Grand Duke Ogden looked down at the person kneeling on one knee before him.
This was the Chief of the Security Office, also a High-Rank Apostle, holding an exceptionally transcendent position in the Luban Duchy.
She was a woman named Daphne Melville.
Daphne had smooth, long purple hair tied into a side ponytail. A lock of purple hair fell over her forehead, concealing her right eye.
She wore a black dress that wrapped around her voluptuous figure, outlining an extremely graceful, mature silhouette. She looked more like a noblewoman than the head of the Security Office.
Under Grand Duke Ogden’s gaze, Daphne spoke slowly: “After His Highness Dwight’s death, we searched all of His Highness’s residences, hoping to find useful information…”
“Spare me the details. Just give me the result,” Grand Duke Ogden said impatiently.
“…It’s likely that His Highness Dwight had ties to the Red Moon Society,” Daphne replied.
“The Red Moon Society? That infamous and nefarious organization?”
“Yes.”
“Daphne, are you certain about the results of your investigation? My son was associated with a criminal organization like that?”
“That aspect is most likely correct. Although the evidence we found wasn’t plentiful, it’s sufficient to prove this point.”
When this information was discovered, the Security Office was also very surprised and quickly suppressed the news. Upon learning of it, Daphne also ordered all those in the know not to disclose it externally, immediately coming to report the situation to Grand Duke Ogden first.
Grand Duke Ogden rubbed his brow. “Then, is Dwight’s death related to the Red Moon Society?”
“We can’t completely confirm that yet, but there’s a possibility. Next, we will strictly investigate information related to the Red Moon Society and try our best to uncover the truth,” Daphne answered earnestly.
Grand Duke Ogden was silent for a moment before saying, “Don’t let more people know about Dwight’s possible connection to the Red Moon Society.”
The Red Moon Society was a massive criminal organization whose notoriety had spread across the entire Angus Continent. Of course, this fame was entirely infamy. If possible, no one wanted to deal with the Red Moon Society.
“I understand.” Daphne nodded, then added, “If the Grand Duke has no further instructions, I will take my leave.”
“Wait.” Grand Duke Ogden stopped Daphne. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Regarding Dwight’s matter, Bennett will take over the investigation from now on. You will assist Bennett.”
“His Highness the Second Prince? I understand.” Daphne did not refuse.
When mentioning the Second Prince Bennett, the gloom in Ogden’s eyes dissipated considerably. He was clearly very satisfied with this second son.
If there were no surprises, Bennett would be his successor.
==========
The sun was bright, and the autumn breeze was gentle.
Within White Maple Academy, patches of white maple leaves detached from the branches, spinning slowly in the air as they drifted down with the wind, like falling snow, layering the ground over and over again.
A carriage traveled along the road.
The carriage curtains were tied up. Amelia, sitting on the outside, raised her fair, small hand and caught a white maple leaf, looking at it. It was a plant that hadn’t existed in her previous world, seemingly differing from red maple only in color.
She released the white maple leaf, letting it fall to the ground, and looked ahead at the dormitory building that appeared.
There were many buildings in White Maple Academy. In the center stood rows of teaching buildings, while the dormitory area was located to the east. Both the teacher’s dormitory and the student dormitory were over here.
“Miss Lily, we’ve arrived,” Eileen said softly beside her.
“Hmm, I hope life here can be a bit more peaceful from now on,” Amelia said with a slight smile.
Their carriage soon arrived below the dormitory building.
Because the students entering White Maple Academy were all from wealthy or noble backgrounds, each person had their own dormitory room. Moreover, each room came with its own bedroom, bathroom, washroom, and kitchen.
Of course, the excellent accommodation conditions also indicated that the expenses of living at White Maple Academy were not insignificant.
However, all of Amelia’s tuition and other expenses were covered by the Hicks Family.
Amelia’s dormitory was on the ground floor. She opened the door and looked inside. It seemed someone had cleaned every area beforehand; it looked clean and tidy. But because no one had moved in yet, it lacked furniture and felt empty.
“Eileen, let’s move our things in.”
“I can handle this myself, Miss Lily. You should rest on the side.”
