Chapter 1323 The Culprit

Chapter 1323 The Culprit
The Poison Princess looked down on the man who was kneeling before her. The man was the suspicious person in her mind since he didn't sense anything about his fallen comrade.
The Poison Princess asked, "Are you the culprit?"
"Me? No, I'm not the culprit!" The man shook his head furiously, scared that one word might be all she needed to kill him.
"Then, what were you doing when the assassination happened?"
"I…" The man bit his lips. Although it was embarrassing, he said, "I was asleep. I didn't know why but I was so sleepy that I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep."
"Huh?" The Poison Princess gritted her teeth, wanting to kill this man immediately. After all, a guard falling asleep was fatal in this environment since they could be ambushed during that time.
However, her guard should have been carefully selected, and their strength could allow them to not sleep for one week straight.
Yet, the guard claimed he fell asleep.
'Something that can put him to sleep.' The Poison Princess muttered inwardly, 'Is there someone who is using a sleeping poison as well? But a poisonous gas will alarm me as well, so that means the poison needs to be in contact with him. If that's the case, it must be something that he consumed…'
After a while, the Poison Princess asked, "Who did you meet before you fell asleep? Did that person give you a drink or something?"
"I…" The man gritted his teeth, trying hard to recall what happened. However, his memory seemed to be blurry as he had a hard time saying it. "This… I don't remember much, but there seems… to be a man. I can't recall the clothes or what he gave me, but… I am sure it's a man, a big man."
"!!!" The Poison Princess widened her eyes, thinking. 'A big man? The Empress' Palace doesn't have any men, so they're out of the question. How about the other two groups? There is one man among the Star Group, but Mark has confirmed they're not the culprit. In that case, the only other person who can be considered a big man is… Ragnar from the World Martial Institute.
'After all, my people don't have a big body. In fact, this guy is the biggest one among them.' The Poison Princess bit her lips. 'To think the culprit is that Ragnar. I'm not going to let this go, World Martial Institute. Not only did you dare to harm my slave, but you also had taken the life of my people…'
The Poison Princess wanted to release her anger, but she couldn't do it because there was not enough proof to blame Ragnar for what happened.
She looked at the big man and glanced to the side. She had been burning incense this whole time.
'The Truth Incense is something that I develop with the Truth Drug in mind. When the person inhales a lot of it, he won't be able to lie. So, it's clear that this pig bastard hasn't lied to me. Although the effect is only for the truth, the efficacy is far beyond my Control Drug.
'I have used my Control Drug to influence Mark's mind so that he'll become my slave. But still, this pig is not lying…' The Poison Princess assessed the entire situation and ended up dropping this matter.
Although she wanted to blame Ragnar immediately, it would be extremely dangerous right now. So, she decided to gather some proof first before blaming Ragnar.
"Fine. You're good to go. However, you still need to be punished for falling asleep. Go to Skar to talk about your punishment."
"Y-yes. Thank you milady for your forgiveness." The man furiously nodded as he rushed to the exit, not wanting to stay any longer.
…
While the Poison Princess was contemplating her plan, Nella lied down on her sleeping bag while looking at the ceiling.
'Hmm… It seems that the situation proceeds as he said…' She thought, recounting what Theo said if he wanted to conquer this group.
Back then, she asked, "If it were you, how would you attack the group?"
"Multiple ways. But I'll try to divide them in most scenarios. After separating them enough, it'll be easier to defeat these people. And the worst part is… I wonder if the experts that escorted the Poison Princess would actually betray us or not."
This answer didn't seem to be that simple.
'Theo might have seen this coming.' Nella frowned. 'Now that I think about it, the enemy managed to divide us. Without trust in each other, it'll be easier to conquer them since all you need to do is overwhelm them from one side.
'And Theo is suspecting that the people from the Poison Princess are the culprits. The Poison Princess has brought ten Mythical Rank Experts, the same number as the three influences combined. Now that we've been divided, it's clear that if the Poison Princess suddenly backstabs us, we won't be able to do anything.
'But the question is… Why does the person who is dying to be one of them instead of the three influences? Is it because they don't want the three influences to abandon the mission because of the casualty and the lack of trust?
'Either way, it seems everything has gone according to Theo's vision. In that case, I want to see how Theo will reply to them this time.' Nella smirked, thinking there would be a good show later when Theo revealed her cards.
Unbeknownst to her or anyone in the big group, there was a single person who was still roaming in the area.
"Hii… Don't kill me! I was forced to do it!" A Mythical Rank Expert dropped to the ground while raising his hand, trying to stop the person in front of him.
"I don't care about your motive. The moment you do it, you must also have the resolve to be hunted." She raised her hand, forming an invisible bow and arrow with her Magic Power. 'Now die.'
*Fwoosh!*
The wind blew slightly and ripped apart the Mythical Rank Expert's head. She then looked at the two other corpses next to him. "Tsk. As he said, there are other influences trying to harm them. Well, they're perfect to be my training partner since I have many things to try with my Bow Order."