Her eyes gradually adjusted to the sunlight, and Swain's back no longer looked so blurry in Princess Celestia's eyes.

"Really?" she said noncommittally, "but I'm not too interested in these things, your world is fine, as long as you don't cross the line too much, then I don't think anyone will want to interfere." Let's talk about the Home Office. ”

"Just ask. ”

"There was an explosion in the Ministry of the Interior that day, and although that is said, many witnesses said that a pillar of fire rose from the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I don't think this is a normal explosion of ammunition, can you? Tell me honestly, if you did it. ”

"It's not. Swain replied decisively in the negative. It's not surprising that Princess Celestia would think so, after all, judging from the Vincent's affairs, Sven is not unable to do such a thing.

"So what's going on, I'm not surprised that the Ministry of Home Affairs, where you have been held before, was able to escape from such a fire, but you will be injured, it's very strange, what happened to the Ministry of the Interior that day. ”

"It's a terrible thing," Swain said slowly, looking at Astrad I College in the distance, "and it's gone beyond our imagination. ”

"What did you say?" Princess Celestia immediately tensed, and hearing this from Swain's mouth was more disturbing than hearing it from anyone else's mouth.

"Have you heard any reports from Section Thirteen and Count Hecate since the incident at the Ministry of the Interior?"

Princess Celestia frowned, carefully searching her mind for everything she had recently had about the Thirteen Lessons, but not all the information sent to Tiamat Palace was something she could read, Alexander didn't like to let his daughter interfere too much in political affairs, and if it wasn't for the death of Nicholas I, Alexei would have attended that day's meeting.

"It seems that it has been a long time since I heard the news of Lesson Thirteen. "Caterina didn't have a deep contact with Lesson Thirteen, and the only direct contact was when Artemis and Yang went to Fort Midnight to welcome her back to Germany, "But I'm not sure, after all, this information is very hidden, and I may not have seen it." ”

"Count Hecate is most likely dead. ”

"What!" Caterina stared at Swain in disbelief, "Are you sure?"

Swain glanced at Princess Celestia, then continued, "I said 'maybe,' but the probability is very high, almost enough for sure. ”

Celestia's brows furrowed even tighter, if this is true, then I'm afraid that there will be no one to lead the thirteen lessons now, and this will most likely lead the empire to no way to defend itself against attacks from the wizarding world.

"You...... Is there any evidence?" she still couldn't believe it, although she had only met Count Hecate a few times, and when she had met him before, Princess Celestia had no idea about magic, but the Count had left a good impression on Caterina, elegant, calm, and seemed to be confident in everything, and was one of the few people who could make Caterina feel reliable.

Swain raised his cane and said to Celestia, "This, that's the proof. ”

Caterina looked at the cane carefully, she thought it was strange when she first saw Swain, she didn't understand why Swain came to see her with a cane, and when she saw Swain limping and walking, she subconsciously thought that it was because of Sven's leg problems, but now it seems that there are other secrets on this cane.

After looking back and forth several times, the eldest princess still couldn't remember where she had seen this cane, she did have a vague impression in her mind, but she couldn't remember the specific situation.

"Is this Count Hecate's stuff?" Celestia made a guess about what Swain had just said, though she still couldn't remember the origin of the cane.

"That's right. Swain removed his hand from the handshake of his cane, revealing what had been hidden by his palm.

It can be seen that the top of the golden cane was originally inlaid with a ruby, and there were still fragments of the gem on it, but now the ruby is naturally gone. Seeing this, Caterina immediately remembered, she remembered that she had indeed seen this cane in the hand of Count Hecate, and at the same time understood why she couldn't remember it just now.

"There, where's the ruby?" she pointed to the place where the ruby was originally inlaid, and her solemn expression seemed to remember something, "I remember, Count Hecate once told me that the ruby is the most important treasure of the Hecate family, and if this gem is gone, then maybe Count Hecate is really ......"

"When I found this cane, the gem on it was gone. Swain continued, "I can sense that there is a huge amount of magic on this gem, and there is no sign of use at all. If this gem is a very important treasure of the Hecate family, there is no reason for Count Hecate to let it be destroyed, and if he is in great danger, there is no reason to leave the magic in the gem unused. ”

"I don't understand these things!" Princess Celestia walked to the edge of the terrace anxiously, her delicate hand slamming hard against the railing, "if something really happens to Count Hecate...... Where did you find this cane? It can't be in the Ministry of the Interior!"

"And on the day of the incident in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Swain added calmly.

"Oh, shit. The eldest princess's face sank completely, and she even said a dirty word unconsciously, "Then the thirteen lessons can no longer be trusted, and ...... Now that Count Hecate is dead, the one who is most qualified to take the thirteen lessons into his subordinates is Beria, in this case......"

