Politics

Gerald was leaving, but as he left I suddenly realized something. When the commander informed us of the incident he used the word "murdered" rather than "missing", this implies that the commander somehow knows that the princess is dead.

Of course, there is no way for Gerald to confront the commander without getting arrested and executed. I decide not to tell Gerald of my revelation since I don't know how good at acting he is, and he might accidentally let the commander know something was up.

The only thing I can't figure out was the motive, why would the commander kill the princess in his own city? Brainstorming, I came to the conclusion that it was probably a result of court politics

Many of the novels I've read in my past life feature fights for the throne between princesses, princes, generals, officials, and various other ambitious individuals.

Logically, if the commander belonged to a faction hostile to the princess, he would have a reason to kill her. Also, the empire I'm currently in heavily resembles that of ancient Chinese ones, which were famous for court politics, coups, and revolutions.

Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting Gerald out of this alive, and maybe even getting some benefit out of this. Gerald had arrived at the scene and began searching, along with the troop of men that the commander had given him.

After a few hours of searching the body was found, Gerald quickly rushed to the scene and was surprised by what he saw.

The corpse of the woman had bloated, with blood foaming out of her orifices. The smell of rot pervaded the air. Gerald reluctantly approached to investigate

The skin was slightly discolored green and was loose. The body was soft, almost mushy, to the touch. All signs pointed to the person dying 2-3 days ago, which matched the timeline.

The spatial ring so commonly seen on distinguished people was gone, as well as all of the jewelry and gemstones. It looks as though the princesses ambushed in the night, and mugged. During the mugging, something must have happened, and the princess ended up dead.

Of course, that's what the scene looks like, but it could've also been the commander trying to make it look like a mugging gone wrong.

I'm at a crossroads, I can try to tell Gerald about my suspicions, or I can let Gerald report his findings to the commander and be off with his day.

I decide that my wielder's safety takes precedence over my sense of justice, and do not inform Gerald.

Gerald takes some more time to examine the body and then leaves to report his findings to the commander.

Back at the Courtyard, Gerald reports to the commander. "Sir! We have found the body, it looks to have been dead for 2-3 days, and all of its valuables have been stripped. It looks like a robbery that resulted in murder-

The commander looks ready to accept the verdict of robbery, but Gerald goes on.

"-at first glance, but upon examination of the wounds, I noticed that the princess died from a single, very strong, blow. The wound also does not look like one made by a weapon, revealing that no weapon was used, and such a blow could only be delivered by a cultivator"

"I believe that the princess was assassinated and the corpse was made to look like a robbery"

The commander's eyes grew cold upon hearing what Gerald had to say, and I could practically see the malice in his eyes. The commander spoke,

" So? Who do you think could be responsible for the princess's murder, Gerald?"

"I don't know commander, all of the known cultivators in the city belong to noble houses, which are too strong to risk offending."

Gerald was right, uprooting a noble house meant destabilizing the city, as well as huge damage to the local economy. Investigating their cultivators would be seen as an act of hostility, and would spark conflict.

The commander stared warily at Gerald before dismissing him, saying that he would handle the matter himself. As he walked towards his office, he beckoned for his assistant.

"See to it that Gerald is promoted to Lieutenant, but order someone to keep an eye on him. Investigate his past and current daily routine and report the findings to me and no one else, understood?"

"Yes, commander"

The assistant disappeared into the shadows while the commander sat at his desk. The commander took a stone out from his cabinet and placed it on his desk, the stone then projected the image of a young man wearing an elaborate red and black robe.

The commander bowed his head and spoke, "Your highness, the corpse of princess Yue has been found." The prince's face betrayed no emotions at this revelation and waited for the commander to continue "However, I suspect that there is a spy among my men. The one that found the corpse analyzed the wounds and determined that the princess was killed by a cultivator."

The prince stared at the commander saying, "And? A perceptive soldier is not necessarily a spy, explain yourself."

"When I inquired about who he thought responsible, he specifically mentioned the noble houses of the city. It is possible that he was sent here by a competing royal in order to weaken your influence in this city by pitting you against its nobles."

The prince became thoughtful, "Keep this soldier close to you, and ensure that he does not give any information to his superiors. The noble houses happen to be an excellent scapegoat for the princess's murder, publicly avenging my dear sister will put me in my father's good graces."

"Yes, your Highness"