The scene of the a.s.sa.s.sination was the flower courtyard in the Royal Palace . As opposed to calling it a flower courtyard, it’d be more accurate to call it a flower garden next to the inner court . I met her there the first time . Yes, I was referring to the one whose name I don’t even want to recall . There was a pond there . While it was set up for Mommy Elizabeth, I rarely ever saw her go there .

The Valkyries cordoned the flower courtyard . However, owing to my ident.i.ty, I still managed to persuade them to let me in . The poor official died by the side of the pond . He didn’t die from drowning . Actually, not entirely due to drowning would be more precise . He was stabbed from behind then tripped into the pond where he drowned . There were still dark red stains on the surface of the water .  He must’ve bled to death .

I examined his corpse, which was temporarily placed aside . He was fat, but not the water tank size type of fat . At most, he was a middle-aged man who was living in a tad too much luxury . You could tell that he had offered all of his intelligence to Empress Elizabeth from his glossy forehead . He wore a shocked look at the time of his death, which was a sign that he never expected to be a.s.sa.s.sinated .

The things he had on him had been placed aside . There were keys, accessories and a letter that had been open due to being soaked in water . Under normal circ.u.mstances, I would consider it an important clue; unfortunately, I recognised that it was the royal family’s seal . It appeared to be nothing more than the invitation from the royal family . The rest was cash and his family crest . He didn’t have much cash on him . His gold coins were still wet, as a matter of fact . His family crest was perfectly fine, which meant that we could eliminate the possibility of him being killed for money or a personal vendetta .

“Does he have any grudges with anyone or debts or did something happen at work? For instance, corruption and the such?”

“Sorry, but I do not know about any of that . ”

“I guess that’s fair…”

I sighed . The Valkyries in the garden were only in charge of watching over the corpse, not investigations, after all . I really wanted to know the fellow’s ident.i.ty . There were countless possible reasons to kill someone . Oftentimes, it was to silence people or for money . The official might’ve committed corrupt deeds, and someone caught wind of it, which eventually led to him being silenced . Otherwise, they might’ve eyed his status or money . All of those possibilities had to be explored .

There was only so much that his corpse could tell me . He only had so much on him; or rather, I think that he had slightly too little on him . Not necessarily in the sense that he didn’t have much in terms of items, but… The copy of the invitation was placed in his pocket . He kept a wallet and keys in one pocket, while his accessories were worn on his body .

I touched his tiny breast pocket only to find nothing . The tiny pocket was as ordinary as they came . It seemed to be there for superfluous purposes as opposed to practical purposes . I didn’t think you could even fit a napkin in there .

The Valkyries certainly were experts at getting rid of corpses . There were no noticeable marks or things left behind .

I heard someone approaching from behind . The Valkyries drew their swords one after another and aimed them in the direction of the approaching group . I glanced over to see it was the pope . He came over with a few people, all wearing stern looks . Logically speaking, it shouldn’t have had anything to do with the old church . The incident took place in the Royal Palace, and the victim was a finance official who served Her Majesty . I doubted it had anything to do with the church .

“Your Majesty . ”

The pope didn’t mind the Valkyries’ blades . I pressed my hand down on their blades . I looked to the pope, who approached with an emotional expression and big strides . He desperately walked over to me in a similar fas.h.i.+on to a rabbit . Baffled, I asked, “What’s the matter, Pope? What do you want? This doesn’t have anything to do with you? Or does it?”

“In reality, not that much . ”

The pope was panting a little . The holy h.o.a.ry emblem at his chest shone . He looked up to looked at me with a nervous expression . In a serious tone, he explained, “Your Majesty, strictly speaking, it is not entirely unrelated to us because this official was one of our loyal believers . He provided us with lots of a.s.sistance and was one of our members . I believe it was the new church that a.s.sa.s.sinated him, which is why I specifically came here to have a look . ”

“The finance official died in the Royal Palace, and the person who he devotes his loyalty to is Her Majesty . Her Majesty needs his corpse . n.o.body is to come near it without her orders,” a.s.serted the Valkyries .

The Valkyries showed no signs of backing down . I looked at them and then the pope . The pope looked to be in a dilemma and anxious .

The finance official was their main source of financing and their loyal believer, yet was a.s.sa.s.sinated during a critical time . If you put anyone else in the pope’s shoes, they’d want to investigate the case, too, as they’d fear cover ups and sheltering . If it was an ordinary a.s.sa.s.sination, the pope wouldn’t concern himself with it . In this case, however, if the new church a.s.sa.s.sinated someone from the old church in the Royal Palace grounds, then there was the possibility that it was a collaborated effort between the royal family and the new church . That was the pope’s concern .

I extended my hand out: “Let him take a look . Let them examine his corpse . It’ll be fine . If we don’t allow them to examine it, it will suggest that we’re suspects . ”

“Your Majesty, I must preface that…”

“I know that you’re loyal to Her Majesty, but I’m her son . If you refuse me, I’ll go consult her now . ”

“Yes, Your Majesty…” The Valkyries moved aside .

The pope gratefully nodded . I stood next to him and solemnly said, “I swear on the Rosvenor name that the royal family isn’t involved with this a.s.sa.s.sination . We are completely ignorant on the matter . The Valkyries are currently investigating and hunting the culprit, so you don’t need to worry . We will not shelter anyone . a.s.sa.s.sinating someone is an insult to Empress Elizabeth . We will not forgive anyone involved . ”

“I feel rea.s.sured, then . ”

The pope lightly knelt down next to the corpse and quietly prayed for his soul . I stood next to him and watched him sadly touch the dead’s belongings and pocket .

The pope touched the dead’s pocket then stood up with a look of horror . He backed off and raised his voice: “That’s weird…”

“Hmm?” Confused, I asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s gone… it’s gone… the holy h.o.a.ry emblem… is gone!!!”