After traveling for another ten minutes, Li Huailin and the others finally reached the vicinity of Blessed City. Of course, Saint Gaius Li Huailin asked her to return first. He didn't know why this thing glowed in the dark. It was a little conspicuous, and with so many players in the city, it might attract attention. The next time Li Huailin went to a dark place to explore, he didn't even need to prepare a torch. He could just let this thing light up.
"Something's not right." As soon as Li Huailin arrived at the city's west gate, he noticed something was amiss. "It seems like there are slightly more guards."
"Yeah, it's twice as much as usual. It seems that the news of the princess' disappearance has been spread out." Hong Yue looked around and said.
"This is bad … Leticia …" Fantine frowned and said, "But it's strange. It's only seven in the evening. When I left in the morning, I said that I might return to the palace later. They shouldn't have discovered that I'm missing."
"Perhaps someone in your convoy escaped and ran back to report the situation," Li Huailin said casually. "It seems like we should return to the palace first."
"No, if I go back … Leticia won't be able to come back. I have to save her," Fantine said through gritted teeth.
"Let's ask what's going on first," Red Moon said and walked toward the guards at the gate.
There were indeed more guards at the gate, but they only stood there and didn't block the exit. They didn't ask too many questions about the players entering and exiting the city. Red Moon walked up to one of the guards and asked, "Hello, there seems to be a lot more guards here. What happened?"
"Hello, adventurer." The guards of the main city had always been polite. When they heard Red Moon's question, they answered very seriously, "It's like this. Something big just happened."
"Oh? What happened? " Although Red Moon knew what was going on, she only wanted to ask how much the palace knew.
"The fourth princess of the empire was attacked by an unknown assassin during her journey," the guard immediately reported.
"Such a big thing happened?" Red Moon said, looking very shocked.
"Yes, that's why the guards have been notified to start tracking down the assassin," the guard said. "I was supposed to rest today, but Snack has been asked to be on duty."
"Oh, I see." Red Moon nodded.
"Wait …" Li Huailin, who was behind him, suddenly walked up and said, "Why are you going all out to track down the assassin?"
"Eh?" The guard was stunned. "What's so strange about going all out to track down the assassin?"
"Shouldn't we look for the princess first?" Li Huailin asked.
"Eh? Why? "the guard asked curiously." The princess is resting in the palace. Why are you looking for the princess? "
"Eh?" Everyone present was stunned, and Fantine looked like she couldn't believe it. She immediately asked, "What did you say? The princess is resting in the palace? "
The guard looked at Fantine strangely, but he didn't seem to recognize her. He continued, "Yes, that's right. Although the princess wasn't injured, she was frightened and is resting now. His Royal Highness is furious and is now doing everything he can to find the assassin."
"That's impossible!" Fantine said agitatedly. "How could the princess be resting in the palace! Am I not still here? "
"Ah? What are you talking about? "the guard asked curiously.
"That's the direction." Li Huailin suddenly pulled Fantine, who was still trying to argue in front of him, and said to the guard, "So although the princess was attacked by the assassin, she managed to escape?"
"Yes." The guard nodded. "God-bless the empire. Fortunately, nothing happened to the princess."
"Her Royal Highness is so powerful that she could actually escape from so many people." Li Huailin knew that Fantine didn't have much combat ability, and he just wanted to know if the guy opposite him had exposed that.
"Oh, then you're wrong. Adventurer, the fourth princess doesn't know any martial arts or magic, so it should have been very dangerous. However, Sir Everly fought with his life and successfully rescued Her Royal Highness. Of course, he was seriously injured, but his life shouldn't be in danger. " The guard said with a hint of admiration. "Sir Everly is so mighty. It seems that this time, he will get the Empire's Medal of Honor again."
"Everly? He's still alive? "Fantine said in surprise.
"That means there were two people who came back?" Li Huailin asked.
"Yes, an entire team of guards, but only two came back. The opponent was too fierce. Fortunately, Her Royal Highness is fine," the guard said with a nod.
"Hehe, I suddenly realized that this mission is a little interesting." Li Huailin turned around and said with a smile, "Your Royal Highness, don't you think so?"
"Someone's pretending to be me …" After the initial shock, Fantine slowly calmed down. After all, she was born of the royal family, so she still had this little bit of psychological control. Although her heart was still in a mess, she still pretended to be calm on the surface.
"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, what's going on? I don't understand at all." Hongyan seemed to have not watched many palace dramas, or was too lazy to think about it. She raised her hand and asked.
"Let's talk over there." Li Huailin said as he pointed to the plains at the city gate. "If they know that the real princess hasn't been transported back, they might send people to the city gates to look for her and prepare to kill her. We'd better be careful."
"Okay." Fantine nodded. This was a critical moment, and they had to be calm.
The few of them immediately walked to a spot slightly outside the city gate. There were not many people here, and the light was dim, so it was not easy to be discovered.
