Chapter 663: Conflict

On the morning of the third day of the Emerald Celebration, Thales pushed aside the servants trying to stop him and rudely barged into Zayen's dining room.

"Prince Thales." The Duke of South Coast, seated at the head of the dining table, set down his utensils and elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth. With his eyes, he signaled the servants not to panic, only to close the door and leave. "I was wondering when you would come find me..."

But Thales looked at him coldly.

"Explain."

"Explain what?" Zayen's smile remained.

Thales carefully observed the duke's every movement.

"Last night, one of my subordinates died," the prince said, face full of anger. "His injuries were too severe to treat, and there was no time even to call a doctor."

Zayen's smile disappeared. The hand holding his wine glass paused slightly.

"And you, Zayen Covendier, will pay the price for it," Thales said through gritted teeth, his eyes like knives. "I swear, in the name of the little cloth... in the name of Star Lake Castle."

"Impossible."

The Duke of the Iris Flowers thought briefly, then frowned and answered.

"Your group of ten subordinates, including Arunde and the Borzdorf heir, as well as your personal guard captain, returned to Emerald Palace in batches last night. Although they looked dispirited and covered things up, all of them were whole and intact. There was absolutely no one with severe or life-threatening injuries. Even if there were hidden injuries unknown to me, that would not..."

Zayen's eyes moved, and his words stopped.

"Wait. You are deceiving me?"

Thales raised his brows, walked to Zayen's side, pulled out a chair, and sat.

"So you really knew, from beginning to end." The prince snorted coldly. "From the moment I sent out my subordinates to the moment they returned to Emerald Palace."

Zayen's face turned cold.

"I was just about to mention this matter," the Duke of South Coast said faintly. "Yesterday, we encountered a sudden accident, but it has already been handled safely, efficiently, and appropriately..."

"No, you have not," Thales coldly interrupted him. "There is one more thing you have not handled."

Zayen stopped speaking.

Thales leaned forward and braced his arms on the dining table.

"Me."

The dining room became quiet again.

Across the table, their gazes met in the air, as if they were two swordsmen standing on a dueling platform, slowly drawing their blades.

The atmosphere grew heavy.

In the next second, the dining room door was abruptly pushed open, startling them both.

A "person" with pale greenish skin and a neck swollen and drooping like a gourd staggered in. His facial features hung loosely on his face, as if melting, disgusting and terrifying.

"Gurgle gurgle..." He made a chilling sound from his throat, like bubbling.

Thales gripped the arms of his chair tightly and stiffened his face, at least not losing composure.

"Hilley." Zayen's expression did not change. He calmly sipped his wine. "We are discussing serious business."

"Eeh."

A disappointed voice came from behind the "person."

The monster's face deflated, and Hilley's sweat-covered face "burrowed" out of it. She was still dressed in her casual, willful way.

"New handmade work, based on the Canal District's water ghoul legend. Does it look good?"

Water ghoul...

Thales exhaled and looked at that swollen human face with melted features, then exchanged a glance with Zayen, who sat behind the table with tightly furrowed brows.

"Very beautiful, miss. A genius idea," Steward Ashford followed behind her, smiling. "May I suggest pouring some water on it to create a damp effect?"

Hilley's eyes lit up at once.

"That makes sense. No wonder I felt something was missing. If pus could seep out from the features while walking, dripping steadily, combined with footprints and sound-light effects, it would be even better. Then give it a name..."

"Ashford!" Zayen could no longer bear it.

In the next second, the water ghoul instantly transferred from Hilley's hand to the steward's.

"I will go process it at once, miss." Ashford turned and left, closing the door in passing. His movements were continuous and smooth. "Please do not worry."

The door closed, leaving only the three of them in the dining room, staring at one another.

"Why do you always like dressing up as ghosts?" Thales frowned.

"Because everyone likes it." Hilley stepped forward, looked at the prince, then at her brother, her face innocent. "See, do you not both like it too?"

Thales and Zayen looked at each other.

As old opponents and old enemies, they had long since grown used to a relationship of sharp opposition and a tense atmosphere. But now that a third person had suddenly appeared before them, both the Duke of Star Lake and the master of the Iris Flowers seemed a little unaccustomed.

"What are you here for, Hilley?" Zayen asked the question they shared.

Under the complicated gazes of the prince and the duke, Lady Covendier sat down beside the dining table without any burden, right on Zayen's other side and directly opposite Thales. With great interest, she tucked in her napkin and unceremoniously picked up the spare knife and fork on the table.

"I woke up early and came to find something to eat. Also to ask Thales when we are going on a date today."

The moment this was said, Thales and Zayen both froze.

