The royal capital seemed to be shrouded in an invisible shadow.
Patrols on the streets became increasingly frequent, while pedestrians grew scarcer.
The nobles canceled their various events, and a negative impact began to ripple through all walks of life. Even ordinary residents started avoiding going out at night.
Although the palace intended to control the news, things like consecutive street closures, troop deployments, and increased patrol shifts simply could not be hidden.
Soon, rumors began to spread.
Some said the imperial delegation had offended some mysterious organization.
Others said it was the remnants of the Blood Moon Cult retaliating against the kingdom.
Still others claimed that the empire and the kingdom were on the verge of war, which was why the two sides were clashing in secret within the royal capital.
The rumors grew more and more far-fetched.
The City Guard Station arrested a few people who were intentionally spreading panic, but they still could not fully ease the unease in people's hearts.
A few more days passed, and the nights in the royal capital grew noticeably quieter.
But Li Yuan's teahouse was not affected much—after all, there were barely any customers even during normal times.
Standing behind the bar counter, he wiped a teacup and glanced out the window.
A patrol squad had just passed by, and they were quite numerous.
He naturally knew that something had happened in the royal capital recently.
Although there had been very few customers in the shop over the past few days, some of them were from the City Guard Station, and someone had mentioned the news of the imperial delegation being attacked.
But the accounts were all over the place, making it hard to distinguish truth from fiction.
Li Yuan did not actively pry. However, judging by the density of the patrols, it was likely no small matter.
Nevertheless, none of this affected his tea drinking. The trouble outside would naturally be handled by the kingdom and the empire; it was not an outsider's place to worry about it.
He was just a teahouse owner.
Well, at least for now.
...
Early on the morning of the sixth day, an uninvited guest barged into the Magic Tower.
The court mages guarding the entrance of the Magic Tower immediately paled upon seeing the newcomer.
By regulation, members of the foreign delegation needed to report in advance before entering key palace areas, let alone the Magic Tower of Royal Preceptor Hogg.
But regulations were clearly optional in front of Venus, depending entirely on her mood.
Clearly, she was in a very bad mood right now. She did not even pause after arriving, merely casting a cold glance at the guard as she said in a chilly voice,
“Step aside.”
The guard subconsciously took half a step back.
It wasn't that these guards were cowardly, but the aura of the person before them was simply too terrifying.
After all, this was not the mere pressure of an ordinary noble throwing a tantrum, but the raw intimidation of a Heroic Spirit rank powerhouse making no effort to conceal her rage.
At that moment, Hogg was reviewing intelligence in his top-floor office. Marz stood to the side, holding a thick stack of documents.
When the door was pushed open, Marz was startled, and the documents scattered all over the floor.
Venus strode in, heading straight for Hogg.
“Hogg.”
Hogg put down the report in his hand and looked at her in silence.
Venus walked up to the desk, propping her hands on its surface and leaning forward slightly.
“Six people are dead.”
Venus stared into his eyes, her voice suddenly turning a few degrees colder.
“More than a dozen are severely injured. Can you tell me now how the kingdom plans to take responsibility for this?”
Marz stood nearby, not even daring to breathe loudly.
In a situation like this, he felt it was best to pretend he didn't exist.
Venus continued,
“After the first attack, you said you would investigate thoroughly.”
“The second time, you said you had already increased patrols.”
“The third time, you said you would adjust the routes.”
With every sentence she spoke, her voice sank lower.
“And now?”
She raised her hand and pointed out the window.
“Now you have the entire royal capital under what looks like wartime martial law, and has it done any good?”
Hogg remained silent. On this matter alone... he was indeed in the wrong.
No matter who was pulling the strings behind the scenes, the incidents had occurred in the royal capital. That was an undeniable fact.
Venus sneered.
“The kingdom's City Guard, Imperial Guards, Intelligence Department, and your so-called high-level professionals—after being busy for so many days, have you produced a single result?”
With that, she slammed a casualty list onto the desk.
“Now I have to spend every day writing reports to the empire, telling His Majesty the Emperor how many more people are lying in the treatment centers today.”
Her voice wasn't loud, but it hummed with an impending explosion of fury. She practically gritted her teeth as she demanded,
“Tell me, Hogg, how am I supposed to write this?”
Hogg looked up at her, his voice deep.
“Regarding this matter, the kingdom will do its utmost...”
“Do its utmost?”
Venus reacted as if she had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
“People are dead! How can you do your utmost now? By burning those beautifully written condolence lists from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for them?”
These words made Marz's eyelids twitch, and he quickly lowered his head, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
Even so, Hogg did not lose his temper. He merely said slowly,
“I understand your anger.”
“Of course you do.”
Venus replied coldly,
“Because this was your responsibility to begin with.”
She straightened up and crossed her arms, her eyes devoid of any of her usual laziness.
“Imperial personnel have been repeatedly attacked in your royal capital. Not only can you not catch anyone, but you can't even effectively prevent these attacks from happening. If this continues, you had better start thinking about how you will withstand the empire's wrath.”
“Hogg, this is not a threat.”
“The imperial side wants results and safety guarantees.”
The office fell silent for a moment.
Hogg finally let out a soft sigh.
“These attacks... are somewhat strange.”
Venus's eyes turned cold.
“Oh?”
Ignoring the mockery in her tone, Hogg continued,
“The enemy seems to have a thorough grasp of the imperial side's movement routes and schedules. Every attack occurred exactly during escort handovers, patrol shifts, or when reinforcements would have the hardest time arriving.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“This doesn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment action. It's more like someone obtained the relevant intelligence in advance.”
Venus sneered,
“If your kingdom were of any use, it wouldn't have come to this.”
She looked at Hogg, her gaze growing even colder.
“What? Are you trying to shift the blame to us now?”
Hogg was momentarily speechless. He hadn't meant it that way.
But saying it now would inevitably be interpreted as suspecting an internal leak within the empire.
And with the empire having just lost so many people, there was no way Venus would accept such an implication.
Venus continued,
“I don't need to hear you make excuses for the kingdom's incompetence. If you can't solve this, then admit it openly and let the empire take full control of the matter.”
At those words, even Hogg, who had been deliberately holding back, and Marz both saw their expressions turn sour.
If the empire took full control of the investigation within the royal capital, it would be equivalent to directly interfering with the kingdom's internal security. Even if there was a valid reason, it would leave the kingdom completely humiliated.
After saying her piece, Venus did not wait for an answer.
Before turning to leave, she left one final sentence.
“I have given you time.”
The door slammed shut heavily, and silence returned to the office once more.
Marz knelt on the floor to gather the scattered documents. Only after a long while did he speak in a low voice,
“Teacher...”
Hogg raised a hand to interrupt him. Looking at the scattered casualty list, the exhaustion on his face was even more pronounced than in previous days. He said softly,
“Keep investigating... proceed according to our plan.”
Marz bowed his head in acknowledgment.
“Yes.”
Hogg then walked to the window and gazed out at the gloomy royal capital.
The current level of martial law was even higher than during the Blood Moon Cult incident, yet even so, those hiding in the shadows had still not left a single trace.
This left Hogg with a sense of... helpless frustration, like having immense strength but nowhere to direct it.
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