Shane naturally knew nothing about Moro.
This was unquestionable.
After all, strictly speaking, Shane had not even seen the face of the empress known as Moro, let alone what she looked like. He only knew of her existence from a series of intelligence brought by Harvis; beyond that, he knew nothing else.
That was one of the reasons Shane was interested in cooperating with Harvis.
The one who had truly dealt with Moro was Prince Harvis, not himself. Since this was the case, if he was to confront such a mysterious woman, he naturally needed someone to tell him about her.
Harvis thought that he had almost no value left to Shane, little did he know that Shane had already been gradually obtaining what he wanted from him.
Regardless, Shane would definitely meet with Princess Moro.
Thus, Shane turned his gaze to Harvis.
"So, Prince, do you have any thoughts?"
Shane asked Harvis for advice.
To deal with Moro, or rather, to lure her out, he must go through Harvis.
Harvis had clashed with that Moro for over ten years. Given this, he surely had some plans.
This was also the reason Rocque advised Shane to seek out Harvis.
In the Imperial City, to say who knew Moro the best, who wanted to confront her the most, and who had had quite a few dealings with Moro, Harvis was definitely the first choice.
Indeed, that was the case.
"I have observed Moro for a long time. Although I have not been able to investigate her background clearly, I have discovered two of her secrets."
Harvis spoke out thus.
"Secrets?" Chaptersource:MyVirtualLibraryEmpire(*).
Shane raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Harvis said seriously. "These two secrets, one I discovered by chance, and the other was found while secretly investigating her."
With that said, Harvis approached a painting in his room.
In a soft whisper, Harvis chanted a brief magic spell.
Accompanied by a light sound, in front of Harvis, the painting suddenly slid open, like a small safe door, slowly opening up.
From Shane's angle, he could see that behind the painting was a small cabinet.
Inside the cabinet were many small objects, including crystal props used for recording images, small knives with gems, unknown magic potions, and documents that seemed to be made of parchment, rolled into scrolls and placed inside.
Harvis took out one of those scrolls and a crystal prop for recording images.
"First, please take a look at this," he said.
Harvis handed the scroll to Shane.
Shane didn't hesitate and took the scroll directly, unrolling it.
To his surprise, Shane found that the scroll was a map.
It was a clearly hand-drawn map, seemingly created by Harvis based on various intelligence and memories, marked with many rough lines and traces of alterations, showing the creator's dedication to the map.
Shane frowned, not understanding.
Harvis did not keep him guessing.
"This is a map I have drawn successfully by continuously observing Moro's movements over the past ten years, filtering through various true and false information and deductions," Harvis said gravely. "If my ten years of efforts have not been in vain, then this map ultimately points to a hidden location that is greatly related to Moro."
"A hidden location?" Shane's spirits lifted, and he inquired eagerly, "Does that mean Moro often appears there?"
If that was the case, Shane wouldn't mind playing the role of a hunter waiting patiently for his prey, awaiting Moro to fall into the trap.
"Not necessarily," Harvis doused his enthusiasm with a dose of reality, saying, "I can only confirm that this place is deeply connected to Moro, but she rarely appears there."
"Is that so?" Shane was somewhat disappointed, but he did not lose interest. Looking at the map in his hands, he mused aloud, "Since this place is deeply connected to Moro, haven't you gone to check it out?"
"I myself have not," Harvis sighed, "However, I once sent people to investigate the area, and the result..."
Harvis didn't finish that sentence, but Shane could guess.
They must have all disappeared without a trace, or even died heroically, right?
"But this also indicates there's something wrong with that place, doesn't it?"
"That's right," Harvis nodded, "I did want to continue investigating it, but I was worried that sending people too often might alert that Poisonous Consort and make her aware of my actions, so I didn't dare to act rashly."
"I see." Shane understood and looked at the map in his hands again, saying, "So, do you mean for me to make a trip there?"
"At least, I believe you should be able to gain something there," Harvis did not deny, instead saying, "There must be some secret hidden there; otherwise, that suspicious woman wouldn't keep her connection to the place. I think it is worth checking out."
