"So, the culprit is Prince Cassian. I didn’t expect him to do this. But Princess... can you prove it?"
Hearing that voice, Elina and Isabella were startled. They turned to the side and saw a handsome man wearing glasses walking toward them.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he looked at Elina and her mother with a meaningful gaze.
"Prime Minister Mikazura?" Elina was taken aback. "What are you doing—no, I mean, what do you want?"
Ever since the man in front of her had given her a special letter of permission to enter the Eastern Empire of Izanagi, her guard toward him had loosened slightly.
Even so, she was not completely unsuspecting and still questioned his intentions.
Isabella narrowed her eyes but quickly calmed down.
Mikazura stopped in front of them and bowed his head slightly to Elina.
"I’m sorry, Princess. It’s not that I intended to eavesdrop; I simply overheard it by accident. Please don’t misunderstand."
Elina’s tense expression gradually eased, and she gave a small nod.
"I understand. It’s fine."
Mikazura straightened and asked, "So, Princess, are you certain about that statement?"
Elina didn’t want to discuss this with anyone else, especially a stranger like Mikazura.
After all, this was an internal matter of their empire.
"It’s all right. Just tell him. He might be able to help you later," Isabella said softly from beside her.
Elina glanced at her mother, who responded with an understanding nod.
Seeing this, Elina no longer hesitated and said, "Yes. I am certain of what I said. Cassian is indeed the culprit."
She then repeated the explanation she had previously given to her mother, this time in greater detail, for Mikazura to hear.
Mikazura listened intently, rubbing his chin in thought.
When Elina finished, he grasped the key points of her explanation.
"Before we move on to the main matter, may I ask how you discovered that Prince Cassian poisoned the wine he gave you earlier?"
Isabella was also curious. Her daughter had never mentioned this to her before.
"About that..." Elina hesitated.
She couldn’t possibly say that a shadow—a subordinate of the Singularity of Chaos—had told her.
That explanation sounded absurd and could not serve as convincing evidence.
As she searched for a way to explain it, a black shadow suddenly emerged from behind her own.
The shadow slowly rose and took shape, forming the figure of a black-haired woman wearing a red fox mask.
"I can testify that Cassian was indeed the culprit."
Her sudden appearance shocked Isabella, Elina, and Mikazura.
Mikazura and Isabella immediately went on guard and took a few steps back.
Isabella was about to pull her daughter away, but Elina held her hand.
"Don’t worry—she is one of the subordinates of the Singularity of Chaos. He’s the one who told me about Cassian’s actions."
Both of them were startled once again. Mikazura, in particular, did not expect the Singularity of Chaos to leave one of his subordinates behind to guard Elina.
Their relationship seems very close, he muttered softly.
He recalled the news he had heard about what happened at Ragan’s birthday party.
At the time, one of the Singularity of Chaos’s subordinates had appeared and helped Elina and Nolan escape the pressure of the Singularity of Light.
Back then, he had assumed it was merely a coincidence and that it would not happen again.
Now, with a subordinate of the Singularity of Chaos standing before him, his perception of Elina’s relationship with one of the strongest people in the world instantly deepened.
After calming himself, Mikazura lowered his guard and asked respectfully, "May I know your name?"
Malverna glanced at him coldly and replied in an indifferent tone, "You don’t need to know my name. What matters is that I can testify that Cassian is indeed the culprit."
For the first time, Mikazura felt true humiliation. Still, he did not dare show even a trace of anger in front of her.
From her aura alone, he knew she was extremely powerful.
"Pfft!" Isabella couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Mikazura shot her a displeased look but restrained himself and said calmly, "How can you prove it?"
"It’s very simple," Malverna replied, raising her index finger.
Suddenly, a drop of black liquid formed on her fingertip.
"This liquid is called Pure Demon Energy. Only the Demon Emperor can possess it. With it, he can turn other living creatures into demons, including humans," Malverna explained.
She raised her left hand slightly, and a cockroach was instantly lifted into the air.
Malverna guided the liquid into the cockroach’s mouth and forced it to swallow.
Suddenly—
Buzz!
The cockroach’s body emitted a faint black light.
Its form began to swell, strange and grotesque red veins spreading across its body.
Its behavior turned violent, as if it wanted to destroy everything around it.
Elina, Isabella, and Mikazura swallowed hard. Elina, in particular, recalled how close she had come to drinking the wine Cassian had given her earlier.
If not for the woman standing before her, she would have ended up like that cockroach—a demon.
"Do you believe me now?" Malverna killed the cockroach and tossed its carcass aside.
Mikazura remained silent for a long moment before taking a deep breath and meeting her gaze.
"I believe you. However, this matter is quite complex. I don’t know how Emperor Ragan will respond, considering the perpetrator is his own son."
After all, this was an internal affair of the Great Velmora Empire.
If he rashly accused Cassian, it would be equivalent to offending the entire empire and could be taken as a declaration of war.
Of course, he did not want that to happen.
"Regarding that, you don’t need to worry," Elina cut in firmly. "Let me be the one to testify and prove Cassian’s guilt before everyone."
As she had said before, she did not want this matter to spread.
Unfortunately, Cassian had cruelly turned the guests into demons and created chaos at an important imperial palace banquet.
It was something she could not forgive.
"All right, I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll help you," Mikazura said calmly.
At the same time, he cast a meaningful glance at Isabella.
Isabella returned the glance briefly, then ignored him.
"In that case, I will also help you reveal the truth before Ragan. After all, the demon is well hidden, and it will take special methods to draw it out," Malverna said with a faint smile.
The thought of her disciple being exposed in public made her blood boil.
My dear disciple, prepare yourself. The first gift from your beloved master will be delivered directly... hehehe...
***
"Achoo!"
Within Cassian’s consciousness, Zerathos sneezed loudly.
"That’s strange. I don’t usually sneeze like this," he muttered in confusion. "Is someone talking about me behind my back?"
"Demon Emperor Zerathos? Are you listening to me?"
Cassian’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, I hear you. What do you need?"
Cassian crossed his arms and asked, "The Underworld Gate has taken action. What should we do next?"
He wanted to witness Elina being shunned by everyone and falling into deep despair with his own eyes.
"Don’t worry," Zerathos replied casually. A playful glint appeared in his eyes as he continued, "The game has only just begun. Let’s enjoy it."