Your Highness, you are so brilliant!

"The bodies of Bishop Valentine, his two bodyguards, and a food tester were found in the cellar in the Bishop's mansion where he began to have most of his meals due to security concerns."

The short-haired redhead guard was giving a report to the concerned Crown Prince.

"The food tester's reason for death was the poison he ingested with the samples of the bishop's meal. The guards in charge of investigating the crime scene were unable to identify the method that was used to blow up the torso of the first bodyguard and the head of the second one but did not exclude the possibility of some experimental magic pellet. As for the bishop Valentine himself..."

Up to that point, the guard was composed, but the words she was about to speak made her face turn slightly green from nausea.

"He was found sitting by the table and... his eyes were gouged out and re... replaced with his own testicles. His pe-penis was cut off and sliced into pieces that were put on his plate... together with his eyeballs stuffed into the... Hurgh...! I beg for forgiveness, Your Highness... stuffed into the leftover sack... and... and the tongue that was cut out of his mouth... next to the plate the perpetrator put the skin ripped from the Bishop's hands. It was removed so carefully that the report states it resembled gloves... the skinned hands were cut off three inches behind the wrists and placed on a platter in a way that made it seem the perpetrator wanted to make them appear as the next dish that would be served... hurgh... HURGH...!"

The guardswoman was doing a good job, but the overall imagination she pictured in her mind while reading the report to the crown prince made her dry-heave uncontrollably.

"With... with the appearance of the wounds, the guards in charge and the medic that was called for examination determined that someone cauterized the wounds with some sort of heated metal to prevent the bishop from bleeding out. They strongly believe that the bishop was... completely conscious while he was being tortured...and... and died only after the knife and fork from his silverware were stabbed into his mutilated groin, and the wound was pried wide o... open."

"...Evelyn, sit down..."

The red-haired guard finished reading the report and swayed on her feet, which caused the Crown Prince to cover his mouth with one hand and point at the sofa next to the table he was sitting by.

"...thank you, your highness..."

Evelyn was so shaken that she didn't even try to refuse despite the fact that her status didn't allow her to be seated in the same room as a member of a royal family. She just slumped down on the sofa with a grateful mumble.

"...hurhgh...!"

She then immediately pulled out a handkerchief and covered her mouth while another wave of nausea hit her like a speeding carriage.

"..."

"..."

The two of them sat in complete silence, not even making eye contact.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"Your Highness, it's Agness Becklivi with your breakfast."

The silence was interrupted by the maid outside the room, making her presence known to the royalty inside.

"No. No breakfast for me today."

"...As you wish, Your Highness."

Noah flinched and refused the meal without letting the maid in, which she acknowledged after a short pause.

"..."

The prince glanced at his indisposed guard and bit his lips... but not because he was worried about her.

|It's exactly as Ava said...|

Noah thought to himself in distress.

|If that street thug indeed became so confident to pull off something like that because of Zorivia then he might be in contact with her... Since Ava said I no longer need to play-pretend being interested in the marriage, I can end the whole farce as long as I will prove that Zorivia was in contact with the murderer. I can put the spotlight on her and win back the nobles who started to doubt me.|

He thought while being mindful of appearing to be just as shaken as his guard.

|But to do so, I need to actually talk with her... and that hellspawn of a servant she got herself would not let that happen... not to mention that I need at least one or two witnesses that could confirm my version of the story...|

Noah squinted his eyes as the idea began forming in his head.

|...both of those problems can be resolved pretty easily~ I cannot visit Zorivia, but as long as I will already be in the room she would apporach on her own free will, that's a different case... My relationship with Charlotte is good enough that she will surely take my side even if I use her a bit. Father loves her so much that he will overlook such a mishap, and I am her beloved older brother, so she would forgive me for inviting Zorivia by using her name~|

The Crown Prince smirked discretely under the cover of his hand.

"Evelyn, you are clearly feeling unwell. Take a day off. Make sure to notify another palace guard to replace you for today only, as you will take your time to recuperate."

"...Your Highness...!"

Noah stood up and approached the red-haired woman, putting his hand on her shoulder and smiling reassuringly. This made her gasp, torn between gratitude and unease about leaving her post just like that.

"I will personally punish anyone who would question your competence because of that, so do not fret over it and go."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

The prince reassured the guard, and she gulped down her saliva heavily and bowed her head deeply.

|And with that, the only person who would question the legitimacy of me being invited by Charlotte to a little tea party is out of the way~ Being so insistent on the harsh scanning process to prevent my cute little sister from having a personal maid or guard she could confine to was the perfect move. Yes, that's right! The whole fiasco back then was just bad luck.|

Noah thought to himself as Evelyn was leaving the room, so confident in himself that he didn't pay attention to the fact that the maid who came by with his breakfast wouldn't still be walking down the hallway if she left immediately when he dismissed her.

|My sister, a random guard... and perhaps a member of the shadow guard... since Luna is loyal like a dog to me since she became a member only thanks to my endorsement~ She would immediately show up at my call and even came up with an excuse on her own without revealing my involvement... That's right... everything is in the palm of my hand again~ As long as I make Zorivia's tongue slip in their presence, it's my win~|

He hummed to himself, already certain of another victory.