What?

"He came to look over a possible fiancee, did he not? Or did I get that wrong?" Hilley answered with incomparable naturalness.

Thales and Zayen met each other's eyes, one awkward, one cold.

In a very short time, they exchanged countless emotions and pieces of information, finally reaching a rare agreement.

Not now.

The two swordsmen on the dueling platform sheathed their blades again.

"Hilley, mind your address. It is 'Prince Thales' or 'Your Highness,'" Zayen's face was cold enough to drip water. "Do not lose your manners."

"That is right, Hil... Lady Covendier," Thales nodded with some difficulty. "We are not that familiar."

Hilley clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"Ha. Yesterday, on the temple rooftop, that was not what you said."

The rooftop...

Zayen's eyes grew even more terrifying, like a butcher sharpening a knife.

The Sin of Hell's River felt the dreadful atmosphere. Thales took a deep breath and rose from his seat.

"It is very late today, madam. I think it is time for me to leave..."

Zayen also set down his wine glass on the other side.

"Yes, we just finished talking..."

But Hilley's next words brought a change.

"Right, Zayen, I just heard Officer Cacquere say that a murder happened in the Gold Point District yesterday?"

A murder in the Gold Point District.

The moment this was said, Thales and Zayen both frowned.

Their gazes met in the air.

As if the duel that had just ceased now beat its war drums again.

But Hilley, who stood at the center of the duel, merely studied the table full of food, unaware.

"I heard the dead person was also a merchant. What happened? Was it something big?"

Diop.

Thales remembered the deceased's name and frowned deeply.

Zayen looked at Thales and said steadily,

"No. Only an ordinary..."

But he did not finish before Thales interrupted him.

"Actually, I also heard from my subordinates," Thales sat back down in the chair, his gaze burning, "that yesterday, the patrol hall and Jade Legion both sent large numbers of people, causing everyone to panic. I wonder whether this had something to do with this murder case?"

Hearing this, Zayen's gaze chilled.

"Wow, so it is true?" Hilley dug through the desserts on her own.

Zayen and Thales looked at each other for a long time before Zayen glanced at his sister.

"Heard from your subordinates?"

The Duke of South Coast picked up his wine glass again and observed Thales' distorted face through the glass. "May I ask which subordinate Your Highness heard this from?"

This time, the two swordsmen did not sheathe their blades.

"I have a subordinate named Wya," Thales said naturally, picking up an empty cup and smoothly reaching for the pitcher of Tarlenbang spring drink. "He said that when he was idly wandering the streets, he saw from far away large numbers of patrol officers and military officers sealing off blocks and searching for criminals."

"As far as I know," Zayen's gaze sharpened as he pressed one hand onto the spring drink pitcher lid, preventing Thales from taking it, "Squire Wya Caso was by Your Highness' side from yesterday noon onward. How did he go idly wandering the streets?"

"This, you do not know," Thales sneered, gripping the handle of the pitcher and wrestling with Zayen. "Among my subordinates, many people are named Wya."

"Which Wya was it?"

"The one you do not know..."

"Hey!"

Hilley finally could no longer bear it. She bit a teaspoon and pointed at the pitcher between the two of them.

"Can you stop fighting over it? That pitcher is empty."

Thales and Zayen looked at each other and both released their hands amid embarrassment and displeasure.

Only then did Hilley smile.

Lady Covendier gracefully stretched out her hand, scooped away the pitcher, then casually tilted the spout and poured herself a full cup of spring drink.

Thales and Zayen froze, their gazes strange.

"Oh, so there is still some." Hilley shook the pitcher, her face full of surprise. "Quite a lot, actually."

The prince and the duke looked at each other and both exhaled.

The conversation had been interrupted, but the atmosphere in the room improved somewhat.

Zayen glanced at Hilley again.

"That is right. Yesterday, in the Gold Point District, patrol officers received a report from an enthusiastic citizen, saying that strangers and suspicious figures had entered and exited a private residence."

Thales smiled sarcastically.

"Enthusiastic citizen? Which enthusiastic citizen?"

Zayen moved his fingers.

"Every citizen of Jade City is enthusiastic."

"Especially the duke himself?"

"Not more than Your Highness' eagerness to serve justice..."

"Do not run off topic. And then?" Hilley interrupted them.

The Duke of the Iris Flowers sneered.

"Then the patrol hall and Jade Legion acted together, and finally discovered that a wool merchant and his mistress had both been murdered inside the residence. Their deaths were horrifying and outrageous."

The dining room was silent for an instant.

Hilley took a sip of spring drink, eyes wide.

"Wow, truly frightening."

