Damn, had he guessed?
"I don't understand. What does that mean?"
The Second Prince lowered his right hand without revealing anything, touching the JC Dagger at his waist.
Jann stared at him without blinking.
"You don't understand, Tales?"
Duke of South Bank narrowed his eyes.
"Why don't you think about it more carefully? Do you really not understand?"
Tales' expression remained unchanged, but he could hear his own heart pounding.
Stay calm.
If Jann had seen through me and knew that I was only putting on an act, working with the king from within and without...
What would he do?
Turn against me outright? Attack? Announce it to the world? Drive me out of Emerald City?
Or...
But in the next second, Jann smiled faintly.
He turned back, picked up the kettle, and filled Tales' empty cup.
"Listen: the Secret Section killed Moss, but that was only the beginning. The purpose was to draw your attention, provoke us into opposing each other, and make you follow this clue all the way through your investigation."
Jann set down the kettle and gave Tales a meaningful look.
"Just as you are now."
Tales calmly picked up his cup. "You already said that before."
Jann did not look at him again. He merely poured himself a cup of Clear Spring Drink.
"And when they killed that Wool Merchant named Diop, the purpose was the same: to provoke you and your people into taking action."
Tales' brow twitched.
"Really?"
The Prince struggled to suppress the urge to snort.
"The Secret Section killed Diop to lure me out?"
Jann nodded. "They know your temperament. They know you'll step forward and charge into the fray."
There had to be something there.
The voice in his heart told Tales that behind the deaths of Moss, Diop, and