Chapter 762: Passerby

Jade City, Sunset Temple, altar.

Beneath the solemn and majestic statue of the Sunset Goddess, Thales stood before the altar with his hands behind his back, expressionless as he looked down at a corpse on the ground.

"This is the assassin himself."

The coroner crouching on the ground tremblingly pulled away the white cloth covering the corpse's face, revealing the unfamiliar face of a middle-aged man.

"After investigating the scene, we speculate that after carrying out the assassination, he saw there was no way to escape and therefore killed himself out of fear of punishment... We are confirming the assassin's identity and doing everything we can to investigate whether there were accomplices..."

Thales said nothing. He only observed silently.

Inside the temple, the Star Lake guards and Emerald soldiers who had come with the prince automatically and consciously guarded the important paths, standing by the walls. Everyone's expression was solemn, their eyes frightening, making the atmosphere even heavier and more murderous.

Even the security officers specifically in charge of investigating the case, busy going back and forth, did not dare breathe loudly.

"We found a suicide note on him. We did not dare open and read it without authorization, and waited only for Your Highness' decision."

The Security Hall chief of the Goddess District had personally arrived. Under his assistants' reminders, he offered up a letter with a head full of sweat, trying his best to appear neither servile nor overbearing, trained and capable.

"But we have reason to infer that this criminal had planned for a long time, came prepared, and had a clear target..."

Wya wanted to step forward, but Thales reached out without hesitation, took the assassin's suicide note, opened it, and read. The more he read, the more he frowned.

"...According to our initial judgment, this assassin should be an amateur, lacking experience. He did not completely break through the wooden partition of the confession room, only..."

The potbellied Security Hall chief paused for a sentence. Only after another security officer supervising the case whispered a few words beside him did he continue.

"Only, he still stabbed that priest... Unfortunately, that dagger seems to have been poisoned. We are doing everything we can to trace the poison's type and possible source..."

Poison.

Thales listened to the Security Hall chief's report while looking at the suicide note in his hand, glancing now and then at the assassin on the ground.

The man was middle-aged and bald, his face weathered, his expression sorrowful and desperate. His half-open eyes looked hollowly back at Thales.

Another dead man.

Another challenge.

Thales thought silently.

He did not know when it began, but when facing death and blood, facing pain and despair, he had become so calm and natural.

As if this was how he should be.

As if it was perfectly justified.

As if he, as a ruler, had long since grown used to the absurdity of the world, and thus could remain composed and move with ease, not feeling anything strange at all.

What?

Thales was startled by his own thought.

He subconsciously turned his head and averted his gaze, avoiding that dead face which, slightly deformed after death, seemed somewhat sinister and terrifying.

The coroner beside him tactfully covered the corpse again with the white cloth.

"At present, we are investigating every clue in an orderly manner, but there must be rumors flying outside. If Your Highness can find anything in that suicide note that helps solve the case..."

"You read this suicide note, didn't you?"

"Of course not, Your Highness."

The Security Hall chief denied it decisively, answering smoothly.

"The assassination happened in the sacred Sunset Temple, and true faith has no small matters. Before someone with sufficient weight, such as Your Highness, arrived, this lowly official and my subordinates absolutely would not dare open and read it without authorization..."

"It is precisely because you read it," Thales' words made the chief's expression tremble, "that you did not dare read it."

The Security Hall chief did not defend himself, did not apologize, and did not dare refute. He only lowered his head even more.

Thales looked at several words on the suicide note, including "Covendier family," and snorted softly.

He felt that he was beginning to understand these South Bank people whose thoughts were clear yet insisted on going in circles.

Just like he understood those northerners who fought and killed.

"Where is Chadwi?" Thales asked softly.

"Who? Oh, Your Highness means the priest who was attacked..."

The Security Hall chief froze, then reacted, but he was quickly interrupted by another voice.

"Thank you for fulfilling your duty, Chief Zelote."

Mallos walked over from behind with Wya, smiling and nodding to the cautious Security Hall chief.

"This involves the temple, and true faith has no small matters. The duke could not set his mind at ease, so he personally came to understand the situation. Of course, please continue handling the case and do not mind us."

Chief Zelote heard this as if granted amnesty. He wiped sweat and apologized repeatedly, taking the chance to bring his subordinates and withdraw into the distance.

Under the tiger-like gazes of the guards on both sides, the chief and the security officers pretended the Duke of Star Lake was not inside the temple and continued solemnly holding the "XXX major murder case" special investigation group meeting on-site. They even "forgot" to ask Thales to return the assassin's suicide note, and also "forgot" to carry away the assassin's corpse.

Thales frowned and looked at Mallos.

"The priests and healers used divine arts and the bitumen-crystal divine grace platform, and are doing everything possible to save Chadwi."

Mallos answered Thales' doubt.

"I only saw from afar, but from what they let slip, the poison is fierce, and the situation is not optimistic. Even if they save him, the hope of full recovery is not great."

Doing everything possible...

Hope is not great...

Thales thought of that fat priest whose manners were unkempt and discipline was loose, yet who had helped countless people in unseen underground corners, and could not help taking a deep breath.

