Just as Tsukasa and Sophia were leaving the school.
Shadow Shurein and Sue returned to the royal palace. They met their two elder brothers. The two brothers had somehow reached an agreement and conspired to take control of Shurein and Sue. Upon returning to the palace, before they were even told what had happened, they were ordered to stay in a room and not leave.
It wasn't until two days later that the two brothers sent someone to bring them out. They were taken to the Throne Room. The two brothers stood at the front, with the Minister of State and other high-ranking officials below. It seemed the two brothers had completed everything during this time; now, they were only waiting to announce the news of the coronation.
"Since Shurein has arrived, let us announce this matter here." Prince Leston stood before the Throne Room and made the announcement. He first told Shurein the news of their father and mother's assassination, then said that a country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. According to their discussions, they wanted Prince Celis to inherit the throne.
Shadow Shurein looked at the surrounding officials expressionlessly. Some of these people were indifferent, while others wore fake smiles, but no one raised an objection to this decision. Clearly, they had all been bought off by the two brothers long ago.
However, this was normal. Among all the current princes, although Hero Julius held a noble status, according to the rules of the continent, a Hero cannot become a King. Therefore, this prince, who possessed both reputation and strength, had no possibility of inheriting the throne. If the Hero forcibly tried to claim the kingship, it wouldn't be impossible, but doing so would mean abandoning the Divine Word Cult as an ally, and he might even be labeled a heretic by them.
The two brothers below him were actually the original popular candidates for the throne. After all, they had been helping handle government affairs in the palace and had their own teams. Barring any accidents, the next King Anareto would have been born between the two of them.
Among them, Prince Celis was the first in line of succession.
He was the Crown Prince of the kingdom.
Inheriting the throne was perfectly legitimate.
As the fourth prince, Shurein had neither age nor political achievements, nor had he built a reputation like Hero Julius. Originally, no one thought he had any hope of inheriting the throne. It wasn't until the day of the Appraisal Ceremony, when he displayed initial attribute values far more astonishing than Julius's back then, as well as a mysterious exclusive skill, that people began to think he might also have hope of becoming a candidate for the throne in the future.
But not now.
The current Prince Shurein's wings were not yet full. To put it bluntly, he had not yet cultivated his own team, nor had he made any achievements, and he was not yet of age. With the King passing away at this time, the inheritance of the throne would not fall to this young prince under any circumstances. Therefore, no one had ever thought of supporting Shurein as king.
Even Duke Anabald, who thought very highly of Shurein, could not make such a decision at this time. After all, in the current situation, Shurein had no chance of winning at all. Moreover, based on his understanding of Prince Shurein, this young prince lacked any ambition or kingly demeanor. Even if he stood up to support him, it wouldn't change the outcome and might even cause Shurein to feel resentment. So why bother with unrequited kindness?
The two brothers seemed to only intend for Shurein and Sue to observe from the side as witnesses. When they announced this matter, they hadn't even considered that these two younger siblings would have any objections. In their eyes, the threat from Shurein did not come from himself, but from those nobles who saw Shurein's potential.
But at this time, Shurein had not yet developed, and those nobles had not yet successfully stirred up Shurein's ambition. At this moment, Shurein was still that one unthreatening little brother. The two brothers didn't have any ill will toward Shurein at this time either.
After all, the personality Shurein had shown in the past was so naive. The two brothers might even consider Shurein as their future general. If Shurein behaved a bit more obediently, he might even receive the full cultivation of the kingdom.
Such a result for the kingdom...
...would actually be a decent ending.
But unfortunately...
...this was impossible to achieve.
Before Shurein could speak, Sue had already stepped forward to protest.
"I object."
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, everyone looked at this little princess in astonishment. The two princes were also completely bewildered because the matter was already a foregone conclusion. Even if Hero Julius rushed back to protest now, he might not necessarily succeed, let alone anyone else. Furthermore, this matter originally had nothing to do with Sue, who was a princess. Why on earth was she protesting? Did she really want to recommend Shurein?
At this time, someone noticed that Prince Shurein's behavior seemed a bit different from usual. Gone were the simplicity and naivety of the past; his face was expressionless, and standing there, he didn't let anyone see a single emotion. Something was a bit off.
"Shurein, take Sue away."
Prince Celis waved his hand impatiently.
Although strictly speaking, Sue was his biological sister, closer to him than Shurein, this sister was already a lost cause. In her eyes, there was nothing but Shurein. At such an important time...
...it was really annoying for her to come out and cause trouble. He was even considering when to marry off this annoying sister. After all, he felt that if Sue and Shurein continued to stay together, some disaster would surely occur in the future.
Shurein did not follow the order but stepped forward and said calmly, "I want to know the cause of death of my father and the queen."
Harris felt that Shurein was a bit off, but thinking of the Shurein he was familiar with, he felt that the news of their father's death might have been too great a blow to Shurein. So, he said understandingly, "Father and Mother encountered an assassin. I have already ordered the city gates to be sealed and sent royal experts to investigate. I'm sure we will have news of that assassin soon."
Shurein nodded, then looked at the Captain of the Guard responsible for defending the palace and asked, "You are responsible for the defense of the palace. Have you ever seen the assassin's appearance?"
The Captain of the Guard had originally been bought off by the two princes, but staring directly into Shurein's gaze at this moment, he actually didn't have the courage to speak that one fabricated lie.
The stacking of the skills Dread and Scrutiny...
...plus the crushing difference in attribute values...
...caused the Captain of the Guard's mind to fall into confusion.
Shurein continued to press, "Captain of the Guard?"
"Enough!"
At Prince Leston's signal, Prince Celis interrupted Shurein's questioning. He also felt that today's Shurein was a bit off.
And the Captain of the Guard's appearance...
...if he continued to be questioned, he would likely speak the truth.
The truth was that they had never even seen the assassin's shadow. Although the conclusion of assassination could be drawn from the autopsies of their father and mother, the assassin seemed to have appeared out of thin air and then vanished into thin air. No one had even found a trace before the fire broke out. Under these circumstances, it was impossible to track the assassin.
Harris and Prince Leston had both long since decided...
...not to pursue this matter further, only putting on an act.
But at this moment...
...they hadn't realized yet that they had already fallen into a trap.
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