"I'm afraid there's more to it than that. Swain shook his head and said to the eldest princess, "I suspect that the incident at the Ministry of the Interior is the hands and feet of the Thirteen Lessons, although I did not see the Earl of Hecate himself, but I saw the people of the Thirteen Lessons there, and it is likely that they were behind the turmoil." ”

"Oh my God, wouldn't you?" The shocking news almost stunned the eldest princess, and she couldn't pay any attention to it, "However, you found Count Hecate's cane at the Ministry of the Interior, and Count Hecate was likely to have an accident in that incident, so why do you say that Lesson 13 is behind it? Or ...... This is actually a civil strife in Lesson 13?"

"Quite possibly," Swain strengthened his suspicion as he remembered the appearance of Manfred and Young in front of him without worry, "the two main men of the Home Office may have betrayed, although it is not clear whether they have defected to Beria or have other plans, but it is certain that they are not on the side of you and me." ”

Hearing Swain say the word "you and me", Princess Celestia twisted her shoulders uncomfortably, she didn't feel like she was on one side of Swain.

"Of the two you speak......" she asked after a pause, hesitatingly, "Miss Artemis?"

Swain raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at Princess Celestia from head to toe. "I didn't see her there, do you have a good relationship with Miss Hecate?"

Princess Celestia knew what Swain's subtext was, but she didn't care, and now Caterina no longer had expectations for Swain, just as Swain no longer had hopes for her, they were just forced to choose a similar opponent because they both needed an ally.

"At least in my previous contact with her, I can be sure that Artemis is not the kind of person who will betray the Empire, she has no ambition, and she is not even willing to inherit the responsibility of the Thirteenth Lesson, a person like her should not have anything to do with this incident, at least I think so. ”

"Really?" Swain nodded noncommittally, but Celestia still couldn't tell his attitude on that face, "So what do you mean? trust Thirteen Lessons, or take advantage of them?"

"I'd like to get Artemis first, we need some information from her. ”

Princess Celestia knows what kind of person Swain is, and he won't trust others easily, especially in this situation, Artmis's identity is indeed easy to doubt. If Artemis has nothing to do with the civil strife of Lesson 13, then take this opportunity to bring Artemis over, after all, now after the death of Earl Hecate, there is only one heir left in the Hecate family, and if she controls her, there will be enough reasons and opportunities to meddle in the affairs of Lesson 13;

"Yes, but in case Miss Artemis is unreliable, you should know what to do. ”

"Well—" sighed helplessly, and Caterina understood that this was the most sensible and appropriate thing to do right now, "then I'll write to Artemis in a minute." ”

"As soon as possible. Swain reminded, "Lesson 13 shouldn't know about your visit to Karin Castle yet, so let them mistakenly think it's an inquiry from Tiamat Palace, so don't make them suspicious." ”

"I know. Caterina nodded, at this time, it was reasonable for the Tiamat Palace to summon Artemis to ask, whether Artemis had anything to do with the turmoil in the Thirteenth Lesson or not, the order from the Tiamat Palace was something she could not refuse at the moment.

"I'm sorry for you. Swain said, limping towards the staircase with his cane.

At this time, Caterina's mood was even more agitated, the impact of the incident at the Ministry of the Interior was far beyond her imagination, and what was worse was that her father was probably completely unaware of the problem of Lesson 13, how to tell Alexander, which became another problem that bothered Katarina, and now that the relationship between father and daughter was so stiff, she didn't think that Alexander would believe her words.

Caterina was distressed and prepared to go back to her room to be quiet, but as she walked up the stairs, she saw Swain, who was about to turn the stairs.

"What's that?"

A faint gray shadow was wrapping around Swain's back, too vague for Caterina to discern what it looked like, only a rough half-length of a person. By the time she rubbed her eyes and looked closely, Sven had disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

"Just now...... What's that?"

Caterina stood on the terrace in disbelief, it was obviously hot noon, but she was frightened into a cold sweat by the scene she had just seen.

————————————

Artemis felt that something was not quite right lately.

Count Heckat had not returned to Govelenburg for several days since attending the funeral of Nicholas I, and although she had asked everyone she could contact, none of them could help Artmis.

This made her feel very uneasy, and to make matters worse, Yang and Manfred were gone, and she was the only one left in Thirteen Class, except for a few low-level employees. This loneliness was something she had never experienced before, as if it were poison that was draining her confidence bit by bit, and now Artemis was surrounded by a great sense of crisis, as if the shadow that had taken away her father and brother would swallow her at any moment.

So, when she received Katarina's letter, she almost grabbed a lifesaver, and without hesitation left Govélenburg for the Palazzo Tiamat, a place she was so desperately reluctant to set foot in.