Rulu and his companions continued deeper into the cave. Before long, they arrived at a spacious, well-lit chamber. A middle-aged woman sat atop a large stone in the center of the room. When she noticed Rulu and his group entering, a flash of panic crossed her face — but she quickly composed herself, replacing it with a calm, collected smile.
"Well hello there, Princess Meiyu. You don't seem particularly alarmed to see us." Rulu said with a mocking smile, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Princess Meiyu wore a false smile and feigned surprise. "My, my — you really are something, finding your way here. If you've made it this far, I suppose that means those useless fools have already failed, haven't they?"
"That's right," Rulu said. "Do you know why we've come looking for you?"
Princess Meiyu's narrow eyes flickered. She put on a fawning smile and said, "You want me to forfeit the competition and surrender to you, don't you? No problem — I concede right now. Let Euphemia keep being Lord. Heh heh heh…"
As she spoke, she reached into her clothing and produced a square object resembling a communicator. But then Rulu said, "Wait. I didn't come here to make you forfeit. I'm here for something else."
"Not about the competition?" Princess Meiyu froze, looking at Rulu with a puzzled expression, unsure of what he intended.
"Kallen, all of you — step outside and wait for me at the cave entrance. I need to speak with her alone." Rulu turned to C.C., Kallen, and the others behind him.
"Be careful," Kallen said, then walked toward the cave exit. W.W. and Six-Tail followed. C.C., however, remained where she was without moving. Rulu turned to her. "C.C., you too."
C.C.'s face showed displeasure. "What does it matter? I've done so much for you — can't you at least let me hear what you have to say to her?"
Rulu hesitated briefly, then said, "Fine. But C.C., you can listen — just don't interfere."
"Of course."
Once Rulu confirmed that Kallen and W.W. had left the cave, he turned his full attention to Princess Meiyu. "Princess Meiyu, I want to ask you about something. Something that happened seven years ago."
Princess Meiyu said nothing. Her eyes darted quickly as she tried to figure out what Rulu was after.
Rulu continued. "Seven years ago, there was an assassination attempt targeting a member of the royal family in the Sanctuary. A mother and daughter were killed in that incident. Only one young prince survived. How much do you know about this?"
A strange light flickered in Princess Meiyu's narrow eyes. After a brief pause, she said, "I have heard of what you're describing, but I don't know much about it. What I know is about the same as what you just said."
"Is that so?" Rulu's expression turned skeptical. "From what I understand, Princess Meiyu, even though you don't hold the title of Lord of the Sanctuary, you maintain close ties with many members of the royal family. Your intelligence network spans the entire Sanctuary — almost nothing happens there without you hearing about it quickly. You must know the details of that assassination."
Princess Meiyu kept her false smile in place. "Those are just rumors. I have no power or influence in the Sanctuary. I can only stay there by relying on the help of other royals. The Emperor has so many sons and daughters — there are many princes and princesses I don't even know by name, let alone what happens in their lives."
"So you're saying you truly don't know the details of that assassination? Not even the names of those who were killed?"
"Of course not. I don't know those people at all. I wouldn't even recognize their faces."
"Then I suppose you don't know who I am either?" Rulu said. As he spoke, he slowly walked toward Princess Meiyu. He removed his glasses and conjured a fireball at his side, letting the light illuminate his face.
Princess Meiyu studied his features carefully. The moment she recognized him fully, her face turned white with shock. She cried out, "This — this can't be. How are you still—" She caught herself midsentence and quickly covered her mouth.
"It seems something has come back to you. You recognize me, don't you?" Rulu said with a sardonic smile. That reaction alone was enough for him to be certain she knew everything about that incident.
Princess Meiyu forced a smile onto her face. Though she was smiling, her body had begun to tremble uncontrollably. She tried to steady herself. "N-no… I was just surprised by how young and handsome you look. That's all. Heh heh heh…"
Rulu smiled back at her. "Aren't you surprised that I'm still alive — that I wasn't killed by the assassination you personally orchestrated, dear Princess Meiyu?"
Princess Meiyu seemed to be struck by tremendous fear. She shot to her feet, waving her arms and crying out, "No — I had nothing to do with that! That was not me!"
"If not you, then who?"
