Second Imperial Prince Alfred Cidre Diamas von Norta

Stella already suspected her colleague.

The head maid of the palace had just restocked the collection the previous day, so there was no way it would have finished so quickly... The nobles came for the meeting yesterday, and the Imperial Forces' major leaders were also gathered, but still.

She had used the excuse she gave to escape; she had also provided a plan to Rose to stop Aria's action, and now she was heading to Prince Alfred's study.

Ω

"Good morning, Prince Alfred," greeted a wavy chestnut brown-haired girl with black eyes.

"Ahh, Aria, how did the poisoning go?" replied the prince, who was sitting at his desk.

"It went well."

Prince Alfred then started spouting all sorts of nonsense about how he would become emperor after he took care of his elder brother.

"I guess I could release your family. But I need you to carry out one more thing for me."

"But..."

"You dare to question the Future Emperor."

"B-but it was not what you-"

"You failed before, two times to be exact." Afterward, an uneasy silence followed. "But I will reward you well if you take out Fredrick..."

I knew it. Alfred was the "mastermind" behind Aria's weird movements lately. He approached me... but I didn't know he had approached Aria.

Prince Alfred was without a doubt the best-looking among his brothers; many women in the empire and beyond who had seen him instantly fell for him, calling him "The Ideal Man" or "The Empire's Hidden Gem"; some even said he should be emperor. Multiple proposals were made by aristocrats who wanted their daughters to marry him, promising to side with him if Everest ever died.

Even his skills at negotiating, leading, and many others were exceptional, rivaling Fredrick and Everest's. But all that was a façade, as inside he was a corrupt and immoral man. He had connections to many criminal bosses and mafias who ruled the secret flow of money in the underworld.

He had sexually assaulted multiple maids in the palace, most of whom committed suicide a few weeks after, suffered pregnancy, abortion, and, even worse, blamed it on guards who were usually stationed near those maids' quarters. He also killed off maids who wanted to talk and even their family members. In summary, he was indirectly the cause of the deaths of a hundred people: maids, guards, and unborn children.

Stella was aware of this; that was why she was disguised as Aria to get as much information as possible. She was a near victim of his, if it weren't for her past as a member of the Shadow Division. He also tried to recruit her to assassinate Everest, even trying to use her family as hostages, as he was currently using Aria's, but he failed.

I have to go and stop Aria soon, or-

"Well, what do you say? I will even make you my wife. Slurp," he paused to lick his lips," after all, I have taken a liking to you."

More like her body. Stella monologued internally. "Unfortunately..."

"What?!"

Stella removed her wig to reveal her slick raven-black hair, which reached a few centimetres below her shoulder blades. She then pulled off the mask she had on to reveal her face; the eye colour was the same, but the facial structure reminded the prince of a nightmare he had tried to seduce before.

"...I have to save my colleague."

"S...ST-STELLA!"

"Yes, Prince Alfred. I have the needed evidence for your deprivation." Stella said with an ice-cold voice and expression.

"You wench... I will have you-"

BAM

Stella left the room, leaving the prince dumbfounded and perplexed. Stella put the wig and mask into a storage circle before she headed back to Princess Everest's room. She had stopped Aria's attempt at assassination twice by informing Rose beforehand.