"Have you heard the news about the great inventor, Lady Eli, Your Highness?"
In a luxurious lounge room at one of the noble townhouses in the Capital, a group of nobles was gathered for a party.
The center of this gathering was actually the Crown Prince of the Vanderford Empire. He was leisurely holding the glass of wine, swirling the clear glass in his hands.
His eyes were amethyst, if one did not know that he was a Vanderford, they would immediately associate the color of his eyes with the Vesala.
"I have heard of her a lot, not only back in Vanderford, but everywhere in the capital. It was quite unusual for me not to hear about her when even the street children knew of her name." Crown Prince Renon smiled with a light in his eyes that is unfathomable.
"Well, Your Highness, then have you heard about her newest unreleased invention? It enables a person to record everything remotely from afar. She claimed that everything could be monitored within a 50-kilometer radius as long as the surveillance camera was installed around the vicinity!"
"Indeed! It was actually amazing! I was quite thankful that someone caused a commotion yesterday! Because of it, I will not witness the young inventor demonstrating her invention to us in advance! It was quite an experience!"
"It was really unbelievable! How could she have thought of this matter?! Say, do you think that she also had a hand in the invention of that unusual device during the security checking in the borders?"
"Most possibly! But the Lady has not claimed anything about it, so it must not be her but one of the research teams!"
"Heavens! Now that I remember, Seirende has the best talents when it comes to these things!"
"Remember that legendary Doctor Kayden, who opened a breakthrough in the medical field through surgical procedures?"
"Well, the researchers of Seirende have developed a lot of technologies too!"
"Aside from the Lady Inventor, we still have another brilliant doctor comparable to Dr. Kayden! That's the inventor of the curse cure potion, Dr. Einz!"
"Sigh! Truly a land bursting with talents, I must admit. However, our empire does not fail in terms of culture, arts, and of course magic! While Seirende has the best minds, our Vanderford empire has the best and strongest mages!"
Crown Prince Renon just flashed a cryptic smile and listened to the conversation of the nobles around him.
It seems like these fawning nobles who went with him from Vanderford was fond of gossiping carelessly.
But there are things that caught his mind for sure. Three names specifically.
Eli, the great inventor.
Einz, the creator of the cure potion.
And the missing Dr. Kayden, the genius doctor surgeon, a half-elf.
These three people managed to create great waves of change in the entire Prasinos. But he did not like the changes they brought a single bit.
Renon became bored at the party and graciously excused himself, declaring that he would retire early.
Going to his bedroom, he immediately sat on the sofa while he looked in the direction of the balcony.
"Come." He uttered.
In an instant, two hooded mages went on the balcony and entered his chambers. These mages were none other than Lizette and Orland.
"Report." Not even looking in their direction, Crown Prince Renon lazily leaned on the sofa with the glass of wine in his hands.
"Reporting to the Crown Prince, it may look like there were no people on guard outside but the entire venue was ridden with multiple defense arrays. We are still in the process of understanding how these arrays were laid out, but as of now, we are only able to decipher five percent of it…" Orland nervously explained.
"A month is about to be over yet you only managed to destroy five percent?" This time, Crown Prince Renon's laidback expression finally showed a trace of interest. "Do you seriously think that I would believe that you are only able to do this much?
"We…" Orland is lost for words, he really had no explanation for this, the Empire really prepared a lot.
"You have been a member of the knights in this Empire before right? What could be the cause of why you were not able to figure out what is happening in your former homeland, Nikolai?" Crown Prince Renon coldly looked at Orland, who was actually Nikolai, the son of Duke Vesala.
Nikolai shuddered as he felt the piercing gaze from the crown prince.
He felt it.
If he would not speak to answer the other party's question, his head might roll on the ground at any second. "T-too much time had passed, I no longer recognize the place I left a few months ago."
"Is that also the same as what you think, Arabella?" Crown Prince Renon looked at the Lizette, who was actually Arabella Vesala.
"It is as he says. I also heard that a few months ago, the Imperial Family established a committee called Anti Curse Committee, it seems like they were the brain behind all of the security procedures and the anti-terrorist mechanisms planted all over the capital."
Arabella answered firmly, her amethyst eyes appeared to be dead as if she does not feel any fear towards Crown Prince Renon at all.
In fact, the only time Nikolai saw emotions in his little sister's eyes after knowing the news of their family's downfall, was when she saw the doctor named Einz.
Crown Prince Renon did not mind Arabella's attitude, he liked subordinates that did not care about anything, even death. Subordinates like Arabella are perfect to carry out plans that are outrageous and dangerous.
"Is that so… how about our men trying to infiltrate? Have we found a way to safely enter?" Crown Prince Renon shrugged and moved to the next topic. "We have to find a way to get it before the Holy Island's party arrives."
"Unfortunately, only people at our level could enter, the lower ones were not able to enter, because they could not pass the detection. Also…" Orland continued.
"The spatial void is the Third Prince's domain. All of our men who tried to circumvent the teleportation rules targeted at any part of Seirende were apprehended."
Crown Prince Renon did not react harshly, his face kept calm as he hummed his reply, "Hmmm… well… they were our sacrificial lambs anyways."
"What I want is for the two of you to figure out who these members of the Anti Curse committee were. What are the things they can do, and why were they able to get this strong in just a short period of time!" He waved his hands to dismiss the two as he continued sipping his wine in leisure.
Left by the siblings alone, the nonchalance in his eyes disappeared. His captivating amethyst eyes suddenly flashed into deep red, emitting a ruthless aura. "Seirende… why are you like a puny weed? I have destroyed you countless times and yet you are still growing your way back?"
–
Leon was staying overnight in the palace. That was because they had to prepare everything in the Court of Sinners.
He was walking in the dark corridors of the Court of Sinners with Emperor Valentin on their side.
"The envoys of the Main Temple from the Holy Island will come by the final week of the tournament," Leon reported to his father the Emperor.
"That's more or less a month from now." Emperor Valentin nodded in understanding.
"The prisoners were already organized as to the gravity of their involvement with the curse trade. The main perpetrators were all in solitary confinement, we have enhanced the security arrays and anti-self-harm shackles. These hopefully would be enough until they come to inspect." Leon said to Emperor Valentin as they went along.
They could see Carolina, the Duke, and his wife in their respective cells, isolated from any sounds outside.
Seeing them inside staring at the blank. Their appearances no longer carry their former grace and glory, Emperor Valentin felt complicated. These people had oppressed them for so long, but he could not help but lament how far they have fallen because of their evil deeds.
After inspecting once more, they immediately went back to the palace.
But before they could even enter the Emperor's place, the chamberlain rushed over frantically as he informed the two, "Your Majesty, Your Highness… the High Priest, and the captains of the Temple Knights are all here."
Emperor Valentin and Leon immediately proceeded to the lounge, they were surprised about the hasty visit but they immediately entertained them nonetheless.
Entering the private chambers, they saw High Priest Enoch, Mishael, Joab, Keren, Julian, and Mort.
They were shocked to realize that they had all come to the palace with such a large group.
But seeing High Priest Enoch's grievous expression, they immediately sat and asked him what was wrong.
The atmosphere of the chambers is heavy, especially when Mishael and Leon activate double isolation arrays to maintain the secrecy of the conversation.
High Priest Enoch looked at the two and said with a grave sense of urgency, "I need for you to let us come to the memory lake!"