Why him?

Why did it have to be him?

"Also, because of this assassination, the temple side has quite a few criticisms of us."

Mallos looked at Chief Zelote in the distance, who was forcefully slapping the table and swearing loudly, high-profile as he forced his sweating subordinates to "solve the case within a deadline" with a capable bearing.

"Your Highness, you may need to prepare yourself."

Prepare?

Prepare for what?

Thales opened his eyes.

Prepare to search some bastard who dares come out and cause trouble at this time, ruining the excellent situation, out of his corner, skewer him from bottom to top with a long spear into a dried human stick, and hang him from the top of Emerald Palace as a banner?

"The specific details of the case have not yet been disclosed, but news that an assassin mixed into the temple has already spread. The entire Jade City is still in shock. Once they react..."

"They will turn their eyes to me."

Thales rubbed the side of his forehead.

"What do you think, Wya?"

Wya paused, somewhat surprised that Thales had asked him first instead of Mallos.

"Judging from the current information, Your Highness, this assassination was organized. Even the target and location were carefully chosen."

He subconsciously touched the notebook in his hand. Cautious and hesitant for a moment, he still asked tentatively:

"I heard Vanguard Officer Glover say that this priest who was attacked seems to have always been on good terms with Miss Hilley, and their relationship is not shallow?"

Chadwi, and Hilley.

Thales thought of those pitiful people in the ghoul tunnels, thought of their respect and love for Priest Chadwi, and his expression could not help turning cold.

"Hopefully I am overthinking it," Wya said, observing Thales' expression, worried. "But if this matter endangers the relationship between Your Highness and Miss Covendier, thereby affecting your deterrence over the two Covendiers, your influence over every force, and even your control of Jade City's situation..."

"How dare they."

Thales coldly interrupted him.

He turned to face the wide and empty temple, watching the security officers in the distance come and go, while the stationed guards waited in strict formation.

Mallos and Wya exchanged looks.

They heard Thales say coldly:

"At this point, tell me, do they truly not know and not care, or do they simply not fear my anger and retaliation?"

And even less care whether Jade City, which had only escaped chaos after overcoming countless difficulties, would return to its old road and be ground to pieces between the millstones of power struggle?

Could it truly be as Miranda said, that he had long shown himself too kind and too polite, not forceful and ruthless enough, lacking the thunderous decisiveness to kill the chicken and warn the monkeys?

As Thales thought this, the voice deep in his heart grew increasingly forceful.

"They?" Wya asked doubtfully.

"Or perhaps they actually know."

Mallos looked at the assassin's corpse on the ground and cut in at the right time.

"They know how you will react, and that is their purpose."

Thales' gaze moved.

"Just as Attendant Caso mentioned," Mallos said softly, "abandoning the difficult for the easy is often the origin of tyranny."

Wya was flattered and hurriedly bowed to Mallos.

Tyranny.

Thales took a deep breath and did his best to suppress his anger and impulse.

So this was what they wanted?

Force him to act cruelly in anger and destroy his own foundation?

Or did they have some other, even more despicable purpose?

"In a while, have Komuto and Oskarlson pass a message to the local Security Hall, privately."

Thales frowned and looked at Chief Zelote in the distance, who was spraying spit while making a swift and decisive declaration before his sweaty subordinates:

"Mobilize everyone! Gather every resource! I am putting my words here. I do not care what method or means you use, even if you have to flip over the whole South Bank and pry up every brick in the city, within three days, you must solve this case! Damn his mother, whoever dares make me... cough, cough, whoever dares make Jade City have a bad time, I will damned well make him have a bad time! We must let every citizen see that our security officer corps is Jade City's most stable final human defense line, the South Bank's firmest thirty-eight watchposts. When the sea surges, I take responsibility..."

"Treat this as an ordinary case investigation. Do not expand it excessively. Do not conduct some useless grand search of the whole city and make people panic."

"Your Highness is wise," Mallos accepted the order gladly, and Wya also relaxed.

Thales hesitated for a second.

"Also, regarding Chadwi, over at the ghoul tunnels..."

"Already instructed."

Mallos answered immediately before Thales finished.

"The details of the case, including the victim's identity, are strictly confidential. With Arunde at the lead, the people in the tunnels will block the news and not let Miss Hilley know, so as not to affect the investigation."

Thales looked at Mallos in some surprise. The latter was composed and showed nothing unusual.

"Oh, is that so."

Thales' mood was complicated, but in the end, he nodded.

"Good work, Tormond."

Mallos was expressionless.

"But the rumors are boiling. I fear it cannot be hidden for long."

Wya, off to the side, could not help cutting in.

"And if Miss Hilley learns that you deliberately concealed this matter from her..."

Wya was right.

Thales tightened his fist.

But he did not need long.

Hopefully he did not need long.

"Did you bring them?"

Thales interrupted Wya's words and deliberately ignored his concern.

Wya paused, looked at Mallos, then nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness. But if it was truly done by one of them..."

"That is why I want them brought here."

Thales said coldly:

"Both of them."

