In the third-tier zone, Catherine moved nimbly through the dense forest with a light, short-handled war scythe in hand. Her movements were deft: she rose lightly and landed in a flash. By the time her prey spotted her, its neck was broken and its head had fallen to the ground.
Catherine took out a piece of white silk and wiped the blood from the blade. Just as she was about to resume hunting, several Hunting Hawks gathered around her.
Several stern-faced warriors in specially made combat uniforms, with Blood Hound insignias on their chests, leaped down from the Hunting Hawks and surrounded Catherine. They aimed their rune firearms at her, and the dark muzzles sent a bone-deep chill through her. A bad feeling rose in her heart.
"Lady Catherine, the count requests your presence!"
The lean, tough warrior in the lead stepped forward. A dry branch snapped beneath his combat boot, making Catherine jump.
"What does His Lordship want with me?" she asked, feeling somewhat guilty.
"Please!" The Hound Unit warrior did not answer. He merely extended his right hand coldly, gesturing toward a Hunting Hawk that had landed nearby.
Catherine had no choice but to brace herself and climb onto the hawk's back.
The Hunting Hawk took flight, and the rushing wind whipped Catherine's long hair. She unconsciously pulled her clothes tighter around herself. The wind seemed unusually cold today.
At the city lord's residence, the heads of the seven great families had all assembled.
As soon as Catherine stepped into the hall, several sharp gazes turned toward her.
"Catherine, why did you try to assassinate Sir Logo?"
The old count sat at the head of the hall, his expression stern and his tone utterly certain.
Catherine was dumbfounded. She had just opened her mouth to explain when a corpse was thrown at her feet.
"Kaien has already searched his memories with the Soul Gathering Technique and confirmed that you were the mastermind. Catherine, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"I..."
Catherine was at a loss for words. The sight of Jiesita's corpse had already thrown her into complete disarray. The panic and guilt in her eyes confirmed once again to the old foxes present that she was the mastermind.
"Did you have any accomplices?" the old count asked again.
Catherine remained silent. It was not that she was particularly loyal; she simply believed that as long as she did not give Duoliya up, Duoliya would find a way to save her.
If she gave Duoliya up outright, she would truly lose all hope.
The old count questioned her for a long time, but Catherine kept her head down and said nothing.
In the end, the meeting was adjourned for the time being. She was confined in the clan prison to await the leadership's final decision.
Is the old count trying to fish someone out?
As Logo walked, he pondered the deeper meaning behind Count Herbert's actions.
What Catherine did not know was that her refusal to say a word had instead led people to guess that she had an accomplice.
Keeping Catherine alive for now allowed time for a decision, but more importantly, it was intended to draw out her accomplice.
As long as Catherine's accomplice feared being exposed by her, whether they tried to assassinate her or rescue her in secret, they would leave clues that could be followed back to them.
"Sir Logo!"
A short, stocky middle-aged man caught up with him. He was Bailuntuo Howard, patriarch of the Howard Family. He belonged to the same generation as Logo's father and was a serious, old-fashioned man.
"Uncle Howard!" Logo greeted him with a smile. By his father's generation, Bailuntuo counted as an uncle to him.
But through Catherine and Gurian, Bailuntuo belonged to his grandfather's generation.
By calling him uncle, Logo made his meaning clear: he was distancing himself from Catherine, but his relationship with the Howard Family and his attitude toward it remained unchanged.
Bailuntuo caught Logo's implied meaning and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that Logo would hold a grudge against the Howard Family over Catherine.
Now it seemed the young man had a clear head.
"Who do you think Catherine's accomplice is?" Bailuntuo did not plead with Logo on her behalf at all. Instead, he asked another question.
His attitude also showed Logo that the Howard Family would not interfere in Catherine's case. Whatever needed to be done would be done; they would not shield her.
"I don't know. My aunt is far too jealous, and after her bloodline curse erupted a few years ago, her personality became even more extreme and twisted. It's hard to say whether she even had an accomplice," Logo said, shaking his head.
He could not make careless guesses about the accomplice. Whoever he named, he would put himself in a passive position.
