The Ostan Duke was dead?
How could it have happened so soon?
At 7:20 that morning, in a room at the Imperial Grand Hotel, John listened as Ian delivered the latest intelligence. Ian was the head of the Third Intelligence Analysis Unit within the First Intelligence Integration Division of Imperial Military Intelligence Section Five's Intelligence Analysis and Strategic Assessment Directorate.
The last traces of sleep vanished from John's mind.
He did not speak at once. Instead, he calmly picked up a spoon and stirred his coffee.
After a moment's thought, he asked the grave-faced Ian, "Is Ivel the Ostan Family's successor now?"
"It's Liana Ostan. Ivel, the first in line, is believed to have been abducted."
Ian shook his head, giving an answer that made John's pupils contract.
Then, as if remembering something, he added hesitantly, "I also asked Lieutenant Colonel Barnabos, the current director of Intelligence Analysis. According to his department's records, Ivel apparently went to the palace to meet the duke before he disappeared. But the Ostan Family's public statement says he was captured by a secret assassin and his whereabouts are unknown."
"..."
John said nothing. He merely took a sip of coffee, barely managing to suppress the emotions surging within him.
From the intelligence Ian had provided, he pieced together the truth behind the duke's death and the first heir's disappearance in an instant.
Clearly, the Empire Sea Dragon, a man known for his severity and decisiveness, had for some reason broken from his original fate. Before his death, he had chosen to eliminate Ivel and clear the way for Liana Ostan, the Empire's Ice Dragon Marquis from the original story.
Originally, Liana was supposed to witness her elder brother murder their father and seize power two years later. The shock would awaken her Glory War