

"Moss died?"

Thales nodded.

"No matter who did it, a Secret Intelligence spy with a sensitive identity died in his prison. Zayen should have become even more vigilant and suspicious, pursuing the matter relentlessly." The prince showed a doubtful expression. "But first, he ordered his subordinates to falsify evidence and even the time of the incident, doing everything he could to cover it up, saying this was so the Strife Banquet would not be affected. Second, after I discovered and pointed it out, he followed my words and tried to convince me that Secret Intelligence did it, that Moss' death was only misdirection, that Moss might have been used by Secret Intelligence to provoke conflict between us. Yet that was originally the story I made up a few days ago to earn his trust."

"Unless Zayen did it himself," Hilley frowned. "There is something wrong behind that wine merchant."

Thales nodded in agreement.

"With that, I can roughly piece together another version of the truth."

Thales gently rubbed his hand, his eyes bright.

"At first, Moss went to find Zayen, causing the latter to suspect that the wine merchant had been turned by Secret Intelligence. But Zayen was confident. Far from being afraid, he pretended not to know and turned the plan back on itself, letting Moss come approach me to gain the greatest benefit."

"But when I arrived in Jade City, Zayen suddenly discovered that there was a problem with Moss. This made your brother change his mind, decide to abandon the original plan, arrest Moss on the street, and even relentlessly pursue him after he was imprisoned, wanting to silence him."

Hilley frowned.

"What problem did Moss have?"

Thales shook his head.

"I do not know. But since Zayen could confidently let Moss approach me, he must have thoroughly investigated Moss before. What made him change his mind must not be some stale old matter from the past, such as Moss lining his pockets or losing money in the wine business."

Hilley nodded in understanding.

"And it must have been something that happened after this wine merchant arrived in Jade City, perhaps even before he came to find you?"

Thales nodded.

"Exactly."

"It is the kingdom's Secret Intelligence."

Hilley pondered for several seconds, then said with certainty,

"No matter what problem Zayen discovered on Moss, making him lose composure to this extent, it must have to do with Secret Intelligence. That is the only explanation."

Thales agreed and said gravely,

"I think that in the matter of Moss, perhaps the kingdom's Secret Intelligence and your brother have already exchanged several rounds in the unseen dark."

Hilley remembered something, and her expression changed slightly.

"Wait. In that case, you sent people to investigate Moss?"

"They have already gone, right as we are speaking."

"Call them back."

"All right... what did you say?" Thales asked in surprise.

Hilley shook her head.

"If the problem on Moss truly made my brother wary to this degree... trust me, you will not find anything."

"Are you sure?"

Hilley said with certainty,

"First, you are outsiders. With my brother's control over this city, none of your actions can be hidden from him."

"Second, if your subordinates are lucky enough to find clues, that will be even worse. With my brother's personality, he will disregard the cost and use any means..."

Thales frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..."

Hilley took a deep breath and said seriously,

"Your subordinates are in danger."

----

"We are one step too late."

Inside a luxurious residence, Doyle followed Glover into a room filled with the smell of blood, its curtains drawn tightly.

"This should be the wool merchant named Diop, and his mistress. They have been hiding here these days, until..."

Glover frowned at the man and woman on the bed, both dead for some time.

Behind him, Doyle leaned against the wall, his face pale, breathing deeply in great gulps.

"Never seen dead people?"

"I have. It is just..." Doyle gritted his teeth and forced himself to look toward the two bodies on the bed. "They did not need to kill her too."

Glover calmly pulled open the curtains, letting light shine into the room. Diop's expression before death was full of terror.

"Not 'they.' 'He.'"

"He?"

"This method was done by the same person." Glover grabbed Diop's wrist and observed it carefully. "Subdue the target, open the wrist. Same as Moss in the prison."

"The only difference is that to prevent the target from struggling, Moss was probably knocked unconscious before being silenced, while this one..."

Glover looked at Diop's expression, then at the bloodstained sheets, and could not help frowning.

"Diop was tied to the bed, unable to move. He could only watch himself bleed nonstop and slowly die."

Feeling life leave his body bit by bit.

Doyle finally adjusted and restored his normal breathing.

"Why?"

"If I had to guess, interrogation." Glover studied the wound. "In this situation, whatever you ask, he will answer."

"No, I mean, why kill him?"

"Like Moss, this wool merchant must have known something."

"So now the clue is broken again? His Highness is probably going to..."

Clang.

A muffled sound suddenly came from upstairs, startling both men at once.

Doyle took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

"You said just now that we were one step late?"

Glover stared fixedly at the ceiling, pressed the hilt of his sword, bent his knees slightly, and silently stepped out of the room.

"Looks like he has not left yet. He is still searching upstairs."

"What do we do?"

"There are stairs on both sides of the corridor. You take the left, I take the right. We block him upstairs."

Doyle, who followed him out of the room on tiptoe, had a change in expression.

"Really? What if he jumps out the window? How about I go call some backup..."

"If he runs, we will have no time." Glover narrowed his eyes. "Good timing. Recall how much of your swordsmanship remains. Now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Glover stepped out and quietly moved toward one side of the stairs.

"Damn it!"

Doyle whispered, "Glover!"

But matters had already reached this point. Doyle had no choice but to follow Glover's arrangement and step lightly, making his way up the other staircase.

Father really misjudged things.

Pressed against the wall, Doyle cursed inwardly as he walked.

Staying beside the prince, how is this a job of "eating, drinking, and muddling through the days"?

He quietly reached the second floor. Before his eyes was a pitch-black corridor.

Doyle swallowed.

I am not afraid of the dark.

Just then...

"You came quite quickly." A stranger's voice sounded through the wall, cold, hoarse, and full of ill omen. "Big fellow, are you one of the prince's people?"

Doyle was first startled, then reacted.

Bad. The enemy discovered Glover!

"Hmph. A fellow who hides his head and shows his tail," Glover's voice sounded, clearly no longer hiding himself. "Are you carrying a bounty and unable to see the light, or are you too ugly to show your face?"

Doyle hurriedly sped up to join Glover, preparing to attack from front and back.

The enemy laughed darkly.

"In that case, you are Royal Guards, yes?"

But before Doyle had run more than a few steps, he crashed into a wall.

Fuck!

Doyle understood and cursed inwardly.

After going up the two staircases, the two sides did not connect!

And Glover... was probably still waiting for him to attack from front and back.

The situation was urgent. Doyle gritted his teeth and ran back the way he came.

Fuck your grandmother, Zombie! What kind of rotten idea was that? To hell with attacking from front and back!

"How much did the Iris Flowers pay you?" Glover said on the other side of the wall.

"Enough."

The moment the words fell, the sound of clashing weapons abruptly rang out, together with Glover's angry roar.

Clearly, Glover had already engaged the enemy.

"Glover!"

Doyle no longer cared about being discovered by the enemy. He ran while shouting, reminding Glover of his position.

"Guard Officer Glover?"

Fortunately, Glover was probably the most skilled person beside the prince. Mm, perhaps excluding that Arunde woman?

But very soon, the sounds of fighting stopped.

Glover's roar no longer came.

Doyle's heart tightened.

"Glover?"

No way.

"Garen Glover?"

But Glover did not answer.

"Zombie?"

Doyle roared,

"Glover? Fucking Zombie!"

"Answer me!"

Glover still did not answer.

Doyle grew more and more anxious. In two or three steps, he rushed up the staircase Glover had taken and charged into the second-floor corridor.

Charging into the darkness and unknown before him.