To see exactly who, or whose subordinate forces, dared come out and cause trouble at this critical moment, dared move against the Duke of Star Lake's stage.

Move against the stage of the entire Jade City.

Wya was deeply worried, but accepted the order and turned away.

"You are not worried that they did it, correct?" Mallos suddenly said.

Thales looked at him.

"What worries you is that this matter may not have been done by them," Mallos said meaningfully. "And that makes you upset."

Thales pursed his lips and did not answer.

He only turned and raised his head, but met the eyes of the Sunset Goddess statue above him, eyes that were both gentle and compassionate, yet also cold and merciless.

She calmly and naturally looked down at Thales, looking down at this tragedy in the mortal world.

As if this was how she should be.

As if it was perfectly justified.

As if she, as a god, had long since grown used to the absurdity of the world, and therefore could stand above all things, detached and independent, not feeling anything strange at all.

This made Thales' frown deepen.

Mallos said nothing more. He only bowed and turned away.

"I knew it!"

The voice of the deposed Guardian Duke of the South Bank, Zayen Covendier, came from behind Thales along with his undisguised footsteps, cold and disdainful.

"Some people simply will not be content, Thales, even though you and I have already yielded to this extent. 'Some people' simply cannot bear to part with the chips in their hands. They always feel unwilling, always feel they can win more."

On the other side, the voice of the already designated honorary Viscount of Gonghai City, Federico Covendier, sounded together with his cautious steps, his words carrying hidden meaning:

"Then I suppose, Your Highness, this kind of thing happened because 'someone' wants to remind the world again and again: without someone, Jade City will fall into chaos. Without someone, even the sun will stop turning."

Zayen and Fed looked coldly at each other, blade against blade, neither yielding.

Listen to them. First "some people," then "someone."

"Thank you for your extraordinary insight and immensely helpful advice, noble and wise Mister Covendiers."

Thales moved his gaze away from the goddess statue above him and turned back toward the mundane world.

Fed respectfully saluted Thales, while Zayen snorted coldly and turned his head, showing no politeness.

The prince casually waved his hand and gestured toward the assassin's corpse covered by the white cloth.

"There. Do you recognize this unlucky fellow? He died quite miserably."

Zayen looked at the corpse and the bloodstains on the white cloth, frowned, and tightened his nose almost imperceptibly.

Federico looked at his cousin and gave a disdainful snort. He stepped forward without caring at all and pulled away the white cloth, revealing the deceased's desperate and sinister remains.

In that instant, almost identical confusion appeared on the faces of the two Covendiers.

"This is the victim?"

Zayen covered his nose and asked in confusion:

"Where is the assassin? How did he kill him?"

"Who is he? A believer who came to pray?" Fed approached without taboo to observe, tightly frowning.

Thales did not answer. He only folded his arms, his face dark as water, letting the two Covendiers ask their questions one after another.

"What is his identity? Why kill him?" This was Zayen.

"Was the one who acted Lausanne the Second again? Did he escape from Hilley's hands?" This was Fed

"Were any clues left at the scene?"

"Are rumors already spreading everywhere outside? How did Your Highness handle it?"

"What movements are there from the families in the city? Are they forcing you to find the culprit?"

"Who exactly is this fellow?"

Thales carefully watched the two men's reactions, chewed over their words, and tried hard to see through the complex activities in their minds concerning power and interests after seeing the corpse.

"This fellow's identity is still under investigation," Thales nodded. "But preliminary judgment says that an assassination of this degree is unlikely to be the work of a lone wolf acting alone. It was organized."

The two Covendiers were not surprised at all. They only calmly exchanged a look.

"Then the question arises."

Thales sighed.

"After I exhausted my mind, used both soft and hard methods, and finally reached an agreement with the two of you and stabilized Jade City... who exactly is still dissatisfied and insists on doing something like this to disturb everything?"

Thales paused, looked at Fed, then at Zayen, and made his tone heavier.

"And who is it that, as long as they cannot obtain the result they want, simply flips the chessboard and hopes Jade City sinks and is destroyed from here on, so everyone can scatter?"

The two Covendiers were both silent for a while.

"If such a person truly exists, then he certainly does not understand you," Zayen was the first to speak, slightly disdainful. "At least he does not understand your stubborn moral fastidiousness."

Federico was calm and composed:

"Or perhaps he is precisely trying to use this as a bargaining chip to coerce Your Highness, even coerce all of us, into making certain compromises beneficial to him. Just like someone once did."

Zayen sneered and showed no weakness.

"Yes, I did it before, so I am not stupid enough to that extent. But as for someone who is used to carrying out assassinations in the dark, and who was only coerced by us halfway into unwillingly joining the agreement, that is hard to say."

"As everyone knows, any action at this time that breaks balance, disturbs the situation, and causes chaos and fear is unfavorable to Your Highness' rule and reputation."

Fed was as expressionless as usual, but his words gave not an inch.

"Worst of all, it will inevitably make people remember Jade City before Your Highness' regency."

Zayen and Federico exchanged a hostile look.

