Seeing Luo Shu suddenly stop and fall silent, Lacus looked surprised.
"Did something happen?"
Hearing Lacus's question, Luo Shu took a slight breath and then revealed a puzzled look.
"Evangeline just told me that someone assassinated a son of the Emperor of Japan."
As soon as Luo Shu said this, Meer was taken aback.
"Huh?"
"Someone's actually assassinating a canary kept in a birdcage in this day and age?"
When Meer said this, her expression was one of utter confusion.
It was as if she couldn't comprehend why someone would crush a canary in a birdcage when there were no stakes involved.
In modern society, the system of constitutional monarchy has never left the world stage.
However, even among constitutional monarchies, there were differences.
For instance, the old queen of the British Union, due to her vast experience and her extraordinarily long reign through decades of turmoil, still commanded immense prestige within the British Union.
Although she had no official power in name, the SDS had secretly confirmed that she held considerable power in her hands. She was said to be a constitutional monarch, but she was closer to an absolute one.
Besides the Queen of the British Union, there were kings like those in Thailand, who were supported by the military junta. Although they possessed power, they still had to compromise with the military government or the civil service under normal circumstances.
As for Japan's constitutional monarch, he was nothing more than a mascot.
Not only was he supervised by the Japanese government, but his finances were also monitored by the public. Even in secret, the American Union had never overlooked the mascot they held in their grasp.
In a sense, if Japan's constitutional monarch were a son, he probably had more than three fathers.
Under these circumstances, Japan's constitutional monarch had only a sliver of authority over Shinto religious rituals, which was why many within Japan's shrine network were willing to pledge allegiance to him.
But that little bit of power, let alone confronting the government, could be easily dealt with by even the Bujin-shū, a force under the jurisdiction of Japan's Metropolitan Police Department.
To put it bluntly.
Japan's constitutional monarch had neither power nor influence, merely surviving on the nominal title of monarch. Even civilian activists couldn't be bothered to assassinate such a figure.
Yet now, an incident involving the assassination of his son had occurred.
Thinking of this, Meer's expression became a little strange.
"Shouldn't it be His Majesty that died?"
"Although I don't understand the situation, the one who died was indeed not their mascot monarch, but the monarch's brother."
As Luo Shu spoke, Lacus, who was beside him, asked softly, "A crime of passion or revenge? Does it involve any mystic side incidents?"
Luo Shu also found it rather baffling at this point.
"According to the current news, it should involve a mystic side incident... and it happened right after Giada's attack on Kasumigaseki."
Hearing this explanation, Kirika Tachibana said with a strange look on her face, "In other words, they might be listed as Giada's accomplice?"
"The assassin certainly picked a good time!"
Because the attacks occurred one after the other, under normal circumstances, it would be much more convenient to treat the two incidents as the work of the same group.
At least, for the Japanese government, it would be very convenient.
After all, rather than investigating how the constitutional monarch's brother, a prince of the previous monarch, was taken out, it was better to just pin the blame on the perpetrators of the previous major incident. That way, they could happily close this troublesome case.
As for a serious investigation.
Neither the Cabinet nor the Metropolitan Police Department would be very keen on that.
After all, what if they found something?
If the investigation led back to one of their own and implicated them in such an assassination case, risking the positions they held, that was something the various bureaucrats in the Cabinet would absolutely not want.
So what if it was the constitutional monarch's brother? He was just a mascot. If he was dead, he was dead, as long as it didn't affect their positions as officials.
In the political arena, those without power will never have supporters.
Just as Kirika Tachibana described it as "picking a good time", Luo Shu suddenly frowned and said gravely, "Although I'm also quite indifferent to this sort of thing... I have a feeling that there's something wrong here..."
Hearing Luo Shu say this, Lacus chose her words carefully, then said in an uncertain tone, "Could it be related to the Bloodline Dominator Class?"
"!!!"
Luo Shu was jolted by these words, and a thought suddenly struck him.
"Hong Ruowang, as a foreigner, became the leader of a new department in the Ministry of Environment. What did he rely on?"
"Was it ability? Or martial strength? Or perhaps loyalty?"
At this moment, Meer, who already understood what Luo Shu and Lacus were implying, let out a soft chuckle.
"Luo Shu, the things you're talking about normally require a great deal of time and events to prove..."
"That's right, those things all need time to prove. But some things don't require time at all."
As Luo Shu said this, a scornful smile appeared on his lips.
"A transfer of benefits. Or rather, Hong Ruowang might have given the Bloodline Dominator Class to someone in the Cabinet in exchange for their support."
"And the one who assassinated the prince is very likely this person who obtained the Class from Hong Ruowang."
Hearing Luo Shu's explanation, Nia Honjo couldn't help but reveal a wicked grin.
"It seems things are getting interesting."
"I did a little research on the Bloodline Dominator Class."
"Although I ran into some interference when investigating its origins, some of the basic information wasn't blocked at all."
"And within that information, there was one amusing detail."
"The Elite Rank for a Bloodline Dominator, known as Noble, requires a material that is a symbol of nobility within the same race."
"In other words..."
The joyful smile on Nia Honjo's face gradually twisted.
"If it were a human, he would only need to hunt down someone regarded as noble by the people, consume their blood and heart, and he could be promoted to Noble."
"And as it happens, although the one here in Japan is merely a figurehead monarch, because of the propaganda about his unbroken line, in the eyes of many, he truly is a person of noble blood."
Hearing this, Luo Shu suddenly stifled a laugh.
"In that case, doesn't that mean... the figurehead monarch's family in Japan... are nothing more than living materials with no strength to even truss a chicken in the eyes of someone pursuing the Bloodline Dominator Class?"
"The person who invented the Bloodline Dominator Class is a bloody genius!"