Chapter 152: Catch the Tail

‘Elaira…’

Ian couldn’t help but chuckle softly as he recalled the saintess’ name.

If indeed her mother was the same person as his own mother, he had a feeling he knew why she had chosen that name.

However, there was no time to delve into names and analysis at the moment.

The mansion had just collapsed, and the debris was being swiftly cleared.

Of course, it wasn’t because of the Marquis Adelas and Cardinal Cesare.

“Haah, haah…”

They were currently lying down, literally fainting from exhaustion.

The efficient cleanup was due to an entirely different reason.

“I can see the ground!”

“Everyone, hurry! We must save the saintess before something happens to her!”

Upon hearing the rumors, soldiers, priests, and citizens from the capital rushed to dig through the rubble.

Those who believed in the Sun religion couldn’t bear the thought of the saintess perishing in such a manner.

And amidst that scene, there was someone who looked at Ian with great difficulty.

“I never imagined you would bring such destruction to this mansion.”

It was the king’s chamberlain.

He appeared troubled by the reckless destruction Ian had informed him that caused to Marquis Adelas’ mansion.

The chamberlain spoke carefully so that no one could hear.

“Although the First Princess has stepped forward, His Majesty is very angry.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“I don’t know what else to say, but it would be best to refrain from going any further…”

Ian swiftly interrupted the chamberlain, fixing him with a piercing gaze.

“It is not your place to interfere.”

“But, Your Highness, Marquis Adelas is one of the pillars supporting this country.”

“So what?”

“You shouldn’t attack the Marquis any further.”

Ian chuckled as if it were absurd.

“Is that what the king told you? To save Marquis Adelas from me?”

“That…”

That was unlikely.

King Eloin was a man who was devoted to breaking the power of the nobles.

Didn’t he even instigate the Succession War, making the nobles fight among themselves?

It wouldn’t be in King Eloin’s nature to be upset about that.

“It’s probably because I acted without his permission that he’s angry.”

“Of course not, His Majesty is only concerned for you.”

There was no need to listen anymore.

“You didn’t come here to say such things, did you? What did His Majesty say?”

“That’s…”

“He didn’t give you an order to arrest me, did he?”

Ian’s movement was like spilled water.

If he were to be punished now, it would undermine the authority of the royal family.

Isn’t that right?

‘The heir to the royal family who attacked the Marquis recklessly. If this fact becomes known, the nobles will be furious and gather.’

“I can roughly guess why you came.”

“Yes?”

Perhaps because of that, Ian smiled and took out the prepared item, handing it to the chamberlain.

“Let the sinners be taken care of by me. You can deliver this to His Majesty.”

“W-what is this?”

It was a single stem of a flower.

It was a lilac with common purple leaves that could be seen in the neighborhood.

“Present it to His Majesty and tell him that the flower is alive.”

“It looks like a flower you just picked. What on earth does that mean?”

The chamberlain tilted his head.

However, Ian gestured for him to return and speak.

“If you tell him that way, he will understand. He will know that the reason behind all my actions is because of that.”

“?”

There was no choice.

His mother’s name and the name of that flower were similar.

That’s why Ian was testing the king.

‘How will King Eloin react when he sees that?’

Will he try to kill his mother, or will he try to save her?

Ian’s actions would change depending on what the king did.

But right at that moment…

“Here! This is where the saintess was!”

The people clearing the debris from the mansion shouted, and Marquis Adelas and Cardinal Cesare opened their eyes and approached.

“What happened to the saintess? What happened to her?” they anxiously asked, their eyes wide open.

[Accused of the saint’s murder]

It was the crime that was now pinned on them.

However, if the saintess was still alive, they could argue that it was all a misunderstanding.

They couldn’t help but feel desperate.

But then, something unexpected happened.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

‘The saintess is not inside.’

Even if the inside collapsed, there should have been some trace of her left.

But it was at that moment.

“There’s a corpse! There’s a corpse over here!”

“!!”

At the sound of ‘corpse,’ the faces of the two froze.

However, it was only for a moment.

“Sir Barang…?”

The corpse was that of a knight who had been in charge of protecting the saintess.

If there was a problem, it would be his death.

“This is not from falling rocks!”

“He was murdered, not crushed by rocks!”

At that, Cesare looked at the Marquis, puzzled.

“Marquis! What is going on here? Could it be that you called me out there to…”

But Marquis Adelas was just as frustrated.

“What are you saying? Cardinal, didn’t you come out with me at that time? It’s clear that someone killed him.”

“Who would do such a thing…”

“Sir Barang was an exceptional knight. It wouldn’t be an ordinary soldier who could kill him.”

Someone skilled enough to quietly eliminate the knight and soldiers and kidnap the saintess. The eyes of the two naturally turned in a certain direction—Ian Kaistein.

The man who had accused them of murdering a saintess, and who had never even swung a shovel himself.

“Could it be…”

“The possibility is high.”

Marquis Adelas gleamed sharply.

Although the mansion had collapsed and chaos had ensued, Ian still seemed suspicious.

Moreover, beside Ian, there were three superior knights, including his own son.

What bothered him was that right now, all he could see was the invincible Galon next to Ian.

‘Then it couldn’t be Nathan.’

No.

