"Vigilant Officer Carquere's body was found in an alley beside the Canal District Vigilant Hall this morning. His head and body had fallen separately..."
At Empty Palace, the messenger Toledo hurried along at the head of the fully alert Star Lake Guard while reporting to the grim-faced Tales:
"Mm. In short, it wasn't a pretty sight."
When he received the bad news, Tales had been preparing to attend the Selection Tournament.
According to the schedule, Vigilant Officer Carquere was supposed to escort the Prince to the venue. But Tales never saw Carquerey. Instead, he got the entire Star Lake Guard:
Led by "Ghost" Hugo Fubi and Messenger Toledo, Komuto, Nesi, D.D., Gollor, Miranda, Wyatt, Paul, Rolf... dozens of people in all, many of them still wounded, fully armed and bristling with murderous intent. They stormed into his lounge in a dark mass, occupied every corner without a word, guarded every passage, locked every window, and surrounded the bewildered Second Prince from all sides until not even air could pass through.
The scene shocked Morgan, Kusta, and the others who were taking turns attending the Prince. For a moment, they nearly thought the cold-faced His Highness, who had been brooding all morning, had finally lost control of Brilliant Star's wrath and decided to strike back with violence—to trample Empty Palace, splash blood across the Duke's residence, set the record straight for Iris Flower, and restore justice to Emerald City.
"These past few days, Carquerey revolved around us in everything he did, from eating and dressing to traveling and lodging. Everyone was annoyed by having to coordinate with the Guard and deal with him every day. We couldn't shake him off even if we tried," Tales said, his expression grim, though he did not slow down. If anything, he moved faster. "Yet