The wild antics of the Third Princess were unbelievable.

If I said I wasn’t shocked, I’d be lying, but the fact that she was likely Yuli remained.

After secretly following her, I prepared a spell.

I was about to use the spell to reveal the truth when suddenly…

The Third Princess let out a pained moan. Her frail legs trembled, and she soon crumpled to the dirty ground like a ragdoll.

I hadn’t even cast the spell yet.

Her dazzling golden hair began to lose its color, slowly turning pitch black.

Before I knew it, her hair turned completely dark.

The color was strikingly similar to her father’s—proof of her true identity. She was definitely the Yuli I remembered.

Gathering holy power.

She was still the Saintess of Light, instinctively resisting the memory manipulation and hypnotism performed by the emperor.

In this situation,

there was no time to dawdle.

I approached her, wanting to lay all the truths bare.

Step by step.

Just as my hand was about to reach her…

“Wait a second.”

One crucial fact raced through my mind. If I thought it through, it was none other than the emperor or the pope who orchestrated all this.

Those cunning individuals deemed it necessary for their plans to put Yuli in such a state.

So… were they such sloppy humans that they would allow their plans to fall apart with something so simple?

No way, that wasn’t happening.

Regaining my composure, I looked at Yuli again.

Usually, I’d think doing this wouldn’t change anything, but I did have the First Prince’s talent.

The talent of an Archmage is not something to be taken lightly.

It increases my understanding of magic, making me forcibly grasp all the structures and principles of spells reflected in my eyes.

I could even pull off such extraordinary feats.

And just as I suspected,

though it was thoroughly hidden, I started to notice it. There were hidden spells on her.

In other words, it was a safety net as well as a trap.

“That could’ve been a disaster.”

If I recklessly fiddled with the truth, the emperor would surely catch on.

My companions were far away, and the Sword of Light was hidden to prevent exposure. It would have been a one-on-one battle with the final boss candidate in the worst of times.

“I can detect the spell, so unbinding it…”

It could be done, but it’d be pointless.

There’s no way she wouldn’t notice if the spell she set was undone by someone else.

I had to be a bit more cautious.

“After all, I still haven’t found the corpse.”

In the worst-case scenario, I was thinking about forcibly dragging Yuli away, but that would obviously make it harder to approach the palace again.

The full cooperation of the Second Prince.

Thanks to miraculous luck, I could roam this secret facility freely.

Such luck wouldn’t come around again.

The corpse connected to the God of Light.

Breaking the connection binding the deity to gain support was essential for stopping destruction.

So now, slowly building trust with Yuli while conducting investigations into the previous hero’s corpse seemed wise.

As I concluded that, Yuli’s sobbing gradually diminished.

Her hair was back to its golden glow.

The girl seemed experienced in these matters as she deftly wiped her tears and brushed off the dust on her skirt before standing up.

And inevitably…

“…Huh?”

She met my gaze.

Her eyes, red from crying, and her slightly puffed face looked more cute than regal as she stared at me, clearly bewildered.

Maybe she thought she was seeing things, as she rubbed her eyes; however, that wouldn’t change anything.

I was still standing right in front of her.

“Y-You didn’t see, did you?”

She asked me in a trembling voice.

I didn’t see. I wanted to answer that and wish for this whole affair to slide by smoothly.

“But would you actually believe me if I said I didn’t see anything?”

There’s no way someone of my intellect could be considered naive enough to not have seen that scene earlier.

Hearing my words, her face went pale.

That was easy to guess.

That odd behavior from earlier and the circulated rumors made me initially think it was simple hysteria.

But looking back, it seemed she intentionally chased people away to hide her circumstances. Most likely, she was told by the emperor to keep this hidden.

The reason was probably a curse.

Her golden hair turned black.

To an outsider unaware of the situation, that would appear incredibly ominous.

“You… you…”

She pointed at me with trembling hands.

It looked like she wanted to scold me, but since she was so flustered,

Her words never formed a proper sentence. I had to be the one to clarify the situation.

“Don’t worry. I won’t go around telling people what I just witnessed.”

However, even after hearing that, the anxiety reflected on her face showed no signs of fading. When thinking it through, of course, that made sense…

“Do you think I’m an idiot?! You’re definitely on my brother’s side!”

