Ch.59 Quite Good at Hiding
"……"
Faced with the Imperial Princess's sudden expression of concern, Luo Nan wasn't sure how to respond.
He found it difficult to imagine Serela caring about another person from the bottom of her heart — let alone under the premise that he was a debauched villain.
"Thank you for your concern…thank you, Serela. I'm not seriously injured," Luo Nan declined Serela's offer and steered the subject toward Anya behind him.
"I really have Miss Anya to thank for her protection. If she hadn't dealt with most of the assassins, I would probably have……"
"Oh — and what is Miss Anya's current capacity here?" The Imperial Princess tilted her head slightly, shifting her gaze to the girl who was busy working her way through the small pastries.
"Uh……" Anya hastily swallowed the food in her mouth and straightened up to respond.
"Ah… haha, I was the one who accompanied him here, so I suppose I'm sothing like a temporary guard. Since we ran into an assassination attempt on the way over, I could hardly just stand aside and do nothing."
"Mm." Serela gave a small nod, and having obtained the answer she wanted, turned her attention away.
"Luo Nan — the identity of those who attacked you?"
"Followers of 'Nature.'"
Luo Nan produced the Magical Imprint that Security Captain Grego had given him and passed it to Serela.
"This emblem……it really is that entity." After looking it over, a grave expression settled over Serela's beautiful face.
"It matches the materials you had Miss Anya deliver to
last ti — the docunts retrieved from the Followers of 'Nature's' hideout. Both assassination attempts against you belong to the sa faction."
"We can now confirm that whoever is behind this has been carrying out a long-preditated, purpose-driven campaign against you. But as for what that purpose actually is……"
Serela did not continue. There were certain things that, even when everyone present understood them perfectly well, simply could not be spoken aloud.
Even with no third party in the room.
Oh — right. Both Luo Nan and Serela had unconsciously excluded Anya from their reckoning.
From Serela's perspective, Anya was soone outside the 'circle' — there were even things that could be said in front of her alone, since knowing them wouldn't alter the situation in any aningful way.
But having Luo Nan present was a different matter entirely.
It wasn't that Serela considered Anya closer to her than Luo Nan — rather, it was a matter of surnas. One was Austrein. The other, dillion.
With the situation still far from clear, even Serela could not bring herself to speak certain things plainly to Luo Nan.
She did not represent only herself. Nor did he.
"Your High— Serela. Setting aside what the true purpose of whoever is pulling the strings might be — the fact that they were able to hire Followers of 'Nature' to assassinate
ans their standing and influence are not low."
Luo Nan didn't dwell on the topics that couldn't be spoken outright, and instead kept his focus on practical matters.
"With assassination attempts coming every few days like this, if I don't root out whoever is behind it, I won't be able to sleep soundly at night."
"Serela — you called
here today for precisely this reason, didn't you?"
After a lengthy detour, Luo Nan had finally steered their exchange onto the matter at hand.
"Naturally." Serela gave a slight nod and picked up a stack of intelligence files, handing them to Luo Nan.
"Based on the leads you gathered last ti, I've had people conduct extensive investigations using that as a foundation, and we have indeed narrowed things down to a number of associated persons of interest."
"But as to exactly who among them is the true mastermind behind the curtain — or rely the mastermind's white glove — that remains unclear for now."
"The reason I asked you to co is precisely to hear your thoughts."
Luo Nan looked over the individuals and associated intelligence in the files. He had to admit — while the persons of interest listed couldn't exactly be called household nas in Opalia, they did carry so degree of reputation within their respective fields in the capital.
Serela had likely refrained from conducting dedicated investigations into each of the individuals precisely to avoid letting the situation escalate.
"Oh…this person is……"
Among the files, a vaguely familiar figure caught Luo Nan's attention.
"Jeraf Goldenhamr — a historian with half Dwarven blood. Previously published a work titled The Lost Ancient Empire, and has made notable contributions to research on the ruins of the forr dynasty buried beneath the capital."
Serela offered a brief introduction of the individual who had caught Luo Nan's interest, and smiled as she asked, "What is it, Luo Nan — do you know him?"
"No, not personally. I simply found it rather curious to see a half-Dwarf included among a list otherwise composed entirely of human persons of interest."
"That is only natural. As one of the most open and prosperous cities on the continent, Opalia draws talent from every corner of the world — from every race — each and every day. And besides, the man is half human."
Luo Nan closed the file. After a brief mont of consideration, he reached into his jacket and produced the black Curse Skull.
It was the supernatural item he had happened to obtain for free from the Hulos Exchange at the Whisper Market the previous week, while he was there acquiring the Scales from the Corner of a rmaid's Eye.
It had originally belonged to the Smiling-Mask Dwarf who had competed with him over the Saint's Blood.
"This is a Curse dium I ca across by chance. According to the assessnt of a professional, it contains a trace of power belonging to the Abyssal Great Lord 'Nature.'"
Luo Nan set the sealed Curse Skull on the table. "I believe it must be connected in so way to the Followers of 'Nature' who have been sent to assassinate . Serela — I'll leave this item with you for now."
He had originally planned to follow the trail himself, but the assassination attempt just now had made Luo Nan reconsider.
These people were watching him around the clock, twenty-four hours a day. For all he knew, there was a squad of elite assassins stationed at the very location the skull pointed to, working in rotating shifts, waiting for him to step out the door.
Walking into that alone — wasn't that just throwing himself into a trap?
Better to leave it in the hands of Serela's Royal Guard.
Reading Luo Nan's intent, Serela wasted no ti — she imdiately dispatched soone to the Arcane Association to bring in a professional for an origin-trace analysis of the skull.
***
"Your Highness, the location the skull is pointing to is……"
After seeing off the representative from the Arcane Association, Serela's expression was grave, as though she was weighing how best to proceed.
Luo Nan set down his teacup and asked quietly, "Well? Serela — what did they find?"
Before handing the Curse Skull to Serela, Luo Nan had already perford his own origin-trace using the Tears of the Howling Wraith. The location it had indicated was an abandoned shallow-vein mine shaft on the outskirts of the city, one that had been disused for decades.
The atmosphere suited a villain's secret hideout rather perfectly.
Serela returned the black skull to Luo Nan and answered:
"It was found. Thirty miles outside of Opalia, in a listone mine shaft. The ore vein there was exhausted long ago, but as property — it was land that the imperial father granted to the Perez family in his early years."
The Imperial Princess spread open a map, her fair hand pointing to the coordinates of the mine on the outskirts of Opalia. "Unless we possess ironclad, unambiguous evidence, not even the imperial household or the central governnt has the legal authority to intervene in what goes on within it."
From her words, Luo Nan detected a faint undercurrent of cold resentnt — it seed Serela was deeply dissatisfied with this state of affairs.
"I cannot dispatch the guard to enter and investigate. Doing so would inevitably infla tensions once again between a portion of the nobility and both the imperial household and the central governnt."
"……"
"Wait — a listone mine? That na sounds awfully familiar……"
After a mont's thought, Luo Nan quietly let out a sigh.
It seed he would have to make a trip himself after all.
Though those people were clever enough — using the law as their greatest shield against being swept away wholesale by any legitimate authority.
"Luo Nan, regarding the investigation into the listone mine, I intend to dispatch Tanya and hire freelancers from the Adventurers' Association at a high rate to handle it. But that will take so ti……"
"Why go to all that trouble?" Luo Nan smiled, and gestured back toward Anya. "Isn't there a perfectly capable pair of hands right here? She's soone I know inside and out — reliable, and better placed to protect
into the bargain."
"Luo Nan — you intend to go yourself?"
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