"Do you remember?"

Thales spoke, and the two cousins looked at him together.

"What we said at our last meeting: before the Praise Banquet, before I announce the arbitration and everything settles, there should not be anyone among the two of you who wants to make small moves and kill the other person, right?"

The two Covendiers both froze.

Thales lowered his voice, his words carrying threat.

"Right?"

He looked at them separately.

"Is it that what you obtained is not enough?"

Federico immediately lowered his head when he heard this, respectful and obedient.

"Or that you hate having lost too much?"

Zayen also turned his head aside, tightly frowning.

Under the Sunset Goddess statue's gaze, the three figures who carried decisive weight in Jade City faced one another silently.

"I do not know whether you did this."

Thales looked down at the corpse on the ground and spoke softly.

"But both of you wish dearly that it was done by the other person, correct?"

Thales looked left and right.

"Best if you can also borrow my hand to get rid of the other?"

The two cousins' expressions did not change, and they said nothing.

They had obtained the essence of the noble bearing of the iris family.

Thales carefully studied the two of them. Only in the end did he snort lightly.

"Forget it. The details of the case are still being investigated. The truth will come to light sooner or later."

Thales looked at the corpse on the ground.

"But the current question is: what should we, Jade City, do?"

He waited a while. There was no response. He could not help frowning.

"I am asking you."

As soon as these words came out, the two Covendiers finally came back to themselves like statues waking.

"Block the news and smooth out the story. Say it was an isolated incident, a private grudge between culprit and victim."

Zayen said coldly:

"Starting from the temple, the three of us appear together to soothe every force, guaranteeing them that everything in Jade City remains as before until everything passes."

"Repeating old tricks."

Federico snorted and refuted:

"But that is meaningless."

The two Covendiers looked at each other.

"This is a temple where people come and go. The more we hide and block, the more uncontrollable the influence and consequences become," Fed said. "The mastermind will not sit and watch us block the news. They will make the matter bigger and bigger, and think of every method to let the whole world see it, making people suspect that our 'guarantee' is merely empty talk. At that time, we will only be more passive."

"That sounds very familiar," Zayen sneered. "Will they find another vampire killer, then go to some banquet or tournament and expose some old case from many years ago?"

Federico ignored the other man's mockery and continued in a low voice:

"So we need to face reality. Your Highness, please make a clear announcement to the whole city and bring down thunder. On one hand, warn and intimidate the suspicious forces and figures. On the other, force them to fully cooperate with us until we find the mastermind, uproot the weeds, and solve the problem from the root."

"That is no different from telling the entire world that Jade City under the Duke of Star Lake has lost control again, and that he has no ability to grasp the situation, so he can only wave his sword around wildly."

Zayen said disdainfully:

"If, in the middle of the investigation, some family suffers heavily and is damaged, becoming even more dissatisfied and accumulating resentment... then Jade City's situation, which has only barely recovered..."

"Quite the opposite. Jade City has been peaceful for too long, drunk on luxury, accustomed to selfishness," Fed shook his head. "It precisely needs to sweep away accumulated illness, so that when it returns to Your Highness' royal rule in the future, there will be fewer labor pains."

"Thereby making it depend more on you, this 'royally appointed special viscount'?"

"If it has to depend on you, Cousin, that works too: 'Everyone, please be at ease. Everything in Jade City remains as before. Nothing has changed. It is just as it was under Duke Zayen's rule.'"

Seeing the conversation again drift toward sarcasm and mutual attack, Thales coughed and interrupted them.

"After saying so much, do you truly not care who the dead man is?"

The Duke of Star Lake looked coldly at the corpse on the ground.

"Or rather, do you not recognize him?"

Or to them, was who died simply unimportant?

The Covendier cousins reacted and both turned back to look at the dead man.

"Should we know him? Or at least know of him?" Zayen said cautiously, again studying the deceased's slightly twisted face.

"Is he a noble from some family? A great merchant? An heir? Or a religious figure of reputation?"

Fed glanced at Zayen.

"Is the influence of his assassination far-reaching and too broadly implicated, causing Your Highness to have no choice but to rely on Zayen to soothe every side, thereby giving him greater power?"

"Is he some old person from Jade City back then? Connected to my father's old case? Did he leave clues behind?"

Zayen looked back at Federico in disdain.

"Thereby forcing you, Thales, to reopen arbitration and redefine the truth according to certain people's wishes at the Praise Banquet?"

"Yes, but also no."

Thales snorted lightly and rubbed the assassin's suicide note in his pocket.

"In fact, this person is..."

But before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the footsteps of someone new entering.

The three turned their heads together and saw a familiar figure. Under the strange looks of the guards on both sides, escorted, or even "escorted," by Mallos and Jade Legion Knight Cecil on left and right, he arrived before them.

"Cassian?"

Zayen was the first to react, startled and uncertain.

"Why are you here?"

Federico frowned beside him.

Thales was equally confused. He looked at Mallos, and the latter shook his head almost imperceptibly.

The unkempt knight, Cassian, who should have been watching Lausanne the Second in the ghoul tunnels, bowed slightly and frowned at the corpse before the altar.

