About half an hour later, a group of nobles and civil servants, who had just entered the Emperor's sleeping chamber, came running out in panic.
From their mouths, an extremely shocking piece of news spread.
"The Emperor has gone mad!"
"The Emperor has lost his mind!"
"Hurry, notify the priests from the Temple!"
As such news spread throughout the entire Imperial Palace, and even beyond its walls, chaos immediately ensued.
There was no other choice.
Even if the Emperor was inept or incompetent, he was still the ruler of the Ragna Empire, the head of a nation, and no mishaps could be tolerated.
Now that the Emperor had gone mad, one could imagine the extent of shock and impact this would bring to the Imperial City, and the Empire as a whole.
Thus, numerous nobles rushed hurriedly to the Imperial Palace, while others left just as quickly to inform the Temple, requesting the priests to diagnose the Emperor and assess his condition.
In an instant, the whole Imperial Palace was in a frenzy like the calm before a storm, tension filling every corner.
Harvis remained in his own chamber but noticed the commotion outside. Standing by the window, he listened to the noise and murmured to himself.
He knew this must be Shane's doing.
Harvis made such a bland comment as if the person involved was not his biological father.
In fact, Harvis had long ceased to regard the Emperor as his father.
Their father-son bond had broken the moment the Emperor, driven mad and incited by Moro, had turned against his own children.
If Cappelen's attitude towards the Emperor was one of indifference, then Harvis's was one of true ruthlessness.
Just as the words implied, devoid of any affection.
"Even if you've gone mad, I will still have you repent before my mother."
Harvis made this mutter to himself indifferently.
Immediately after, Prince Harvis let the curtain fall, returned to his bed, and continued his life under house arrest as if nothing had happened.
Not long after, the Temple priests arrived at the Imperial Palace to diagnose the raving Emperor.
And after examining the Emperor, the priest delivered a report that shocked everyone.
"His Majesty has been affected by a spell that induces madness."
"The magic is very powerful, and my recovery magic is simply incapable of lifting it."
"Unless the Pope from the Kingdom Temple, the legendary Yule, intervenes, no one in the entire Human Realm can remove this madness spell."
These words made many realize.
The skies of the Imperial City were about to change.
Therefore, the shocking news spread across the Empire and became known to all.
"An intruder has appeared in the Imperial Palace and has successfully persecuted the Emperor."
At the same time, Shane, the instigator, had already returned to the Bigusler Family residence.
Unaware of the impending chaos in the Imperial City, or perhaps having anticipated it, he remained completely unconcerned.
As if he had done nothing at all, he brazenly returned to the Bigusler house right under the many watchful eyes hidden in the shadows, without being noticed by anyone.
Including the servants, who were clueless that an additional mysterious strong figure who had almost caused an upheaval in the capital had appeared in the Bigusler house, as they were strictly instructed by Rocque not to approach the room where Shane was staying.
In this way, Shane returned quite comfortably.
However, upon his return, Shane discovered that Lasha and Lilith had returned to the Bigusler house before him.
No, not just Lasha and Lilith.
In addition to these two, another person was brought back with them.
"How did you guys get back?"
Shane looked at Lasha and Lilith, who appeared in his room, with a surprised expression.
At this moment, Lasha and Lilith seemed to be waiting for his return; one stood beside the bed, tending to someone, while the other threw herself into his arms the moment he returned, snuggling contentedly.
Shane casually embraced the blissful Lilith and cast a doubtful glance at Lasha.
Seeing this, Lasha spoke concisely.
"There's been a situation, Mr. Shane."
The person Lasha was caring for was someone lying on the bed, seemingly unconscious, with their eyes shut tight, deep in sleep.
She had a healthy, dark complexion, distinctive features, a small face, and large eyes, appearing to be a young and adorable girl around thirteen or fourteen years old.
Shane naturally knew who this girl was.
Because he had seen her face several times on the crystal props that Harvis had provided him.
"She is Lani Bafen, right?"
Shane looked at the girl.
That meant Lasha had brought the person she was supposed to monitor today directly back home.
And this person was also unconscious.
"What exactly happened?"
Shane furrowed his brow, querying Lasha.
Lasha's response was very straightforward.
"She was nearly killed."
And that was the situation.
Five minutes later, Shane roughly understood the situation.
Actually, it was quite simple.
"You're saying that while you were monitoring Lani Bafen, someone suddenly attacked her?"
