Sky Dome City, inside the Crown Prince's palace.
After several days of recuperation, Crown Prince Xue Tianao had largely recovered from his injuries. At this moment, he had finally changed back into his usual work attire and was sitting silently behind his desk, thoughtfully staring at the document in his hands.
The entire office was so quiet that even the drop of a needle could be heard.
That eerie silence, combined with the waves of coldness radiating from the Crown Prince, made Toma, the adjutant standing beside him, feel a chill run down his spine.
He glanced at the blond man beside him in confusion.
He was °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° also extremely curious about what kind of intelligence could make His Highness the Crown Prince reveal such a serious and displeased expression.
After hesitating internally for a moment,
Toma finally couldn't resist asking,
"Your Highness, what exactly happened?"
Faced with his subordinate's question, Xue Tianao let out a cold laugh before tossing the document directly into Toma's arms.
"Read it yourself."
"Hm?"
With a question mark practically hovering above his head, Toma followed Xue Tianao's instructions and began reading the document specially delivered by the intelligence department.
As the contents entered his eyes, the corners of Toma's eyes gradually began to twitch.
"His Majesty... How could he do this?! He actually wants to strip you of your position as Crown Prince on the grounds that you can no longer produce an heir?! You only lost one ball! It wasn't completely burned off!"
Xue Tianao: Could you fucking stop bringing up my balls?!
"That's merely an excuse. That old bastard simply wants to take advantage of my serious injuries and suppress my influence while he has the chance."
As he spoke,
Xue Tianao's expression grew increasingly cold.
"It seems that after defeating Flame Prison, my reputation within the Empire became too great. I've already accomplished enough to make the ruler feel threatened. That's why the old bastard acted in such a hurry. He even had a group of ministers jointly submit a petition demanding that the Crown Prince be replaced? Hehe..."
"Then... what should we do, Your Highness?! No matter how high your reputation among the people is, they probably won't support an emperor incapable of producing an heir! Right, we need to dispel the rumors immediately! I'll go find Doctor Vidoru right now!"
"There's no need to rush."
"Your Highness?"
"Since that old bastard has decided to make a move, I might as well go all the way and eliminate both him and every other opposing force in one stroke. Flame Prison? In a certain sense, she actually did me a great favor. If she hadn't burned Duke Kelo, who supported the Emperor in the south, to death during her attack, I really would have been in a rather passive position right now~"
A cruel smile gradually appeared on Xue Tianao's face.
Old bastard,
Since you're courting death, don't blame me for showing no mercy.
"It's time for this Empire to have a new master."
"Your Highness, you mean...?"
"Yes. We will begin the plan ahead of schedule. Go inform the Grand General to prepare."
Hearing Xue Tianao's words, Toma couldn't help freezing for a moment.
But after a brief pause, an incomparably excited smile appeared on his face.
The reason he had followed the Crown Prince in the first place was to earn merit and bring glory to his ancestors.
Now,
That opportunity seemed to have arrived!
He would become one of the meritorious officials of the new Emperor!
"Understood, Your Highness! I'll go immediately!"
After speaking, Toma respectfully bowed to Xue Tianao and quickly left the office, rushing toward the residence of the Grand General Who Protects the Nation outside the palace.
With Toma's departure, only Xue Tianao remained in the room.
Now that he had already reached an agreement with an Archbishop of the Asumos Church, he could seize the Empire's supreme authority without fear!
The old Emperor's faction was indeed powerful.
But Xue Tianao, who had made ample preparations, still possessed absolute confidence that he could send the "father" of this body to meet Yama...
'My foolish Imperial Father, you don't still believe the Grand General is standing on your side, do you? After I cured and conquered his daughter, that old man chose to support me long ago! Hahahaha!'
After rising from a child despised by everyone to become Crown Prince,
He was now about to make another comeback and become Emperor of the Snow Night Empire!
However,
After becoming Emperor, he would still need to consider the stability of the Empire.
With his current strength, along with the assistance of the Grand General Who Protects the Nation, an Eighth-Tier Battle God, eliminating the opposition within the Imperial Capital would be ridiculously easy.
The problem was...
'The Duke Family in the northern border...'
Thinking of this,
Xue Tianao slowly picked up the black tablet and once again looked through the various pieces of intelligence Perloqi had transmitted earlier.
As each report entered his eyes, the smile on Xue Tianao's face grew increasingly radiant.
The previous attack by the Snow Devourer...
And the invasion of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church?
It seemed they had helped him quite a bit.
They had weakened the military strength of the northern border and even heavily injured the Marquis and his wife...
