Chapter 63

“There were definite signs of bone dissection,” said the Imperial Medical Director, wiping away his sweat with a handkerchief. Though it wasn’t hot enough outside to break a sweat—in fact, Crown Prince Hendrick’s office within the Imperial Palace was rather cool—the Medical Director was inexplicably drenched in cold sweat, unable to let go of his handkerchief.

“Moreover, if I may say so… it wasn’t just in one place. We discovered evidence of bone removal from ten different locations on a single specimen—five from the torso, two from the forelegs, and three from the tail…”

“Were there signs that the bones were extracted while it was still alive?”

“That’s impossible to determine. Usually, with human corpses, we can determine the time and cause of death from the marks left on the body, but with dragons—beings with longer lifespans and less understood ecology—it’s difficult to confirm postmortem lividity…”

The Medical Director mumbled almost unintelligibly before wiping his sweat again. Hendrick’s brow furrowed tightly.

“Whether alive or dead, the fact remains that someone dared to mutilate and steal parts of the Dragon King’s body.”

“If you hadn’t ordered another examination, no one would have noticed. There were so many stab wounds that seemed intended to conceal the bone extraction…”

“Are you certain they were stab wounds? Not bite marks?”

“If you’re asking whether we found evidence of dragon involvement in the Dragon King’s corpse, I can say with certainty: these injuries were not from a fight with another dragon.”

Though the Medical Director spoke with a diminishing voice, his head bowed submissively, he was absolutely certain about this opinion. Despite his trembling, he firmly presented his findings. Hendrick took a moment to observe the physician who could be so resolute even while shaking.

“…Very well, you may go rest.”

“Your… Your Highness.”

Hendrick had confirmed everything he needed to know. Though he didn’t want to further distress the already visibly tense physician, it was the doctor himself who seemed reluctant to leave, wanting to say something more.

“As Your Highness, being a dragon’s master, would know better than anyone—dragons are superior beings possessing mysterious powers called magic.”

The physician carefully began, hesitating. Hendrick stared at him with an expressionless face.

“…And?”

“Unless it’s another equally superior dragon, killing a dragon is absolutely no easy feat. However, when I carefully examined the Dragon King’s corpse as per your orders…”

The physician’s voice trailed off, but Hendrick could already guess what he was trying to say.

“You found human traces?”

“The puncture marks from sharp objects and the slash wounds appeared to be from arrows and swords. Though I hesitate to say with absolute certainty, as dragon musculature differs completely from human tissue.”

The physician, who had been struggling to speak, finally exhaled a long sigh before the Crown Prince. It wasn’t a sigh of frustration, but rather one filled with fear.

“If the perpetrator of the Dragon King’s assassination isn’t another dragon, I wanted to suggest that we must find and eliminate their identity as soon as possible.”

Hendrick forcibly suppressed his expression from crumpling.

‘By chance, was the Dragon King’s body in a terribly mutilated, horrific state?’

He recalled Carl’s fiancée asking gravely at the dragon’s shrine.

It had been horrific indeed.

Hendrick himself had been the first to discover Dragon King Elena’s corpse. After his father the Emperor became bedridden, Hendrick regularly visited the dragon’s nest in his father’s stead to check on the Dragon King’s condition.

However, Dragon King Elena wasn’t particularly welcoming of another dragon’s master entering the nest. After a period of distance, Hendrick had impulsively visited one day to find it in that state.

The nest, horrifically transformed by dried blood, and within it, the corpse of the crimson dragon, thrown aside like refuse.

Unlike ordinary dragons who made their nests in vast caves and natural formations, the Emperor’s dragon—the Dragon King—had its nest in the deep underground of the Imperial Palace, a historic artificial space passed down since the founding dragon’s time.

The walls, ceiling, and floor—all touched by human hands—were completely covered in black blood.

The Imperial Palace’s upheaval was an inevitable consequence. Amid the chaos, before they could properly recover Dragon King Elena’s remains, Idelin’s scales were discovered.

As a result, everything progressed too quickly to properly autopsy Elena’s body.

In Hendrick’s memory, though Elena’s blood-soaked corpse had been horrific, it wasn’t enough to inspire terror. Yet for the physician who had properly examined the body to speak with such fear…

It was difficult to even imagine how brutally the dragon had been killed.

“I understand. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Hendrick spoke in the calmest voice he could manage while barely controlling his complicated emotions. There seemed no need to further agitate the already frightened physician.

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

The physician, having said all he needed to say, turned away with a slightly more relaxed expression. Hendrick remained motionless, watching the physician’s departure until he completely left the room.

…A dragon hunter.

After the Medical Director left, Hendrick clutched his aching head and sank into thought.

Sian, who knew about Revenant, had confirmed that Knight Carter’s wife was a dragon hunter. How could a woman who appeared completely ordinary manage to kill the Dragon King so brutally by herself? It went beyond incomprehensible—it was terrifying.

Moreover, even if their guilt was confirmed, it was impossible to know where to begin unraveling this thread.

The Marquis, Dragon Knight Antonio, and the dragon hunter Revenant disguised as his wife.

As the Dragon Knight’s wife, she would have had access to the Imperial Palace, making it not entirely impossible, but…

‘We need more concrete evidence, Master. The noble assembly won’t be convinced by the testimony of someone who merely knows about dragon hunters,’ Nathan interjected. Hendrick clicked his tongue lightly.

“That’s the problem. If we can’t find evidence, perhaps we should set bait.”

‘His Highness Carl will strongly object.’

Though Hendrick hadn’t spoken a single word about what kind of bait he meant to use, Nathan had already read his thoughts and responded thus.

“…I suppose he would.”