His own son wouldn’t do such a thing.

If that were the case, he wouldn’t let his son off the hook.

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Prince, where have you hidden the saintess?”

The two approached Ian with fierce expressions.

They demanded that he reveal the hidden saintess.

However, Ian only smirked in response.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

With fox-like golden eyes, Adelas shouted angrily.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know! Even when there were rumors that the saintess was buried, you were casually throwing shovels and sitting on your horse!” Adelas raised his voice, pressing Ian to reveal the truth. “That’s right! Unless you are sure the saintess is alive, there is no way you could have been so calm. Isn’t this related to you, Prince?”

But Ian shrugged his shoulders.

“To think that I would kidnap the saintess. I was merely keeping an eye on you. You should be grateful to the one who helped you regain your honor.”

“What? Grateful?”

Marquis Adelas could not stand it any longer and called the soldiers.

“What are you all doing? Quickly find the saintess! She must be hiding among his troops!”

“Yes!”

The soldiers under Marquis Adelas rushed towards Ian and Blue Wolf.

But Ian didn’t stop them; he let them come.

“Why aren’t you searching for the saintess in the mansion instead of bothering me, Marquis?” Ian taunted, enjoying the situation.

In reality, his younger sister had already left the premises.

Well, when he asked Nathan for that favor, his expression was worth seeing.

“Huh. Your younger sister? Have you formed a bond as siblings in the meantime?”

“No, she’s my younger sister.”

“…!!”

Nevertheless, Nathan headed towards the safest and most trusted place in Kaistein with her. The mansion of Duke Lavaltor.

‘Unlike the royal family, Lavaltor is filled with only his trusted people.’

It was a place where not even the Second Prince could plant his own people.

Although he tried to turn apprentice squires into spies, he could not even approach the Lavaltor duchy.

So, originally, it should have been left to Fiosen.

“Well… I’ll be back soon. The results were so strange…”

He disappeared, saying he would re-examine the blood of the saintess.

It was understandable that it didn’t make sense, no matter how he looked at it.

There was no other choice.

‘If I’m fraternal twins with her, there’s a new princess in the royal family.’

The new third princess of Kaistein.

It was possible for her not only to be a saintess but also to be the successor to the throne.

So, as a Fiosen with exceptional loyalty to the royal family, he couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

And that was the moment.

“Marquis!”

“Have you found her?”

“No matter how hard we search, she’s nowhere to be found!”

“We can’t find any sign of a saintess!”

“…what?”

Seeing their faces, Ian raised the corners of his mouth as if asking if they had given up.

“If she’s not here, then I should question the suspects in the saintess’s murder on behalf of the royal family.”

“!”

“Where did you hide the saintess?”

The faces of Cesare and the Marquis Adelas were distorted.

***

Marquis Adelas, who was furious at being told to hand over the saint, literally searched the surrounding area like crazy.

He even mobilized the nearby citizens to find evidence that Ian had hidden the saintess.

But that was impossible from the beginning.

“His Highness the Seventh Prince has never left this place even once.”

“The same goes for the knights. They were all monitoring the people in the mansion.”

No evidence came up.

Of course, it was inevitable.

‘Because Nathan’s nickname is ‘Swift.’’

Thanks to that, Marquis Adelas had no choice but to make a quick judgment.

He couldn’t have been the real murderer of the Saintess, so Marquis Adelas reluctantly agreed to go along with Ian’s arrest.

“I’ll go with you for now, but I want to make it clear that I’m innocent.”

“If you feel unjust, take it up with His Majesty. He will pass judgment.”

Marquis Adelas’ eyebrows twitched, but he soon smiled and tidied his clothes, insisting that he was innocent.

Ian smirked at his appearance.

‘Does he think everything will be fine once he escapes from here?’

It was an absurd idea.

Ian had already contacted the Pope of the Holy Empire.

‘Unless the Pope is a fool, he won’t forgive both of them.’

It was a case of losing the saintess.

Moreover, both the Marquis and Cesare had already shown signs of betraying the Pope.

This was something that could not be tolerated even if it came from the Pope or not from the Pope.

‘But before that.’

Ian’s eyes turned to Cesare, who was hiding behind Adelas.

It was then.

“What a mess. Bring me some clothes to change.”

“Yes, Cardinal.”

At Cardinal Cesare’s command, a young servant moved.

At first glance, he appeared to be an ordinary and insignificant boy, but Ian’s eyebrows sharply rose as he watched him.

‘I was certain he would move like that.’

As Ian had heard from the saintess, Cesare was in cahoots with the people who were holding his mother captive.

And now that the saintess had disappeared, he was undoubtedly planning some kind of action. And sure enough…

‘Is it a ring?’

The boy, while pretending to receive the command, took something from Cesare’s fingers.

It was undoubtedly the token they used to communicate.

Ian signaled to Galon, who was nearby, with a glance.

“Get him, and find the woman they’re hiding.”

Galon bowed his head.

However, he was not alone.

Swoosh.

Already, dozens of men were waiting outside the mansion, following Ian’s orders.

In the past, they were the second prince’s subordinates, but they have now become spies, shadows under Ian’s command.

“Go. If they resist… you may kill them.”

“Yes, sir.”

In response to his furious voice, Galon and the men moved.