Chapter 142 - 69: Some Special Little Tricks

Chapter 142: Chapter 69: Some Special Little Tricks

The outcome was obvious.

The Mages didn’t even have a chance to kill themselves. Lilia and Lucian worked together to take them down, binding them with rope.

In just over a week, Lucian had endured four assassination attempts.

He had become quite adept at handling assassins.

First, dislocate their jaws to prevent them from killing themselves and swallowing any leads.

Next, pat them down and confiscate all their weapons.

Finally, lock them up separately to await interrogation.

Just as he was about to implement the last step, Lilia stopped him.

"These men were sent by Colin Reinhart, weren’t they?" Lilia asked.

"It has to be him." Lucian nodded. "But we don’t have any proof."

This was a major headache for Lucian.

He knew exactly who the culprit was, but for one reason or another, he couldn’t bring him to justice.

It wasn’t just a matter of proof.

A while back, Colin had already blocked off every possible avenue for him. Even if Lucian managed to wring Colin’s name from these Mages, the Prince could easily dismiss it, claiming, "These people are Cultists. Their attack was meant to disrupt order in the Royal Capital."

In short, as long as the King had no intention of convicting Colin, it didn’t matter how many people Lucian captured; he couldn’t do any real damage to the Prince.

Lilia listened to Lucian’s entire explanation.

Of course, she also heard about Colin’s earlier "disclaimer."

’So this is how politics is played,’ she marveled internally, glancing at her system panel.

[Morality: 10/100]

It was a bit higher than the negative Morality she’d had in her last playthrough. This was mainly from the years she had led troops in battle; the system seemed to have judged that she had contributed to the country and its people, so it had given her two separate rewards for a total of ten Morality points.

But on the whole, it was still at a very low level, probably because Lilia had never actively gone out of her way to do a good deed.

In her heart, Lilia felt that Lucian’s inability to move against Colin had nothing to do with the lack of evidence or the rampaging Cultists.

’It’s simply because his Morality is too high.’

She asked in all seriousness, "If the Cultists in Adrian are never caught, and you never extract any evidence from those assassins to prove Colin’s guilt, are you just going to continue like this—always on guard for the next attack?"

Lucian was silent for a moment. "...Not exactly."

"Then what’s your plan?"

Lucian said, "Those Mages were clean. They weren’t carrying anything that could prove their identities or origins. But just because they didn’t have anything on them doesn’t mean something can’t be... fabricated."

Lilia blinked. "So you forged some?"

"...Yes."

Lucian was no fool who would just sit back and take a beating.

He hadn’t used it yet simply because he felt the time wasn’t right.

This made things much more convenient for Lilia.

"Do you trust me?" Lilia looked at Lucian.

Lucian met her gaze. "...What are you planning to do?"

"Answer my question first."

Lilia asked again, "Do you trust me?"

This time, the silence stretched for several seconds.

Lucian looked at the girl before him.

They had only known each other for half a year. Forget any deep connection—they had barely even spoken alone more than a handful of times.

He had known the cruelty of the world since he was a child. Especially in high society, the only thing that truly connected people was self-interest.

One could never fully trust anyone, not even a partner.

To reveal one’s hand was to lose the entire game.

’All these thoughts flashed through Lucian’s mind.’

Then, a single sentence abruptly surfaced, cutting through the chaotic noise and taking over his thoughts.

"As long as I’m here, you can do whatever you want."

Lucian couldn’t deny it.

Even as his reason screamed at him to pull away...

He said softly, "I trust you."

Lilia raised an eyebrow. "Even if what I’m about to do goes against your will, you’ll still choose to trust me?"

Lucian: "..."

He suddenly smiled. "Could you not say things like that right after I said I trust you? It would be pretty embarrassing if I had to take it back now."

Lilia pretended not to notice the note of surrender in his voice. "So, are you taking it back?"

"Besides, it’s just the two of us here."

The girl added with a smile, like a mischievous kitten, "No one would see you being embarrassed."

Lucian ground his teeth.

"Of course not."

He couldn’t help but take a step closer, barely restraining the urge to place a hand on her head.

He took a deep breath, his playful attitude vanishing.

"Go on."

Lucian said softly, "Whatever it is you want to do, I will trust you."

...

「Late at night.」

The entire Royal Palace was shrouded in a deathly silence.

While nearly everyone else had drifted off to sleep, Prince Colin was still wide awake.

He paced back and forth in his bedroom.

Nearly two hours had passed since the assassins set out.

Yet there was still no word.

Based on past experience, a situation like this usually meant Lucian had seen through his plan and captured all of his assassins.

’But...’

’This time, he had dispatched his strongest assets and devised a plan that was supposed to be foolproof...’

’How could they have possibly failed?!’

Colin took a deep breath, telling himself to remain calm.

The unnatural quiet from the direction of the Viscount Mansion proved the plan had failed.

’This was bad, but it was also good.’

’So what if they were captured? He had been as cautious as ever. Lucian couldn’t possibly find any evidence linking back to him.’

’Even the Crown Prince, a guest in a foreign land, would have to show some deference to my father, the King. He couldn’t possibly...’

The thought had barely finished forming in his mind.

When a sudden, loud crash echoed from not far away!

It was followed by the panicked screams of maids and the loud thud of something heavy hitting the floor. The entire princely suite was instantly jolted from its slumber!

Colin froze for a second before rushing out.

"What happened?"

He instinctively looked for someone to grab and question.

At this moment, he was surprised, but not panicked.

’This is the Royal Palace, after all.’

’The most heavily guarded place in all of Adrian, perhaps even in the entire continent of Ovis.’

’He had never even considered the possibility of it being breached.’

So when he saw the two all-too-familiar figures at the end of the hall...

Colin froze on the spot.

He quickly glanced around.

The main doors had been blasted open by Magic, littering the floor with shattered stone and brick.

The soldiers who had been guarding the door were all lying on the ground, their conditions unknown. A few of the maids on night watch were still alive, but they were terrified, and one or two had even fainted.

And as for the two figures who had appeared so suddenly...

Under Colin’s shocked gaze, Lilia stepped forward, slowly approaching him.

"Prince Colin."

The girl smiled, producing a blood-stained insignia. "Tonight, something rather unpleasant happened at the Viscount Mansion."

"And our investigation has just revealed..."

"...that this matter involves you."