The sky gradually darkened.
As the full moon hung high, the deep night when everyone fell asleep quietly arrived.
Although the Imperial City was bustling tonight, with officials and members of the Knight Order rushing in and out of the palace, seemingly stirred by some earth-shattering event, Harvis's place was quiet, and one could even say desolate.
"After all, those guys outside won't allow anyone to visit me, a prince suspected of treason."
Harvis stood at the window, looking at the heavily guarded knights outside, his face wearing a self-deprecating expression.
Upon closer inspection, although Harvis looked normal, as if he had not been mistreated, he was wearing a pair of handcuffs.
The handcuffs locked both of Harvis's wrists, but unlike ordinary handcuffs, they did not have chains connecting them, allowing Harvis's hands to move freely.
However, mysterious magic runes on the handcuffs were flickering from time to time.
Clearly, these were magic handcuffs.
Harvis was shackled by these magic handcuffs, feeling the magic power within him suppressed.
"With my current state, it's impossible to escape from here, isn't it?"
Even if he could escape from here, he wouldn't be able to escape the palace, guarded by a barrier and heavily armed forces.
Thus, Harvis's freedom was no longer an existing fact.
The most powerful prince of the Empire, viewed by everyone as the next successor to the throne, had fallen into such a state—a true irony.
"Such self-pity and lamentation doesn't suit your style, your highness."
A voice suddenly rose from behind Harvis, entering his ears, causing his whole body to shudder, and he quickly turned around to look.
In the next second, Harvis saw a figure in a cloak, who had appeared silently.
Harvis's eyes widened, his face full of astonishment.
"What?" Shane smirked, saying, "Don't recognize me anymore?"
Hearing this, Harvis fell silent.
After a while, Harvis relaxed his body and let out a bitter laugh.
"You finally came, Lord Beizut." Harvis, not sure whether he saw hope or felt ashamed, kept bitterly laughing, "Sorry to let you see me ."
Harvis's tone was filled with helplessness and an unprecedented sense of relief.
Shane just shrugged his shoulders.
"I didn't expect, coming here as planned, to find you in this kind of situation," Shane casually looked at the magic handcuffs on Harvis's wrists and spoke, "It seems you and that knight from the Bigusler Family have had a rough time lately."
"If eating well and drinking well counts as having a rough time, then I suppose I'm quite alright," Harvis said helplessly, "Only, this time I underestimated that Poisonous Consort."
It should be said that Harvis was careless.
He thought he could use the opportunity of participating in the Kingdom Treasure selection competition as an excuse to seek help from the Kingdom, not knowing that his departure hit right into Moro's plans.
"If I hadn't left, Moro wouldn't have been able to so blatantly spread rumors about me and Lord Rocque, filling the Imperial City with talk of treason."
Harvis was truly helpless.
If he had been in the Imperial City at that time, with his caution and intelligence, he would have surely detected Moro's actions and would not have allowed those rumors to arise, letting Moro's faction take advantage of the situation and incrementally diminish his reputation and power in front of the Emperor.
"If you hadn't left the Empire, seeking no help outside, with your situation, it would have been difficult to stand against the one who bewitched your father, usurped your mother, and finally gained immense power—the so-called Imperial Concubine, right?"
Shane pointed out Harvis's dilemma.
"Indeed." Harvis nodded deeply in agreement, muttering, "If I hadn't left the Empire, trapped in such a predicament for too long, I would indeed have eventually been eradicated by Moro, that Poisonous Consort."
Looking at it now, the current situation was not entirely bad.
After all, rather than a slow death, it was better to take a chance to find an opportunity to break the deadlock.
Thinking this, Harvis felt somewhat relieved.
Especially with Shane's arrival, Harvis saw hope of escaping from his dire situation.
With this thought in mind, Harvis spoke very directly.
"You must have already met Lord Rocque, haven't you, Lord Beizut?"
According to the previous agreement, after arriving in the Imperial City, Shane was supposed to find Rocque first.
"So, you must have roughly understood our current situation from Lord Rocque's account, right?"
Harvis regained his usual composure and calmness.
"That's right." Shane didn't beat around the bush, directly saying, "I know about your current situation and also know that though Tielle has faced some setbacks, her life is not currently in danger."
Thanks to this, Shane had come to see Harvis first.
