Three days had passed since Alice's "kidnapping incident."
Philip and Sauros, the two lords of the Fitoia Territory,
had drawn on the power of the Boreas Greyrat Family to swiftly uncover the truth behind the kidnapping:
The mastermind who had planned the whole affair and ordered the manservant Thomas to abduct Alice was a high-ranking noble with immense power within the Asla Kingdom.
He was also Sauros's chief political rival,
and a central figure in the faction supporting the kingdom's First Prince-Darius Silva Ganes.
According to the intelligence they had gathered, Darius harbored a particularly disgraceful private perversion.
He was especially fond of young noble girls.
Apparently, long ago, at a gathering of nobles in the royal capital,
Darius had "taken a liking" to Alice, who had been arguing with someone over some matter and appeared exceptionally wild and unruly.
Cui Ciyou learned all this from Philip's account.
Coupled with what Thomas had said in the tower, it was not difficult to imagine the twisted thoughts in Darius's mind:
If I could train that little beast, so utterly unrestrained, into a docile stray that feared me and fawned over me, it would surely be the most wonderful thing in the world.
The intelligence also included a horrifying list: the deceased daughters of nobles under Darius.
Reportedly, among the daughters of the lesser nobles who depended on Darius,
many had already suffered at his hands.
They would be "invited" to Darius's estate under various pretexts.
Then they would be toyed with at his whim and subjected to cruel abuse.
Once Darius lost interest in them, an exceptionally miserable, hellish fate awaited those poor girls:
"The luckier ones would be branded as slaves, then secretly sold to brothels in the royal capital."
"Those less fortunate would have their arms and legs broken,