The Villain Saint is my secondary account

“But you have slandered me again and again. Even with the greatest magnanimity, the dignity of the royal family cannot tolerate such provocation.”

"Ha, you dare to call yourself royalty again?" Bazel flicked his sleeve, and a shimmering crystal flew into the air. "Let's see how thick your skin is, and whether you can say such things to your father's face."

The palace attendants in the hall hurriedly caught the flying crystal and handed it to the court sorcerer in charge of its appraisal.

No obvious signs of magical alteration were found on the crystal.

However, as the chief archmage, Bazel's extraordinary strength far surpassed that of all the mages present. If he had indeed tampered with the crystal, the court mages present were not confident that they would be able to detect it.

“Your Highness, I think we should perhaps ask those mage scholars from the academy or research society who specialize in enchanted items to help us appraise it?” suggested a high-ranking nobleman in the crowd.

“Those few are already on their way,” Prince Godwin said, gripping the end of his staff with both hands. “But this is only for reference. After all, the mages of the academy or society are still closer to Mr. Bazel in terms of their relationship.”

After the crystal was examined, it was placed on the projection array, and the scene of Evans killing his father in the bedroom, which had been played before, appeared again.

"This photographic crystal appears to be a cropped copy. I wonder if Mr. Bazel could provide a more complete image?"

Bazel tossed out another image crystal. Ye Xiao observed the archmage's sleeve, wondering how this thing could be like a magic bag, able to hold anything.

This time, after the crystal was examined, it projected a longer image.

The images recorded by the photographic crystal are still relatively clear, starting from when King Harold was reading documents at his desk during the day.

The court monks adjusted the projection speed. The king read the document, talked with the servants who came into the bedroom, was helped to take a bath, and then was escorted back by the servants in his bathrobe to lie down on the bed.

Not long after, the First Prince Evans entered through the door.

The two had a conversation that was clearly a follow-up to their previous discussion about the succession. Crown Prince Evans stated that he was now able to take on more responsibility and had gained the approval of most of the imperial nobles in his dealings with them.

During the conversation, Evans also stated that he did not directly demand to inherit the throne, but simply wanted to conduct the royal selection ceremony fairly.

But the old king still said that the time was not yet right, and even though he was now old and frail, he seemed unwilling to relinquish the throne.

Then the two sides started arguing, just like the argument they had had in the main hall a month earlier.

Later, the eldest prince left the room, the oil lamp went out and the light dimmed. About thirty minutes later, the scene suddenly became blurry, as if it had been disturbed by something.

Then the bedroom door was opened again, and Evans, now disguised in servant's clothes, reenacted the assassination scene.

However, this time the scene did not end after the assassination. After Evans left the room and closed the door, a long image of the old king's body lying quietly in a pool of blood on the bed was projected.

Many nobles, raised in a sheltered environment, still felt distressed by the bloody scene and couldn't help but look away or cover their faces.

"Anything else to say, Evans?" Bazel asked coldly.

“Professor Bazel, I don’t quite understand how such a poor-quality photograph could make you lose your mind like this?” Evans spread his hands. “I did have an argument with my father a month ago, but that’s not enough to justify my crime.”

"Leaving aside the necessity for the 'I' in this image to act so impulsively, why would there be a hidden recording crystal in the bedroom? After someone witnessed the argument with the king, why did he have to personally return to kill someone so soon? And why was his disguise full of flaws? He didn't even notice that the recording crystal hadn't completely interfered with him."

"What good would such a flawed assassination attempt do, other than making me a criminal accused?"

Bazel sneered, "You should explain your own thought process to everyone here. I have never heard of a murderer not being a murderer simply because the method of the crime was stupid."

"So you'd rather believe that I am the culprit with these flawed actions than suspect that someone is impersonating me and framing me?"

“If there is any frame-up, you should be the one to provide the evidence. Do you expect me to consider the murderer’s feelings when I accuse him of regicide?” Bazel said confidently. “Evans, if you believe you are innocent and that the assassin was an imposter, then you might as well prove to everyone here where you were on the night the king was assassinated.”

The eldest prince was silent.

After analyzing the situation at noon, Ye Xiao understood the reason for his silence.

The real Evans must have gone to Samuel's clinic that night; as long as he doesn't dare prove the place's existence, that will be his Achilles' heel.

Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Argument of the Second Move

"...Your Highness?"

The knight commander, Soren, noticed Evans' silence and sensed that something was amiss.

He didn't care whether King Harold was killed by Evans or not, but he was quite surprised that such stupid evidence could leave Evans speechless.

“I see.” Evans seemed to realize this only now. “Heh, brother, so that’s what you were looking at.”

“Professor Nabazel, if I can prove that I was elsewhere that night, will you withdraw your accusation?”

