"Someone attempted to assassinate Her Highness, and we are in pursuit." The golden-armoured guard shouted.

Lancelot exclaimed in shock. "Who would dare to assassinate Her Highness? Men, follow me to capture the assassin!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

With that, Lancelot led a group of cavalry to follow the golden-armoured guards in the direction Richard had fled. At the same time, he sent someone to inform Simon.

The golden-armoured guards had no reason to doubt Lancelot and galloped ahead, with Lancelot following closely behind. Their encounter with the golden-armoured guards was part of the plan.

The key to this plan was for Lancelot’s men to capture Richard and take him to the Brambleford prison. If the golden-armoured guards caught Richard, he would likely be tortured to death.

Before long, they reached a fork in the road. The golden-armoured guard said. "Captain Lancelot, let’s split up. If you catch the assassin, please inform us."

"Of course," Lancelot replied. He then led the Brambleford troops down one path while the golden-armoured guards took the other.

After galloping for a while, Lancelot suddenly stopped in front of a small grove. He called out. "Richard, come out."

As soon as he spoke, Richard emerged from the grove with twelve men.

Richard said. "Captain Lancelot, my life is in your hands now."

Lancelot dismounted and walked up to Richard. "To avoid arousing Her Highness’s suspicion, I’ll have to rough you up a bit. My apologies."

With that, Lancelot punched Richard in the face and then slashed his arm with a knife.

"Cough, you’re ruthless." Richard grimaced in pain.

Lancelot smiled helplessly. "It’s His Highness’s orders."

Richard thought to himself that as long as he could get revenge, a little suffering was worth it. He then asked. "What about them?"

Lancelot glanced at the secret guards accompanying Richard and spoke. "There are enough death row prisoners in the Brambleford prison to replace them."

Richard nodded. Prince Simon’s plans were always meticulous.

Time was of the essence, so the two didn’t waste any more words. Lancelot escorted Richard toward the city. As they approached the city gates, he sent someone to inform the golden-armoured guards that the assassin had been captured.

After the assassination attempt on Simon and now Princess Lisa, Brambleford City was once again on edge.

Upon hearing that the assassin had been caught, Princess Lisa and Zephyrus rushed into the city that very night.

"Auntie, I told you that the city isn’t safe. If you had listened to my advice, this wouldn’t have happened. I myself was almost assassinated some time ago." Simon said with a concerned expression in the main hall of the castle.

Princess Lisa was still shaken. The assassination attempt had come out of nowhere, and she couldn’t think of any enemies she had in Brambleford.

Her first thought was that Simon might have orchestrated the attack, fearing that she had ulterior motives for her visit. After all, Simon’s reputation as a troublemaker was well-known, and no one could predict what he might do next.

But now, looking at Simon’s demeanour, it didn’t seem like he was behind it.

"Your Highness, please hand the assassin over to me. I’ll tear him to pieces." Zephyrus said furiously.

Simon replied sternly. "General Zephyrus, we must not act rashly. Until we find out who is behind this, Her Highness is still in danger."

"Then does the prince have any leads?" Princess Lisa asked, trying to calm herself.

After a moment of hesitation, Simon said with a guilty expression. "This is my oversight. The assassin who attempted to kill you is a member of the Goldwynd family, one of Brambleford’s powerful clans. His name is Richard, and he is Cedric’s nephew."

"What!" Princess Lisa exclaimed in shock.

Zephyrus roared. "I knew that Goldwynd father and son were no good! The Goldwynd family must be furious about losing face at the banquet and decided to intimidate Her Highness. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have retreated after a single attack."

Princess Lisa’s expression was complex, her eyes darting around as she tried to gauge the truthfulness of Simon’s words.

In her view, a powerful local family in Brambleford wouldn’t dare to assassinate a princess. She spoke. "Prince Simon, in that case, can we have this person confront the Goldwynd father and son face-to-face?"

"Of course. I’ll have the Goldwynd father and son arrested immediately." Simon said.

Princess Lisa wasn’t someone who could be easily fooled, and Simon knew she wouldn’t believe him without solid evidence.

"Zephyrus, you go with them. Make sure the Goldwynd father and son are captured." Princess Lisa said casually.

---

Goldwynd Family Residence.

Walter and Cedric had just received the news that Princess Lisa wanted to see them.

"Father, it seems your guess was right. With Princess Lisa as our backer, what does Prince Simon matter?" Walter said excitedly. "I won’t have to pretend to be submissive anymore."

Cedric stroked his beard smugly. "Hmph, compared to Princess Lisa’s influence with the emperor, the prince is nothing. From now on, if Simon wants to move against our family, he’ll have to answer to Princess Lisa and the emperor."

The two of them laughed heartily.

"My Lord... My Lord..."

Just as they were basking in their triumph, the Goldwynd family’s steward rushed in, looking panicked.

"What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Get a hold of yourself." Cedric scolded.

"It’s... It’s not that, My Lord. There are... There are a large number of golden-armoured soldiers outside, and..."

"Golden-armoured soldiers? It seems Princess Lisa has sent someone to fetch us." Walter interrupted the steward and strode out.

Cedric, despite his cunning, was also somewhat flustered.

When Simon had replaced the local officials in the six cities, Cedric had realised that many of Simon’s actions were aimed at weakening the influence of the powerful families.

Combined with past events, he became even more certain of this. However, at the time, he had been blinded by immediate gains and hadn’t thought deeply about it. Now, it was too late to regret.

Unfortunately, the Chandlier and Goldwynd families had become enemies, making any alliance impossible. In this regard, Cedric had to admire Simon’s foresight.

After realising this, Cedric continued to do business with Simon while secretly looking for a powerful backer. He hadn’t expected an opportunity to come so soon.

Following Walter, he walked out, but before he could take more than a few steps, his expression changed drastically.

Behind the golden-armoured guards were silver-armoured Brambleford soldiers, and Lancelot was among them.

"Father, what’s going on?" Walter was stunned.

Zephyrus, seeing Walter, flew into a rage and kicked him hard in the stomach. "Arrest these two traitors!"

Lancelot waved his hand, and the Brambleford soldiers rushed forward.

Cedric’s face turned ashen. He couldn’t understand how things had come to this. He asked. "Captain Lancelot, what is the meaning of this?"

"Sir Cedric, don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough." Lancelot said calmly.