"Is that true?" The Second Prince's expression darkened.
"Yes, Your Highness. What we can confirm is that they already seem to know about your ability, as well as some of its side effects.
"I nearly ruined your grand undertaking. That was a failure on my part. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
In the communications projection, Grand Duke Horton wore a deeply respectful expression.
"However, their information was limited. Not only did they get nothing from me this time, they also exposed the mole they had painstakingly planted.
"What I did not expect was that Alfonso had actually fallen under their covert control.
"My guess is that they spotted something suspicious about that Secret Guard of yours, which prompted them to move against me."
"Is that so..." The Second Prince frowned in thought.
The Secret Guard he had dispatched had vanished, and immediately afterward, Viscount Ironwall had moved against Grand Duke Horton. There had to be a connection between the two.
But he knew that a few abnormalities in a single Secret Guard could never have exposed the secret of his ability.
After all, quite a few Secret Guards had "disappeared" over the years.
His opponents were not all fools, either. If that were enough to expose him, it would have happened long ago.
They definitely had another source of intelligence.
But where exactly had things gone wrong?
"Heh! It seems Father's critical illness has made some people impatient..." The Second Prince narrowed his eyes.
He looked at Grand Duke Horton again. "Then which faction do you think is behind Alfonso?"
"Well... I cannot be certain.
"The small spacecraft that rescued Alfonso earlier was extraordinary. It treated our defense systems as though they did not exist. That is not something an ordinary faction could possess.
"The Alliance of the Fourth and