"In recent years, several kingdoms beneath the empire have grown increasingly troublesome! They have begun resisting imperial influence more openly."

"The Third Prince originally intended to use Prince Rui’s disappearance to pressure the surrounding kingdoms further. Then after hearing your name from the Tenth Prince, the Third Prince decided to make you the scapegoat."

"He planned to accuse the Lionheart Kingdom of secretly helping you murder Prince Rui! Then from there, use the matter to trigger internal instability and bloodshed inside the kingdom! He wanted an excuse to weaken Lionheart!"

The envoy hurriedly raised his voice again. "I swear, My Lord! I know nothing beyond this! I was only following ord..."

"Get to the point. Who killed her."

Michael’s voice cut through the hall coldly. The terrifying pressure in the surroundings increased slightly again.

The envoy immediately froze. Michael’s eyes stared directly into him.

"How was Arianne killed?"

The envoy’s face instantly turned pale. Sweat poured down his face.

"T-That..."

Michael’s expression darkened further.

BOOM.

One of the pillars inside the hall exploded instantly. Wooden fragments scattered everywhere.

The envoy screamed in terror and immediately cried out. "I’ll speak! I’ll speak!"

His breathing became ragged. "Three days ago, the Grand Princess of the Lionheart Kingdom disappeared for a period of time," the envoy said hurriedly while trembling on the floor. "At the time, what she did not know was that every movement around the imperial delegation was already being monitored by the Third Prince."

The envoy swallowed heavily. "At first, the prince only knew the Grand Princess had suddenly left the royal capital temporarily. He did not know where she went."

Michael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The envoy quickly continued. "After a brief investigation, it was eventually discovered that she came here."

Michael suddenly interrupted him. "That shouldn’t have been easy."

His cold eyes stared directly into the envoy. "Even if Princess Priscilla wasn’t the strongest existence around, trailing her movements shouldn’t have been something ordinary people could accomplish."

The envoy immediately nodded repeatedly. "Yes! Yes! My Lord is correct!"

"The Third Prince initially only knew the princess disappeared briefly. He did not know her destination. It was thanks to another prince of the Lionheart Kingdom that they discovered she had visited Thornvale."

Michael paused faintly. At this point, even he could not help but feel slightly speechless internally.

What exactly was wrong with the Lionheart royal descendants? One after another.

First the Tenth Prince. Now another one.

Michael’s gaze became colder. "Which prince?"

The envoy hurriedly answered. "I-I don’t know his exact ranking! But it was said he used to be Lady Arianne’s former fiancé!"

The moment those words entered Michael’s ears, his expression changed slightly.

Former fiancé?

"Was he connected to her death?"

The envoy nodded rapidly. "Yes! It was him!"

The envoy’s voice became increasingly hurried, terrified Michael might lose patience again. "It’s unknown exactly why, but he was the one who specifically brought Lady Arianne to the Third Prince’s attention!"

"The Third Prince..."

The envoy hesitated briefly before forcing himself to continue. "...is notorious within the empire. A lustful bastard. Even among the imperial princes, his reputation is extremely bad."

Michael’s fingers slowly tightened around the armrest again.

The envoy noticed and hurriedly continued speaking. "That Lionheart Prince told him he knew someone exceptionally beautiful! One of the greatest beauties within the kingdom! He repeatedly praised Lady Arianne in front of the Third Prince!"

The envoy’s body trembled violently. "He said she was pure..." "He said she was elegant..." "He said no woman in the imperial entourage could compare to her..."

Michael’s expression gradually became uglier. The hall’s temperature dropped even further. The envoy nearly collapsed entirely.

"At first the Third Prince only showed slight interest! But after learning she had accompanied Princess Priscilla to Thornvale..."

The envoy’s voice became quieter and quieter. "He began suspecting there was some relationship between her and you. And after hearing she was once the fiancée of a royal prince..."

A bitter expression appeared on the envoy’s face. "The Third Prince became even more interested. He said stealing another prince’s woman sounded amusing."

The envoy’s lips trembled violently. "After that, the Third Prince approached Lady Arianne personally."

The man swallowed hard before continuing. "At first, everyone thought she would refuse him completely. But unexpectedly, she seemed to agree."

Michael’s expression did not change.

Only, the shadows around the hall had begun twisting unnaturally again.

The envoy hurriedly continued before Michael lost patience. "She pretended to accept him! She made it seem as though she would be his woman for the night!"

The envoy’s voice became increasingly strained. "But during the encounter..."

A flicker of fear appeared in his eyes as though even remembering the scene terrified him. "She suddenly attacked him."

Michael’s fingers paused faintly against Arianne’s hair.

The envoy nodded rapidly. "Yes! She tried to kill him! She hid a weapon beforehand and attacked while his guard was lowered!"

The envoy hurriedly continued. "Of course, she failed. The Third Prince was far stronger than her. But..."

The envoy’s face twitched strangely. "She succeeded in crippling one of his balls before the guards stopped her."

Silence.

For a brief moment, even Michael’s thoughts paused faintly. Then slowly, a strange emotion surfaced within his chest.

The envoy continued trembling on the floor. "That was what truly enraged the Third Prince. He completely lost control afterward."

The envoy’s breathing became ragged again. "He personally killed her. And because he was still furious..."

The envoy hesitated heavily. His face became deathly pale.

Michael slowly lifted his eyes toward him. "Continue."

The envoy nearly cried. "H-He believed you were her lover..."

"And so..."

The man’s voice became almost inaudible. "He decided to let the two of you share one final connection before death."

The moment those words finished, the envoy’s entire body froze.

Then, BOOM.

His body exploded instantly beneath Michael’s gaze. Blood and flesh splattered across the hall walls. Not even bones remained intact.

Silence returned once more.

Michael remained seated motionlessly upon the throne-like chair. Arianne’s severed head still rested quietly within his hand.

For several long seconds, nothing moved.

Then slowly, Michael lowered his gaze toward her pale face again. The image of her smiling inside Thornvale resurfaced within his mind once more.

"Third Prince..... Black Serpent Empire... the Lionheart Kingdom..."