It had been three hours since the Tiara Incident.

The nation was in uproar, all the available knights, ministers, and even the king were on subtle move at this point.

The words spread like wildfire within just an hour after the incident, and after the display of the pillar of light, various assumptions and rumours had started to appear.

Some called it divine intervention, some simply brushed it off as a large-scale natural disaster. But no one was able to ignore what happened today.

With the rising rumours, and the neighbouring kingdoms pressuring for answers, the Liora palace issued an urgent official statement in front of the world regarding this incident.

In it, they didn't mention the Demon God or the light pillar, so as not to cause any follow-up uproar. Instead, they labelled it as an attack orchestrated by high-class demons. They also wrote the total casualties it cost them due to the incident.

The official reports poured in. They rushed through spell channels and messengers. The royal council of Liora started listing the numbers one after another.

Tiara had lost almost half its people. More than seven thousand were injured. More than three thousand were reported dead, and nearly five hundred missing.

An entire section of Tiara's northern district had collapsed, and the marketplace where visitors arrived from all around the globe had turned into a field of debris.

The earth around the crater was reported to be a 120-meter-wide radius, with reported deaths of royal knights and patrol guards.

For the kingdom, this was no longer just an incident.

It had become a national tragedy.

— — —

Inside the Valentine Dukedom.

Sitting face-to-face inside Veronica's old room, Leon was having his evening tea with his elder sister.

Myra was with them, serving in her usual maid uniform.

Leon looked at his sister's face, which was calm as always even after the incident.

Leon was calm too, but inside he was still thinking about what might have been happening outside.

With a noble house as great as House Vallahail involved, it might cause another civil war.

Myra placed two cups filled with red lemon tea on the glass table in front of them. She did not say a word and simply followed everything as if she were a proper maid trained for years.

Leon picked up the cup and brought it close first, smelling the aroma before taking a slow sip. Then he looked at Veronica.

She was reading a report Myra had handed to her just moments ago. Leon did not need to guess what it contained.

He was sitting here because Veronica told him to. Their father was maintaining his silence, and the look on his face when Leon last saw him was far from pleasant.

Orion had looked irritated, almost furious, after he was summoned by the king. The royal knights must have reported everything they saw, and the king must have questioned Orion about his son.

Leon had no idea what was discussed behind those doors. He had no way of knowing unless Eula told him later. But he would not be able to meet her for a while. She was probably locked away in their room in the palace with Rinna until the entire situation became clear.

He sighed inwardly at the thought.

'Haah.. some leader she is...'

Leon doubted Eula would remain quiet about any of this. She was not the type to follow orders blindly, yet here she was, dragged into something far bigger than she had any control over.

Leon leaned back slightly and looked at Veronica again, waiting for her to finish what she was reading.

"What do you want to discuss, sister?" Leon finally asked her.

Veronica flipped the final page of the report and closed it with a soft thud before speaking.

"Duke Sebastian Vallahail was found dead in his estate."

"Oh? I guess he must have felt guilty about all that," Leon said and took another sip.

He already knew the broad outline from the whispers that moved through the upper ranks of the palace. Veronica was reading the complete classified report.

According to the report, and everything that was gathered, Sebastian was confirmed to be the primary orchestrator of the Tiara Incident. Beside his dead body, they had found a metal-plate slip, folded with a written confession.

It spoke about his involvement with demons and his role, as well as his ancestors', in conducting experiments meant to create human-demon hybrids capable of containing the Demon God's vessels.

Their decade-long experiments aligned perfectly with the disappearance of Marquess Lillian Vallahail. And the young boy who was used as the vessel was revealed to be Sebastian's own illegitimate son from a concubine.

He was the successful result of their experiment.

"This places a black stain on the entire royal council for supporting Sebastian and hiding his crimes last time," Veronica said. "They are now facing consequences."

"So the duke is dead now," Leon muttered.

It was not surprising at all. He and the Twilight Order had already figured out that Sebastian was conducting human-demon hybrid experiments. And now it was confirmed.

"That is bothersome indeed," Leon added and took another sip, sounding like he was commenting on the weather instead of treason and mass murder.

Veronica glanced at him briefly. She had been watching his face from the moment she started speaking.

Her expression did not change, but Leon could tell she found his reaction oddly entertaining. Myra noticed it too, even though she was pretending not to listen.

Leon ran a quick thought through his mind and then let out a sudden laugh.

"Hahaha…"

Veronica did not comment. She only raised one eyebrow while Myra froze for a second, unsure why he was laughing.

Leon leaned forward a little. "By the way, sister, the thing you just said is pretty solid. I cannot believe you managed to fool an entire kingdom. No wonder, you really are so…. sweetly amazing."

"..."

"..."

Veronica stayed quiet. She lifted her eyebrow a little higher.

Even Myra swallowed nervously.

Veronica smirked. "State your mind brother. It is only us here." She looked at Myra for a moment. "And no, she will not snitch."

Myra nodded quickly, almost like a soldier being told to stand still.

Leon smiled lightly at that, then spoke. "Alright then. Allow me to break your masterplan."

"Am listening."

Veronica picked up her teacup and leaned back comfortably, clearly expecting him to entertain her. Leon set his own cup down, crossed one leg over the other, and began speaking with calm confidence.

"This is what I think happened."

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