"Yes. I have a certain... friend. He should have come to an appointment, but missed it. I was entrusted to go and look."

Cassian stared fixedly at the corpse.

"Then as I walked on the street, I heard people saying... something happened here."

Friend.

Missed an appointment.

Entrusted.

Hearing these words, and enduring Cassian's gaze that clearly wanted to search for the truth, Thales' brows jumped.

Not good.

Very bad.

Had Hilley heard something?

"Where is your mistress? Where is Hilley? Did she send you out? Why?"

Federico's eyes shone as he asked the key point:

"Where is Lausanne the Second?"

"You should not have come here," Zayen said with a grave face, having thought of something.

"The Jade Legion is under martial control outside, yet he came and insisted on entering," Knight Cecil said coldly beside Cassian.

"Knight Cassian was rather... persistent," Mallos added with a more polite word.

Cassian ignored them. He only kept staring at the dead man on the ground, his expression confused.

"If necessary, we can immediately arrest him and interrogate that killer... interrogate him about his experiences these days, Your High..."

Seeing the two Covendiers before him, Captain Cecil, who had originally been preparing to report to Thales, hesitated.

Out of habit, he was about to salute Zayen alone, but stopped himself halfway. After hesitating again and again, he finally bowed generally to the three and chose plural address:

"...my lords."

Terrible.

Looking at Cassian, who had clearly been sent by Hilley, Thales felt his head ache.

Had the details of Chadwi's assassination leaked? Had she discovered them? Or did she suspect?

Should he drive him away, or act and conceal it?

Thinking of this, Thales' expression did not change.

"All right. Tormond, Captain Cecil, please have him wait to the side. I will first finish handling..."

"I may recognize him."

Cassian stared at the dead man and suddenly spoke.

Everyone around was startled and followed his gaze toward the corpse on the ground.

"What?"

Federico asked suspiciously:

"You mean him? This one on the ground?"

Cassian nodded slightly, tightly frowning.

Zayen was full of misgivings and shook his head at Thales.

But Thales calmly let go of the suicide note in his pocket and casually leaned back against the altar, sitting on the floor.

"Lord Cassian, please come forward. No, Tormond, Captain Cecil, you do not need to leave. I may have use for you in a moment."

Thales said in a low voice, signaling Cecil and Mallos to remain.

"You said you know this fellow?"

Cassian came beside the corpse and looked at the long-dead bald middle-aged man on the ground, his expression complicated.

"Earlier, he was only familiar. But now..."

But Federico interrupted him:

"So you came representing Hilley? Can you speak for her? Where is she? What does she want?"

Zayen could not help speaking too:

"My sister... is she well?"

Cassian looked at the two men of the Covendier family and frowned.

On the other side, Thales spoke without hesitation, invisibly helping Cassian out.

"Oh? Are you certain, Lord Cassian? Are you certain you know this person? Know him himself?"

Cassian looked deeply at the two Covendiers whose hatred for each other was as deep as the sea, then turned to Thales.

"Yes, Your Highness. This person's appearance has not changed much. It should be him without doubt..."

He paused and looked at his old friend.

"And you have seen him too, Cecil."

"Me?" Knight Cecil was immediately shocked.

Cassian nodded lightly.

"Many years ago, we briefly worked together. He was once someone who... handled matters for Emerald Palace."

Emerald Palace.

Everyone's gaze turned toward Zayen, and the latter tightly frowned.

"But... how do I not remember this person?"

Having changed from onlooker to involved party, Cecil found it hard to believe for a moment. He observed the deceased again and again, but remained completely confused.

"You interacted with him for too short a time," Cassian said, his face dark as water.

Federico sneered.

"So he was an old subordinate of yours, Cousin," he said softly. "Why is it that only you did not recognize him?"

"I truly do not know him," Zayen coldly rejected the implication.

Mallos frowned and looked toward Thales. The prince did not speak. He merely kept his hands behind his back and observed everyone's reactions.

"Because at that time, he had been temporarily borrowed from Gonghai City, and what he did was not an official assignment."

For some reason, Knight Cassian seemed rather dazed when he said this.

Cecil's gaze moved.

"Gonghai City?"

Everyone's gazes turned once again toward the other Covendier.

"Gonghai City... I knew it. No wonder."

Zayen understood and said disdainfully:

"Fed, you simply cannot let go of that bit of old..."

"I have not seen him either."

This time, it was Fed's turn to frown.

"At least not among the affairs officials I knew growing up."

Thales sat on the ground and looked at the corpse lying by his feet, watching the performance of these people standing in their respective positions.

Look, Thales.

The voice deep in his heart laughed faintly:

Look at this scene of scheming before you.

Who is putting on an act?

Who knows full well?

Who is being kept in the dark?

And you, Thales, borrowing identity, borrowing power, borrowing methods, borrowing the information gap born from them, how much can you obtain from their farce?

Is it enough for you to distinguish enemy from friend, decide victory from defeat?

"Be cautious, old friend. None of us remember this person," Cecil warned his old friend. "Why is it only you who remembers?"