All color drained from Princess Meiyu's face. Cold sweat ran down her forehead. She collapsed back down weakly, her words coming apart. "No — I don't know. I don't know you at all. That incident had nothing to do with me."
"Calm down. I only want to know who was behind it. Just tell me the details of the assassination, that's all." Rulu said, as he began channeling his Spiritual-power toward Princess Meiyu, attempting to take control of her mind.
Under the influence of Rulu's Spiritual-power, Princess Meiyu's agitation gradually settled. She spoke slowly. "Very well. I'll tell you everything I know. That assassination was extremely complex — many people were involved. The target was the prince the Emperor favored most at the time, which made it extraordinarily difficult to carry out without leaving a trace. It required the cooperation of many. Dozens of royal family members were implicated — all of them contributed to the operation in some way. Fearing exposure, none of them acted directly. Instead, they communicated through a single trusted intermediary, secretly plotting the assassination together. Only that intermediary knew who all of them were."
Rulu pressed urgently. "Do you know who that intermediary was?"
"Yes."
"Who?" Rulu asked, a tension creeping into his voice.
"Me."
Rulu was stunned — then broke into delighted laughter. "What luck. I really am lucky…"
After a moment, Rulu stopped laughing. His voice turned hard. "Which people planned that assassination? Do you remember all of their names?!"
"Yes. Every one of them."
"Good. Write them all down for me. Don't leave a single one out." Rulu reached into his clothing and pulled out a piece of parchment and a black pen he had prepared beforehand, and tossed them to Princess Meiyu.
Princess Meiyu picked up the pen and paper and began to write. When she finished, Rulu took the parchment and looked it over. It was densely covered with twenty or thirty names — most of which Rulu did not recognize. He said, "Among these people, who was the mastermind? Who actually planned the assassination?"
Princess Meiyu named a name. Rulu did not recognize it, and had no idea what this person looked like. He asked again, "Why did this person plan the assassination?"
Princess Meiyu said, "Because he felt that prince posed a serious threat to him. At the time, the Emperor was deeply fond of that prince and was even considering grooming him as his successor. If that prince rose to power, it would inevitably harm the interests of certain royals — particularly those already out of the Emperor's favor, who might even be expelled from the Sanctuary as a result. Many members of the royal family resented and envied that prince deeply. That's why they conspired to have him killed."
"Despicable, every one of them — resorting to such underhanded methods," Rulu muttered under his breath. He asked again, "And you, Princess Meiyu — what was your role in the assassination? Besides acting as liaison, what else did you do?"
Princess Meiyu said, "At the time, that prince and I had no significant conflict of interest. I was simply asked to handle communications between the others. Everything else was none of my doing."
"I see…" Upon hearing this, some of the hatred Rulu felt toward Princess Meiyu softened. He then fell into a long silence.
Beside him, C.C. grew restless watching Rulu say nothing. She finally spoke. "All right — now that everything is clear, Rulu, what do you intend to do with her?"
Rulu snapped out of his thoughts. A cold hatred lit up his eyes. "Even though this woman wasn't one of the masterminds behind the assassination, she still took part in it — she was an accomplice. And on top of that, she was the one who personally orchestrated the attack on Euphemia this time. She must be severely punished."
With those words, Rulu raised his hand. Two ice spikes, each about ten centimeters long, materialized in midair and shot toward Princess Meiyu's face with blinding speed. They drove deep into both of her eyes. Princess Meiyu let out a shriek of agony, clutching her blood-soaked face as she crumpled to the ground, her screams dissolving into writhing moans of pain.
Rulu then summoned a fireball and levitated three small stones in the air. He held the flame against them until they glowed red-hot. Then he guided the three stones — one into Princess Meiyu's mouth, and one into each ear. The scorching stones lodged in her ears and throat, burning through her eardrums and searing her airways. Princess Meiyu clutched at her throat, trying to scream, but with her throat destroyed she could only produce hoarse, hollow sounds — utterly unable to speak.
Witnessing this, C.C.'s expression shifted — a trace of sorrow crossed her face. She sighed. "You've left her blind, mute, and deaf. Does that settle the score for you? Will that make you happy?"
Rulu said coldly, "I am not happy. I only know that she had to pay for what she did. No punishment could undo the suffering I endured, or bring back my mother and sister. This is what she deserves — at the very least, it ensures she can never continue to harm others."