When he sensed the Great Elder’s gaze, the Second Prince grew nervous. He quickly explained, “Great Elder is wise. The one who harmed my brothers was not me, but the Crown Prince. After father emperor perished, he was worried that these brothers would threaten his place on the throne, so he sent troops into the night to assassinate us. I was only helplessly acting out of self-defense.

“Third brother and fourth brother were both killed by the Crown Prince’s people. I did not harm a single one of my other brothers. If the Great Elder does not believe me, you may ask everyone here. Many of them can attest to me regarding this,” he concluded. As for the Crown Prince, he had wanted to kill him, so he was naturally left out.

The Great Elder’s gaze landed on the Golden Crow Guard leaders and the other important ministers. Those people immediately felt as if they had been completely seen through. They didn’t dare utter a lie. All of them shuddered, reporting to the Great Elder about what had happened. What they said wasn’t too different from the Second Prince’s story.

“The Fiend Emperor has died…”...