Archmage Bazel frowned slightly. "Hmph, that depends on the situation."

Evans' answer made Bazel vaguely feel that something was wrong. Based on what Prince Raymond had told him earlier, Evans should have no way of explaining his whereabouts that night.

But Evans doesn't seem to be as helpless as Barzel imagined.

Just then, footsteps came from the side of the main hall.

Several royal guards led in a man dressed in a gray canvas shirt.

He had short, flaxen hair, a monocle over his left eye, and held a delicate little silver box in his hands.

"Let me introduce you all. This is my doctor, Mr. Adams," Evans said softly. "Professor Bazel, you asked me where I was the night my father was attacked by the fish. Actually, I really wish I had been in the palace that night. Perhaps then my father's tragedy could have been avoided."

"But unfortunately, I was undergoing surgery with this doctor in West City at the time."

"Greetings, gentlemen. As His Highness Evans said, he was receiving treatment at my clinic at the time."

The doctor spoke with a pure Loren southern accent, his simple tone contrasting sharply with the elegant tones of the nobles present.

Having just been to Storm Harbor, Ye Xiao was naturally very familiar with this accent.

"Is this doctor from Storm Harbor?" Ye Xiao asked curiously, sizing up the male doctor.

“Evans, don’t think you can just find anyone to prove you weren’t in the palace at the time…” Before Bazel could finish speaking, he saw the eldest prince, Evans, reach for his left eye.

Then, with a gentle pry, it was removed.

The room erupted in an uproar, and the physician opened the exquisite silver box in his hand.

On the soft red mat in the box, a shriveled eyeball was conspicuously displayed before everyone.

“At that time, this highly skilled doctor removed my eyeball, which had a hidden ailment,” Evans said slowly, his face revealing an empty hole. “The court sorcerers present can verify for themselves whether the eyeball in the box is mine, and when it was put into the box.”

"Professor Barzel, are you satisfied with this proof?"

Goodness, Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow.

This guy actually thought of having someone send over the organs that were removed from his body to be embedded in the holy remains.

Of course, the eye Evans has in his hand now is probably just a replacement prosthetic eye that he had already replaced. He certainly wouldn't show the real Holy Relic to so many people.

The mages present could easily use magic to determine when the organ was removed, which was enough to prove that the eldest prince, Evans, was not in the palace that night.

Furthermore, this operation did not publicly expose the Samuel Clinic; it was only revealed as a "private clinic."

Those who don't understand the true meaning of the Samuel Clinic remain confused, while those who do understand can't glean any clues from it.

Bazel's eyes widened: "You... what kind of hidden ailment can't the royal physicians perform surgery on you, and you need to go to a private clinic of dubious origin!?"

"This doesn't seem to be related to the case, Professor Bazel. Where I want to go and what kind of surgery I want to have are my personal reasons."

After Evans finished speaking, he looked at Prince Raymond on the sidelines and asked, "Well, brother, are you satisfied with this evidence?"

A hush fell over the scene as the court sorcerer began examining the eyeballs that the Crown Prince's physician had brought and placed in the box.

If this is a false accusation, and the king's coronation ceremony has been disrupted for such a reason, even someone as esteemed as the chief mage, Bazel, must pay the price.

Once he became king, how could Evans possibly let Prince Raymond have an easy time?

After being accused in the morning, Evans naturally expected that his inexplicable whereabouts that night would be used against him.

Ye Xiao was able to figure out this key point; being in the thick of it, he couldn't possibly not understand it.

Since he had anticipated this, it was impossible for him not to make any preparations.

Prince Raymond swallowed hard. The First Prince's move was far more powerful than any other witness testimonies he could find to prove that Evans was in the palace that night.

That guy actually went to that godforsaken place that night to harvest an organ, something that Prince Raymond's intelligence didn't include.

However, this also led Evans to expose more of his past in order to avoid being framed.

“Brother, you jest. I still believe in your love and respect for Father. How could you possibly commit regicide?” Prince Raymond smiled. “What I’m more surprised about is why you would hire a private doctor outside the palace to perform such a dangerous surgery.”

"Could it be that even the expert physicians in the palace are unable to meet your requirements?"

“I think I’ve already said that this is for my personal reasons and has nothing to do with the case…” Evans replied immediately.

“It is indeed unrelated to the case, but it is related to whether you are suitable to be the king of my Loren Empire.” Prince Raymond slowly stepped out of the crowd. “Brother, I have always admired you, so when a highly respected friend of mine privately warned me that you might be involved with evil spirits, I could not believe it.”

"But now, your attempt to prove your alibi on the night of your father's assassination is filled with strangeness that is hard not to be surprised about."

"What kind of clinic did you go to? What kind of hidden illness do you have that would make you go so far as to remove your own eyeball? Why couldn't you see a physician from the royal palace instead of a doctor of unknown origin? ... Aren't your actions a bit... 'strange'?"

