When Cain, Rigel, and Lumi reached the capital gate in the evening, several guards had just about to go pick them up. They bowed so deep and apologized non stop to the prince for their slow responses. Cain, who still has not regained his stamina back, let Lumi take his place to spit out anger to the incompetent guards. The group of guards then followed beside and behind Cain’s horses with Lumi and Rigel back to the palace.

People at the street were about to close their business but they still politely greeted the group who accompanied the prince back. Cain tried his best to smile back at people who greeted him.  

“Sir Phoenix actually called us as soon as he received your message. But…” Rigel leaned his body to the front so he could hear what the guard leader reported to Cain. After all, Cain seemed indifferent until after he heard the continuation of his report. His expression was surprised then confused but also mixed with a little fear. 

“What happened?” Rigel asked Lumi in a whisper.  Lumi shrugged. She also sensed that something was wrong by looking at Cain’s expression. But no guard dared to talk to them when the guard leader only reported to the prince. And after getting scolded by Lumi, these guards seemed to watch their behaviour even more carefully.  

Cain gave a signal to Rigel and Lumi to ride closer to him while the guard leader moved forward, guarding their group right in the front.

“Something wrong?” Lumi asked directly. 

“Yes…” Cain sighed. He was just so damn tired after a series of terror directed to him and his closest people. When will this end? He was not even willing to reign as a king. Why should he endure all of these?

“Ruben Draco is dead. He was poisoned in the noble dungeon.”

One thing that Cain worried about, that both Rigel and Lumi understood very well, was the fact that someone had entered the dungeon for nobles. Aside from the supreme court judge and the royal family, nobody could enter the noble dungeon as they pleased.

This small fact had reduced the numbers of suspects Cain had in mind about who might have aimed for him. Sure, he had always suspected Andromeda. But he was not dumb enough to believe that was the only possibility. 

Lumi clicked her tongue in annoyance and said to Rigel in a very low voice. “If there are people among nobles who benefit from the death of Ruben Draco, there are two that come to mind. Oh well, make it three.”

“Wanna tell me about it?”

“First, it’s that bitch. She might have decided that the idiot Draco is no longer useful and that she has to get rid of him before all the secrets are exposed.”

That bitch must be Andromeda. Rigel understood without needing to clarify things so he just nodded.

“And the second?”

“Draco number two. He is worse than the first, you must know about this already.”

“Fine. I know that too. And the last suspect is?”

“This one… I just think about it since she dislikes Ruben Draco a lot. But the possibility is as good as zero percent…” Lumi’s voice went even lower. She leaned super close to Rigel so Cain couldn’t overhear her words. 

“His sister. Estelle.”

***

 The news about Ruben Draco’s death in the noble dungeon was like a small fire that lit an entire forest to be caught on wildfire. There was nobody in the nation who had not talked about this. People start to lose trust in the royal and noble family. Saying that if they could kill each other in the battle of dominance, how would they protect commoners? How should they trust the governance that only cares about their own standing instead of the nation’s security and prosperity.

Rigel took the newspaper that Cain didn’t touch at all this morning. He read just the headlines and a few paragraphs before putting it back on the tray for the maid to take back. 

The noble had pushed the King to investigate this matter asap and find the culprit who started to kill a member of the nobles. And they asked that if the king could not fulfil their request, he should step back from his role as the head of the government. 

Rigel was not a fool. No matter how ignorant he was, he could guess that the nobles actually just wanted to reduce the king’s role only to be the nation's symbol, not the sole ruler that led its people. Lumi said that the death of Ruben Draco had only benefited Andromeda who had shared secrets with him, Rowan who would take his place once he’s gone for good. 

Contrary to what Lumi believed that the murderer of Ruben Draco had reduced the suspects numbers, for Rigel it opened more possibilities. For once, he considered Lumi’s opinion that this case was also a fortunate event for Estelle who refused to be engaged to that snake-like man. But since she didn’t look like someone who could hurt a fly, he decided to forget it. Anyway, everybody who wants to reduce the significance of the King’s role could be the culprit. This fact made all the nobles covered as suspects.

As for Cain, he went even quieter than before. He seemed not willing to talk if he wasn’t forced to. He obviously had a lot in his mind but not wanting to share even just a little to both Rigel and Lumi. He only talked to Alan a few times since they were back. Even Estelle seemed not to hear him talk as often as she used to. 

The three of them had their breakfast in Cain’s room. Rigel was ordered to cook it since Lumi knew he could and was very good at it. And now, Cain started to refuse to let people beside Rigel serve him in any way. Food? Ask Rigel to cook it. Clothes? Let Rigel prepare what to wear today. Class schedule? Well, he still followed his tutor’s arrangement, but Rigel was the one who had to remember what class in what time. 

Would this menial task help him pay his sin debt? Rigel was not sure, but he hoped the curse would detect this as ‘labor’ and count them all. After all, this was all to protect Cain. Thing used for killing Ruben Draco was undetected poison. Even Rigel thought it was unusual when he was called to give an opinion. He couldn’t comprehend what’s the main herb used to kill Ruben and so did the other poison master. It’s like the poison came from another world, somewhere Rigel had not explored yet.