Forensic Imperial Concubine

Darren didn't respond. Although he was with Harper for such a short time, he thought that they were close friends. The word
"like" wasn't enough to express his feelings for her, but he wasn't sure if he had fallen in love with her. It was rather complicated.
He was eager to see her, but at the same time, he didn't want to see her. So he didn't know what his exact feeling towards her
was. He couldn't understand himself. It was all too chaotic for him. Dealing with his emotions was in fact, a struggle.
"Maybe," he briefly replied. He wasn't lying. He wasn't sure whether he really liked her or not, whether he loved her or not. But it
didn't matter at all. She was now another man's wife and it seemed like they loved each other very much. He had no other choice
but to silently bury his love in his heart.
Meanwhile, Harper had been silent since she and her companions left Phoenix City. Howard suspiciously looked at her. He then
briefly looked at Diana while he swallowed what he wanted to say. After leaving Phoenix City, the twelve secret guards hid
themselves once again, leaving only Howard and Diana with Harper.
"Master, what's wrong? You're so quiet." As a very talkative person, Diana, who didn't look like the princess of the South
Kingdom at that time, kept on trying to start conversations at random while they were on the way. But even though she had
spoken so much, Harper wasn't responding at all.
After some time, Harper finally sighed and said, "Well, I should have at least visited him."
"Who? Who are you talking about?" Diana curiously asked, as if she was so eager to discover the hidden secret. Howard was
also interested, but he wouldn't dare to ask Harper. Then, he kept on wondering who the man on the gate tower of the Phoenix
City was.
Rubbing her face, Harper replied, "Let's go. We have to reach Birch Pass as soon as possible so we can meet with Matthew. The
reason that the Holy Maiden attacked you is that she wants to take over your power. I'm afraid that she might have taken over
the South Kingdom by now."
"That's impossible. The Holy Maiden can't participate in any official affairs," Diana stated while shaking her head.
"The Starry Palace already collapsed. There's no Holy Maiden in the South Kingdom anymore. Perhaps, the fall of the palace
has given her a great opportunity to kill you. Otherwise, I just don't understand why she wanted to kill you," Harper seriously said.
"What?" Diana didn't know how to respond to that. If Catherine wanted to kill her, there must be some reason. She had
considered that Catherine was upset with her because she didn't appear at the Holy Maiden selection back then. But it seemed
like it wasn't the reason. Catherine possibly had other plans.

"I thought that sisters going against each other only happens in the Bright Dynasty and the Great Jade Kingdom. I didn't expect
that it's also possible in the South Kingdom," Harper commented.
"If Catherine is aiming for the throne of the South Kingdom, what would you do?" Harper asked while tilting her head.
After a moment of silence, Diana said, "It's not that easy to be the queen of the South Kingdom. If she can handle the position,
she can have it. I don't care about the title that much."
Upon hearing what Diana had to say, Harper had a completely new perspective about her. Harper didn't expect that Diana would
say that because she thought that Diana would simply say that Catherine would never get the throne.
"Don't you want to be the queen of the South Kingdom?"
"What's so good about being a queen? You have a bunch of officials constantly telling you what you have to do and what you
can't do. As a queen, you have to sleep late at night and get up early to handle numerous official affairs. It's like a constant cycle
of a strict schedule every single day. But as a princess, you can go to brothels, gamble, pick a fight, or pay a visit to other
countries. Do you think a queen can do all of this kind of fun stuff?" Diana sharply said.
With a smile, Harper responded, "No, I don't think so. I actually agree with you. Being a prince is more fun than being an
emperor. It's a tough task to be an emperor. In fact, an emperor can't even marry whoever he wants. He has to marry women
from different kingdoms to forge strong alliances and establish power." Harper actually despised the idea of being the king or
queen of a kingdom.
"So, Prince Matthew doesn't want to be the emperor?" Diana asked.
Harper smiled but she didn't answer. She didn't know exactly why Matthew didn't want to be an emperor. But she understood that
the responsibility of an emperor was too heavy, and she was the only one he wanted to take responsibility for.
Diana mumbled, "Men love the throne, don't they? A prince who doesn't want to be an emperor is not a good prince. The princes
in the Bright Dynasty always fight with each other. Aren't you afraid that the current emperor will soon take control of the entire
kingdom and then get rid of Matthew and you?"
"We aren't afraid of him. If he thinks that our mere existence is a threat to him, we can simply hand over the power to him,"
Harper nonchalantly stated. It was clear that she didn't care about power that much. Meanwhile, Howard was surprised by her
words. He thought, 'If Matthew were to give up his power, who would maintain his tasks in the Bright Dynasty?'

"Without Prince Matthew, the Bright Dynasty will no longer be a threat to the other kingdoms. Consequently, the Great Jade
Kingdom will become the most powerful one. I don't think Lucas will be that stupid," Diana stated. At that moment, the world was
divided into four parts. The South Kingdom and the Wonder Kingdom were in a weak position. The Great Jade Kingdom and the
Bright Dynasty were racing against each other, bridle to bridle. The Great Jade Kingdom had Rolando while the Bright Dynasty
had Matthew. If the Great Jade Kingdom were to lose Rolando or the Bright Dynasty were to lose Matthew, the other kingdom
would quickly become the most influential one.
"Is there someone you're forgetting who we can't underestimate either?" Howard suddenly asked.
"Who?"
"The young master of Phoenix City, Darren Feng!"