These words distanced him from Bazel, which is why Prince Raymond didn't personally carry out the first fabricated assassination attempt, but instead used Bazel as a pawn.

In this way, if an unexpected situation arises, when he needs to use his second method, he won't need to first figure out how to cover up the failed attempt to frame the assassination.

Simply put, Prince Raymond predicted Evans's prediction this time.

"What, brother? After accusing me of assassination, you want to smear my character now?" Evans said coldly. "You're not a priest, so you shouldn't have the right to question my faith, right? And how come I don't know you have any friends who have the right to question the religious stance of a member of the royal family?"

He roughly guessed that Prince Raymond knew about his connection to the strange Samuel Clinic, but there couldn't be any solid evidence, otherwise he would have reported it to the Holy Light Headquarters and let the Templars deal with him.

Without evidence of collusion with the Dark Cult, the Holy Church will not interfere in the Empire's internal affairs. Whether it's patricide, regicide, or fratricide, these are matters within the Imperial Palace itself.

Archbishop Holmes of the Loren Sanctuary, whom Evans had spoken with before, was not a man of great ambition; his only aim was to prevent the Loren Sanctuary, located in the Empire, from being affected by this royal election turmoil.

Such a person would naturally not support Prince Raymond.

On the surface, everything seemed foolproof, but then, another peculiar figure flashed through the mind of the First Prince Evans, making him feel a chill.

Logically, it shouldn't be possible, since the Duke's mansion had clearly sided with them, but seeing Prince Raymond's confident demeanor...

Evans finally understood.

Oh no, how could they have teamed up like this?!

“You’re right, elder brother. I’m indeed not qualified to ask you to answer my question truthfully.” Prince Raymond smiled, then looked to the other side of the hall. “But coincidentally, the good friend of mine that I was just about to introduce to you is the one who is qualified.”

"I'm sorry to have troubled you to come all this way, and I hope you'll forgive my family matters... My dear, Your Holiness."

Chapter Eighty: Illusion

A saintess in white robes walked gracefully into the main hall amidst the gazes of the crowd.

Sparse whispers followed.

"It really is that woman. I knew it. With her wicked nature, she would definitely get involved." Skadi saw the silver-haired girl, grabbed Ye Xiao's clothes, and gritted her teeth. "And what's going on? Why does that woman's complexion seem much rosier than before?"

"Ahem." Ye Xiao's gaze wandered.

Ella's appearance was somewhat unexpected for most people here.

Especially the eldest prince, Evans.

The silver-haired girl lifted one hem of her skirt with each hand and performed an elegant, aristocratic bow.

"Greetings, Your Highnesses and Sirs."

A voice as light and melodious as a lark echoed in the hall.

Two ponytails draped over the girl's back, swaying gently as she bent over.

“Miss Ella, it’s quite unexpected that you still have dealings with my younger brother.” The First Prince Evans’s expression was slightly cold.

"I thought my relationship with all of you princes was pretty good," Ella said with a slight smile.

Her slightly narrowed eyes, accompanied by two blushes on her fair cheeks, revealed a sudden allure as gentle as a spring breeze at dawn, causing everyone present to be momentarily stunned.

The crowd, who were whispering amongst themselves just a moment ago, all turned their attention to him and fell silent almost simultaneously.

To be able to command respect with just her looks, this woman is truly extraordinary... Even Prince Raymond couldn't help but sigh inwardly upon witnessing this scene.

“I still remember having the pleasure of a close conversation with a certain princess just half a month ago, and now I’m also having dealings with Prince Raymond. That shouldn’t be surprising, right?” Ella said, her gaze turning to the eldest princess who was standing guard beside the throne. “You agree, ‘Twin Dragon Sword Saint’?”

"What do you mean?!" Skadi gritted her teeth immediately. If Ye Xiao hadn't stopped her in time, she probably would have rushed forward.

The title "Twin Dragon Sword Saint" coming from Ella's mouth was an immense insult to Skadi.

After all, she had just lost to Ella in swordsmanship. Hearing this, it was like a classmate who got a perfect score patting her on the shoulder after she failed the test and jokingly calling out, "Hello, top student."

But to the surrounding nobles, they seemed to realize something and glanced slightly at the eldest princess, whose face had turned red.

"Calm down, Your Highness... calm down." Ye Xiao hurriedly tried to soothe Skadi, cleaning up the mess his other self had made for him.

“Miss Ella, if you have something to say, you can speak frankly. There’s no need to provoke my sister along the way.” Evans frowned, looking impatient. “Just now, I overheard my brother’s declaration, and it seems you have some doubts about my beliefs?”

"Your Highness Evans is certainly in a hurry."