Thales' expression did not change. His gaze nailed itself to Zayen.

"Then was the murderer caught?"

"Of course." Zayen's expression was calm, without fluctuation. "The patrol hall and Jade Legion arrived swiftly and acted with extreme efficiency, arresting the suspect on the spot."

Thales' gaze focused.

"Suspect?"

Zayen stared at Thales and revealed a smile.

"Lord Bedren was found drunk and collapsed in a nearby block, still holding the bloody weapon. After waking, he also could not explain how he got there."

Thales frowned.

"Lord Bedren?" Hilley's eyes turned. "Oh, the family whose ancestors were barons, but were punished and demoted because they oppressed commoners?"

Zayen nodded, resolute.

"Precisely him."

Thales was silent for a while.

"Why? Why would a drunk break into a home and murder a wool merchant?"

The Duke of the Iris Flowers was silent for an instant.

"According to the patrol officers' investigation, the debts Lord Bedren owed were about to come due, and the creditor rights belonged to the Wool Merchants' Association."

"That reason does not seem sufficient."

"Yesterday, citizens saw him searching everywhere for his creditors. It is possible that after becoming drunk, he grew angry from shame and took a desperate risk..."

In other words, Diop's death had become a case of angry murder caused by a debt dispute.

Thales clenched his fist.

Of course, the voice deep in his heart sneered. This is his usual method, is it not?

From Moss to Diop.

Who is next?

"Dear Zayen," the prince suddenly spoke, his tone tightening. "Are you certain?"

Zayen frowned, and Hilley also raised her head.

"Are you certain that the one who committed the murder truly was that Lord Bedren?"

The Duke of Star Lake's voice was extremely soft, but his words seemed to carry some sort of power, making one unable to avoid hesitation.

Zayen did not answer. He merely stared fixedly at his wine glass.

Hilley looked at her brother, then at Thales.

"Speaking of this, Prince Thales."

In the next second, the Duke of the Iris Flowers slowly opened his mouth. His tone was gentle, giving a feeling completely different from the prince's.

"I remember now. I just heard Ashford say that quite a few of your subordinates, such as that Wya whom I do not know, were 'wandering' in the city yesterday. They only returned at nightfall, and some even carried injuries."

Thales frowned hard.

Zayen looked at Thales, his gaze cold.

"Could they have happened to pass by the scene of the crime and have some clues to solve the case?"

Happened to pass by the scene of the crime...

The atmosphere between the prince and the duke cooled again.

"Oh?"

Hilley's eyes lit up. "Really? Did they see the murderer?"

Thales and Zayen silently looked at each other.

"No. In fact, they followed local custom and enjoyed themselves with the people in the city. In their excitement, they somehow got into a fight and were injured." Thales lowered his head, his tone icy. "Very comical, right?"

Zayen smiled.

"Hardly. Jade City currently has both fish and dragons mixed together, especially those outsiders of complicated origin, who always make trouble for no reason and provoke trouble they should not." The duke said faintly, "Prince Thales, your people must be more careful when walking outside."

Thales sneered.

"They will be careful. After all, not everyone is like that wool merchant, with a special identity and extraordinary meaning, worthy of Duke Zayen personally asking about the case."

"Every citizen and guest of Jade City, no matter what identity they have or what meaning they carry, has their safety, freedom, and rights sheltered by Jade City and protected by me," Zayen's expression did not change. "They cannot be touched or violated by petty villains with ulterior motives."

"With a ruler like you, Jade City is truly blessed. That murdered merchant must be smiling in the Prison River," Thales said sarcastically.

"It is entirely thanks to His Majesty Kessel's wise governance that a remote and rural place like ours can enjoy peace."

"If my father knew of your loyalty, he would surely be very happy."

"Your Highness and His Majesty are father and son of one heart. You must be equally happy."

Hilley looked left, then right. Amid Thales and Zayen's verbal duel, she revealed an intriguing expression.

"Do you think it could have been a water ghoul?"

The prince and duke, who were in the middle of sharp opposition, both froze at this headless sentence.

"What?"

"Water ghoul?"

Hilley happily picked up the pitcher, poured out two cups of spring drink, and handed one to each of them.

"You know, Jade City's ancient legend. Every Emerald Celebration, the water ghouls at the bottom of the canals wake up, crawl out from the river, and wander the streets of Jade City, specifically looking for people alone at night. So every Queen's Day, quite a few people die unnatural deaths."

The conversation was interrupted, and Thales and Zayen had no choice but to put away their aggressive attitudes.

The atmosphere in the dining room also became less terrifying.