"Alas, Catherine..." Bailuntuo sighed. His daughter-in-law had caused no shortage of trouble over the years.
At the Russell Family residence, Duoliya stood with her head bowed while Ron, his face red with anger, berated her harshly.
Duoliya and Catherine had devised their scheme on their own. Ron had known nothing about it.
Only when Kaien found traces of Duoliya while searching Jiesita's memories and took the initiative to inform Kaluote Russell at the front, who then contacted Ron, did Ron learn that Duoliya had also been involved in the assassination attempt.
As for Kaluote Russell,
he was the strongest member of the Russell Family, Ron's younger brother and Duoliya's father.
He was one of only two ninth-tier transcendents in the Red Maple Clan, hailed as someone with the potential to become Legendary and nicknamed the Wings of Thunder.
Kaien and Kaluote had grown up together and faced life and death on the battlefield side by side. They had saved each other countless times, and their bond could not have been closer.
If anyone else had gotten into trouble, Kaien would never have meddled, given his character.
But Duoliya was Kaluote's only daughter, so he could not refuse to help.
"Uncle, I was doing it for the family!" Duoliya protested. "The plan was foolproof. Who could have known that even a peak third-tier transcendent being couldn't kill that kid?"
"For the family? Fine, let's hear your brilliant idea. Go on, tell me how you planned to help the family!"
Ron was so angry he laughed. He sat down, ready to hear how his spoiled niece would try to argue her way out of this.
"Herbert is old. When he dies, the clan will elect a new Count of Red Maple. Each of the seven great families represents a major faction. If my plan had succeeded, we could have won over the Campbell Family."
"With the Russell, Campbell and Rengat families united, we would only have needed to win over one more family. With the support of four great families, you could have become the Count of Red Maple," Duoliya explained. "Wasn't that doing it for the family?"
Ron looked at his niece in surprise. That was what she had been thinking.
He sighed, his temper subsiding. He helped his niece up and admonished her, "Your intentions were good, but your plan was far too naive. If it weren't for Kaien, you'd be finished this time. Trying to assassinate the Campbell Family's first heir is serious enough to alarm the Royal Court. No one could protect you!"
"Is it really that serious?" Duoliya muttered.
"You don't understand!" Ron's expression was complicated. "The Royal Court can't withstand internal turmoil. It will never allow anyone to undermine its unity!"
Seeing the wistful look on her uncle's face, Duoliya finally said no more.
"All right, you don't need to worry about this. I'll clean up your mess. Stay home and behave yourself for the time being. Don't go anywhere," Ron instructed her seriously.
"Brother!"
Xisi walked into the laboratory, looking somewhat dazed. Clearly, he had already heard about Catherine.
Logo put down the mechanical part in his hand and sighed. "You know I can't let Catherine go. She actually tried to kill me this time..."
Hearing this, Xisi gave a bitter smile. "Brother, do you think I came to plead for her?"
"Isn't that why you're here?" Logo asked in surprise.
"I can still tell right from wrong." Xisi rolled his eyes. "Besides, I'm a member of the Campbell Family. Whoever tries to harm the family's interests is my enemy, even if it's Aunt!"
"Oh?" This time, Logo was genuinely surprised. He studied his younger brother as though seeing him for the first time.
"You've grown up!" Logo said with emotion.
"No, you've just never really understood me, Brother."
"Is that so?"
"Yes!"
"..."
Logo had no answer. Thinking about it, he realized it was true. He had always treated Xisi like a child who had never grown up.
Yet without his noticing, that child had quietly grown up and developed convictions and beliefs of his own.
"Then what did you come to see me for?"
Logo asked curiously.
"I just want to see Aunt one last time and see her off." Xisi's expression was complicated. No matter how bad Catherine was, she had made up for some of the maternal love he had lacked. From the family's standpoint, she was certain to die, but on a personal level, Xisi could not bring himself to hate her.
"Go ahead. I'll have Melier speak to the guards!" Logo agreed to his request.
"Thank you, Brother!"
Xisi turned and left. For a fleeting moment, his departing figure seemed to stand even straighter.