Zion laid on his bed and gave the ceiling a blank stare. His mind was still on that corpse. Just who was that person lying in that place? Why was the body being kept inside that chamber? Didn't anyone recognize this person wasn't the real crown prince?
He didn't get any answer to that. Zion remembered that after leaving the room, he acted like he found nothing and was about to see the king and leave the palace grounds when that blond prince stopped him and said that they had prepared a guest room for the detective.
So that was how he ended up sleeping inside the imperial building tonight. As for why that blond prince stopped him…
Zion thought about it. If that blond prince was an associate of the murderer, he must want the crime to remain secret. He wouldn't want to give freedom to the detective. So the villains might want to monitor Vincent for now.
At this, Zion's brows wrinkled. If that were the case, they wouldn't hesitate to take his life if he posed any threat to their schemes. That means the more they realized he had found more evidence, the higher were the chances of his death.
So right now, Zion only had to pretend that he wasn't a good detective and collect the evidence silently.
Now, what would an average person do at this point? He would see Princess Lia first, by hook or by crook. Since she was the suspect in this scenario, an average detective would first investigate her thoroughly before approaching someone else.
But Zion was different. Although he also wanted to approach her and ask questions, it wasn't on his priority list. He would rather spend his days finding clues in the shadows than risk his life just to hear a word or two from her.
Now, if he wanted to save himself from getting appreciated by the murderer who hid in the dark, he would have to come to light and prove that he was not worthy of the villain's schemes.
Zion sighed and turned to his side, gazing outside the window. The moon was up in the sky that glanced at him in a gentle manner. Tomorrow, all he had to do was sneak inside the prison in such a way that the guards would soon discover him.
After plotting his schemes, he finally closed his eyes and went to sleep.
***
The following day, no one realized detective Vincent had been missing from his room. The servants were afraid of him and thought that if that detective would point his fingers at them, they might be doomed. So they all wanted to stay away from that aristocrat.
Neither did the imperial guards try to seek that detective. Not that they were afraid of that aristocrat, but His Majesty didn't order them to seek that person. So they could only stand at the main door and guard the palace.
Meanwhile, the king was too busy to see what the detective was doing. He didn't take that aristocrat seriously. In fact, he wanted to invite that person to have a meeting in the afternoon to talk about why Vincent thought he involved his brothers in this crime. But one after another, cases piled up in the court that gave the king a headache.
He glared at the pile of papers before his eyes. How good would it be if he could find a detective as his officer to handle these things!
Rhesus's eyes flashed at this thought. He already had a detective aristocrat in the palace. If that man proved that he was a valuable person, the king wouldn't hesitate to take Vincent as his subject.
After thinking of this, some of his headaches receded, and he continued his work. He had gone through cases and made several announcements while ignoring some of them that seemed redundant. But the entire time, he still had that detective in his mind. He desperately wished for that person to find the criminal and prove to the court that the latter was a talented person!
So after quickly finishing his court duties, Rhesus went toward the guard and said, "Find Vincent. I want to have a word with him."
The guard nodded and walked back into the corridor. Right now, only the king remained in the court. So he sighed and picked up the stuff before walking toward the corridor as well.
After walking for what felt like hours, the king reached the palace's main hall. This was the place where he spent most of the time, except for the court. This room was available for both family members and visitors who were granted permission to enter.
Since he wanted to meet that detective, he would have to wait in the main hall before taking that guy somewhere to converse in private.
But just as he entered the room, the guard came running toward him.
The latter's back was covered with cold sweat. He knew His Majesty valued that aristocrat. But if he were to realize that this aristocrat was missing, how would the king react? But the guard still had to relay the news to the king! It was crucial information!
"Your majesty!" The guard bowed and said anxiously, "Mr. Vincent is missing!"
"What?!" The king's eyes widened at that. How could that be? That aristocrat was just fine last night and slept soundly in his guest room. Rhesus had left a spy after that detective to keep an eye on that person. But even after this, that guy sneaked away.
Why?! Did someone kidnap him? As soon as this thought appeared in the king's mind, he shrugged it off. No one would dare to make such an attempt in broad daylight.
Rhesus's eyes flashed at that moment. Hadn't that detective asked him to see Princess Lia? The king was sure that Vincent had gone to see his daughter! If that detective aristocrat were an assassin in disguise, his daughter would be as good as dead!
How could he be so stupid to trust his spies?! He should have monitored that man himself!