Chapter 164:

Chapter 164:

Isnt that the emblem of the Marquis Latrell?

Yes?

The Marquis, standing right next to the Emperor, looked shocked as if his eyes might pop out.

Three fish and an iris flower.

It was unmistakably the emblem of the Marquis Latrells house.

That, that cant be!

The Marquis was lost in thought.

Why? Why is our family emblem there? Wasnt this gathering to frame Duke Carlyle?

A lightning-fast thought brushed past the Marquiss mind at that moment.

That kid!

With a swift jerk of his head, the Marquis glared menacingly at Second Prince Cloff.

Cloff blinked in confusion, not yet grasping the situation, but in the Marquiss eyes, he was merely detestable.

Marquis Latrell interpreted the situation in his own way.

The only thought that came to the terrified and enraged Marquiss mind was:

Was he planning to bury our house along?

From the moment he threatened that if he didnt cooperate in tarnishing Duke Carlyle with fabricated evidence, Cloff had already lost his trust.

However, the Marquis, who was suddenly at the receiving end of intense anger, felt wronged.

Damn it, whats going on?

Suddenly, the Marquis Latrell?

Moreover, isnt the Marquis Latrell suspecting him?

Meanwhile, the other nobles started to murmur in confusion.

Didnt they just say that the Dukes house committed the crime?

But whats with that smoke bomb engraved with the Marquis Latrells emblem?

So, did the Marquis also collaborate with the Carlyle family?

What on earth is this, Marquis?

The Emperor, in disbelief, confronted Marquis Latrell.

Answer me! Dont tell me youre an accomplice of the Duke

No, Your Majesty! Please let me explain

Rattle.

As the Marquis Latrell prostrated himself at the Emperors feet, a familiar sound of metal balls echoed.

More metallic spheres rolled in, this time in large quantities.

What on earth

People inside the hall stared blankly at the spectacle.

As before, each metal ball had the emblem of a noble house engraved on it.

Picking up the spheres, the nobles murmured amongst themselves.

Isnt this the emblem of Count Bellinger?

And that one is Viscount Fonds emblem.

They all belonged to factions either favorable to Prince Cloff or were coerced into siding with him.

The named nobles quickly realized what was happening, following the exact same train of thought the Marquis Latrell had earlier.

Weve been deceived!

The nobles, believing they had been betrayed by Second Prince Cloff, began to shout in unison.

Our house is innocent!

This is a conspiracy!

Weve been wronged, Your Majesty!

The hall turned chaotic in a matter of moments.

Among the shouting nobles, the flustered Second Prince, and the calm Duke Carlyle, it was clear whom to trust.

Cloff!

The Emperor turned to his second son.

Explain yourself!

Ah, father

But the most bewildered of all was Cloff.

The plan had been perfect.

Corner Duke Carlyle, have Marquis Latrell intervene, and let the Emperor brand him as a traitor. Everything was going accordingly.

That was until smoke bombs with other family emblems appeared!

Cloffs mind went blank.

Something was amiss, but he had no idea who was behind it.

Really, this is ridiculous.

Floundering with his head on the ground, Cloff snapped to attention hearing a cold voice from above.

What are you doing now?

Hey, Carlyle! Calm down and put the sword away

The Emperor intervened, separating Duke Carlyle from his son.

Guards surrounded Cloff, who babbled incoherently.

But father, she had an apple! The apple!

Slap!

Unable to hold back, the Emperor struck his sons cheek.

You good-for-nothing! What about the apple?!

Juliet, watching the scene with satisfaction, shrugged.

Lennox, standing in the center, frowned at her.

She figured he meant she should leave without getting involved. Nodding slightly, Juliet slipped away.

Did your business go well?

It seemed very noisy.

The Dukes knights, waiting in the carriage, greeted her.

So-so.

When Juliet nonchalantly responded, a knight opened the carriage door.

But wont you tell?

What?

How did you do it?

The youngest knight, Jude, inquired as he followed her in.

Juliet smiled brightly.

You know, sir Jude, right? I took out the tampered evidence from the Second Princes residence and replicated it.

The princes strategy was to use the tampered evidence to identify and frame the Duke.

So, she just needed to destroy its specificity.

I made many candidates for him since he seemed eager to catch the culprit.

Juliet engraved the emblems of every family loyal to the Second Prince on smoke bombs.

It was easier since the prince had chosen a common smoke bomb design.

If he wanted to pinpoint a culprit, then everyone should be one.

The bonus was that they would suspect each other and fight, thinking they were betrayed by the Second Prince.

But Jude still seemed curious.

How did you enter the Bluette Palace?

Even though the Dukes knights knew how the plan progressed, they didnt know who secretly sneaked into the princes residence.

And it was the residence of the Second Prince, rumored to be heavily guarded.

Did you ask sir Hadin?

Jude seemed to have a rivalry with some skilled knight of the order.

No.

Then who?

Well

Juliet, who was smiling, lifted the blanket that was shaking suspiciously from the seat next to her. Onyx, who was quietly hiding under her blanket, raised her head in approval.

Peep!

Good job, Nix.

Offering the apple she brought, the baby dragon happily crunched it.

While the baby dragon was engrossed with the apple, Juliet gazed at its fluttering wings.

Thanks to you, it was easy.

The baby dragon might not have understood the exact task.

But without Onyx, it would have been hard to execute the plan.

No matter how talented the Dukes knights were, they couldnt fly.

Juliet gently stroked the little dragons wings.

Nixs small body was perfect for sneaking into the Second Princes palace and stealing evidence.

Onyx was confused the first few times, but when she trained him with an apple the same size as a smoke bomb, he quickly understood and followed Juliets intentions.

It was also Onyxs work, who had sneaked in through the narrow banquet hall window, to make the smoke bombs that had been duplicated in the hall appear at the right time.

Youre smart, Nix.

!

Onyx purred happily as Juliet picked him up.