Jared etched leuan’s name into memory. “Thank you, Your Highness. Yuliana and I will start today. The moment we uncover anything, you will hear from us.”

“Good.” Aurelius rose and clasped Jared’s shoulder, his voice suddenly gentle. “The safety of the realm rests with you. Whatever you need, the kingdom will provide.”

Outside Celestia’s palace, the spring air felt thinner. Yuliana turned, violet eyes sharp. “Jared, where do we dig first?”

“The Intelligence Agency,” Jared said. “If Malevolent Path Hall stole the bell, they must have studied Roaring Storm Church beforehand. Old case files may hold a frayed thread we can tug. And while we’re there, we study leuan’s record. The king’s doubt is reason enough for ours.”

Yuliana nodded and led him west through winding alleys to a quiet compound that looked like any other townhouse-save for the unseen sigils humming beneath its walls. This was the Intelligence Agency, fortress of whispers.

Its master, Pedalf Cantrell, a stooped elder of formidable Earthly Immortal Realm Level Seven, greeted them the instant he saw Jared’s Investigation Badge and even more quickly when he learned the visitor carried the Golden Dragon Bloodline. Pedalf produced every dossier on Malevolent Path Hall and on leuan Chapman without a breath of hesitation.

Jared and Yuliana bent their heads over scrolls from dawn until the lamps guttered, yet the pages yielded only crumbs.