The first item on the agenda was to report all small and large damages caused by the battle. The main points of discussion were the numbers of casualties and what the reaction of the neighboring countries would be. Carlisle, who solved the realistic problems, looked at the nobles with a subdued gaze.

"Why has no one brought news about the Empress and Redfield?"

Everyone in the large hall simultaneously fell silent.

"I had ordered the capture of the Empress and the Second Prince, but no one has brought them to me."

Carlisle no longer spoke of Ophelia with any tone of respect. She not only tried to assassinate him, but also tried to install her son onto the throne over the rightfully named successor. Following these events, they were no longer worthy of any respect.

A heavy silence followed. The nobles kept their mouths firmly closed for fear of retribution from Carlisle. His eyebrows furrowed deeply, and finally Smith from the Casey family stepped forward and fell to his knees.

"I beg for your mercy, Your Majesty. I searched the whole palace, but I could not find the whereabouts of the Empress and the Second Prince."

"Are you admitting to your incompetence?"

His voice was emotionless and flat, but the nobles were familiar with Carlisle's violent tendencies and they broke into a nervous sweat.

Kuung!

Everyone else in the room dropped to their knees after Smith.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty!"

Carlisle stared at the crowd with a cold expression. As long as Ophelia and Redfield were breathing, they should not have been allowed to escape under any circumstances. Carlisle opened his mouth to speak again, when

Kiilig

The door to the meeting hall opened, and a messenger rushed in with a harried look.

"I beg to inform His Majesty that the body of the Second Prince was found in the lake."

om

"Redfield's body was found?"

Carlisle's blue eyes flashed with surprise. He hadn't ordered Redfield's death, only his capture.

He wasn't the only one that was taken aback by the news. Everyone in the hall glanced at each other confusedly, and Carlisle quickly regained his composure and spoke again.

"What's the state of the body? What is the cause of death?"

"That is...the body was so disfigured that it was almost impossible to identify the Second Prince at first. Not only did he lose his eyes, nose, and tongue...but his limbs were cut off as well."

Following the messenger's report, the meeting hall was filled with the stunned murmuring of voices. Redfield was not simply killed; he was deliberately and cruelly murdered by someone. It was clear he suffered terrible torture before his death.

'Who the hell...'

There was one figure that came to mind. It was the one he had put on the back burner for the moment; once he had taken control of the Imperial Palace and neutralized Redfield and Ophelia, then he would deal with the hidden enemy.

Paveluc.

Carlisle turned towards Zenard below him.

"Where is Grand Duke Lunen now?"

Last Carlisle heard, Paveluc was staying somewhere in the palace. Zenard answered.

"I was about to report it...but Grand Duke Lunen is nowhere to be seen inside the palace. Why do you "I was a ask?"

Zenard had no knowledge of Paveluc's plans yet, and he was puzzled to be asked about him so suddenly. Carlisle had no intention to explain in it detail, and he simply knitted his eyebrows and mumbled to himself.

...Was I one step too late?"

Carlisle's gaze turned towards Elena standing next to him. Her expression had also changed significantly the moment she heard the messenger's report.

For a moment, Carlisle and Elena looked at each other silently. They were the only two that knew Paveluc would start a rebellion in the future.

'Because my victory was decisive, chances are slim that another noble would touch Redfield. If I had captured Redfield, I would punish him anyways. There is no reason for anyone else to take it into their own hands, no matter how much they wanted it.'

If anyone had found Redfield, they would have brought him to Carlisle first, so they could receive favor from the new emperor. And even if someone wanted to kill Redfield themselves, it wouldn't behind easy to find him before Carlisle did.

The motive for killing, the cruelty of the torture, the ability to handle things secretlythere was only one man who met all these requirements. It was Paveluc.

Many people knew of the struggle between Carlisle and Redfield for the throne, but none knew that it was a three-way war with the Grand Duke. It was not difficult to infer that Paveluc was responsible for Redfield's death.

Carlisle spoke again.

"What of the Empress body?"

"Not yet found, Your Majesty. We have been searching the surrounding area, but it has not shown up

yet."

While Ophelia was hardly powerless, there was nothing she could do without Redfield and his right of succession. There was no longer any reason to care about Ophelia's whereabouts anymore. That didn't mean Carlisle would leave it alone, however.

"Find her. Whether she is alive or dead, bring her to me."

The reply came not from the messenger, but from countless kneeling nobles.

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

Carlisle's eyes were cold even after their chorus.

"I can overlook your incompetence only once. Do not test stretch my patience, so keep that in mind."

Understood!"

The nobles' shouts harmonized together. Now that the palace's ruler had changed, doubts of how to handle future events were long gone.