Chương 472: Chapter : 472

"He did not run away!" Elma shouted passionately. Tears of frustration and deep gratitude formed in her blue eyes.

"He threw his own body into the air! He shoved me out of the way! He took a massive, crushing blow to save my life! He does not wear armor! He does not use magic shields! But he risked everything to protect a rival servant! He is not a coward! He has more honor than anyone in this entire room!" The pristine white parlor went completely, undeniably silent. Zaima lowered her glowing hands. The white magic faded away into nothingness. Her jaw dropped open. She stared at Elma in total disbelief.

She had never heard Elma speak with such intense, raw passion before. Princess Iris smiled a very soft, very warm smile. Her violet eyes shone with pure pride. She looked at her messy, lazy servant. He had somehow earned the passionate loyalty of a rival unit member through sheer, unexpected kindness. Naomi chuckled quietly. She bumped her shoulder playfully against Ken's arm again.

"You are quite the charmer, farm boy. You totally won her over." Ken scratched the back of his messy black hair. He slouched his shoulders. He felt a tiny bit awkward. He hated being called a hero. He just wanted to be a background character.

"I literally just tripped on a very slippery floor tile," Ken lied smoothly. He gave a goofy shrug.

"It was a total accident. I am incredibly clumsy. But I appreciate the dramatic speech, Elma. It was very cinematic." Elma glared at him. Her face was totally red.

"Shut up, you idiot! I am trying to defend your honor! Stop ruining the moment!" Grandmaster Yukihime stepped forward. The elegant, icy assassin looked at Princess Hestia.

"Elma makes a highly compelling argument, Your Highness. If the 13th Unit possesses this level of internal integrity, it is highly illogical for them to orchestrate a cowardly assassination attempt. The psychological profiles do not match the evidence." Hestia nodded slowly. She picked up her porcelain teacup. She took a calm, polite sip of tea. She looked at the glowing glass vial on the table.

"Sayma is correct," Princess Hestia concluded smoothly. She placed the cup back on its saucer.

"The magical signature is a flawless forgery. Someone went to incredible lengths to replicate my sister's mana frequency. They wanted us to destroy each other. They wanted the 16th Unit and the 13th Unit to engage in a mutually destructive war." Zinia cracked her knuckles. The strong earth mage grinned a tough, confident grin.

"So we have a hidden enemy. Another Royal candidate is pulling the strings from the shadows."

"It is a classic shadow-manipulation strategy," Ken announced lazily. He popped another piece of strawberry candy into his mouth. He chewed loudly. Crunch. Crunch.

"The real villain never attacks directly in the first act. They always use clones and fake energy to frame the good guys. It is anime plot structure 101. We just need to figure out who the main villain is." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Sayma pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her analytical mind instantly started running calculations. She opened her notebook. She clicked her pen.

"We need to analyze the current leaderboard," Sayma stated politely. She looked at Princess Iris and Princess Hestia.

"Who benefits the most from our mutual destruction? Who possesses the political resources and the magical knowledge required to forge a Royal bloodline signature?" Princess Iris narrowed her violet eyes. She thought about the recent conversations at the Upper Council. She thought about the ambitious, ruthless candidates in the tournament.

"The Masked Prince," Princess Iris whispered softly. The realization hit her like a solid rock.

"He has been entirely too quiet recently. He operates deep within the intelligence networks. He has the funding to hire elite magical forgers." Hestia's green eyes flashed with sudden, intense recognition.

"You are right, Iris. Our older brother despises both of us. He considers us a massive threat to his campaign. He is trying to eliminate two rivals with one single strike." The tension in the room shifted entirely. The fierce rivalry between the two Princesses melted away. It was replaced by a shared, undeniable focus. They had a common enemy. They were both targeted by a massive, treacherous conspiracy. Naomi spun her daggers. She slid the sharp blades smoothly into her belt.

She offered a fierce, determined smile.

"Well, if he wants to play games in the shadows, we will gladly drag him into the light. Nobody frames our unit and gets away with it." Laxmi punched her open palm. Bright orange flames roared around her knuckles.

"I am totally ready! Let us go find the Masked Prince and roast his fancy clothes!" Elma stepped back into her unit's formation. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Her face was still a bright shade of pink, but she looked incredibly proud of her passionate defense. She stole a quick, shy glance at Ken. Ken offered her a lazy, goofy wink. Elma instantly looked away, trying very hard to hide her smile. Princess Hestia stood up from her velvet chair. She looked at her younger sister.

She did not offer a warm hug, but she offered a firm, respectful nod.

"We have a mutual problem, Iris," Princess Hestia declared smoothly. Her voice carried absolute authority.

"We will investigate this forgery. We will uncover the Masked Prince's treachery. The temporary alliance remains intact for now."

"Agreed," Princess Iris replied gracefully.

"We will share our intelligence. We will expose the truth." Ken slouched his shoulders. He dragged his shoes on the marble floor. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He let out a massive, dramatic yawn that stretched his jaw completely open.

"This political drama is incredibly exhausting," Ken complained lazily to the room. He looked at Naomi.

"Can we please go home now? I need a very long nap. And you still owe me a large bag of potato chips." Naomi laughed softly. She nudged his arm again.

"You will get your chips, slacker. Let us go home." The 13th Unit turned around. They walked out of the pristine white parlor. They headed toward the grand exit of the mansion. The massive, catastrophic misunderstanding was officially resolved. The true enemy was finally revealed. The 13th Unit was ready to prepare for the real war, and Ken Eliot was absolutely ready to go back to sleep.

The Belmontian Council chamber buzzed with loud voices. Politicians waved papers in the air. The bright lights illuminated their panicked faces. The Emperor sat on his golden throne. He looked down at the large marble desk. He did not speak. He just watched the chaos unfold in front of him. A messenger stood in the center of the room. The messenger breathed very fast. He looked totally exhausted. He had just delivered catastrophic news to the government. The Bluemoon Kingdom had fallen.

Black Magicians controlled the allied capital. The terrifying news spread like wild fire. The politicians could not believe it. Bluemoon was a strong nation. They had elite grandmasters. Now, those grandmasters were defeated. The dark magic users ruled the streets.