Nicholas walked into Hayden's courtyard, holding an umbrella. He entered the house and dismissed everyone, not even allowing Chaya to stay.

Hayden had just finished his meal, and the table still had leftover food that the servants were about to clean up.

Nicholas sat down, picked up Hayden's cutlery, and started eating the leftovers. He ate gracefully as usual, which disgusted and angered Hayden.

He had been raised with such refinement, every move reflecting the casual demeanor expected of a prince. Unfortunately, he had a ruthless ambition and a cruel nature.

Nicholas finished all the leftover food, then set down the cutlery and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. "We shouldn't waste food. I happen to be hungry as well. Surely you won't mind, Dad?"

Hayden's voice was cold. "It's fine. It was going to be fed to the dogs anyway. You may as well eat it." "You think I'm a dog, Dad? Then, what are you?" Nicholas smiled, his expression brightening. "I came to share some good news with you. We'll soon get what we want."

Hayden's heart sank, though he feigned indifference. "Throughout history, rebels have never met a good end. You won't be the exception."

Nicholas smiled. "You need not worry, Dad. I'll be the exception. You can just wait to be crowned king." Hayden sneered. "Since you're so sure of yourself, I won't say anything more. But there's one thing I've never had an answer to. Perhaps today, you can enlighten me."

Nicholas didn't ask what it was, simply nodding. "It was I who did it."

Hayden's eyes flashed with fury. He slammed his hand on the table. "Why would you do such a thing?" Nicholas sighed, his expression full of pity. "Because their original target was the Sullivan family. But if the Sullivan family was completely wiped out, there would be no one to stop General Leroy in Victory Pass. So I told them, instead of killing the Sullivan family, it would be better to kill the Sinclair family."

Hayden clenched his fists. "It's not because you were concerned about General Leroy's power. You just wanted to stir up trouble the capital and remove Westhaven's spies. With none of their spies left in the capital, you could fill the gap and make a deal with General Leroy."

Nicholas shook his head. "You're partly correct. All of Westhaven's spies in the capital were sent by General Liam, not General Leroy. I wanted to remove General Liam's people and support General Leroy to power, because only General Leroy would agree to ally with me."

Hayden felt his blood rush to his head, and a lump of phlegm got stuck in his throat. He almost passed out but managed to get it down.

He then yelled, "Do you have any idea how loyal the Sinclair family was? They were heroes, every last one of them! Father and sons-seven lives lost in the Southern Frontier! How could you do that?" Nicholas' brow furrowed slightly as he shook his head.

"Dad, you're mistaken. The Sinclair family's most capable members were already dead. Whether their widows and orphans live or die doesn't affect Starhaven much.

"But the Sullivan family still has value. When you ascend to the throne, the Sullivan family remains a shield for Victory Pass. If one family must die, why not let it be the Sinclair family? Or do you think the Sullivan family should be the one to have perished?"

"The Sullivan family would have at least had the strength to defend themselves. They wouldn't be wiped out so completely!" Hayden

slammed his hand on the table.

again mattling the dishes. "Killin netnoveldrama

anyone is wrong. You're a prince of Starhaven, yet you can't appreciate the Sinclair family's loyalty and sacrifice-you're lower than a beast!"

Nicholas' expression remained cold and indifferent.

"They're together now, aren't they? What I did was a service to both families-a mutual benefit. But I must admit.I'm curious, Dad. How did you come to know of this? All the spies who knew about it are dead. Even those who managed to stip away were killed by General Liam. You shouldn't know about this.

You've been testing me all this time, and now I'm wondering-how did you know?"

"If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place." Even as Hayden spoke, he felt the weight

of his own words, as if they held no power.

Nicholas smiled, his expression

tinged with a touch of helplessness.

"Perhaps you don't know, Dad. But in your mind, whenever something. goes wrong, you immediately blame me. If the Sinclair family were wiped out by Westhaven's spies without may involvement, you'd still think I was behind it."

Hayden was too furious to speak, and there was nothing left to say.

He had suspected this from the very start, even back when he was in Nerovia. He had known Nicholas

had sent people into Westhaven's spy network, and he had instinctively believed this was connected to the latter. Sure enough...

Hayden had been waiting for an answer, planning to investigate on his own. But with so many of his people dead or gone, he had no one left to rely on.

He knew Nicholas was in a good mood tonight, thinking he had everything under control and that things were going according to plan. He thought if he asked, Nicholas would surely admit it.

Even though Hayden had lost all hope in his son, part of him still desperately hoped for a denial.