In the meeting hall of the Ophelia Palace, the fourth Prince Reynaud sat on a gold-rimmed chair, his fingers gently tapping the armrest, in front of a table covered with paperwork. His face was calm and deliberate, as if he had just finished a few trifles and was waiting for the next issue. However, as the Third Prince Kane strode into the room, there was a slight hint of surprise on Reynold's normally grim face.
"Kane," Renaud began slowly, with a hint of unintentional indifference, "I've rarely seen you come to me. What brings you here today?"
Kane stood in front of the desk and looked into Renaud's eyes, sharp and questioning. "Renaud, I want to ask you something, about Elena."
'Oh? Renaud raised his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth appeared a faint smile, "It seems that you can not let go of her betrayal."
Rather than being irritated by his flirtatious attitude, Kane sounded colder: "I've just come back from where she was' judged. ' The power that's left there, it doesn't look like she did it. Those marks are clearly the power of the demon camp."
Renaud's fingers stopped in mid-air, and after a moment he smiled gently, as if Kane's question were just a ridiculous joke. He stood up slowly and stood with his hands down, looking down at his brother.
"Kane," he said softly, with a hint of resignation in his voice, "you should know very well that Elena's fall was inevitable. It's not hard to understand that she was bewitched by the demon camp on the battlefield. She's a mighty warrior, but she's only human."
Kane, without looking away, pressed on: "Well, what about her so-called evidence? Why did you prepare all that evidence you showed everyone?"
Renault's expression did not change at all, but he smiled more calmly: "Do you think I need to fabricate evidence against a fallen traitor?" Kane, her own guilt is more convincing than any evidence. I just presented the facts to the people of the Empire."
Kane stared at him, trying to find a flaw in his expression. But Raynor's gaze was deep and cold, like an impenetrable abyss.
"She's your wife," Kane said with a touch of anger. "Are you sure you don't feel cruel at all?"
Raynor was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Her betrayal is irreparable, and I have only done the duty of a prince to remove the threat to the Empire." It's not about the individual, it's about the future of the empire."
His tone was eerily calm, as if these words had been rehearsed in his mind countless times. Kane knew that any further inquiry would yield no more answers. Renault's "truth" is watertight and seamless.
Kane took a deep breath and turned away, leaving only one sentence: "I hope you're telling the truth, Reno." Otherwise, I will find evidence and expose everything about you."
Raynor did not answer, but just stared at the back of Kane's departure, and the smile on his lips gradually faded. His eyes turned cold, as if he were deep in thought.
Back in his study, Kane closed the door and threw himself into a chair. He was in an unusually disturbed mood. Leno's answer, though seemingly perfect, was too calm, making Kane even more skeptical. It's not that he doesn't believe in Leno's tactics, but he's even more reluctant to believe that Elena could stoop like that.
His eyes rested on a framed picture on the desk. It was a portrait painted years ago. It shows the three of them standing side by side, Raynor in the middle, Kane on the left, and Elena on the right, dressed in the army uniform of the Angels, with a long sword and a confident smile.
Kane reached out his hand, his fingertips touching Elena's figure in the painting, and mixed emotions flashed through his eyes. He remembered the first time he had seen her, in the palace gardens. The young girl wearing the military cap, the face is handsome and firm, the eyes have a completely different light from ordinary people.
She was Raynor's wife. Kane never crossed. But he could not deny that Elena was the woman he most admired and admired in his heart. Her tenacity, her wisdom, her commitment to faith and honor had shaken him countless times.
"Elena..." Kane whispered her name with a pained look in his eyes. "How could you betray?"
He closed his eyes and recalled Elena's time with Leno. Although she was outwardly loyal to Renaud, Kane could always feel the loneliness in her heart. Her glory was the splendour of empire, but her true emotion was never cherished by Raynor.
"If I could have stood next to you then, maybe things would have been different..." A deep sense of regret rose in Kane's heart, but was soon replaced by another kind of firmness.
"I don't believe a word Renault says. Elena, I will find the truth, no matter where you are or what I have to face."
He stood up and looked out of the window at the gloomy sky with new determination in his eyes.
"If you do fall, it will be my fault because I failed to protect you."