The silence was so infuriating that Lazer did not know what else he could have done to convince them. If he could, he would leave all of this behind, rush out of the Juan family, kill the kidnapper, save the girl, and run away with her. Damn this throne war, why was he still standing here?
“Ah, we can pretend to make adjustments to our shipments in the market,” Idnan said as she stretched her claws and pulled Carmelo’s sleeve as if she had thought of a solution. “We were just in need of an excuse to ‘organize’ our income. This will also make the outside world think that we are raising money to save Diana and will give Lazer the time he needs to find out who the kidnapper is.”
“Oh—” Some reactions appeared on Carmelo’s originally expressionless face. “Very clever, my lady. Let’s do this then. Lazer, keep the letter… It will raise suspicion if we let you stay here and do nothing. Try to gather as much information as you can, and do as you please.”
“Understood.”
Lazer exited the room, seemingly quiet but consumed with anger. If Idnan had not changed her mind, he was almost going to tell them that he was going to resign from his post as bodyguard.
They obviously did not care about the girl’s life, but Lazer did. He came here just for her. If he lost her, there would be nothing left in the world except pain and struggle.
He imagined the Juan family and the other candidates to the throne dying in a pool of blood. No, that was not enough. This disgusting kingdom; no, this world should burn in flames of anger together with him—If there is no reason to survive, there is no reason to hope—he twisted the corner of his lips, thinking of how he had almost forgotten how much he hated the world.
“Lazer… Lazer.”
He was brought back to reality, finding the head maid standing quietly beside him. Although she saw the murderous look in his eyes, she did not show a sense of fear and calmly explained her reason for coming. “I tried to keep the room the same as much as as possible, but I need you to check it again before I can clean up the rest. Will you go there first?”
“I am on my way.”
He pursed his thin lips and shook his head before arriving at the room where the Haliph family head had died.
They did not notice that the girl had disappeared until all the courtiers of the Haliph family had left. At the time, Lazer was checking Diana’s injury and getting her food. The head maid was busy entertaining the guests and dealing with the chaos in the kitchen. The Juan couple had just asked the girl to return to her room to rest.
For less than a few hours, nobody paid any attention to the girl’s whereabouts.
Both the head maid and the Juan family head dropped their guard because they knew she was just a double.
“How was the Haliph family head at the time?”
“Although his condition had stabilized, the sound of fighting could suddenly be heard coming from inside the room. In addition to the head of the family, several of his courtiers had died. The remaining courtiers took all the bodies away.”
This sounded inconceivable, but Lazer knew better. He had grown accustomed to the way of lizard demihumans and that the royal family was used to these kinds of things. The courtiers of the defeated often fought internally. In some cases, they would kill their family heads in exchange for rewards. The truth was, lizards do not pay attention to losers struggling in their respective domains. This strange culture of theirs allowed the kidnapper to smuggle the girl away without being discovered by the Juan family.