Facing everyone's suspicious gazes, Cassian sighed.

"Because a long time ago, when I was still in the Tower of Eradication, this person was my contemporary and trained with me."

Tower of Eradication.

Eradication swordsman?

Everyone exchanged looks, then looked at the corpse on the ground, inevitably confused.

This middle-aged man, whether in figure or clothing, did not look like someone with martial skill.

"Back when you were still in the Tower of Eradication, that long ago... the Guardian Duke of the South Bank at the time was still Uncle Lenster, right?" Federico said thoughtfully, also with implication.

"And the Viscount of Gonghai City at the time was still Uncle Sonar. Enough of this. Who exactly is this person?" Zayen could no longer endure it.

"His name was... I... sorry, I truly do not remember his name."

Cassian stared blankly at the bald middle-aged man on the ground, his tone carrying indescribable guilt.

"What I can remember is that he was a local of Jade City. His family was in business, very rich, with powerful connections. That was why he could go to the Tower of Eradication, and still hold office after returning..."

Cecil could not help snorting coldly.

"You say you know him, yet you do not even remember his name?"

Cassian wanted to speak, but stopped. In the end, he only turned his head in shame.

"That is normal."

Unexpectedly, the person who spoke was Mallos.

"Everyone meets and knows many people in their lifetime. Most are only hurried passersby. Forget names, one may not even remember their faces."

Mallos looked at the corpse on the ground and sighed.

"So most of the time, we also do not know how important certain passersby may be to our lives."

His words made everyone think deeply.

"And you still remember his face, Lord Cassian. That is already quite good. Please tell us what you know."

Cassian paused, then nodded respectfully to Mallos.

Cecil stared at Mallos, especially at the bandages showing at the latter's collar, and snorted coldly.

"Because we were from the same hometown, we had met and eaten together in the Tower of Eradication, but we were not very familiar. I did not like his character, habits, and his extravagant ways of spending lavishly..."

Cassian worked hard to recall.

"Later, it seems he failed in his training, so he gave up his studies and returned to the kingdom. When I saw him again many years later, he seemed to be doing clerical work, related to maritime affairs..."

"Then why would a clerical official in Gonghai City, whose family was filthy rich, come work with us?"

Cecil hated being inexplicably dragged in and impatiently asked:

"When was it? What work together? What assignment?"

Cassian looked at him, then at Zayen, and shook his head sorrowfully.

"Sorry. Bound by oath, I can only say this much."

Cecil snorted in disdain.

"A knight's oath?"

"Or an oath sworn to my uncle?" Federico's gaze grew gradually sharper. "Lord Cassian, what are you hiding? For whom?"

He turned his head.

"Do you know the inside story, Cousin? Why would the assassin target him?"

Zayen looked at the bald middle-aged man's remains on the ground, seeming still confused, but he thought of something and his expression changed slightly.

"Your eagerness only makes you look more suspicious, Fed"

The Duke of the South Bank glanced at Thales, who seemed to be distracted, and coldly countered his cousin.

Federico sneered and shook his head.

"That is simple. If what Cassian says is true, then check the personnel records of Gonghai City's government hall from back then and compare identities and histories one by one. We should be able to identify him: what his name was, what he did, and why the assassin specifically aimed at him..."

Thales sat on the floor, hands crossed, and suddenly spoke softly:

"Bott."

Mallos noticed his master's abnormality. He interrupted the arguing Covendiers and sharply turned back.

"Your Highness?"

Everyone fell quiet together and looked back in confusion.

"I said, Bott."

Thales sighed and turned toward the corpse beside him.

"This man's true name was Perry Bott."

Everyone, including Zayen and Federico, froze.

"Your Highness already knew?" Federico's expression moved.

"The Security Hall already found clues?" Zayen frowned.

"Perry Bott... Perry... so this is his name... Perry..."

Cassian chewed over the name and looked at the middle-aged man on the ground, feeling some of the guilt in his heart lessen.

"Perry Bott... Bott, Bott?"

But Cecil, off to the side, noticed something else and was startled.

"Could it be that Bott?"

Zayen and Federico looked at each other, both shocked and doubtful.

Cassian froze.

"That Bott? What Bott?"

Cecil snorted coldly and pointed at the corpse on the ground.

"You just said he was a local of Jade City, that his family did major business, had money and strong connections, and spent extravagantly and lavishly. What other Bott could it be?"

Cassian was still confused.

"I do not understand. Is this some high family?"

"You do not know?"

"Should I know?" Cassian asked in return.

Cecil shook his head and let out a laugh at his old friend that was hard to tell as mockery or helplessness.

"Fine, young master... no, this surname is not some noble house. But they were famous on the road, among us commoners..."

He came to himself, looked at the several great figures of indescribably noble birth around him, and hurriedly changed his words.

"At least in the illegal world."

The two Covendiers both frowned.

Cecil said with difficulty:

"In fact, they were once a very famous underworld family in Jade City and even the South Bank. But the business they did was, was..."

"Drug trafficking."

