bookrebus Chapter 745 Inquiry
Chapter 745 Inquiry
Inside the king's private tent in the hunting grounds, King Midland sat in the main seat, while Griffith remained kneeling below the tent.
Griffiths had already recounted the entire story of the arrow attack during the hunt to the king, word for word. The atmosphere in the tent became heavy. King Midland did not speak immediately, but remained silent, his gaze fixed on Griffiths below. The nobles and everyone present in the tent quieted down, and no one dared to break the silence.
After a moment, King Midland broke the silence, looking directly at Griffith, who was kneeling on one knee, and asked a question.
"So, did you get a clear look at the assassin's appearance?"
Griffith remained kneeling, responding to the king's question in a steady voice.
"Your Majesty, the arrow struck too suddenly. Because I was hit by the arrow, I had no chance to see if there was any assassin around me. After the incident, I arranged for people to search the area where the assassination occurred several times. No suspicious people were found in the entire area. It seems that the assassin had immediately left the area after succeeding in the attack."
As Griffiths finished speaking, a nobleman in the tent stepped forward, looked at King Midland on the main seat, and expressed his judgment.
"In that case, the assassin's target this time is most likely Count Griffith himself."
No sooner had the nobleman finished speaking than Count Yuris, who was standing to the side, immediately took over the conversation and told King Midland his guess.
"The assassin's target could also be Princess Charlotte. The princess is His Majesty's only child and has an extremely noble status. I have reason to suspect that the assassins sent by the Yoda Empire are assassins."
The nobleman who spoke first immediately objected, his tone tinged with confusion.
"But the arrow struck Count Griffith's heart. If the assassin's target was Princess Charlotte, the Yoda Empire would not have sent someone with such poor archery skills to carry out the assassination mission."
Before the nobleman could finish speaking, he felt a cold gaze fall on him. He looked up and saw that the gaze was coming from Count Yuris, whose eyes were filled with obvious displeasure, causing him to instinctively stop speaking.
King Midland noticed the unusual situation and glanced at Count Yuris without showing much emotion, simply asking a question.
“Count Yuris, you seem to have additional clues?”
Count Yuris was firmly fixed in King Midland's gaze, and a sense of panic instantly arose in his heart. However, he dared not show anything unusual in front of the king, so he could only suppress his unease and answer the king's question with a stiff upper lip.
“Your Majesty, the arrows that attacked Count Griffith were not standard-issue arrows produced in our Kingdom of Midland. Their craftsmanship and materials are closer to those produced in the Kingdom of Hilderland. Therefore, it can be concluded that the assassins were hired by foreign powers.”
Count Yuris paused briefly before continuing to elaborate on his reasoning, attempting to make his argument seem more plausible.
"But the Kingdom of Hilderan has no direct conflict with us and has no reason to send assassins to kill the princess. On the contrary, the Yoda Empire, which has been at war with us, has ample motive. They sent assassins and deliberately used arrows from the Kingdom of Hilderan to create a false impression and sow discord between the two countries of Midland and Hilderan. Their ultimate goal is to invalidate the various contracts signed between the two countries or to force the Kingdom of Hilderan to side with the Yoda Empire."
Griffith, kneeling on one knee, listened quietly to the conversation without interrupting, but a cold smile crept into his heart.
Count Joris's statement, on the surface, sounds logically sound and without any obvious flaws, but upon closer examination, it is full of loopholes.
The fact that the Yoda Empire could purchase arrows from the Kingdom of Hilderan is not a valid basis for judgment, as any force within the Kingdom of Midland could do the same.
Moreover, Princess Charlotte was on her horse at the time of the assassination, her position clearly visible, yet the assassin accurately shot the arrow into his own chest, which speaks volumes.
Griffiths made a judgment in his heart: the target of this assassination attempt had always been himself, and there was no other possibility.
The people who sent the assassins were not foreign forces, but most likely nobles within the Kingdom of Midland who harbored resentment towards him.
However, he does not yet have enough evidence to pinpoint the real mastermind behind the scenes, but among all those present, Count Yuris is the most suspicious.
In particular, Count Yuris's remarks in the tent today, which forcibly distorted the private vendetta against him into a political assassination against the princess and deliberately confused the nature of the incident, are enough to prove that Count Yuris knew in advance that an assassination attempt against him would take place, and may even have been directly involved in it.
Griffith suppressed these thoughts, maintaining a calm demeanor and revealing nothing unusual, as he awaited the king's decision.
After listening to Count Yuris's words, King Midland fell silent again. After a moment, he nodded slightly and made arrangements for everyone in the tent.
“Count Yuris’s statement is not without basis. Today’s hunting activity shall be terminated here.”
After making his decision, King Midland turned to the envoys from various countries standing in the tent, nodded slightly, and expressed his apology.
"I apologize to all the ambassadors for the unexpected incident that has occurred today."
The envoys from various countries present responded respectfully, without the slightest dissatisfaction.
"Your Majesty need not worry, this matter is nothing to concern you."
Subsequently, King Midland, accompanied by his noble entourage and Princess Charlotte, set off back to the capital, Windam, under the strict protection of the White Dragon Knights. The cleanup and investigation of the assassination scene were all handled by the Band of the Hawk.
After the group finished their hunting trip and returned safely to the Hawk Band's base, the members went back to their rooms to rest, and the commotion in the camp gradually subsided.
"An inauspicious start."
"No one expected that an assassin would attempt to kill the princess."
Gus was about to return to his room to rest when he noticed that candlelight was still burning in Griffith's room not far away, and there was no sign of it going out.
He pushed open the door to Griffith's room and stepped inside. Once inside, he saw Griffith sitting in the room, his head bowed as he flipped through the books beside him, illuminated by candlelight.