It was Li Huailin who spoke first. "Anyway, what we know now is that the princess was attacked, and someone impersonated the princess and returned to the palace. I thought this was a rescue mission, but it doesn't seem to be the case."
"Yes, I didn't expect this at all." Red Moon also said, "I thought it was a plot of killing a BOSS and saving a person at a certain place. Now it's getting more and more complicated."
"How could this be?" Fantine said in disbelief. "The other party has already returned to the palace. They should have met Father, but Father didn't recognize them?"
"That means they look very similar to you. That's a guess. If they don't look alike, who would impersonate them?" Li Huailin spread his hands and said, "There's no need to think about this. We only have three questions to consider now: first, who is the other party; second, what does the other party want; and third, what should we do."
"Who is the other party?" Fantine asked. "Who has a grudge against me? I … I don't really know … "
"Okay, let's study the first question first. Judging from the fact that the other party has already prepared a dummy to replace the princess, the other party has been planning this for a long time, so it's not a coincidence. Today is the day the plan is executed. Why today? It's simple. Because the princess is out, it's easier to strike outside. Okay, now the first question, why did the princess go out? "Li Huailin said.
"Do you go out often?" Red Moon asked Fantine.
"No, today Leticia asked me out …" Fantine thought for a while and answered, "We met a caravan on the way, using the Muside Caravan's flag. We didn't pay much attention at first, but they suddenly attacked us when we passed each other."
"Then it must be the Muside Caravan's doing," Hongyan said as she raised her hand to drink water.
"Stupid, so stupid." Li Huailin couldn't help but say, "We've been planning for a long time. How could they use their own flag when they attacked? They're courting death. What if the attack doesn't work?"
"Oh." Hongyan drank water and rubbed her head.
"But anyway, we have to identify a suspect first." Li Huailin nodded.
"Eh?" Fantine asked curiously. "Who?"
"Leticia. It's obvious," Li Huailin said as he spread his hands.
"Leticia? That's impossible. She's my … "Fantine was just about to say something when she was interrupted by Li Huailin.
"Alright, I'm not asking for your opinion. I don't need to know how close you are to her or how deep your friendship is. I'm just stating my own judgment." Li Huailin waved his hand and said, "No matter what, inviting a princess who doesn't usually go out, and then something happens, it's too suspicious."
Li Huailin then thought for a while and said, "There's a second suspect."
"There's another one?" Fantine asked.
"That guard called Everly," Li Huailin said as he rubbed his chin. "Who is he?"
"He's my chief guard, someone sent by my royal father to protect me," Fantine said. "My body is weak, so I can't learn martial arts, and I have no talent in magic. Everly has been protecting me since I was young. He's like family to me."
"He went out with you today?" Li Huailin asked.
"Yes." Fantine nodded.
"Yes. After he was attacked, Everly started fighting with the other party. I saw him get stabbed a few times with my own eyes, and I thought he was done for …" Fantine said.
"That doesn't make sense. Although the other party was injured, they weren't wiped out. In the end, they were attacked by the bandits, which means that the other party had enough time to silence them. Let's assume that Everly escaped with them after he was seriously injured. Then, when was the time to switch people?" Li Huailin said.
"I … I was knocked unconscious later on. I don't know." On the other side, Fantine thought for a moment and said, "Is it possible that the other party knocked me out and swapped me? Then, when Everly realized that he was no match for the other party and was about to escape, he discovered the swapped me and dragged me away?"
"That's impossible. If that's the case, the other party would have pursued the two of you with all their might. Because one is seriously injured and the other doesn't know martial arts, they wouldn't have been able to run far. It doesn't make sense for the other party to take you away." Li Huailin said, "If Everly was fine and saw that the other party didn't pursue him, he would have some doubts. But looking at the current situation, it doesn't seem to be the case."
"This … I don't believe it …" Fantine said with her head lowered. "Everly, Everly would never betray me."
"It doesn't matter. This world doesn't change whether you believe it or not. Things exist objectively. After eliminating all the impossible, what's left can only be the truth," Li Huailin said.
"It's also possible that although Everly was a little suspicious, he still decided to send the princess back first, but he fainted after returning to the palace because of his heavy injuries," Misty Rain said, feeling sorry for Fantine's dispirited look.
"Yes, yes, that must be it," Fantine's eyes lit up as she said immediately as if she had grasped at some life-saving straw.
"Of course, it doesn't matter if you think that way. I'm only talking about a suspect now, not a definite one," Li Huailin said, "And it doesn't matter whether Everly is a traitor or not."
"Why?" Fantine asked.
"Kidnapping a princess of the Empire requires a lot of energy. What strange purpose do you think a guard captain would have to do this? It's impossible. If he wanted to harm you, he had so many opportunities since young and could have done it at any time. It can't be now. In other words, this Everly is definitely not the mastermind, "Li Huailin said.
"Yes, yes," Fantine immediately said. "Even if he really betrayed me, there must be a reason. He must have been threatened."