As well as that Eighth-Tier Guardian Beast.
Hahahaha!
The heavens were truly helping him~
Moreover,
The most important issue—
Having a legitimate cause to mobilize troops—
Had also been resolved~
The Duke Family's young lady had transformed into a humanoid Abyss Demon.
Wasn't that a justification delivered straight from the heavens?!
After all, nearly every country on the Anqieka Continent had strict laws forbidding anyone from coming into contact with the Shadow of Silence Power.
Although he did not know why Miss Yuan'er had transformed into an Abyss Demon...
Now that she had already become one, it gave him a perfect excuse to brand the entire family with a crime.
If his judgment was correct, he might even be able to lure out a Demon King-class existence~
As long as he eliminated it, he would gain another enormous wave of points.
'This really is excellent news.'
Thinking this, joy filled Xue Tianao's sapphire-blue eyes.
However,
In the next moment, as though remembering something, the Crown Prince suddenly raised an eyebrow.
His gaze once again fell upon the photograph Perloqi had transmitted before losing contact—the one that had greatly caught his attention.
"Blood Butterfly... an intelligent humanoid Abyss Demon..."
She could communicate.
If he could...
After staring blankly for a while, Xue Tianao used the communication magic stone beside him and attempted to contact an acquaintance.
"Moxiao, could I trouble you to come over?"
...
...
Approximately one hour later, an utterly ordinary-looking black-haired man—someone who would disappear completely if placed in a crowd—walked nervously into Xue Tianao's office.
His timid and shrinking appearance caused the two guards outside the door to reveal faint looks of displeasure.
However,
Upon seeing this frail black-haired man, Xue Tianao unusually revealed a smile.
After all,
Despite his unimpressive appearance, this man possessed A-rank value~
He was an information broker with unique methods, as well as someone exceptionally skilled at investigation.
Since Xue Tianao had not yet managed to recruit him under his command, he felt a trace of happiness upon seeing that the man had accepted his invitation and come to the Crown Prince's palace.
"Long time no see, Moxiao. Have you gotten used to life in the Imperial Capital?"
"Th-Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Everything is going well."
Moxiao spoke respectfully, but a trace of fear remained in his voice.
In response, Xue Tianao restrained the faint pressure surrounding his body and deliberately put on an amiable expression.
"There's no need to be nervous. Just treat me as your drinking companion, like before. Still, the fact that you remained in the Imperial Capital and were willing to come see me truly leaves me flattered."
"I wouldn't dare, Your Highness. You repelled Flame Prison and saved my family in the south. Naturally, I must repay you. Since Your Highness has an urgent matter requiring my assistance, of course I would return."
"Oh, so that's how it is."
Xue Tianao nodded with a smile.
"Then I won't keep you in suspense."
As he spoke, Xue Tianao rose from his seat and handed a portrait of a woman to the black-haired man standing nearby.
The instant Moxiao accepted the portrait and clearly saw the woman depicted on it, his entire body trembled.
His pupils abruptly contracted, revealing an incomparably shocked expression, while his heartbeat instinctively accelerated.
"Th-This girl... She's so beautiful. Who... who is she?"
"An Abyss Demon."
"Huh? Your Highness, you must be joking, right?"
"No. I'm not joking. She is the new Demon King-class existence recently being discussed across the continent, known as 'Blood Butterfly.'"
"W-What?!"
After receiving Xue Tianao's confirmation, Moxiao couldn't control himself and let out a cry of surprise.
He then stared fixedly at the woman in the portrait.
"So this is Blood Butterfly's true appearance? Such a beautiful young woman is actually a cruel Abyss Demon? Th-That's... such a pity..."
"Hehe. Not necessarily."
"Hm? Your Highness, what did you say?"
"Ah, nothing. Don't concern yourself with it."
"Oh... all right."
After continuing to stare at the portrait for a while, Moxiao finally recovered from his shock.
He then looked at Xue Tianao in confusion.
"Then, Your Highness, why did you show me this portrait? What would you like me to do?"
"I want you to investigate the relationship between these two women."
"Or rather..."
"Whether they might be the same person."
As he spoke, Xue Tianao handed him another portrait.
This image was one Xue Tianao had discovered over the past two days while organizing the intelligence Perloqi had sent back.
"This is...?"
"This is the Black Rose Family's young lady—the one who has recently caused such an uproar."
"Hm?! Wait! These two... how...?"
The instant Moxiao saw the second portrait, he once again froze in place.
Because...
Aside from the colors of their eyes,
The girls in the two portraits looked far too similar...
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