It wasn't that Honest was afraid of Esdeath, but Esdeath's contributions to the empire were simply too great, and if he offended Esdeath for his own selfish interests, it would inevitably affect his position in the palace.
After all, this mission to guard the 'Deputy Commander of the Path of Peace Sect' was entirely based on his own personal desires, and inviting so many forces from within the royal palace was somewhat overstepping his bounds.
"I'll let bygones be bygones regarding the ' Jaegers's ' unit, but Suzuka, what about you Four Rakshasa Demons?"
Honest's face turned bright red.
It's like when someone else's child is fighting with your own; parents would never scold the other child, but only criticize and reprimand their own.
This is because they have no right to blame other people's children.
As Honest's private execution squad, the ' Four Rakshasa Demons ' were entirely at Honest's disposal, capable of committing suicide or disbanding.
" Suzuka, where are your other three companions? What about Sten, Ji, Mez, whom I personally nurtured?"
The Four Rakshasa Demons once defeated a powerful team of five Teigu with their bare hands. They were extremely proud of their strength and therefore looked down on Teigu.
Even Honest hadn't expected that only Suzuka would return this time.
"The intelligence report that investigated the scene told me... Thorn's body wasn't found at the scene, but Mez's body was found on the east side, almost entirely covered in stab wounds from concealed weapons..."
"So, the ' Night Raid ' was an invasion from the east?"
It must be.
Minister Honest knew without a doubt that since Thorn's body had not been found, Thorn had most likely been killed by Akame.
"Are all the women around Bolic dead?"
"No, afterwards we searched house to house, using every kind of torture imaginable. We heard that the one who killed Bolic was the one with the Akame from ' Night Raid '."
"Heh, I remember I had you and Sten stationed together at Bolic's mansion. Even you, Suzuka, don't know who killed Bolic?"
"Minister, please calm your anger. We were fighting a powerful figure who manipulates shadows at the time, and I was completely under his control. Akame was not present then."
"What did you say? Manipulating shadows?"
Honest's mind was filled with the image of that boy— Lin Feng.
There are a total of sixty-four Teigu in the Imperial Capital. Even including both replicas and orthodox ones, none of Teigu possess the ability to manipulate shadows.
Since Suzuka claimed they encountered a master who could manipulate shadows, it could only be Lin Feng.
"Bring Lin Feng over here!"
Now, as a high-ranking general in the royal palace, if there was a sneak attack last night, most of them would look exhausted, just like the ' Jaegers ' and Suzuka.
However, to the ministers' surprise, Lin Feng walked up in a black military uniform of a lieutenant general, looking very energetic.
"Lieutenant General Lin Feng greets you all."
" Suzuka, I understand you don't recognize this person, after all, he's a newly appointed officer, but take a good look at his face now, you can't be wrong, can you? Hehe."
Suzuka looked at the boy's face in front of her; that face was completely different from the one who had choked her yesterday.
After hesitating for a moment, Suzuka saw a ghostly aura in the boy's crimson eyes.
Just like when Akame of the ' Night Raid ' unit betrayed the royal family of the Imperial Capital, she also showed a similar look in her eyes, so alluring and astonishing.
Although the two looked completely different, their eyes were exactly the same as those of the young man who fought Sten.
" Suzuka, was it really the man who manipulates shadows who killed Sten that day and put you in such a difficult situation?"
"Absolutely true."
" Lin Feng, what were you doing yesterday?"
"I spent the whole day at home yesterday handling the handover of my duties and some trivial official business. Because the handover involved complicated procedures, it took me quite a while to finish."
Before Suzuka could speak, Wave stepped forward and uttered a comment.
"Minister Honest, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."
"You may say so."
"I didn't dare say it before because of my position, but I saw Suzuka kill Sten with my own eyes."
Lin Feng looked at Wave's face.
'I never expected you to say something like that with such a serious face, Wave.'
Upon hearing Wave's words, Minister Honest, the entire Night Raid team, and Suzuka were all plunged into utter shock.
What nonsense are you spouting?
"Don't rush, Wave, finish speaking first."
Minister Honest suppressed his anger and gestured for Wave to continue.
In Minister Honest's mind, Wave had always been a diligent and pragmatic man who never lied, just like General Budo.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Wave was originally intended to be Minister One's chosen successor to Budo.
"While I was on duty on the west side, I could hear the distant cannon fire from Mine, which was meant to scare the enemy, as well as sounds coming from inside the mansion."
"At the time, I immediately realized that the situation on the west side was a diversionary tactic, so I focused more on the mansion. While inspecting the interior, I happened to witness a scene of infighting among the members of the ' Four Rakshasa Demons '."
Suzuka was furious when she heard Wave's fabricated story without any evidence. She wanted nothing more than to rush forward and grab Wave by the neck to shut him up.
"To be honest, I never expected that the Four Rakshasa Demons would have internal strife. At that time, Suzuka handed Sten a cup of tea, and after Sten drank it, he foamed at the mouth and was practically at their mercy."
"I wanted to leave, but seeing this scene, I dared not make any rash moves. However, Suzuka did not harm Bolic, so I deduced that this incident was unrelated to the mission itself. Since I did not know how to cure poison, I continued to observe for a long time until I saw Bolic escape into the secret passage while Suzuka remained inside. Only after ensuring that Bolic was safe did I leave."
Looking into Wave's eyes, Suzuka found it hard to believe that this upright young man would say such a thing.
"You... traitor to the empire, you..."
Suzuka was already incoherent, and when she turned to look at Lin Feng, the coldness and arrogance emanating from his crimson eyes were exactly the same as the man who killed Sten that day, awakening the most terrifying memories deep in Suzuka's heart.
"Him! Minister Honest, he's the one who killed Sten! Don't listen to Wave's lies!"
"If I was the one who killed your companion, why didn't you just say so from the beginning, Ms. Suzuka —right?"
Lin Feng looked coldly at Suzuka, his words filled with disdain.
"I can provide an alibi for Lin Feng; he was never in that area that day, especially on the west side."
Honest looked at the flustered Suzuka and was almost laughing out of anger.