—Third Prince Sorren had been attacked by an unknown assailant and was found severely injured, nearly dead.
By the next day, the news had already spread through the noble circle.
News of Sorren being found covered in blood in the royal palace's courtyard by patrolling knights clearly couldn't be hidden.
In a single night, it had passed through countless mouths and reached the ears of many nobles.
"What?"
"Prince Sorren was attacked?"
"What happened?"
Countless nobles were shocked when they woke up to this news.
When a prince got attacked by someone unknown and left near death, it was undoubtedly a major event.
Especially since the one attacked was Sorren, not one of those overlooked, incompetent members of the royal family, but the most outstanding royal descendant of this generation—a strong contender for the throne.
Needless to say, this was essentially a disaster that pierced the very heavens of Jinas.
Understanding this, everyone, whether they were from the Royal Faction or the Duke Faction, felt a jolt of shock and fear.
They could almost envision the royal family's fury and see the king in a rage.
In fact, what they imagined was close to reality.
When the news reached Hendrick's ears, he was indeed furious.
He quickly dispatched the royal knights, court magicians, and even the Shadow to the scene of the incident to investigate and pursue the culprit.
Naturally, many nobles were either suspected or implicated and were summoned to the royal palace for questioning by the royal family.
Thanks to this, many residents of the royal capital who had just gotten up and stepped outside were surprised by the sight of knights running back and forth in the streets and alleys, searching house to house, along with carriages hurriedly passing by, creating a scene of urgency.
"What's going on?"
"What happened?"
Eventually, everyone quickly fell into a state of panic, their hearts racing from the royal family's actions.
===
Yeluvia's City Center, the Cordelion Residence.
Serena, wearing a solemn expression, hurriedly stepped into a study.
"Elder Brother, I've brought back the intel."
Serena called out to the only person in the room, holding a piece of parchment made of animal skin.
"Let me see."
Responding to Serena was none other than the handsome young man with golden hair who had been swinging a sword in the backyard last time—Sergius Cordelion, Serena's elder brother and the famous eldest son of the Cordelion family, recognized as the best contender for the throne and holding a high-ranking position in the line of succession.
Today, however, he wasn't sweating like before but sat elegantly behind a desk in the study, looking like a promising young gentleman radiating sophistication and nobility.
Sergius took the parchment from Serena's hand and quickly scanned the contents.
During the process, Serena couldn't help but speak in a tone filled with disbelief, whether from admiration or shock.
"I can't believe that mad dog nearly got killed! He was on the brink of death, and those court magicians even struggled to save him. In the end, it was His Majesty who used treasures from the royal treasury to bring him back to life."
Who caused this incident, others might not know, but these two siblings were fully aware. Even if they weren't directly involved, they were, after all, still collaborators, which was why Serena was so shocked.
"I knew he would take action, but I didn't expect him to be that bold..." Serena murmured in disbelief. "He actually wanted to assassinate a prince in his turf... Doesn't he fear the royal family coming after him?"
A Sword Saint was indeed powerful, but Riezel was, after all, not the only Sword Saint in Jinas. If he truly crossed the royal family's bottom line, they could easily decide to eliminate him by sending the other Sword Saints.
Not only was there the Shadow Sword Saint, who was loyal to the royal family, but there were also many other Sword Saints available for deployment, such as the Guardian Sword Saint, the Meteor Sword Saint, and the Sword Saint from the Borley family.
As long as there was enough justification, the royal family could dispatch several Sword Saints at once to besiege Riezel and cut him down.
Faced with so many Sword Saints, could Riezel really fight them off alone?
Let alone the fact that the mysterious Old Sword Saint was also there in the royal palace. If he got involved, it would mean serious trouble.
He was hailed as Jinas's strongest Sword Saint, having served alongside the third-generation king and guarding the royal palace for nearly a century.
Amazingly, despite his old age, he showed no signs of declining strength.
Not only were there many legendary tales about him in Jinas, but several current Sword Saints had even challenged him, only to publicly admit afterward that they were no match for him.
In the neighboring countries, many even felt a sense of dread toward the renowned Old Sword Saint, as he had stirred up quite a bit of trouble in their lands in the past.
In the face of such power, what resistance could a newly appointed Sword Saint like Riezel muster?
Perhaps he wouldn't even be able to put up a decent fight?
