Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1940: Prince’s Shame

Number 4 refused to answer, her reptilian eyes remaining defiant even as the blood loss and pressure around her throat caused her strength to fade.

"Okay, then tell me of this promised day you mentioned. What is it? When is it?"

The woman clawed at his arm through her gauntlet but didn’t even try to speak.

Ning waited long enough to give her an opportunity to reconsider, but she remained silent.

"Fine."

He tightened his grip and snapped her neck.

Number 4’s body immediately went still, and Ning released her, allowing the stolen royal armor to strike the floor beside the unconscious guard with a heavy metallic sound that echoed through the corridor.

He looked down at the dead Lizardwoman for a few moments, then checked the other guard once more to ensure that the man remained alive before walking toward the nearest alarm and calling the palace guards.

The response came almost immediately, with armed guards rushing into the corridor from both directions while members of the Conjoran delegation emerged from their rooms after hearing the alarm.

Lightspeed and Stonewall arrived among the first, followed by President Morstell’s security officers and several members of the royal guard, all of whom stopped upon seeing the blood covering the floor, the unconscious guard, and the dead Lizardwoman lying beside him.

Ning remained where he was as they secured the corridor and summoned Prince Tarian, allowing the palace officials to examine the scene.

"What happened here?" the prince asked, looking around.

"Your Highness, could you verify whether this woman is part of your royal guard or not?" Ning asked.

The prince hesitated. "I... I have never seen her, but I will try to find out. Could you tell me how she died? And all those cuts?"

"I can’t tell you much except that she should be part of a notorious group of criminals working alongside the man known as Tritus, who have been trying to kill me for a while now," Ning said.

"She infiltrated the Tide Palace to kill you?" the prince asked, unable to believe him.

Ning paused for a moment and quickly opened the door, walking inside.

"I see," he said. "There was more than just one mission then."

Inside the room, the bed had been dragged away from the wall and cut open, every drawer had been removed and emptied, the furniture cushions had been sliced apart, the carpet had been lifted in several places, and even part of the wall paneling had been pulled loose, yet nothing valuable appeared to have been stolen because Ning had kept anything important inside his storage space.

It was clear that the intention here was not to rob, but to steal something specific.

President Morstell arrived some time later, alongside Farhand, who had been accompanying her. When they arrived, her expression changed the moment she saw the destruction.

Immediately, she understood what was wrong.

"The cases," she said in horror. "Where are they?"

"Safe," Ning answered. "They couldn’t get to them."

"You’re certain?" the old woman asked.

"Yes," Ning said, not saying more.

Prince Tarian turned toward the guards stationed outside the wing.

"Who else entered this room?"

"No one, Your Highness," one of them said. "We saw no one enter or leave."

"The room did not destroy itself," the prince replied coldly.

"It was the woman from earlier. The question is, how did she manage to enter the royal guard? Did no one see her come in?"

The several guards immediately went out to find more answers.

"How could someone enter the Tide Palace without the guards verifying everyone’s identity beforehand?" Farhand asked, looking around. "I don’t want to say this was careless, but I don’t know what else to call it."

"Hmm, then could it be that someone came in along with the delegations?" Ning said.

Lord Senrick frowned.

"That is a serious allegation."

"How else could it be?" Ning asked. "Only the guards and other people in the palace should be aware of where I was staying. And surely you don’t believe it was them, do you?"

The man could not answer.

Prince Tarian turned toward Ning.

"I promise you, Sir Blackfang. I will get to the bottom of this and return with an acceptable answer by tomorrow morning."

Ning nodded. "Thank you. Though I won’t blame you if you can’t. These people are known to be very sneaky."

"We will not accuse anyone without proof," President Morstell said. "First, we inspect the rest of the rooms, secure the cargo, and determine whether anything else was disturbed."

They checked the other rooms, but none of them had been messed with. They were a bit relieved, but also not as much. This meant that someone had accurate information as to just which room was Ning’s, and that he was likely the one hiding the cases.

Prince Tarian met him again some time later.

"I apologize," the prince said. "You entered Veronoth as our guest, and this happened inside my family’s palace."

"As I said before, Prince Tarian, these people are not someone you could have stopped even if you tried, so I don’t blame you. I just hope you can find any information at all," Ning said.

The man nodded. "I shall do my best. My people will see that you are settled in another room soon. Please rest assured for tonight, as I will be tripling the guards outside of your door."

"There’s no need for that," Ning said, turning toward the man. "I can handle any trouble that comes my way, so please increase the protection for the other people from my country."

The prince nodded. "Of course. I should be leaving now. I promise I will find any information I can by tomorrow morning and give you an acceptable answer."

Ning nodded and let the prince go.

Once the prince was gone, he went out to the balcony, overlooking the city and out onto the ocean. He got lost in the moment, wondering what exactly this promised day was.

He couldn’t wait to find out more about it.