With Shane's capabilities, even if it were a den of dragons or a lair of tigers, he would still have the confidence to venture forth.
So it was Harvis who provided this clue he had treasured for many years.
This was the discovery Harvis had made during his secret investigation into Moro.
And there was another discovery...
"Please take a look at the image recorded in this crystal."
Harvis handed the crystal to Shane.
Shane had a similar crystal himself.
It was the same crystal Shane had used to provoke a dim-witted Noble young master with a picture of him and Luoqi together.
This crystal could record images, and once infused with Magic Power, it could project the images it contained.
So Shane infused Magic Power into the crystal, making its surface glow with sparkles of light.
In the next second, the face of a person appeared on the crystal.
It was a shyly smiling girl who looked somewhat green.
The girl was quite distinctive, with a small face, large eyes, and skin that was not exactly fair — even a bit tanned — radiating an inexplicable sense of vitality and healthy beauty, probably a very sunny little girl.
Shane couldn't help but take a few glances and muttered, "She's not as cute as my Ai Yi and Lilith," before he looked towards Harvis.
"Why are you showing me a young girl?" asked Shane, almost blurting out, "She wouldn't happen to be your illegitimate daughter, would she?"
"...You really do jest," Harvis nearly choked.
Honestly, he hadn't even married or had children yet, right?
Although being a member of the Royal Family, and even a direct descendant, he surely had one or two fiancées, he had exhausted all his efforts against Moro, so where would he find the energy to consider marriage?
Besides, his Emperor father was now so besotted with Princess Moro that he lost his senses, and most of the Nobles in the Imperial Palace were siding with the Poisonous Consort. Most people were thinking about how to deal with him; who would urge him to marry?
After being suspected of treason, those fiancées' families had even come forward to break off the engagement, worrying that they wouldn't be able to climb the ranks. Everyone would wish to stay as far away from him as possible.
By then, to say nothing of having an illegitimate daughter, it would be lucky not to end up without descendents.
If Shane knew what Harvis was thinking, he would certainly sympathize: What a miserable man.
As for now, his curiosity was piqued.
"If she's not your illegitimate daughter, then who is she?" Shane teased, "She couldn't possibly be Moro's illegitimate daughter, could she?"
Of course, Shane said this jokingly.
Who would have thought, Harvis actually replied.
"It's not impossible."
Such startling remarks came from the mouth of Harvis.
"Cough...!" Shane coughed loudly, his eyes wide as he stared at Harvis in astonishment, "Are... are you serious?"
"I can't be certain," Harvis immediately spread his hands, saying, "But there is a high possibility that this girl has something to do with Moro."
"How so?" Shane pursued, "Is this that accidental discovery of yours?"
"Yes," Harvis's smile faded as he locked eyes with Shane, saying, "I happened to find that Moro seemed to always be paying attention to this girl, and even dispatched Death Soldiers from the Lefirut Family to approach her on several occasions."
Initially, Harvis thought this girl had stumbled upon some secret of Moro's, leading her to send assassins to silence her.
It was only later that Harvis was shocked to discover that those people were not sent to harm the girl but to protect her.
"Exactly," affirmed Harvis, "The Lefirut Family's Death Soldiers protected the girl several times, ensuring her safety from danger."
If that was the case, it was no wonder Harvis would say that this girl could very likely be Moro's illegitimate daughter.
Otherwise, why would the Poisonous Consort, who always operated behind the scenes, doing all kinds of unsavory deeds, send people to protect such a little girl?
"I have investigated that girl, and I discovered that her origin is also very mysterious, almost appearing in the Empire, in the Imperial City at the same time as Moro. Shortly afterward, she was adopted by a small Noble Family and has been living quite well these years."
Harvis's words compelled Shane to acknowledge that this girl indeed had a significant possibility of being related to Moro.
If he wanted to deal with Moro, perhaps he could start with this girl.
After thinking it through, Shane asked Harvis.
As he spoke, Shane looked at the girl on the crystal.
Harvis's voice echoed in his ears.
"Her name is Lani Bafen, the adopted daughter of the Viscount of the Bafein family, the Family Head."
Hearing this, Shane murmured to himself.
And that name, Shane committed to memory.