Zayen looked in disbelief at the young Bott on the ground and took over Cecil's words.

"They trafficked drugs. And fiercely. Fierce to the point that they infiltrated all levels of the city and affected Jade City's future development."

Thales clapped his hands.

"Correct. This pitiful Perry on the ground, his father was none other than Dog Fang, Old Bott, a core figure of the Blood Bottle Gang in Jade City many years ago, a local giant of the underground world, one of the kingdom's top drug lords."

Thales raised his gaze.

"Remember anything? Anything at all?"

Mallos said nothing.

Cassian understood something.

"Yes, Dog Fang Bott. Yes, I have heard that name..."

"Their family fell long ago."

Zayen recovered and said coldly:

"Because that old Dog Fang fellow had no regard for law, was insatiably greedy, and endlessly produced and sold vicious drugs in the South Bank and even the whole kingdom, arousing public anger. Even Emerald Palace, as tolerant and trade-loving as it is, could not tolerate him."

"And Old Bott's territory and forces were received by the Blood Bottle Gang's subordinates."

Thales said softly:

"The market and business, meanwhile, were seized by a competitor, the Black Street Brotherhood."

"Blood Bottle Gang?"

Federico repeated.

"Tormond, send someone to find the barber in a while and have him pass a message."

Thales looked toward his personal guard captain.

"Say, say if the Blood Bottle Gang's female boss, called, called..."

"Phantom Blade Catherine," Mallos reminded him.

Thales snapped his fingers.

"Right, her. Tell him that if Catherine does not come see me before sunset today..."

His expression darkened.

"Then I will have to go see her instead."

The prince did not explain the difference between these two kinds of meeting.

But the two Covendiers, as well as the two knights beside them, exchanged looks with varied moods.

Federico's eyes turned.

"So this fellow is the son of an outdated gang drug dealer. But why would the assassin aim at him..."

Thales raised a hand and interrupted him.

"It is said that when Old Bott was still around, relying on the huge profits from drug trafficking and the Blood Bottle Gang connection, the Bott family made some official contacts. They let his son, this Perry, become a minor official, responsible for middle communication, passing word for the Blood Bottle Gang and helping Emerald Palace do some shameful dirty and tiring work."

Thales looked at the Covendiers and revealed a smile.

"Sounds familiar, right?"

Zayen did not move at all. Fed was thoughtful.

"Until his father died, and the Bott family's name no longer worked in the Blood Bottle Gang, Perry became much more honest."

Thales continued, his tone mysterious.

"Until one day, little Bott received an order from his superior, asking him to depart from Gonghai City, go across the sea to the Eastern Continent, to the Night Kingdom, and receive several mysterious experts, so that they could participate in a political conspiracy affecting the ownership of the Star Throne: gathering killers of unknown origin to intercept and kill the Exter diplomatic mission, triggering a diplomatic crisis in order to force the king to choose a throne heir among the dukes. Of course, we are all very clear on the later story."

Mallos frowned.

Thales stared carefully at the unmoved Zayen.

"You should remember now, right?"

Zayen abruptly raised his head.

"You already found out the victim's identity, and presumably also the truth?"

The Duke of the Iris said coldly:

"You were only testing us just now, watching us suspect each other?"

"Because this truly cannot be separated from you, can it, Cousin?" Federico spoke, but his tone was no longer certain. It was likewise filled with worry.

Cassian, standing to the side, sighed softly. Cecil lowered his head and did not dare breathe loudly.

These two Supreme Class experts suddenly realized:

At some unknown point, the three great figures beside them had quietly taken over the battlefield.

And at this moment, the war horn had already sounded.

War was dangerous.

Thales ignored Zayen's questioning and Federico's prompt, and only sighed faintly.

"But whether king or dukes, the success and failure of those important people's achievements had nothing to do with pitiful Perry. This unlucky young Bott clearly acted according to the rules, yet still made a mistake. What he brought back from the Night Kingdom was not the agreed vampire experts, but a fallen noble who had failed in a coup."

The two Covendiers both frowned, their moods different.

"That's right. Serena Corleone, the Night Kingdom's number one traitor, the Night Queen's elder sister and mortal enemy. Eight years ago, she used the iris's ship to land from Gonghai City and step into the territory of Stars."

Thales clicked his tongue, carrying inexplicable emotion.

"In the end, this shameless vampire nicknamed Ugly Face tried to get the iris for nothing. Not only was she uninterested in being cannon fodder for Covendier's political conspiracy, she even created countless additional troubles and completely caused Project New Star's bankruptcy, making the iris family suffer heavy losses that continue to this day."

Federico stared fixedly at Zayen.

"A grand move, Cousin. A grand move."

The latter only pressed his lips tight and said nothing.

"In short, this matter made the Duke of the Iris extremely furious, and he personally questioned him."

Thales spoke softly.

"Clearly, pitiful Perry Bott did not understand the truth, and the fault was not his. Thus, the duke comforted him in a warm and gentle voice, expressing that he would pursue the matter no further, moving little Bott to tears and making him wish he could sell the rest of his life to the iris. Until Perry left the castle and was sent in confusion to the high seas."