Otherwise, everyone from the Duke Faction would have acted against Sorren long ago and wouldn't have left him alone until now.
It was precisely because they feared the royal family's power and the many Sword Saints under them that the Duke Faction could only bide their time, allowing Sergius to compete with Sorren for the throne in a legitimate way.
Riezel, on the other hand, clearly didn't hold back at all.
When Riezel decided to act, he truly went all out, showing no concern for the royal family's wrath.
"Hmm, this only points to one thing..."
Sergius placed the parchment he had reviewed on the desk and spoke with a hint of meaning.
"Either he's fearless or... he's never considered the consequences..."
"So, which one do you think it is?"
Sergius's words made Serena recall her impression of Riezel when she had met him at Hydromel. Riezel's calm, indifferent, and unwavering eyes truly had left a strong impression on her.
"Probably the former? But... is he really fearless?" Serena said with uncertainty.
"Maybe..." Sergius wasn't sure about it either. "What we can be certain of is that, since he went ahead with this, we're likely to get pulled into it."
No choice.
Since the contender for the throne, supported by the royal family, had nearly been killed, the Duke Faction would undoubtedly be the first to be suspected, and the royal family would certainly wonder if this was the work of the Duke Faction or even suspect the Cordelion family directly.
However, no matter which it was, the Cordelion siblings were definitely not getting away from this.
"Be prepared... We're probably going to be summoned next."
Sergius's words made Serena show a frustrated expression—just thinking about what was to come, even she felt overwhelmed.
"What a mess he made..." Serena sighed, grumbling. "He's fine, hiding his identity, but we're the ones who have to take part of the blame for his actions."
"Yes, but this tells us that a favor from a Sword Saint isn't easily earned." Sergius said with a slight smile. "Even if he's younger than me, around your age, he's still a Sword Saint."
While speaking, Sergius was already thinking about how to clear any suspicions about him and Riezel regarding this incident.
He understood that what was done was done—lamenting wouldn't help.
Besides, crises could also be opportunities.
If they got through this tough moment, their relationship with Riezel would grow stronger, and the Royal Faction would be shaken by the turmoil this incident caused. If they could seize this opportunity, maybe they could turn this bad situation into a good one.
"I'll cover for you this time..."
Sergius muttered as if he were conversing with Riezel.
"Don't let me down, okay?"
"Lightning Sword Saint..."
===
At the same time, in the throne room of the royal palace, Hendrick sat heavily on the throne, a flicker of anger flashing in his eyes.
"So? How? Have you figured it out?"
Hendrick spoke to the empty void.
Soon, a shadow began to sway and take form behind him.
"Your Majesty, the Shadow has compiled all the intelligence we could gather."
Rohm's voice reached Hendrick's ears.
"After the investigation, it was confirmed that His Highness had a conflict with Riezel Brynhart in the audience room, and that very night, His Highness sent some people to the Barony of Carfield to kidnap Baron Carfield and the Brynhart family, bringing them to the royal capital."
"Last night, His Highness snuck out of the palace alone and headed to an abandoned mansion near the city walls. As we investigated the place, we found Baron Carfield and the Brynhart family, as well as many knights who weren't on the records belonging to His Highness."
"On there, His Highness was ambushed by a group of mysterious individuals, and their leader, who called himself Mist, used a swordsmanship that could manipulate mist. And based on descriptions from the surviving knights, I judge that this swordsmanship might be on par with the Shadow Strike Sword Style and is of a similar type used for assassination."
"Apparently, His Highness's current condition is because his chest was pierced through by Mist's sword."
As Rohm finished his report, Hendrick's expression grew increasingly grim, his anger flaring even more.
*BANG!*
Finally, unable to contain himself, Hendrick slammed his hand down on the throne armrest.
However, Hendrick's anger wasn't directed at anyone else but his own son.
"Breaking house arrest and sneaking out... even hiding private troops... that little bastard really doesn't give a damn about his own father anymore!"
Just last time, Hendrick had been criticized by Yuri because of the mess Sorren caused, and now, with this new incident, he could already imagine how the nobles would gossip.
If Sorren weren't his son and the most outstanding one at that, Hendrick would have definitely turned a blind eye to this incident.
Hendrick suppressed his anger and then asked the most crucial question.
"And then? Who's really behind this?"
"Cordelion family?"
"Or... Riezel Brynhart?"