There was a reason why Zion took this risk. Many people might think he was too bold and stupid to just jump right before the king and ask His Majesty for punishment. But the reality was different. Rhesus couldn't do anything to the aristocrats unless they do a major crime such as treason or murder. But since Zion only sneaked inside the prison, he knew that the punishment wouldn't be harsh.
So he suppressed his lips from stretching into a smile and made a depressed expression. "I-I was lost."
The king believed Zion's act and sneered before glaring at the man standing before him. Just what did he think when he made this aristocrat an officer in his court to handle crimes? To the king, this person was not worth the effort! Either Vincent was foolish enough to enter this place directly, or was smart enough to sneak inside to assassinate the princess.
Rhesus's body boiled in anger at the thought. "Take him away!"
The guards didn't know where to take this person, but since this foolish aristocrat was staying in the guest room earlier, they might as well bring him there. They all exchanged a glance and nodded, thinking of the same thing. Just as they were about to move, their king's thunderous voice echoed again. "Why are you bringing him in the direction of the guest house?! Throw him out!"
Zion's lips curved up. This was exactly what he wanted. First, he wanted to get rid of those people that were following him ever since he had entered this palace, and second, he wanted to create such an image before the king and other royals that they would end up taking him for granted.
It looked like his technique worked.
When the king took Zion away, Princess Lia, who was eavesdropping, giggled. "I didn't expect this person to be such a smart boy!"
***
A person wearing a black cloak was standing in a room of a random inn and stared outside the window. His face was covered with the hood that revealed only his lips turned down, as if the person was worried about something. Just then, he heard a knock on the door. "You can enter."
His youthful voice echoed. It looked like he had expected someone to come in the morning.
A guard came over and saw the broad back of his cloaked black man. "Master, I have news about the detective." His voice was formal without a touch of enthusiasm, but the cloaked man didn't care about it.
The latter didn't even glance back and said, "I'm listening."
"The aristocrat sneaked inside the prison but failed. He found nothing, and after that, the king kicked him out."
All of a sudden, the cloak man's lips arched upward as if he had just heard something funny, and he let out a chuckle. "Really?"
The guard behind the cloaked person stood straight. It seemed like he was standing in front of an important official. There wasn't a twitch on the corners of his lips, and neither of his eyebrows rose after hearing such a tone of the man standing beside the window. It was almost as if he was accustomed to seeing this cloaked person having mood swings, which happened quite a lot these days.
"Should I continue to follow him?"
This guard was also one of this cloak man's people who had been spying on the detective. A day ago, the cloaked person had ordered him to continue to report the whereabouts of the detective and the evidence that the aristocrat would find. And today, he found that despite sneaking inside the prison, the detective couldn't find anything. The cloaked man should be happy about this, but he frowned and pursed his lips. He felt something amiss. But what?
Since he couldn't figure it out, he would just shrug it off. But the most crucial thing that acted as a ticking bomb on his head was that damned princess in prison. Ever since the king hid her, he couldn't send another assassin to kill her off. This situation made his brows furrow deeper.
The princess was his top priority. So he shook his head and said, "No. Forget him. He's not as important as the princess. Monitor her." Even if he couldn't kill her off, he needed to monitor her movements properly.
The guard nodded and left through the front door after closing it behind.
Zion didn't know what had happened in a certain inn. He had just been kicked out as the guards glared at him. "Get out of here!"
He rubbed his shoulders and turned away while ignoring the stony gazes of the guards standing at the palace gate. His eyes scanned the surroundings, only to find unfamiliar faces, and his shoulders relaxed.
Zion knew a person had been following him ever since he entered the palace. That person could even continue to hide in the shadows, even when the king had asked a palace guard to monitor Zion. This was the reason he had been worried about his untimely death. The person following him in the shadows seemed to be skilled. So Zion's life had been in that spy's hands all this time. Now that the spy finally left him alone, he could relax and find more evidence.
But one thing was clear. The palace had more secrets than what he could see. If not, why would someone replace the dead body of the crown prince? And where was the original person, if not here?
Someone had deceived Rhesus and even dared to place a fake dead body inside the palace.
The most important thing was that Princess Lia seemed to know something and was probably unwilling to tell anyone about it. Zion frowned as he crossed the street, filled with various shops. Many shopkeepers called him to buy stuff, but he ignored them all. His feet steadily walked in a single direction as he kept his head lowered.
Should he sneak inside the prison again to interrogate the princess?
A deep frown made its way on his forehead as he discarded this idea quickly. He had just entered the prison, and he knew he wouldn't have time to find the princess soon. The surrounding security would be strict for a few days.
So he could only shift the interrogating part to the second point on his priority list. It wasn't like he would die if he couldn't find the princess. He had many other ways to get the evidence.
Just then, he saw a familiar figure stepping out of the carriage that stood before a brothel. It was Prince Linton. Zion's steps paused as he dashed behind a shop and rubbed his chin while staring at the blond man. This person was his primary suspect for now, and maybe he should keep following him.