Chapter 012: A Fake Smile

At that moment, a court servant rushed over quickly. Upon bowing to Prince Fischer, he said, “Your Highness… Duke Green, along with Prime Minister Kimberly and several nobles from the capital, request an audience…”
Prince Fischer’s eyes twitched slightly, but he still managed to smile and said, “Please invite them in at once…”
A short while later, Duke Green, Prime Minister Kimberly, and several wealthy nobles from the capital arrived for the audience…
Prince Fischer frowned. Though he understood why Duke Green had come, he still smiled slightly and said, “Duke, I wonder what urgent matter brings you here?”
Duke Green bowed and said, “Your Highness, I heard there was a disturbance in the side hall. Worried that Du Fan might have encountered some trouble, I wanted to check on him. I hope Your Highness will permit it.”
Prince Fischer nodded, glanced at the others, and smiled gently. “It seems everyone shares the same concern. I wanted to go in and take a look anyway. Then… let’s go together!”
After saying that, Prince Fischer turned and headed toward the side hall. He knew full well that these nobles were afraid he might kill Du Fan, which was why they came to see him now… After all, strange phenomena had occurred last night, and even if he tried to hide it, he couldn’t deceive these shrewd nobles…
He only hoped that Du Fan was already dead beyond saving!
…
The large group quickly moved deeper into the side hall. At first, everyone marveled at its beauty, but soon that amazement turned into shock. After all, none of them were fools—they could tell it was the result of some magical collision… Moreover, some buildings in the side hall were burning fiercely, further proving this…
It must have been a fierce battle here not long ago…
Prince Fischer remained silent, so the others didn’t dare speak either. They continued walking quickly, but as they got closer to the center of the side hall, the traces of the battle became more apparent.
By the end, the marble floor had been completely torn apart, and the marble had turned to powder. Almost all the surrounding buildings had vanished, leaving only jagged protrusions—likely huge pillars that hadn’t been completely destroyed.

Seeing this scene, even Prince Fischer could no longer remain calm. He frowned and after a moment, he slowly said, “Everyone… after witnessing what just happened, I believe you understand now. Last night in the middle of the night, someone sneaked into the side hall. I still don’t know his purpose, but I’m afraid… it’s likely nothing good. It wasn’t until now, in the middle of the night, that we were allowed to enter the palace. I hope everyone…” At this point, Prince Fischer felt unable to continue and fell silent.

The people around him certainly didn’t have the mood for nonsense either. Everyone understood that Du Fan’s fate was likely closely tied to the future of the empire!

What on earth was Prince Fischer thinking?

Soon, the crowd finally saw, in a deep pit, a figure in white standing with his hands behind his back. He looked at the several corpses around him with a smirk on his face.

Some sharp-eyed people recognized… that person was Du Fan…

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat. After all, they had seen with their own eyes just a few days ago how severely injured Du Fan was. Yet now he stood there unharmed…

Could this really be a miracle?

Finally, Du Fan seemed to notice someone had arrived. He turned around, his expression suddenly turning into a smirk, before floating in front of Prince Fischer. He bowed slightly and said, “Your Highness Fischer, and all the lords… Du Fan pays his respects.”

Prince Fischer’s face showed shock, which soon turned into ecstasy. Ignoring protocol, he rushed forward, took in Du Fan from head to toe, then hugged him tightly and patted his back several times, exclaiming, “Great! Great! Du Fan, you’re safe! That’s wonderful! It’s absolutely wonderful that you’re unharmed!”

Who could tell from Prince Fischer’s behavior that he had once intended to kill Du Fan?

Du Fan simply smiled slightly, pushed Prince Fischer away, and said calmly, “My recovery is thanks to Your Highness sending people to treat me day and night. I must first thank Your Highness for that!”

Prince Fischer’s eyes flashed as he said, “What are you saying, Du Fan! You’ve contributed to the empire, and I merely sent people to heal you. Such a small thing pales in comparison to your achievements! We’ll have plenty of time to spend together as emperor and subject. There’s no need for thanks!”

At that moment, their eyes met, and neither seemed to notice the hint of coldness in the other’s gaze; instead, they smiled at each other…
A moment later, Prince Fischer acted as if he had suddenly remembered something. He glanced around briefly and said, “Du Fan, what exactly is going on here? What happened last night?”
Du Fan shook his head. “I’m not sure what happened last night either… But when I woke up today, my injuries had already healed. I just don’t know why these people suddenly tried to attack me, that’s why I fought back… I accidentally damaged Your Highness’s side hall. Please forgive me!”
Prince Fischer took a close look at the corpses on the ground and suddenly snapped, “Abraham! Aren’t these your men? I sent them in to investigate the situation—how could they turn on Lord Du Fan!!!”
Abraham quickly knelt down and said, “Your Highness, I am terrified… I think these people are likely remnants of the First Prince’s faction. Everything related to the First Prince failed because of Lord Du Fan, so it’s only logical that they would do such things… It’s my fault for not choosing the right people. Please punish me!”
Before Prince Fischer could speak, Du Fan waved his hand and said, “Forget it! Forget it! Master Abraham, anyway, those people couldn’t hurt me even after using that combination spell, so let it be… It’s like I’ve cleared out your problems for you. How about that?”
Before Abraham could say anything, Prince Fischer laughed and said, “Since Du Fan has said so… then let it be… But Abraham, you must thoroughly investigate inside and outside the imperial city. If there are any remaining remnants, you must get rid of them!”
Abraham quickly bowed and said, “I shall obey!”
With things having developed to this point, almost everyone present knew that it would be a lie to claim those corpses had nothing to do with Prince Fischer…
Yet neither Prince Fischer nor Du Fan seemed willing to delve deeper into the matter. Who would want to bring it up?
After all, even though Prince Fischer had once tried to kill Du Fan, Du Fan was standing here unharmed now, so their relationship in the future remained uncertain. But since Prince Fischer had already granted him a title, he probably couldn’t go back on his word…
With these thoughts, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

After comforting Du Fan for a while, Prince Fischer also felt displeased. Although Du Fan sneered inwardly, he didn’t dare to go too far against Prince Fischer’s wishes… After all, they were in the imperial city, and if Prince Fischer really set his mind to it, he could very well keep Du Fan there! Just then, Prime Minister Kimberly, who had been smiling silently, suddenly said calmly, “Prince Fischer, Young Master Du Fan… Although I must interrupt your pleasant conversation… I think both of you have forgotten an important matter.” Du Fan frowned slightly, knowing that Prime Minister Kimberly was likely trying to ease the situation for both of them. Prince Fischer, however, smiled and said, “Prime Minister, please speak freely…” Prime Minister Kimberly bowed deeply, his face filled with sorrow, and said, “Your Highness, today is the seventh day since His Majesty Austin III passed away. By tradition, it should be a national funeral day… I believe that by now, both the ceremonial team and the nobles and officials are probably ready. It’s probably not appropriate to stay here any longer!” Prince Fischer nodded and said, “The Prime Minister is right. I had indeed forgotten about this…” He glanced at Du Fan, smiled slightly, and said, “Du Fan, let’s talk again when we have time… The national funeral cannot be delayed… Also, usually, those with titles are required to attend the funeral… But since you haven’t been officially granted a title yet and your health has only just recovered, I allow you to skip today’s funeral…” Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Then I thank Your Highness…” Prince Fischer nodded slightly, said nothing more, simply waved his hand, and left quickly… In the end, only Du Fan and Duke Green remained. Du Fan glanced at his father and said, “Father, I know you have many questions… But this is not the place to talk about them!”