"Hmm, then who did it?" Red Moon asked.
"I don't know." Li Huailin spread his hands. "I'm just analyzing, not fortune-telling. How can I know who the mastermind is with this kind of information?"
"And here I thought you knew. You sounded so confident," Misty Rain said from Red Dust.
"I didn't say that I knew." Li Huailin smiled. "By the way, let me ask, what's the background of that Leticia guy?"
"Background?" Fantine asked.
"In other words, I've been wondering why Leticia would meet you in the palace. Is she a princess too? Or the daughter of a prince? "Li Huailin asked.
"No, she's just a friend I grew up with. She often comes to the palace to visit me and play with me," Fantine said. "She's not a princess. She's the daughter of Marquis Filmte."
"Huh?" Li Huailin was slightly stunned. "Wait … Marquis Filmte?"
"Yes." Fantine nodded.
"The boss of the De 'an Chamber of Commerce?" Li Huailin said.
"The De 'an Chamber of Commerce doesn't belong to Marquis Filmte, but it's almost the same …" Fantine said. "Yes, it's him."
"Understood." Li Huailin nodded. It wouldn't make sense if this guy had nothing to do with it.
"Huailin, you mean it's this Marquis Filmte?" Red Moon asked.
"Seventy percent sure. That's the guy. " Li Huailin said. "I heard that this guy is very troublesome in the north. I heard that he controls the army and is very powerful."
"How can it be Marquis Filmte? It doesn't make sense," Fantine said immediately. "Why would Marquis Filmte harm me?"
"That's the second question," Li Huailin said. "What do they want? But before we think about this, there's a very important question. "
"Huh? What is it? "Red Moon asked. Fantine also looked at Li Huailin strangely.
"Why aren't you dead yet?" Li Huailin pointed at Fantine.
"Huh?" Fantine froze. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, why didn't they kill you?" Li Huailin said. "It's very strange. They already have someone pretending to be you, but why didn't they kill the real one? They have plenty of opportunities to kill you. During the time they put you in the box, they can just cut your neck with a knife and you'll die. Then they can just set the box on fire and be done with it. They don't have to worry about accidents at all. Isn't it very disadvantageous for them if the princess comes out like this?"
"Huh? Yeah. "Fantine thought about it. It made sense. Why wasn't she dead yet?
"Reason one, the other party has a deep hatred for you. Instead of killing you with a knife, it's better to see you humiliated and pained after losing your identity as a princess," Li Huailin said.
"I don't remember having a deep hatred for anyone. I usually don't go out at all, and I don't know many people," Fantine said.
"Secondly, you're still useful," Li Huailin said.
"Useful?" Fantine asked curiously.
"Perhaps your identity as a princess is useful, or perhaps you know some royal secrets that might cause the person pretending to be you to be exposed, so they kept you here for now. If there's something that only you know, they can come back at any time to interrogate you and make you tell them."
"Royal secrets?" Fantine looked confused. She had no idea about such things.
"Then there's the other party's goal. I've just mentioned the first reason. The other party hates you to the core. You also said that these people don't exist, so it can only be the second reason," Li Huailin said. "Political reason."
"Political reason?" Fantine asked.
"Simply put, the other party's target is your father, not you. There will be other plans after this. Swapping you is just the first step," Li Huailin said.
"They want to make a move on Father?!" Fantine's entire body instantly stiffened. "No, I have to go back immediately and expose the person pretending to be me."
"Up to you. If you enter the city now, you'll definitely die on the way to the palace." Li Huailin spread his hands and said, "I'm sure that the moment you enter the door, the other party will be notified that the real princess has returned and is preparing to kill you. Then you'll die."
"Please help me and send me back to the palace," Fantine said immediately. "I'll definitely fulfill my promise."
"It won't work." Li Huailin said, "I'm only Level 30, and these people here are only Level 21. Do you think we can protect you? For such a big plan, it wouldn't be too much to hire a few Level 50 or 60 Assassins. I'm not saying we can't beat them. If the other party only attacks us, we can win if we're lucky, but to protect you … "
"Yes …" Fantine nodded. "If I die now, Father will be in even more danger. What should I do?"
"You're the princess of the Empire. Don't you know a few higher-level people? What Great Swordsmen, Archmages, and the like? Think of a way to have them escort you to the palace, and then confront the fake princess, "Li Huailin said.
"I … I rarely go out … I don't know these people you're talking about, and the other party might not know me either," Fantine said. She then suddenly remembered something. "I remember now. Marquis Malindolf will definitely recognize me."
"Who is it?" Li Huailin asked.
"He's the father of my fiancé, and my future father-in-law," Fantine said. "If it's him, he should know that I'm the real Fantine."
"Where does he live? We'll send someone in to contact him and have him come out to see you, "Li Huailin said.
"He's not in the main city … He's the marshal, and he's on the battlefield now," Fantine said.
"Eh?"
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