"Among those who die during the Emerald Celebration, sixty percent are drunks who drink too much on the night of revelry and fall into the canals on their own," Zayen said, accepting the cup his sister handed him and exhaling. "The remaining thirty percent are all kinds of murder, revenge killing, gang fights, or debt disputes like this one, hidden under cover of the Emerald Celebration. Most are man-made disasters."

Thales accepted the cup.

"What about the remaining ten percent?"

"Jade City's patrol officers are not divine detectives." Zayen snorted lightly. "There will always be cases they cannot solve, such as missing people."

Thales discovered that Hilley had only poured him half a cup of spring drink. And just as he brought the rim of the cup to his mouth, two words appeared on the inside wall of the cup, formed from the same fluorescent material as the earlier Soul-Bone Yark ghost-face pattern:

[Do not clash.]

Thales frowned slightly.

"Eaten."

Hilley suddenly spoke.

Thales and Zayen both looked up in confusion.

"What?"

Hilley rubbed her gloves, her eyes turning.

"If it really was a water ghoul, then naturally the people it ate would leave no corpses behind. They could only be 'missing,' right?"

Thales narrowed his eyes.

"Uh, that is true?"

In the next second, Hilley's brows furrowed tightly. She took a deep breath and rose with difficulty.

"Ah, sorry. I have to leave."

Thales asked doubtfully, "Hil... Lady Covendier?"

Zayen's gaze tightened even more, and he stood.

"Hilley, are you unwell?"

But Hilley only waved indifferently and breathed out.

"Nothing much. Menstruation."

Huh?

Thales and Zayen both froze. The two hurriedly turned their heads and awkwardly shifted their gazes away.

"Ah, I have to go change the cloth. Every hour feels like I am sitting in a pool of blood..."

Zayen's expression abruptly changed, and he said sternly,

"Cecilia!"

Hilley waved indifferently.

"You should be happy, all right? Bleeding every month means your sister is not pregnant..."

Thales pretended not to hear, lowered his head, drank, and conveniently wiped away the fluorescent words on the wall of the cup.

Zayen looked at Cecilia in disbelief, then at Thales, and said angrily,

"Cecilia! Stop mentioning this! Where is your upbringing?"

"What is wrong? Everyone has this, all right?"

"Men... half the people do not!"

"Exactly!" Hilley pushed open the door, turned back, and snapped, "Then why the hell are you pointing fingers and managing so much?"

The door closed, and the dining room was left with only Thales and Zayen again, staring at each other.

"That girl never lets anyone rest easy," the duke snorted coldly. He likewise lowered his head to his cup, concealing his awkwardness. "You saw it. She is not a good girl, and even less a good wife. She would only throw your court into chaos."

The corner of Thales' mouth hooked.

"Mm, I do not think it is that bad..."

Fortunately, before Zayen's gaze turned cold again, Thales reacted and stopped speaking in time.

But after Hilley's interruption, and perhaps Hilley's warning, the atmosphere between them was no longer so tense.

"I thought we agreed yesterday. I would continue investigating Dagori Moss' matter, putting on a posture of hostility toward you in order to confuse our enemy." Thales adjusted his mood, became serious, and returned to the main topic.

"Precisely," Zayen heavily set down his wine glass. "So I cooperated with your performance, obstructing you as always, opposing you, making everyone, whether our own people, our enemies, clever people, fools, or fools who think themselves clever, believe that what Jade City is staging is a struggle between prince and duke, thereby misleading the kingdom's Secret Intelligence. Is that not right?"

Thales was silent for a while, then chuckled softly.

"So you got ahead of me, cut off the investigation clues, nearly swept up the subordinates I sent to investigate, and even tried to frame me. 'Prince's personal guards break into a home and kill.' A shocking and explosive topic, yes?"

Zayen shook his head, watertight.

"If I did not do so, how could the kingdom's Secret Intelligence and your father believe that the two of us are truly engaged in a cruel struggle concerning life and death?"

"But from the wool merchant's matter, it seems you are rather immersed in the role."

Zayen raised his wine glass again and observed Thales through it.

"Remember? If one seeks an effect, one should carry it through to the end."

Thales was silent for a while.

"Before Dagori Moss was silenced, he went to see that wool merchant."

"I know."

"If the kingdom's Secret Intelligence told him to do this, there must have been a reason."

"I know."

Thales frowned.

"Then why did you..."

But Zayen interrupted him first, allowing no argument.

"Because I have long since seen through it!"

The master of the Iris Flowers coldly stared at him.

"In the kingdom's Secret Intelligence's plan, their trump card is not someone else."

"It is precisely you."

"Second Prince, Thales Jadestar."

In that instant, facing Zayen's blade-like gaze, Thales' heart tightened.