“No, I certainly want to help too. I’m not some delicate girl; you don’t need to worry about that.”
“…Alright.”
Eileen knew Amelia quite well. Seeing that Amelia had made up her mind, she knew it was useless to say more.
The two of them immediately began moving the various pieces of furniture from the carriage into the dormitory.
As for the Mana Crystal Cannon…
That item had indeed troubled Amelia, but she still came up with a solution: take the Mana Crystal Cannon outside Bild City and bury it in a location.
The process had been somewhat nerve-wracking, but thankfully, nothing unexpected happened. The Mana Crystal Cannon was successfully hidden away; they could just dig it up when needed in the future.
It didn’t take long for Amelia and Eileen to move everything that needed to go into the dormitory inside.
By this time, the glow of dusk had appeared. Shafts of golden light spilled from the horizon, dyeing all of White Maple Academy a brilliant gold.
Afterward, Eileen stepped out of the dormitory, intending to lead the carriage to the designated carriage storage area. They couldn’t just leave it parked outside.
But just as Eileen came out, she saw Verna approaching with two people.
“Eileen.” Seeing Eileen, Verna immediately asked, “You’ve arrived. Is Lily inside?”
“Yes, Your Highness Verna.” Eileen nodded, then glanced at the two people behind her.
Seeming to notice Eileen’s gaze, Verna replied, “They are the ones assigned to protect me from now on. Both are Mid-Rank Apostles.”
These two were not Verna’s own people, but rather, they were assigned by Grand Duke Ogden to protect her.
It wasn’t that Grand Duke Ogden suddenly valued Verna again. It was just that after Dwight’s murder, every prince and princess was assigned at least two Mid-Rank Apostles for protection.
And those with slightly more important status, like the various princes, were guarded by four Mid-Rank Apostles.
As for the most favored Second Prince Bennett, he was accompanied by six Mid-Rank Apostles. Grand Duke Ogden even had Bennett take charge of investigating Dwight’s matter, with the High-Rank Apostle Daphne assisting him—this was, in fact, also a form of protection.
“I’m going to see Lily. You two stay outside; no need to follow me in,” Verna said to the man and woman following her.
“Yes, Your Highness Verna.”
Both guards responded in acknowledgment.
Seeing this scene, Eileen couldn’t help but fall silent.
She knew that Verna was a princess who received little favor in the Luban Duchy, her status at the very bottom among the princes and princesses. Yet even she could have two Mid-Rank Apostles protecting her.
Yet her own Majesty only had her for protection.
This situation made Eileen purse her lips, a deep feeling of powerlessness washing over her. As a mere Mid-Rank Apostle, could she truly protect Amelia adequately?
She wanted to become stronger!
She wanted to be stronger!
==========
Hearing the sound of someone entering, Amelia subconsciously asked, “Who is it?”
As she asked, Amelia turned to look, and her expression relaxed slightly.
“Verna, what brings you here?” Amelia asked, sitting on the bed in the bedroom.
The bedroom was neither too big nor too small. Beside the bed was a window, through which one could see a row of white maple trees outside.
At this moment, the window was open, and the wind chimes hanging there produced crisp sounds in the breeze.
“I came to tell you a few things, but…” Verna paused here. “When you heard the footsteps, why didn’t you subconsciously assume it was Eileen returning, but instead thought it was someone else?”
“Because those weren’t Eileen’s footsteps.”
“You can identify people by their footsteps?” Verna was somewhat surprised.
“No, I don’t have that kind of ability.” Amelia shook her head. “The only footsteps I can recognize are Eileen’s. I can’t distinguish anyone else’s.”
“I see.” Verna’s expression turned a bit strange.
“Is there something you need to notify me about?” Amelia asked.
“It’s like this.” Getting down to business, Verna’s expression turned serious. “Regarding Dwight’s death, Father has currently assigned Bennett to investigate. Even the Chief of the Security Office, High-Rank Apostle Daphne, was ordered to act as Bennett’s assistant. It’s clear that Father truly thinks highly of Bennett.”
When mentioning this matter, she couldn’t remain calm.
Grand Duchess—that was the position she dreamed of. Everything she did was aimed at sitting on that throne, making all the flowers in the Luban Duchy bloom for her.
