Chapter 50: The Royal Robe

Chapter 50: The Royal Robe "Justice Lotus?" When Leonard heard the name that the commoner gave her, he only had one word in his mind: hypocrite. There was no such thing as absolute justice. Only bias justice in their perspective. The commoners’ suffering and sudden relief of their plight because of the assassin killing the corrupted noble was poetic justice in their eyes. But to the corrupted nobles and those who suffered retribution from the action, they would call it injustice. "If her action is regarded as Justice Lotus, then what about the innocent crewmates that were slain by her?" He snorted and asked, "So she hasn’t spoken a word since the capture?" "That is correct," Curtis nodded. "I’ve thought you would have begun to torture her to pry her mouth open." "We wanted to, but some of the Crimson Guards sensed that Lady Mirelle might react irrationally if we proceed with the act." To summarize, the Crimson Guards deduced that the situation might fester to an unbelievable degree if they were to torture the enemy. They had received the summary from Number 13 and realized the situation was rather sticky. Moreover, Mirelle was someone invited by Spencer, so they couldn’t just detain her nor could they accomplish the task. The losses in trying to detain her would far outweigh the pros. "I understand," Leonard nodded. "Where is Number 13 located?" "He’s at a private cabin resting currently." "Show me the way." "Yes, Crown Prince!" Sometime later, Curtis guided Leonard to the private cabin. Along the way, there were many Crimson Guards patrolling, their eyes vigilant and filled with a murderous intent. It was clear that the near incident of the crown prince dying had affected them deeply. They refused to let even an ant get past them. "This is more suffocating than at the capital," Leonard murmured. Although their murderous intent wasn’t directed at him, he could still feel the atmosphere turning dreadful. "Please pardon the guard’s vigilance, Crown Prince. But we cannot afford to loosen up in case there’s more ambush or assassination awaiting us." Curtis sincerely apologized for the uncomfortable atmosphere. Knowing that it was inevitable, Leonard simply ordered Curtis to hasten his pace. Private Cabin #5 "He’s inside, Crown Prince." Curtis gestured and whispered softly, "But Crown Prince, Number 13 is quite suspicious. Almost everyone in the ship died but he remained alive, completely unscathed." Although it was ridiculous to suspect a survivor who stayed loyal, it was hard to not raise any suspicion as to why they were unscathed despite such a commotion. Naturally, Leonard was automatically excluded from the suspicion list because he was the crown prince. Soon, a small creaking sound was made as Curtis opened the cabin’s door. "Crown Prince," almost immediately, Number 13 stood up from his bed and greeted Leonard. "At ease," Leonard extended his hand and gestured for him to remain in the spot. Afterward, he sat down, took off his royal robe, and handed it to Curtis. "Give this robe to Number 13." "The royal robe?" Stunned, Curtis’ eyes widened. "Crown Prince, this royal robe is of significance to your status and identity." Not to mention Curtis, even Number 13 appeared visibly in shock. "D-Did I do something wrong?" Number 13 asked in a panic. "I didn’t mean to overstep my duty, Crown Prince." Who didn’t know what the royal robe represented? Anyone who was unqualified and caught wearing it was equivalent to a major crime. They would be charged with treason, given their intent might be trying to usurp the current royal family. "Are you two bored with the pardon me or forgive me there?" In response, Leonard looked exhausted and rolled his eyes. "I’m not giving you the royal robe for no reason." Upon hearing that, the two finally relaxed slightly. Nevertheless, they perked their ears up, clearly wanting to know the reason for such a major action. "With Astral Gale sinking, people are definitely going to become suspicious. The Crimson Guards shall disguise themselves as crewmates. And you, Number 13, shall put on the royal robe and pretend to be me." Leonard stated. "Pretend to be the Crown Prince?" Number 13’s face swiftly turned ashen white. "I fear this might backfire, Crown Prince." Curtis hurriedly tried to dissuade Leonard from proceeding with such an act. "This is an order!" Leonard raised his voice slightly and narrowed his eyes. "The enemy is doing their best to stop me from heading to Velastra. It made me very curious about what they are trying to hide. I will explore the city not with the crown prince status but as an ordinary merchant." All along, he thought the assassination was someone from the capital, but that might be a bit far-fetched. Rather than being from the capital, they could technically be someone with connections in the capital from afar. Since he had publicly declared that his destination was Velastra, then the people who were guilty of something in Velastra must be scared witless. To prevent themselves from being incriminated and preserve their life, then they must impede him. The best method was to silence him, but the consequences that followed up in that action would be enormous. No one wanted to be involved with the crown prince’s death! But if these people were going to die either way, they might as well test their luck. "The werewolf that you dealt with previously was difficult, right? I reckon there might be many more slaves of such types hiding in Velastra. As for their uses, that is the question." Leonard turned to Curtis and said. Curtis’ expression turned dreadful when recalling the berserked werewolf. His body shivered briefly as he could still sense the murderous aura and pressure from the werewolf. Such an opponent was truly a nightmare to deal with. "Alright, that’s about it." Leonard clasped his hands and stood up. "Try your best to mimic my movement and action once we land in Velastra. You will be staying hidden from the public most of the time, but you should still practice a bit." Having said that, Leonard promptly exited the cabin, with Curtis following closely behind. "Where are we going next, Crown Prince?" Curtis asked cautiously. "Are we going to meet with Lady Mirelle?" "Not yet." Leonard shook his head. "I wished to meet the assassin. I wondered what made this Black Lotus or Justice Lotus to target a shut-in prince like me." He mused coolly.