The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 110.1
A report came in that the Crown Prince had left the palace gates.
The Empress’s narrowed eyes pierced through Brian, who had brought the report.
She had long tried to find a gap in his vigilance, but the Crown Prince never once let his guard down, as if he had the eyes of a hawk.
He always reacted sensitively to the gazes that trailed after him like shadows, and the Empress could not resent that. After all, she was the one who made him that way. It was because of her that the Crown Prince had grown so meticulous.
“It is time to move.”
Excitement tinged Brian’s voice. His Adam’s apple trembled slightly, and a subtle fervor glimmered in his eyes.
The Empress looked at him with a cold gaze, as if to calm his excessive zeal.
Brian Byweiner.
Even if he was her nephew, he was quite clever. But that alone was not enough reason for the Empress to keep him close. There were many among her relatives who were far more talented than Brian.
However, he held a secret that set him apart from the rest. What was now almost a defect had once driven him to offer his help to her of his own accord. Since then, he had handled all the dirty work for the Empress, like her shadow.
At times, it was convenient. Yet the presence of the organization known as the Shadow Corps always lingered behind him.
A boy who cannot escape the commander’s grasp. In the end, he can never be mine.
Her heart was cold, and suspicion flickered through her eyes. Even if Brian served her, his loyalty was rooted in the commander.
That was why the Empress could not rest easy.
“What is the commander’s plan?”
Her brief yet weighty question filled the room. Brian’s lips slowly curved upward.
“For now, we intend to overturn the Academy.”
As if waiting for the cue, Brian began explaining the detailed plan. His eyes were fixed on the Empress, yet beyond her, he seemed to see the shadow of the master who was not present. The Empress did not find the feeling pleasant.
Now that the Crown Prince has left the palace, one of the reins I hold is slipping away.
Just then, Brian took something out from his pocket.
It was a small glass vial. The cork stopper at the neck was worn and old. It might have been her imagination, but a faint metallic scent, almost like blood, seemed to seep through it.
The Empress’s eyes flickered, but she did not move a finger.
She simply looked at the vial with an indifferent gaze.
“You only need to pour this into His Majesty’s cup.”
Brian’s voice dropped in tone, sly and smooth, like a serpent’s tongue.
“…What is it?”
With a confident smile, Brian tilted the vial slightly. The cloudy glass obscured the contents, but something inside seemed to writhe with an unnatural aura.
When he gave it a light shake, a faint, viscous sound echoed from within.
“It is the item that will open the path Her Majesty has long desired.”
***
The Academy appeared peaceful on the surface.
As always, students bustled through the lecture halls, and the soft sound of pages turning drifted from the library windows.
However, looking closer revealed small cracks beneath that calm.
The first was the early withdrawal of the Prince of Vancor.
No one had expected him to stay long, so he had only been registered as a temporary student. Even so, his departure came far sooner than anticipated.
Dean Kelly tapped the stack of documents on his desk with his finger. It bothered him that the prince had left without revealing the reason.
The second issue was the weapon without an owner.
No one knew to whom it belonged or how it had found its way there.
The rumor of the weapon’s existence had yet to spread, but sooner or later, someone would notice.
The man in charge of constructing the Academy’s buildings had already been imprisoned, which served as proof. People would start to wonder what he had done, and it would only be a matter of time before the truth came out—that the weapon had originated from the Academy.
A dull ache throbbed at Dean Kelly’s temple.
“Perhaps it would be best to start the vacation early.”
Even after traveling all the way to the Imperial Palace to meet the Crown Prince, he had achieved nothing. He had not even been able to see him.
Dean Kelly silently repeated to himself,
“There is no such thing as an ownerless weapon.”
If that was the case, then someone must be involved. To uncover the traces, he would have to start from the bottom.
After some thought, Dean Kelly called for his secretary.
“Bring me the list of everyone employed at the Academy.”
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