On this path, the Second Prince Bennett was a competitor she couldn’t afford to ignore!
“Also, the connection between Dwight and the Red Moon Society has been uncovered. Although Father is keeping this matter secret, it’s not completely watertight; I still learned something about it.”
Verna briefly explained this aspect, indicating that Grand Duke Ogden now even suspected whether someone from the Red Moon Society might have killed Dwight.
Although Dwight was in a cooperative relationship with the Red Moon Society, the Red Moon Society was, after all, a blood-soaked organization filled with people of twisted personalities. Cooperating with such a group, being killed wouldn’t be strange at all. Grand Duke Ogden’s suspicion was perfectly logical.
“If the Red Moon Society can take the blame for us, that would be ideal. But your brother Bennett is still investigating this matter, meaning Grand Duke Ogden isn’t entirely convinced of that yet. However, we covered our tracks well; it shouldn’t be traced back to us,” Amelia said with a slight smile.
“Of course, they won’t trace it to us. But I’m more concerned about the degree of Father’s regard for Bennett.” Verna’s eyes glinted sharply. “I think we should devise a plan to eliminate Bennett.”
“Kill Bennett? The timing isn’t right. Dwight just died, and the entire Bild City is at its highest state of alert. How could we act now?” Amelia shook her head.
“I’m not saying we have to act immediately, but formulating a plan in advance would be good.” Verna clearly had her sights set on Bennett.
Seeing this, Amelia pondered for a moment before saying, “Verna, you don’t necessarily have to focus so intently on Bennett. Perhaps you could direct your attention to others first, like the First Prince Vincent, for example.”
In the original plot, the final victor hadn’t been the highly favored Second Prince Bennett, whom Grand Duke Ogden doted on most, but the currently unassuming First Prince Vincent.
“Vincent? There’s no need to worry about him. He’s just a simple, honest fellow. He doesn’t understand schemes and is ignorant of danger. If it weren’t for his status as the First Prince, not many people would support him,” Verna said after thinking for a moment.
“Verna, I don’t think you should be careless. For someone born into a family like yours, I find it hard to believe anyone is truly simple and honest. Perhaps that simplicity is Vincent’s disguise. And a person only disguises themselves because they have grand ambitions.” Amelia offered a reminder.
“Now that you mention it, you have a point.” Verna wouldn’t be too careless about her competitors.
【Good, she’s paying attention to Vincent. If she doesn’t watch out for Vincent, I’m really worried Amelia and the others will all end up in a ditch. That guy’s no good fellow.】
【An old schemer, that’s what Vincent is. Who would know his true colors before the very end?】
【If this were someone else’s anime, you could completely trust the protagonist to be the final victor. But ‘Journey of the Fallen Kingdom Sword Saint’s Revenge’ was a tragedy to begin with. This remake is hard to feel confident about.】
【Panda Studio is best at creating tragedies. There’s still time to run.】
【I’m not running. I believe Amelia won’t bring tragedy to everyone. Didn’t she already notice Vincent?】
【Amelia is a god forever. I believe you definitely won’t mess up.】
【All of you used to only have eyes for Eileen. Why aren’t you watching Eileen anymore, only focusing on Amelia?】
【Eileen is the darling of my heart, and Amelia is also the darling of my heart.】
【Huh? Why did the scene shift somewhere else? Who’s this guy? Haven’t seen him before.】
==========
32 Red Maple District.
Ron Jopar, dressed in ordinary clothes, walked unhurriedly along the street outside, looking as if he were just passing by. In reality, his pair of emerald green eyes kept scrutinizing the house next to him, his shadow stretched long, long.
‘In the message Dwight sent before his death, he mentioned Lily Hicks, suspecting she might be connected to the complete annihilation of the Red Moon Society’s members in Bild City. Then, could Dwight’s death also be related to her?’
Ron pondered.
He was a member of the Red Moon Society!
When the Red Moon Society’s members in Bild City were wiped out, Ron had rushed over to investigate. And upon his arrival, Dwight had also died, which cast a shadow over this city in his mind.
This place was not simple. He had to be extremely careful.
