The day after the princess's assassination attempt, the academy was unnaturally quiet.
The final round of the ranking tournament was announced to be postponed. The reason posted on the bulletin board was that the participants were feeling unwell. Of course, this excuse fell apart under scrutiny. Those in the know understood what had actually happened, but the majority of the students truly noticed nothing. When the incident occurred that night, most people in the academy had already returned to their dormitories. Only the nearby instructors and the students of Class A knew the truth.
Along with Isabella and Erich.
The news was tightly sealed; even the gossip-prone underclassmen hadn't heard a whisper.
That same afternoon, the imperial investigation team arrived at the academy.
Leading the team was the eldest prince, Alen Viridian. He first spoke privately with Morningstar Academy's headmistress, Lady Eleanor Villard, for nearly two hours. No one knew what they discussed, but afterward, the authority of the investigation was completely handed over to Alen.
A squad of personal maids soon appeared by the young princess's side. They wore standard maid uniforms and looked unremarkable, but anyone with a bit of perception could sense the faint pressure of mana radiating from them. Each of them was at least a third-tier mage, and they worked in perfect coordination, guarding the young princess seamlessly around the clock.
The investigation proceeded smoothly. The group of black-clothed assassins likely hadn't expected to be completely wiped out, leaving them absolutely no time to clean up their tracks.
Among the people Alen brought were specialized forensic mages, as well as a squad responsible for organizing physical evidence. In just a single day, the desk in front of Alen was piled high with items.
Among them were two pieces of crucial evidence.
The first was a pitch-black cylindrical device. The examination results came back quickly: a military-grade barrier device. Its model and batch number pointed directly to the standard-issue equipment of the Southwest Military District. Although the serial number had been deliberately ground off, this was no obstacle for the mages Alen had brought. Tracing batch numbers through casting characteristics was basic knowledge in the empire's forensic system.
The second was a small knife, completely black, with an exceptionally fine magic circle engraved on its blade. The forensic mages spent the entire morning taking rubbings of the magic circle, concluding that there were only a handful of alchemists in the entire empire capable of such craftsmanship—and even fewer who also possessed space-attribute talent.
When put together, the clues pointed in a very clear direction.
The southwest, the fief of the Lombard family. Aside from Radiant City, that region possessed the most advanced alchemy technology in the empire.
It was also the backing family of the current empress, Empress Livia.
Alen put down the small knife, sat at his desk, and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples.
The current empress, Livia, was not his biological mother. His mother was the previous empress, who had passed away from illness when he was young. Only after her death did Livia enter the imperial harem and give birth to the second prince, Theodore. Their relationship could hardly be called close; they merely maintained a facade of maternal love and filial piety, while both were fully aware of their respective positions.
If she was truly behind this...
What was her goal? To eliminate his little sister early? Or was there no deep meaning at all, and she simply wanted to use this opportunity to thoroughly muddy the waters in Radiant City so the Lombard family could profit?
Alen couldn't wrap his head around it, but one thing was clear to him: if the evidence truly pointed to the empress, this investigation would become a massive headache.
Before he could decide on his next move, a knock sounded at the door. Before Alen could even reply, the door was pushed open.
The guards did not stop the intruder, nor did they dare to announce her.
Empress Livia walked in.
She was an elegant and luxurious lady. Her light red hair was pinned up in an exquisite bun, and she wore a pale gold gown. A full set of gemstone jewelry shimmered faintly in the light coming through the window. Her personal strength was not particularly high, giving her a lifespan no different from an ordinary person, but she was extremely well-preserved. Standing there, no one would have guessed she was over fifty years old.
Without waiting for Alen to speak, she walked straight to his side, placed her hands on his shoulders, and began to massage them with moderate pressure.
“Have you found anything, child?”
Her tone was warm and caring, just like any mother concerned for her child.
However, this was the temporary office the academy had arranged for Alen, and the imperial palace was by no means close by.
Alen shifted his shoulders, subtly dodging her hands as he replied, “The clues regarding the mastermind point toward the southwest, Imperial Mother.”
“Is that so?” The empress did not press further. She simply strolled slowly around the desk, her gaze falling upon the black knife on the table. She reached out, picked it up, held it before her eyes, and gently ran her thumb over the engraved patterns of the magic circle on the blade.
“The material of this dagger,” she said, “seems to come from the Abyss.”
The Abyss, a dangerous region in the northern part of the empire. The ore business there was essentially controlled by the Edmond family.
Alen did not respond to the empress's words, as if he didn't understand her implication.
The empress didn't mind either. She set down the dagger and walked over to the window. Outside, students were crossing the sports field in groups, their steps light and carefree, as if nothing had happened.
“That fellow from the Edmond family,” the empress said, “could it be that he harbored resentment against the empire, attempted to assassinate the princess, and when the plan failed, used a teleportation array to escape?”
Alen knew who she was talking about. The son of the Edmond family had caused quite a stir before being expelled from his family. This matter had spread widely within the imperial capital's noble circles. The boy himself was currently staying at the academy, and his grades were said to be quite good, but when the empire's nobles mentioned him, it was mostly with a degree of schadenfreude.
“I think...” Alen began.
The empress cut him off.
“The Edmond family won't object. No one is going to care about a piece of trash expelled from his family. Don't you agree, Alen?”
She spoke lightly, but Alen knew the full weight of those words.
The Edmond family would not object, and that disgraced noble, who had been knocked to the ground, would have no power to stage a comeback. In this way, the evidence pointing to the southwest would simply be swept under the rug, and the dagger pointing to the Abyss could be explained as that person's source.
All the clues connected perfectly. All that was missing was a culprit.
Alen looked at the empress's back, then at the oblivious students outside the window. He only needed to say no and continue the investigation. Even if the clues truly pointed to the empress's maternal family, he could unearth them.
But what if he did? Was now the time to completely fall out with her?
This question did not require much thought.
“Yes,” Alen said, his voice sounding somewhat dry even to his own ears. “No one will care about a guy with a long criminal record who has been stripped of his noble status.”
The empress gazed at the treetops of the campus in the distance and nodded slightly, as if thoroughly satisfied.
Alen knew she must be smiling—a gentle, elegant smile that showed not a hint of aggressiveness.
He looked down at the desk. The small knife lay there, its engraved patterns faintly reflecting a glint of dark light in the sunshine streaming through the window.
That night, the empire's wanted poster spread throughout the territory of the Radiant Empire.
Erich, formerly known as Erich Edmond, was officially added to the wanted list under suspicion of the attempted murder of the imperial princess. The charge:
【Plotting the Assassination of the Imperial Princess】
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