High seas.

Federico abruptly raised his head.

Cecil tightly frowned without saying a word.

Cassian was expressionless, only his eyes were dim.

Zayen looked at little Bott's remains on the ground and gently closed his eyes.

"Of course, perhaps it was Sunset's blessing. Perry, unlucky for half his life, was fortunate enough to survive that death-sending ocean ship."

Thales waved at the goddess statue above.

"That is why we fortunately have the chance to see him again, before the Sunset Goddess."

Everyone was silent for a long time.

Until Zayen opened his eyes and recovered his calm.

Perhaps also his indifference.

"Surviving on a ship in the high seas, returning after years of exile..."

The Duke of the Iris said coldly:

"Does that not sound familiar, Cousin?"

"Do you really think this is a good time to shift focus, Cousin?" Federico replied flatly.

Zayen did not answer.

"Little Bott survived with only his own body."

Thales sighed and continued:

"But as the supporting measures for his disappearance on the high seas, in Gonghai City, his family was ruined, his wife and children scattered."

Cecil snorted coldly.

"The retribution of a drug trafficker."

Thales shook his head.

"Thus, from that time onward, little Bott bore hatred and resentment. He hid his name and waited only for the day when he could take revenge on that arrogant, cold-blooded, cruel, and vicious Duke of the Iris, repaying blood hatred with blood."

Everyone looked at the person involved on the ground.

The middle-aged man's remains were resentful and desperate, vicious and twisted.

Cassian let out a long sigh. He crouched down and covered little Bott with the white cloth.

But Federico noticed something wrong.

"But if he was after revenge, then why come to Sunset Temple? To find a priest and air his grievance? Also, who exactly wanted to assassinate him..."

Federico's voice stopped.

He understood and looked at the prince in surprise.

Zayen took a deep breath. Looking at the bloodstains on the white cloth, he likewise realized something and spoke with difficulty:

"He was not the victim, was he?"

Thales looked back at him, trying hard to find some different emotion in the other man's expression.

"No. He was not."

Thales said faintly:

"This Perry Bott was the assassin himself."

Zayen abruptly turned his head and stared fixedly at Thales.

Federico, Cecil, and Cassian all froze together.

"Clearly, he came to assassinate someone else. After carrying out the attack, seeing no hope of escape, he killed himself out of fear of punishment. At least that is the preliminary investigation result."

Thales slowly drew the letter from his pocket.

"The things I said just now, these unknown inside details, were all left by little Bott in his suicide note. I must say, his handwriting is quite beautiful."

Zayen suddenly stepped forward, but Mallos, prepared, reached out and stopped him, not allowing him to approach the prince.

"Who?"

Zayen looked at Mallos before him, whose face did not change yet allowed no negotiation. He had no choice but to take a deep breath, step back, and force down his emotions.

He clenched his fists. His teeth were gritted, but his tone trembled.

"The person he... the person this bastard drug trafficker assassinated... who exactly was it?"

Thales sighed, his mood heavy.

He opened the assassin's suicide note and looked toward the final lines.

They were the most desperate curse, written in the most venomous language.

"This little Bott said in the note that he had nothing left. These years, the only wish he had left was to make that young duke, so noble and untouchable, so renowned for virtue and praised by everyone, taste retribution and consequences..."

Zayen's face grew paler. Federico also tightly frowned.

"...Little Bott wanted him, wanted him to pay for that arrogance high above, thinking he would forever never be threatened by lowly insects and nameless passersby..."

Thales' voice lowered.

"For his monstrous crimes, those sinister, vicious acts of shifting blame, shirking responsibility, treating human lives like grass, killing to silence witnesses, yet still remaining at large and respected..."

Thales sighed.

"...to pay a blood price."

Monstrous crimes...

Mallos could not help frowning.

This said by a drug trafficker...

Thales put away the letter.

"For this, he was willing to sacrifice everything, and would not stop until death."

When the words fell, Cassian sighed deeply.

Cecil's face was livid.

"Then what did he want to..."

Federico wanted to say something, but stopped.

Zayen's expression changed.

"No..."

"And little Bott intended to begin from here, to find the whereabouts of a certain young lady, one who had no choice but to hide because she angered the prince."

Thales looked toward the Sunset Goddess statue, frowning as he nodded.

"Because he once swore before Sunset that he would make Zayen Covendier, make him taste the same flavor he had tasted: bone and flesh scattered, closest kin lost."

Bone and flesh scattered...

Closest kin lost...

Zayen trembled, his expression dazed.

"No. No, no, no... not her..."

"Yes. The one who was attacked was none other than Priest Chadwi."

Thales nodded heavily and spoke the truth:

"He, or rather, their target, was Hilley."

When his words fell, Zayen's face turned pale, his body swayed, and with a thud, he fell to his knees.

He knelt inside Sunset Temple, before the altar that had once received countless offerings and sacrifices.

He knelt before the Sunset Goddess who stood high above and could not be touched, coldly watching the thousand shapes of the mortal world, lowering her eyes to read all retribution and reincarnation.