The departure of the Crown Princess was made on a hasty decision and could have been a hasty arrangement overall. But, this was the Imperial Family.
Even hasty decisions, as such , followed strict protocols.
There were six identical convoys ready to depart the Princess. Each convoy consisted of three identical carriages and an identical troupe of Imperial Knights.
The convoys were named Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta and Echo while one convoy went unnamed.
Evelina was in the Echo convoy, which was supposed to take the second longest route and reach the teleportation station located east to the Imperial palace.
Alpha and Beta convoys were as well headed towards teleportation stations, located North and South-west to the Imperial Palace.
The Delta convoy was supposed to follow the direct road route to the Riverton palace.
The Unnamed Convoy was the first to depart and took the longest path to the Riverton Palace. The other convoys waited for nearly half an hour before departing.
This was because the Unnamed convoy was an empty bait. The rest of the convoys, except Echo, had maids disguised as the Princess seated in one of the three carriages.
The first carriage to follow the empty bait was the Delta convoy.
"The Delta convoy was heavily outnumbered," Nathan explained, " They were trained assassins, nearly three dozen of them."
"Who reported this?"
Azure asked, as he walked back into the room.
"The maid named Anna reported this," Nathan replied, "She was the decoy of the Delta team."
Each and every decoy maid of the convoys were given a talisman to teleport back to the imperial palace in case of an emergency. The same was done for the Princess as well, except for the fact that it was with her personal bodyguard. The Princess Mana was completely depleted. Unlike teleportation stations, talismans use the user's Mana and restrict their distance of travel. If the mana is insufficient, the user travels up to the point where their mana gets completely depleted. But for people with no mana, such talismans are just an ordinary sheet of paper.
"Does she know which family is behind this?"
Azure asked.
"Yes," Nathan nodded. " She reported the colour burgundy."
The atmosphere went grim.
Burgundy was the colour code for the House of Ivy, known for their excellence in medicine and poison.
They made the world's most dangerous poison yet as well had medicine to cure every disease one would ever find.
In total, there are five main Grand Duke's of Solibrillar.
The House of Ivy, who were blessed with the talent of Alchemy and were represented by the colour Burgundy and the symbol "Rose".
The House of Riverton, who were blessed with the ability to heal and as well as wield the sword , were represented by the colour Cyan blue and the symbol of "Holy sword".
The House of Hansons, blessed with wisdom, were the Master Strategists of the Empire and were represented by the colour Emerald and the symbol, "Banyan tree".
The House of Aureolin, otherwise called the House of Lin's, blessed with the power to control magical beasts, was represented by the colour code Yellow and the symbol, "Dragon".
The House of Mauve, blessed with an immense amount of mana, was represented by the colour Lavender and the symbol, "Star".
Each of these houses were neutral when it comes to politics. None had any motives to be meddling in the Imperial affairs, for they had a territory large enough to be called a kingdom by itself.
Thus, come what may, the House of Ivy would never meddle in any political affairs, let alone covet the position of a Crown Princess.
"Interrogate the maid when she is up. Find out who is framing them and why." The King sighed, dismissing the evidence immediately,
Nathan bowed in reply and headed out of the room.
Turning to Azure, the King ordered, "Head for that Mage immediately. I wish to have this case solved before coronation."
"As you wish, Imperial Father." Azure respectfully bowed and vanished in thin air using a teleportation talisman.
…
"Greetings to the Sun of the Empire, His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor." Eve bowed in courtesy as she entered the Imperial Rose garden.
Seated on the pavilion with a beautiful spread of delicacies in front of him, the King greeted the young girl with a nod.
"Between us, such courtesy is unnecessary , child." the King softly smiled in reply.
Evelina was surprised, but calmly smiled back as she took her seat at the table.
It has been two days since the incident. There was as much chaos in the Imperial palace as there was peace at the Riverton Palace. Suspect after suspect was brought up, but they were all laced with the same magical spell which would end up killing them before they even thought of betraying their master. The King was furious but helpless, for they had to wait patiently for the Crown Prince's return.
In the meanwhile, the Imperial Palace sent out a letter to the Riverton palace. The contents stated that the King wished to meet up with the Crown Princess and compensate for the mishap.
"Why so compassionate now? Even the Prince isn't on the receiving end of this behaviour." Evelina thought to herself as the maids served her tea, whose fragrance seemed strangely nostalgic.
According to Avalina's memories, Eve realised one thing. The Imperial Palace was tight knit. The King and Queen weren't supposed to have any weak points. Thus, the Queen was separated from her young son when he was hardly six months old. Same goes for the King. For this act, the imperial couple were said to have hearts of stone. The King and Queen were powerful enough to protect themselves, but the Prince could have been used by the noble faction for political use.
The noble faction consisted of ministers and businessmen who played a key role in the governing of the country. They had a voice in every decision the Emperor made. If the Emperor was feeble, the noble faction would have treated him like a puppet and this would have soon led to an internal strife ultimately leading to the destruction of the Empire.
Thus, the Prince was never exposed to the outside world.
If the Imperial Family were to favour someone out of the blue, the entire noble faction would covet that person and try to gain their favour.
"If that's the Emperor's plan, I better serve my purpose well." Eve thought to herself.
"I am gravely saddened by the situation you had to face." The Emperor started, as he placed his cup of tea down,"The Imperial Knights are thoroughly investigating this matter and I vow in my honour, justice will be served."
Evelina remained silent at this and calmly picked up her cup of tea.
Seeing this the King continued, "I understand you might still be in a state of shock due to the incident," sighing to this, he continued, "Thus, I am ready to grant you anything you wish for."
Unnoticed by the Emperor, Evelina unconsciously smirked. She was waiting for this.
She placed her cup down and smiled,
"Before that, your Imperial Majesty, don't you feel it's unfair?"
The King was taken aback.
"The Crown Prince was subject to such attacks before," Eve continued, "Now that is directed at me. If I am eliminated, the Crown Prince becomes the victim again"
Though it seemed like Eve had hit the mark, she found the King still waiting for her to finish her words.
"The colour burgundy might have popped up quite a few times by now." Eve continued as she sipped on her tea, "But you can't lift a finger against them, can you?"
Another bullseye. This time the Emperor clearly flinched.
Though there was no solid evidence pointing towards the House of Ivy, yet every silent opinion had their eyes on them. They might not have greed, but revenge and greed are on totally different levels. Even if they were innocent, they would still be suspected by all but the King himself.
"She surely can't know.." as the Emperor thought so to himself, Evelina interrupted his chain of thoughts.
"I already know, your Imperial Highness," Evelina continued, "I know everything about the broken vow."
…