The somewhat frightened fox-woman looked at the unconscious Nazra and the angry Lind beside her, and knelt on the ground, saying:
"My lord, I am Miss Nazla's secretary. I will answer whatever you want to know."
The Party Secretary? Then he must know quite a lot.
"First, I need to confirm Princess Nazira's identity. Is she of royal blood?"
The middle-aged female fox spirit glanced at Nazla, who was lying on the bed and whose original fur had been revealed, sighed, and said:
"Yes, Princess Nazra Adan is indeed of noble orc royal blood."
Although the answer is already obvious, it's better to confirm it now.
After receiving a positive response, Linde understood some of the things, but these conjectures still needed some corroboration.
So Linde asked:
"Hmm... Princess Nazra was assassinated. Who orchestrated it? Do you have any guesses? Perhaps other members of the royal family or enemies?"
The middle-aged fox-man in front of him suddenly became excited and shouted:
"It must be Tamalin, she must be trying to frame His Highness."
It was a name he'd never heard of. Lin De rubbed his temples, gestured for her to lower her voice, and continued, "It's a name I've never heard of before."
"Who is this... Tamalin?"
The middle-aged fox-man swallowed hard and lowered his voice, saying:
"She is His Highness's elder sister, and also a noble member of the royal family."
Although the middle-aged fox-man spoke of nobility, his tone was full of disdain and contempt.
"So, there was a conflict between them before? Was it over inheritance or something else?"
The fox-person smiled and began to explain:
"Among us fox people, there is no such thing as inheritance rights, but rather a system similar to your human feudal system."
"Male offspring of the fox-people royal family can obtain the majority of tribal leadership, while female offspring can only rely on their own prestige to win the trust of their subjects and form their own small tribes."
Are the other subdivided tribes ruled by a male monarchy? If so, then Nazra, like Tamalin, should be a leader or chieftain of an orc tribe.
“Tamarin’s tribe is very close to His Highness’s tribe, and the two often have disputes and conflicts over resources.”
So, this assassination attempt was Tamalin's way of eliminating Nazira and annexing her tribe? That doesn't make sense. Why not assassinate her elsewhere instead of coming to my territory, a human's territory?
There are probably deeper reasons behind this, which I haven't yet come to understand.
If the mastermind intended to assassinate here, they must have wanted to frame humanity, incite conflict between the two countries, or perhaps there were other motives.
Linde thought for a moment and then asked:
"Where is Princess Tamalin recently? When was the last time you saw her?"
The middle-aged fox-man thought for a moment and said:
“My lord, the last time I saw her was in the Fortified City... She came to see His Highness then.”
The Fortified City? Why are so many members of the royal family gathering together and heading towards the Fortified City?
Because of the new weapon? The Crystal Dragon Breath Cannon?
Or is it... because of Nix?
Looking at Nix, who was huddled in the corner, Lind was a little doubtful. Could this catgirl really have such great power?
So he pointed at Nix and asked:
"And her? Who is she? Your Highness specifically requested to come find her, why?"
The middle-aged fox-man gave a wry smile:
"My lord, I don't know about that. Her Highness must have her reasons for doing this. There are some secrets that people like me cannot access."
Looking at the middle-aged fox-woman in front of him with an expression that said, "Just kill me, I don't know anything," Linde knew that asking her any further would be futile.
To truly understand the whole story, we'll have to wait for Ms. Nazla to tell the tale herself.
"Alright, take her away. Your caravan should stay here quietly for the next few days. Go back and tell the rest of you that your prince is out of danger for now, but it may take a few more days for him to recover."
"On behalf of everyone else, I thank you, sir, for saving His Highness's life..."
The middle-aged fox-woman kept expressing her gratitude, and Linde waved his hand, signaling the guards to take her away.
After she left, Lind looked at Astaire and asked:
What's your opinion on this?
Astaire was about to speak when he saw the catgirl in the corner and shut his mouth again.
Linde glanced at it and said:
"It's okay, go ahead and talk. Just pretend she doesn't exist."
Aster gave the catgirl a deep look, which made Nix feel a little uneasy, then turned and said:
"My lord, this matter involves too many things. I suggest we report it to the Earl. With the Earl's power, even if she dies here, he has a way to settle this matter directly..."
Should we ask the Earl for help? Hmm... is that even possible?
Linde knew that if the matter could be resolved simply by relying on the Earl, there would be no need for so many maneuvers, and the other party must have taken this into consideration as well.
Everyone knew that he was the son of an earl, so it was impossible for him not to take that into account.
Could it be that...
Linde's thoughts began to wander. Could there be an inside agent among the humans, or perhaps the Earl's enemy?
Linde carefully reviewed his memories, trying to find some possible clues.
Unfortunately, because of his mother, Linde was often away from the Earl and was unaware of the Earl's political enemies.
"Aster, does Father... have any political enemies or mortal adversaries?"
Linde didn't really know much about the current situation of the Earl's family.
Although somewhat surprised, Aster still answered:
“My lord, the Earl does indeed have a mortal enemy, Sutherland Whitelock. Sutherland is the new Earl of the Whitelock family, and he is extremely hypocritical. He has repeatedly made things difficult for the Earl in the Kingdom Council.”
"The Earl suffered several times at his hands, and he wasn't much better off. Grand Duke Cree also turned a blind eye to the matter, letting the two fight each other."
"The Earl of Sutherland..."
It seems the old count has quite a few enemies.
At this moment, Astaire seemed to remember something and said:
"By the way, Viscount Swift, who took office in Fortified City this time, is now one of Sutherland's vassals."
Wow... This news is pretty explosive. The subordinate of this count's mortal enemy colluded with the orc royal family to murder other members of the royal family in the territory of the count's sons.
If he manages to pull this off, war will definitely break out between the two countries, especially right after the Kree Empire has just finished its war.
The old count would be in a very unfavorable situation no matter where he was, and Lind himself might also be implicated.
If I don't handle things well, I'll end up fighting the orcs to the death. Given my current condition, it's uncertain whether I'll even survive.
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