"Whatever happened, it was probably nothing good," Lucas answered. "I'll go and find out. Why don't you head back?"

"All right."

Word spread fast, and soon everyone in the Imperial Palace was curious about the arrival of the herald on horseback. They were anxious, too, and no one was more so than the emperor, who thought that perhaps a foreign country was invading their territory. No such thing was happening, but he was plenty disturbed when the message reached him at last.

"Your Majesty," said the herald. "His Highness, Crown Prince Felix, has been assaulted in Pear County. Poisoned and unconscious, he is dying."

Thunderstruck, the emperor dropped the teacup that was in his hand. "What did you say? What happened to Felix?"

"Your Majesty, His Highness was assaulted in Pear County. He was poisoned and lost consciousness," the man repeated gravely. "None of the accompanying physicians was able to do anything to help. The group is on their way back to the imperial capital as we speak." Felix was the designated heir to the throne of the country. The

seems to me that any successful attack against him would have to have taken him by surprise, when he was off guard. So the assassin must be someone Felix was familiar with or not vigilant against."

"Then who do you think might be the murderer?" Saying this, the emperor fixed his dull eyes on Hoffman, not missing any of his subtle expressions. Matthew might have assaulted Felix, but Hoffman might also have done so. If Felix were to die, then Hoffman would be the only son of the emperor who was able to shoulder the burden of being the crown prince. His second son, Walden, was incapable; his third son, Jason, was outside all the year round; his sixth son, Francis, was sick in bed; finally, his eighth son, Lucas, was a playboy. The emperor thought it over again and again. Despite the new possibilities, he still thought that Hoffman was the most likely suspect. If Matthew had been the one to attack Felix, then Felix would surely have died on the spot. When he wanted someone dead, Matthew wasn't the type to leave them any chance of surviving, poison or no poison.