Otherwise, he would have already been searching the Imperial City for Tielle.
Harvis naturally knew the importance Shane placed on Tielle.
So, Harvis said this.
"If you want to solve Thielle Elbein's predicament first, you have to start with the Lefirut Family..."
Harvis was about to say this.
However, Harvis didn't know...
"The Lefirut Family is gone."
Shane interrupted him.
"I said, the Lefirut Family is gone," Shane looked directly at Harvis with a smirk, "What? Any problem?"
Harvis was speechless.
If you've already dealt with the Lefirut Family, what problem could there be?
Still, Harvis couldn't help but ask.
It was no wonder that Harvis was so incredulous.
After all, the Lefirut Family was no small power.
Although they were an Assassin family despised by others in the noble circles of the Imperial City, the Lefiruts had indeed been rooted in the Empire for a long time, held a respectable status, and had married princesses from the Imperial Family several times in history—they could arguably be considered descendants of Heroes.
Such a major family, deeply entrenched among the Great Nobles, was truly gone?
Harvis didn't doubt Shane's ability to accomplish this, but it still felt surreal.
But the fact was the fact.
"Anyway, I turned that eerie, abandoned mansion of the Lefirut family into flat ground," Shane said with a grin, "Of course, there were still a few that slipped through the net; this was inevitable."
Hearing Shane describe the destruction of the Lefirut family so casually, Harvis felt extremely conflicted. * is the home of this chapter
Back in the Kingdom, in order to obtain Shane's support, the Prince himself had promised to help Shane deal with the Lefirut Family.
In the end, Harvis himself failed to encircle William and got tangled up by the Lefirut Family, ending up in this miserable state, while the Lefirut Family was single-handedly destroyed by Shane, leaving him no role to play.
This made it difficult for Harvis to know what to say next.
Because he knew if he couldn't demonstrate significant value, it was very likely that the next step would be parting ways with Shane.
Cooperation means both parties have their uses.
If I can't even be of a little use, what right do I have to cooperate with him and get him to help me overthrow Moro and usurp the throne?
Even if Shane's purpose was to go against Moro, and he would confront Moro for Thielle Elbein too, I could sit back and reap the benefits, but then, how could I ever raise my head in front of this foreign noble favored by the Dragon Demon and Evil God?
I would probably be seen as an ungrateful fellow and get blacklisted directly.
The loss would be great.
Harvis didn't think Shane's help was easy to exploit, nor did he believe he could swagger before this person even if he attained the throne.
To be frank, just an Emperor, in front of this person protected by the most formidable Dragon Demon and Evil God, is nothing at all.
If, for the sake of the throne I exploited him and offended him, then, even if I become the Emperor, it might not be all that smooth after all.
With these thoughts racing in his head, Harvis finally made a decision.
"Lord Bezut." Harvis looked directly at Shane and said, "Since you've dealt with the Lefirut Family, you'll be going against Moro's faction next, right?"
To this question, Shane gave a positive answer.
"I will go against Moro," Shane said indifferently, "She is an enemy, not a friend, and if possible, I really wish I could sneak into her chamber now and handle her."
That would settle everything.
But, things are never that simple.
"Moro's whereabouts have always been a mystery, sometimes suddenly appearing in the Imperial Palace and sometimes disappearing from the Imperial City, or even leaving the Empire altogether for some other place, causing trouble."
Harvis shook his head, making it clear to Shane that this was unrealistic.
"To tell the truth, these years, many incidents that happened in the major countries of the Human Realm all carried her shadow, whether it was the event ten years ago in the Royal Capital or the recent Cosmos incident. Moro has always been , often elusive, appearing everywhere, and by the time someone notices her existence, she has already played the role of a mastermind behind the scenes, stirring up many events."
This shows just how troublesome this woman really is.
"Her origin is a mystery, her identity is a mystery, even her motives are a mystery; she is a venomous woman composed of mysteries."
Harvis spoke of Moro, his tone filled with both hatred and fear.
"After many years of dealing, I've never been able to understand her completely, only knowing that the Poisonous Consort seems to deeply hate the Hero, or indeed, hates everything related to the Hero."
Harvis's words made Shane frown.
"She hates the Hero...I see."
What could be the reason for this?
It seems, this mysterious woman holds many secrets.