The explanation from the Prince alerted Vincent who wasn’t paying attention so far.

’I will be interrogated in front of everyone?’

As far as he remembered, no one else but him, Anastasia, and Leona had entered the ballroom with Agnes. No one else came after.

Although he was worried, he sat still in his seat and did not move. Giving himself away without anyone asking first would be too foolish.

Agnes was not in the best moods after the explanation from her brother. But she practiced restraint to the best of her abilities and said, "I will talk to Father King regarding the survivors immediately upon returning. You don’t need to concern yourself with it."

The Prince let out a visible sigh. "Like I said, dear sister. I am the one conducting the investigation currently. Father King tasked me with it and I cannot let him down. So could you please step aside and let me finish my investigations? The matter is much graver than you think."

Agnes stared into the Prince’s eyes without speaking further. ’The matter will only escalate further if the survivor is questioned. I don’t know what Father King was expecting by sending him here to investigate. Does he still doubt that I am not capable enough as the next in line?’

The Prince did not take a step ahead yet but waited for the Crown Princess to respond.

After a moment, the hesitation from her eyes was gone.

’I could’ve handled the situation but Father King sent him with his own agenda. Rejecting him means rejecting Father King’s orders. I did my best to salvage the situation. They’re on their own from here onwards.’

"Go ahead." Agnes said. "But don’t forget that I didn’t warn you."

A warm smile appeared on the Prince’s face. "I’ll remember it. Please sit back and let me take it from here."

The Prince turned to the nobles in the ballroom, making them slightly uncomfortable.

"Knights!"

The Royal Knights took positions behind the Prince.

"Respected attendees, I regret the inconvenience caused but I believe you must not be kept in the dark regarding what has transpired."

Agnes crossed her legs and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

’I wish I could leave. But I am forced to see it to the end.’

The crowd of nobles attentively listened to the Prince.

"An incident had transpired in Duke Leurox’s courtyard which resulted in casualties of the Royal Hounds. Many of you may not know who they are. The Royal Hounds are a small group of elite knights. Each and every hound is precious and losing even one costs a major fortune."

The crowd of nobles gasped at it.

If it was anyone else, they might not take the word ’major fortune’ seriously. But as it was the Prince, they could roughly guess what the scale of loss would be.

"I ask for the cooperation of all in this matter and hope you do not hold anything against respected Duke Leurox."

The Prince went on to make the Duke’s image better so as to reduce the resentment.

The Duke’s face got visibly better and the image of his daughter crying and leaving vanished from his mind.

The Prince turned to the crowd again.

"Ladies and gentleman, I hope everything that’s transpired here remains within the room."

The Prince did not put much emphasis on it as if his words were mere formality.

"Now, I’d like to actually get to the point."

The crowd of nobles straightened their backs and readied themselves for what was to come.

Who were the survivors of the incident where even the Royal Hounds had died?

They were all quite curious.

"At the moment of the incident, we could infer that two people were present. Following them later was the Crown Princess and a young lady accompanying her."

Everyone gently nodded their heads.

The talk regarding the Crown Princess and the young lady accompanying her were irrelevant.

After all, why would the Crown Princess try to sabotage her own house?

"This brings our focus to the two people. And I’m sure the ones I’m talking about know who they are by now."

The Prince’s gaze shifted to staring at the back rows where Vincent sat.

His eyes locked with Vincent’s red ones.

’This is troublesome.’ Vincent thought but remained seated.

Watching him not stand up, the Prince slightly knitted his brows.

"At the time of the incident, the guards of House Leurox had noticed that Countess D’Arc’s son and his attendant were those present..."

The Prince revealed the identity without worrying and turned to the Crown Princess.

"...were they not?"

The last part was less of a question and more of a confirmation.

Agnes could only respond with one answer.

She gave the Prince a curt nod and stayed quiet.

The Prince had a small smile form on his face as he turned back to the crowd.

"The Crown Princess has herself confirmed it."

The crowd almost went into an uproar and they turned back to stare at Vincent seated in the back rows.

The Prince locked his gaze back with Vincent’s, ignoring the crowd.

"In light of the Royal Hounds’ death, I’ll have to ask the young lord of House D’Arc to accompany us to the palace tonight."

"Knights, please help the young lord board the carriage."

Back on Vincent’s side, he showed no signs of panic or trouble. Rather, his only thought was,

’Not even a complete twelve hours and I’m already involved in some conspiracy. I didn’t get any power ups or maidens, only troubles. What sort of bullshit isekai is this?’

While he felt slightly defeated, Anastasia standing right behind him had her pupils shrink.

Her face was blank but her thoughts went haywire.

’No. No. No. This can’t be happening.’ Anastasia thought. ’The young master cannot go with the Prince or it’ll lead to the same fate as the other iterations!’

Even though panicking, Anastasia did not move from her place as she was just an attendant. She had no power to resist the Royal Knights or the Prince.

She would be beheaded on the spot if she tried.

’Despite knowing so much, I can’t do anything. The Countess has done a lot for me but I can’t do anything for her only son.’

Anastasia felt her chest tighten. Her heart ached from the inevitable future she thought of regarding Vincent.

To her, the sound of the knights’ footsteps getting closer was one of a second closer to doom.

At Leona’s side, her usual neutral expression turned unusually down.

’This isn’t right. I need to immediately inform the Countess or something really bad might happen. My fiancé’s reputation makes him an easy target for all, but he’s not the same now. The current him deserves a chance to prove himself!’

Leona was not in love with Vincent. She was a calculative and collected person.

Vincent’s bleak future would lead her own house on a path of collapse.

Him staying alive and well mattered a lot to her!

’What can I do? Think, Leona, think.’

Leona wasn’t someone easy to panic but in the current situation, just like Anastasia, her hands were tied too.

She couldn’t do anything to help her fiancé directly as going against the Prince would lead to her getting sentenced to death.

The knights reached Vincent’s side.

"Lord, if you would please..." they asked politely.

Oblivious to the worries of Anastasia and Leona, Vincent nodded and stood up.

What’s the worst that could happen? He thought and moved on.

The knights were about to take another step but suddenly halted.

Tap.

The sound of heels gently echoed through the ballroom.

The knights couldn’t take another step even with force.

Silence fell over the hall.

The nobles’ chatter quieted down.

Tap.

Tap.

Everyone turned toward the entrance as the gentle sound of heels approaching felt closer.

A strange tension filled the room.

A tall woman in black stepped into the ballroom wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a soft top that obscured half her face.

The nobles did not need to see her full face to know who she was.

They all, including the Dukes and the Crown Princess, stood up at her arrival, afraid to unknowingly offend her.

The Dukes straightened their backs instantly.

The knights took half a step back.

The Crown Princess lowered her gaze and took a deep breath.

The smile on the Prince’s face slowly faded.

His heart began thumping wildly like a running horse as he noticed...

Countess D’Arc had arrived.