Bill stayed quiet for a moment.
Because Ronnel was right—once the princes caught wind of what had happened, someone moved fast.
A square-faced servant under Tenth Prince Kacho's command was quickly accused of conspiring to murder Barrigen and of involvement in the Fourteenth Prince's assassination. The accusation extended to Prince Kacho and her mother, the Sixth Queen.
A formal request was submitted, demanding the army arrest them.
But the Supreme Judge of the Royal Army stationed on the first floor dismissed the petition, citing that "evidence can easily be fabricated, and royal privilege cannot be overridden."
Even so, investigators were still dispatched to Room 1010, where they monitored and questioned both prince and queen for 72 hours.
Clearly, someone had grown impatient. They weren't just orchestrating assassinations behind the scenes anymore—they were punishing people openly, seizing any opportunity to strike.
"But…"
Bill started to speak again, but Ronnel raised a hand, cutting him off.
"If you want to stabilize the situation," Ronnel said calmly, "then explain the ability of Silent Majority to everyone at the Nen instruction session tomorrow. With that kind of pressure, the assassin won't act so recklessly."
He smiled faintly.
"Originally, my job was just to keep the princes and queens safe. I wasn't supposed to get involved in anything else. I'm not here to give advice or interfere~"
Hearing that, Bill had no choice but to shut his mouth. Then he turned to Kurapika, who Ronnel addressed next:
"Besides, doesn't your chain have an ability to judge or track people? If you really want the answer, use your own ability~"
Kurapika gave a silent nod.
He did have a Nen ability that could uncover the truth—but he didn't want to reveal it to others.
Just because he wanted to keep his own abilities hidden didn't mean it was fair to force Morgan to risk exposing his. That would be selfish.
Even though Kurapika wasn't sure how Ronnel had figured out what his Nen did, he didn't press for answers. It likely had something to do with Ronnel's telepathic ability.
Just like how he didn't understand how Morgan could activate Little Eye ability, or how he knew about Silent Majority.
Still, with detailed knowledge of Silent Majority, they could inform the guards who would attend tomorrow's session and observe their reactions. That might help identify the real culprit.
As Kurapika was thinking about how to handle the Nen teaching conference...
...
Suddenly, Sakata, Hashito—trusted aides of the controlled Third Prince—returned from a scouting mission, bringing explosive news:
"Most of the royal guards assigned to the Twelfth Prince, Momoze, are dead. The only survivors are the foreign guards she hired at the very beginning."
Shock still lingered on their faces.
While the Fourteenth Prince had always seemed like the easiest target due to his age, the Twelfth Prince—Momoze—had been through even worse.
First, her bodyguards were taken away by her mother. Then the royal guards who replaced them turned out to be spies working for other queens.
And now, she'd been targeted by an assassination attempt that nearly cost her life.
And just when it looked like she might recover... all of her guards were wiped out—again pushing her into the spotlight.
"How did they die?" Kurapika asked, quickly absorbing the news and cutting to the heart of the matter.
"We heard it was a large-scale explosion," Sakata answered, glancing at Hashito. "Their faces were blown apart—bruised and unrecognizable."
"In addition to the spies from the various queens," Hashito added, "even the First Prince's personal soldiers were among the dead. Only the three foreign guards... they weren't touched at all."
Everyone involved in surveillance or guarding was caught in the blast—except for the ones actually loyal to Momoze.
Kurapika narrowed his eyes.
"Someone's protecting Twelfth Prince Momoze."
But then doubt crept in.
"If someone really wanted to protect her, wouldn't they have stopped the earlier assassination attempt? Or at least stepped in after? Where is this protection coming from... and who's providing it?"
He fell silent, lost in thought—unaware of the small smile forming at the corner of Ronnel's mouth.
Who was behind the deaths of Momoze's guards and the First Prince's soldiers?
Kurapika wasn't the only one wondering. Other princes were also deeply concerned—especially Benjamin.
...
In Room 1001, Captain Balsamilco of the First Prince's personal guard was giving his report. Benjamin stood at attention, arms behind his back, brow furrowed.
"Your Highness, after our initial investigation, the deaths of the soldiers and royal guards appear to have been caused by an explosion—but not from ordinary explosives."
He spoke with a calm and precise tone.
"It was done using Nen."
"Nen?" Benjamin's face remained still, but the hair on top of his head bristled—rage quietly boiling beneath the surface.
He could tolerate the Fourteenth Prince's games. His own soldiers had the situation under control.
But now his men had been killed while stationed with the Twelfth Prince—without warning, without cause.
That was something he could not let go.
"Yes," Balsamilco confirmed, bowing slightly. "Based on the wounds and our analysis, this was a deliberate attack using a Nen ability. It was trained for the sole purpose of killing."
Bang!
Benjamin slammed his palm down on the table. A twisted smile spread across his face.
"So someone thinks they can lay a hand on my soldiers, huh? Do they think the prestige of the First Prince means nothing?! I want a full investigation! Search every corner—don't let even one suspect escape!!"
"I was just about to bring that up, Your Highness," Balsamilco said, tone level. "Based on our findings, the three remaining guards under the Twelfth Prince are highly suspicious. Especially the one who eliminated the Tenth Prince's surveillance officer during the chaos."
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)