I looked like a solid ally of the Second Prince from anyone’s perspective.

The two were rivals for the emperor’s throne. To capture such a crucial weakness of a competitor would be a decisive move for the Second Prince’s loyalist.

If they genuinely thought loyalty would come from a subordinate in this situation, that would be the real madness.

“Well, this is a bit troublesome.”

If there’s a strength, there’s bound to be a weakness.

With the Second Prince’s support, this rapid infiltration and aggressive investigation were possible, and I could find Yuli, but such side effects emerged instead.

Naturally, my head began to throb.

But having come this far, retreating was not an option; I had to persuade her somehow.

“It seems you’re misunderstanding something. The Second Prince and I are not related by blood. We simply made a contract for mutual convenience.”

A clear fact.

However, it could certainly come off sounding like a flimsy excuse.

Yuli’s still bewildered expression confirmed it.

“I have no loyalty to that guy. If you want, I can start cursing him like crazy.”

Calling the Second Prince a bastard and even showcasing my wide array of modern insults, I proved my innocence.

Plus, I gathered more evidence to earn her trust.

That was certainly my intention.

But while I was hurling those insults, Yuli’s expression suddenly shifted to something strange. I felt an ominous premonition.

For some reason, it seemed she was looking at someone other than me. I instinctively turned around.

And there stood…

“…Crap.”

None other than the Second Prince of the Empire.

*

Lenya showed no restraint as he revealed his fury, wearing a face like a demon.

His devotion was as if he’d give up everything for her.

Having extended all support and affection,

he caught his loyal subordinate switching gears for the Third Princess, and was furious—not at all.

Instead, he was impressed.

He already knew Zion was outstanding in strength, but this kind of strategic brilliance was a surprise to him.

If you think about it, it’s pretty clear.

That foolish younger sister.

The Third Princess was like a sinking ship.

Incredibly, the worst reputation with a promising failure record; who would pledge loyalty to someone like that?

Especially when one is serving the very person on a soaring path to success.

So what was happening here was simple.

“My brother really taught that kid well. That’s some godly acting. I almost got tricked myself…”

Spy work!

Zion was currently working as his secret agent.

In this situation, he had only one task: to secretly cast a spell and relay a message.

— I’ve grasped the situation. I’ll fall in line.

Worried the performance might falter under the sudden transmission, Zion’s acting was so flawless it was astounding.

The confusion on his face, seeming utterly clueless, could only be seen as real, not acting.

It wouldn’t do for a lord to just sit back while the subordinate was working so hard. Lenya rushed into the act, pouring his all into the performance.

To his relief, it wasn’t as hard as he imagined.

Having once favored someone enough to hand over a whole squad, finding that person tossing him aside like trash stirred the anger within him.

“I don’t care who you are! Get out of my sight RIGHT NOW!!”

With a flushed face, Lenya shouted.

To anyone, he would just seem like a man losing his mind over the betrayal of a most trusted subordinate.

With Zion’s performance added to the mix, even if the Third Princess had a keen eye, she couldn’t help but be deceived by such an act.

The siblings hastily made their escape.

Considering Zion’s acting skills… it was going to be a piece of cake to gain her trust and succeed in infiltration.

Though Zion was determined to make her his exclusive escort knight, assigning him as the guardian for the Third Princess might not be a bad idea after all.

As Lenya contemplated this and let out a hearty laugh…

“Hmm…?”

He noticed something odd.

A spell lingering in the air.

How on earth did that happen? A spell that had just begun to be cast lingered in the air.

And then… it suddenly shone.

Was it a terror attack?!

The Black Fangs launching a surprise?!

Those thoughts filled his head, but five minutes after the spell’s manifestation, no attack came. The curse hadn’t been cast, either.

It was an utterly perplexing situation.

But for some reason, there was no sign of the caster. The only traces left were from the Third Princess and Zion.

What on earth had happened?

He couldn’t fathom the situation but couldn’t just dwell on unanswered questions all day.

Ultimately, the Second Prince scratched his head with a troubled expression and returned to his office.

Unbeknownst to him, it was the spell Zion was casting—a spell of disguise—and that his own head had briefly ‘turned red’ from the impact.