Shane's voice was full of surprise.
"Yes," Lasha replied affirmatively, her tone indifferent. "We saw her being chased and attacked, with all her guards falling, leaving her alone."
"So?" Shane mused. "You saved her?"
"It was Miss Lilith who acted," Lasha said calmly. "I judged that Mr. Shane would need this person, so I did not sit idly by and let her be killed."
Therefore, it was Lasha who let Lilith step in to save Lani Bafen.
"Alright." Shane naturally had no objections, as he looked at the young girl lying on the bed and asked, "What's her condition now?"
"She's fine," Lasha shook her head. "She probably received a great shock, losing consciousness immediately after Miss Lilith saved her."
This was not unreasonable.
Although Shane did not know what relationship this young girl had with Moro, she herself was likely unaware of anything, having been taken in by the Bafein family and living an ordinary and happy life for ten years.
A young girl of about thirteen or fourteen, after ten years of ordinary happiness, suddenly experiencing a life-threatening assassination, with all her guards dying in front of her, would be greatly traumatized and faint. That was quite normal.
But for some reason, Shane felt he could sense a strange and eerie magic power emanating from this young girl.
Shane's brow furrowed once more.
At this moment, Lasha shared another startling piece of news with Shane.
"Not only did the young lady from the Viscount's House encounter an assassination attempt, but the Bafein family of the Imperial Nobles was also targeted."
This sudden news took Shane aback.
"The Bafein family was also assassinated?" Shane exclaimed in astonishment. "Are they..."
Lasha looked toward Shane, her gaze and expression both very calm.
This was the news Lasha brought to Shane.
After a while, he sighed.
"Alright then." Shane, not one for drama, asked directly, "What about the perpetrator?"
"Miss Lilith did not deal with them," Lasha said. "After the failure of the assassination, they all killed themselves quite cleanly, even setting off the magic tools on their bodies, blowing themselves up without leaving any remains."
Quite ruthless towards the enemy, even more so towards themselves.
At this point, Shane himself would not believe there wasn't something fishy going on.
"Who would annihilate the entire Bafein family at this time?"
Shane felt he might be unfairly blamed for this.
"Perhaps it was the Bafein family's adversaries, taking advantage of the commotion Mr. Shane stirred up in the Imperial City these past few days, to fish in troubled waters, take the opportunity to wipe out the Bafein family, and then pin the blame on Mr. Shane."
This was precisely what Shane had been thinking.
Shane was speechless.
He also had a feeling that he would very likely be saddled with a baseless accusation and become a suspect.
Who would think otherwise? In the past few days, he indeed did many "outrages against heaven and reason," not only destroying the Leferut family but also making a move on the Emperor.
The Imperial High-level would definitely believe the Bafein family massacre was also his doing, wiped out by him.
"Truly a disaster out of the blue."
This was all Shane could ruefully think.
However, he began to doubt whether the massacre of the Bafein family was really the work of their adversaries.
It was not that he was overly sensitive, but the times were too sensitive, leaving him no choice but to harbor such suspicions.
"A mysterious girl taken care of by the Poisonous Consort for the past ten years, yet today encounters a massacre and is chased down?"
This seemed to have some deeper implications.
Shane felt a headache coming on.
"It feels like things are getting more complex."
He had just unearthed the issue with the Branch of Resurgence, inferred Moro's ultimate goal, and even smoked out and disposed of such a thousand-year-old demon as the High Priest. Now another mystery had emerged, and the waters of the Imperial City seemed to be deeper than Shane had anticipated.
"No, I need to find Tielle and Laischa."
Shane was getting restless.
He had no idea what was happening on the other side.
But looking at the current situation, the lack of news from Tielle was truly making him anxious.
Dealing with Moro could wait, but something happening to Tielle was absolutely unacceptable.
Thus, Shane was already considering finding Laischa and Tielle first and foremost.
And it seemed Lasha had seen through Shane's concerns.
Moreover, she brought him a rare piece of good news.
"Speaking of the Lady, I might have found her location."
Lasha's voice was as shocking as ever.
"You... you've found them?"
Shane was initially startled, then elated.
Lasha simply nodded calmly.
"I am a Magic Life created by the Lady using her own magic power as a reference. Although I have no magic power, I can occasionally sense some remnants of magic when the Lady uses her space magic."
Saying so, Lasha told Shane of a place.
"They're in that kind of place?"
Shane was at a loss for words.