"And that guy named Golan—the Queen protected him," Servan said through gritted teeth, slamming a clenched fist against the wall in anger.
Leona didn't know who Golan was, but since she was currently disguised as Milan, she couldn't directly ask about him.
"On what grounds?" she asked with a look of suspicion, a touch of anger in her voice.
Servan glanced around, and seeing that no one was near, he cupped a hand around his mouth and lowered his voice:
"The Queen claimed she knew about the assassin all along, and that Golan was a spy she planted."
"What a clumsy excuse," Leona said with a light chuckle.
"Isn't it?" Servan agreed. He glanced around once more, then leaned down to whisper in Leona's ear:
"I suspect this assassination was orchestrated by the Queen herself."
Even as Leona played the role of Milan, she couldn't help her eyes widening in surprise.
He just said it so bluntly!
What kind of relationship did these two have in private? The head maid and the guard captain held significant positions. It was surprising the Queen hadn't sabotaged these disloyal figures or replaced them.
Constrained by her disguise, Leona could only bury her doubts deep inside.
"By the way, what are you doing here at the kitchen?" Servan asked suddenly.
"Aaaaaah!"
A shrill scream echoed from inside the kitchen.
Both of them were startled.
Servan drew a short blade from his bracer and reached out to protect Leona behind him.
"Be careful. I'll go inside and check."
Leona nodded. Having someone scout ahead was ideal for her, given her current lack of defensive means.
Facing this sudden situation, Leona felt no fear, only curiosity.
The cry had been a man's voice. Compared to women, men had inherently greater physical strength. What kind of situation could make a man panic like that?
After Servan went in, Leona didn't move, waiting quietly in the corridor.
She didn't call out first, choosing instead to wait for Servan's response.
Although she could perform a roll-back, the remaining uses could accumulate into the next instance, so saving them whenever possible was best.
If Servan didn't make a sound within three minutes, she would leave immediately. No one knew what might happen in there.
"Milan, are you still there?"
Ten seconds later, Servan's voice called out from inside.
Although Servan tried to sound calm, Leona could still detect a trace of panic in his voice.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Someone's dead." Servan stepped back out, his face much paler than before he went in.
"Servan, you don't look so good. Can I go in and take a look?" Leona said, her expression flickering uncertainly.
A terrifying conjecture rose in her mind: if these Devotees were faithful enough, could the person have committed suicide after poisoning the Princess?
There was an old saying in Hua Country: The soft fear the hard, the hard fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear those who don't care about their lives.
Facing a group of desperate fanatics, Leona found it hard to guarantee she could complete this game smoothly.
"Of course," Servan replied. "But you'd better think it through. The scene is a bit... in short, you'll regret it once you go in."
"I understand."
Leona nodded, stepped around Servan, and pushed open the door leading to the kitchen.
The light in the kitchen was dim, featuring several copper stoves. The scents of wine and jam blended together, with the aroma of roasted meat occasionally wafting through—but today was an exception.
One odor overwhelmed them all.
The smell of blood.
Once inside, Leona finally understood what Servan had meant.
An old man wearing a chef's hat lay motionless in a pool of blood. One arm and one leg were gone without a trace, but the clean ragged breaks clearly indicated that some kind of creature had bitten them off.
The remaining hand and leg were no better, completely charred and emitting a burnt carbon smell.
His state of death was horrifying. An apprentice standing nearby was trembling violently, his expression softening only slightly upon seeing Servan and Leona.
In addition, Leona noticed drag marks in the blood on the floor.
"According to the apprentice, he first found him inside the stove. Seeing the hand burnt like that, he didn't realize it was a person and assumed it was firewood or something, so he dragged him out."
Servan stepped in behind Leona.
A patrolling guard happened to arrive and followed behind Servan.
"Just discovered now? Judging by the degree of burning, he must have been dead for a long time. Why was he only found now?" Leona asked suspiciously, her eyes fixed on the apprentice like a wolf.
"He was only responsible for Her Highness the Princess's meals. Once he finished making them, he would go to the wine cellar to slack off by himself. Because of his advanced age, we all turned a blind eye. At first, I thought he had just gone off to slack as usual, but I never expected..."
The apprentice stammered in panic, his fear showing no trace of acting.
"Where is everyone else?" Leona swept her gaze around.
"Breakfast for the palace is always prepared the day before. At this hour, usually only one person is assigned to keep watch," Servan whispered close to Leona's ear.
"The day before?" Leona murmured softly.
She suddenly remembered the fifth rule from the diary.
At night, you do not need to worry about the Princess's safety. Anyone who desires the Princess's life will be watched by Them, including you.
At first, Leona had wondered why simply being watched meant one didn't need to worry about the Princess's safety. Now it seemed those so-called Shadows might actually eliminate anyone who attempted to harm her.
If her conjecture was correct, the Shadows had a loophole.
Namely, while they would eliminate the wrongdoers, they would not resolve the lingering issues.
For instance, the poisoned breakfast was still delivered to the Princess's room.
"Is breakfast always prepared at night?" Leona asked the apprentice once more.
The apprentice nodded repeatedly. "Shortly after nightfall, we start preparing breakfast for the next day."
The apprentice's words made Leona even more certain of her theory. Moreover, the deceased old man was likely an invader, since no normal palace personnel existed at night.
Except for the Princess, any exception would be an invader.
"Does he have any pattern on his body?" Leona asked Servan.
Having been inside for so long, Servan must have already checked.
"No," Servan shook his head. "You suspect he's an assassin? Why would assassins kill each other? And even if he were an assassin, any pattern would have been burnt away by now. Besides... he has marks from a beast's bite on him. Could the assassins have brought some predatory beasts into the palace?"
Leona gave a bitter smile.
With the Main God's intervention, of course assassins would kill each other.
But the man was more likely killed by the Shadows.
What she didn't know was whether these so-called Shadows existed to balance out the invaders with opposing clearance conditions.
"I'll handle this matter. You go back first," Servan said to Leona.
Leona nodded, and soon Servan arranged for guards to escort her back.
This put Leona in a tight spot. Her ability to Shapeshift would be exposed sooner or later; she had originally wanted to gather more intelligence today, but being escorted back not only ran the risk of bumping into the real Milan, but also severely disrupted her planned route.
Rate on N.U.
