Chapter 27: An Unease Discovery

Chapter 27: An Unease Discovery Many minutes had gone by since the rogue capital guards were suppressed. By now, the citizens were escorted to safety and the rogue capital guards were being transported back to Crown Prince Leonard’s palace. The cages left behind by slave merchant Gerald had come in handy. It allowed for the transportation to be rather smooth and efficient. Of course, during the boarding of the detained rogue guards, the authentic capital guards arrived at the scene and attempted to take over the matter. Unfortunately for them, they were all sent away under the cold declaration from Leonard. "The Capital Justice Court will likely storm your palace with questions," Mirelle commented. She glanced at the capital guards leaving in that direction. "So what if they stormed at my palace?" Leonard shrugged. "Let them come. Though I doubt they would dare force their way in since they won’t be granted permission." "Why is that?" "Because of public support." Besides avoiding being incriminated for any crime, Leonard also built up a good reputation by ordering his guards to protect the citizens from harm. This feat alone would make anyone who dared to intervene in the matter suspicious. As for his father, he was always sitting in the top position. So he would never go as low as to snatch away the prisoners that Leonard captured. As Leonard personally helped some of the citizens to escape from the rubble that had fallen, Curtis finally returned with a werewolf trapped inside a cage. Upon learning about the situation from Geo, Curtis rushed ahead and knelt on his knee. "Please punish me, Crown Prince." Curtis pleaded. "I have delayed the mission and caused danger to come to you." "It’s not your fault," Leonard stated. "Join the other Crimson Guards to see if there are any more trapped citizens. Also, file a complaint to the Royal Capital Court about the incompetence of the enforcement in allowing such an incident to occur within the capital." "Yes, Crown Prince." Once Curtis joined the others, Mirelle became curious about his intention. "Is there a need to file a complaint?" She raised the question. Just earlier, he had mentioned how he wanted to avoid being incriminated, but now he was spearheading the Royal Capital Court. "Of course, there is." He responded. "The citizens suffered heavily, and there were many deaths. If I don’t seek justice on their behalf, then who will?" Leonard’s statement was very loud, almost thunderous to the nearby citizens who were receiving aid from the Crimson Guards. Their eyes turned somewhat watery that the rumored cowardly and incompetent crown prince was actually someone so honorable. "Thank you, Crown Prince!" No one knew who shouted thanks first. But as soon as the citizens heard it, many went on their knees and bowed in respect to him. Some wept, while others attempted to reach out to touch his robe, as though grounding themselves in the presence of someone they now believed in. In just a matter of seconds, the citizens became very grateful and appreciative of Leonard’s conduct and demeanor. Although the conflict arose from the fact that people wanted to assassinate him, no one would actually dare to raise this matter at this juncture. Moreover, they were already thankful that Leonard didn’t go on a rampage and detain all commoners for interrogation. Even though the commoners suffered heavy casualties, they were long used to the brutality that an assassination attempt would mean detaining everyone on the scene to verify and authenticate them. In the past assassination incidents involving nobles, the majority of the commoners were either left dead or injured beyond recovery once the interrogation was over. ’What a cunning-like action to gain public approval and support.’ Mirelle glanced at Leonard who stood tall in the center of attention. She reckoned that not only would the rumors of his incompetence be quelled, but his position would also become solidified in the commoners’ hearts. What a cunning move of killing two birds with one stone! Even Mirelle couldn’t help but become wary of Leonard’s means. At the same time, she held some anticipation and eagerness for the conversation they had in the carriage. ’He can turn his situation and reputation around with one incident. In that case, he can surely maintain equality in the academy.’ She thought to herself. When she weighed the two matters together. She knew reversing one’s ruined reputation was harder than maintaining equality in an imperial academy. After all, Leonard was the Crown Prince who held substantial political power and influence. As long as he desired, the imperial academy would truly become equal unless they wished to become enemies of the Crown Prince. No sons or daughters of nobility would be foolish enough to cross the Crown Prince. Of course, there might indeed be some foolish offspring who would still cross him, but the consequences following up were easy to imagine. Sometime later, Leonard walked toward the caged werewolf. The werewolf appeared to be in a daze, its flesh showing many spear holes, and its fur seemed to have changed color. "Is it poisoned?" Leonard asked softly. "Yes, the werewolf has gone berserk from some sort of drugs. The Talipta Poison concocted with the Talipta Flower Stem could nullify the drugs and put the target in a sedated state." Curtis explained. The poison was effective but very costly to produce. Hence, only those in a high-ranking place could afford to carry them. Since Geo wasn’t that high-ranked in the Crimson Guard, he didn’t have such poison in his pocket. Nodding, Leonard’s eyes narrowed when he spotted some blood on the werewolf’s mouth. The blood definitely didn’t belong to the werewolf. After all, werewolf or beastkin blood color tended to be blue or purple, but the blood color in its mouth was red. "Did you or the capital guards who weren’t rogue get injured during the capture of the werewolf?" Leonard raised the question. "No, Crown Prince." Curtis shook his head. "We struggled a bit to keep the damage low, but nobody was injured. We’ve formed a phalanx formation and ensured the werewolf was contained from start to finish." While Curtis was speaking, Leonard suddenly opened the cage and infused the unstable mana into his leg. With a sickening crunch, Leonard’s kick landed in the werewolf’s gut. It convulsed and gagged. Soon, something wet and fleshy hit the cage floor with a dull splat. Splat! A small severed arm was revealed and exposed to Leonard’s line of sight. Looking at the small arm, Leonard realized the rogue capital guards had been lying in wait for him all along. ’The werewolf must have found a child early on and devoured its arm. The rogue capital guards that intercepted us purposely caused the slaves to escape and allowed them to go rampage just to have an excuse to halt my carriage.’