Rian Azure, along with the Capital Investigators and his personal royal guards, changed horses a few times on their way to the Rosewood summer manor. They arrived in the early afternoon.

In his past life, Rian knew that the Rosewood summer manor had burnt down, but now, the manor looked perfectly fine.

The red roses in the front were blooming, and many people were walking back and forth. A few of them immediately spotted the fast approaching entourage.

The Royal Guards sped up to the front. “Make way for His Highness Prince Rian Azure! Make way for the Capital Investigators!”

Servants and town guards alike scattered, leaving a clear path to the open front door of the manor. A few of the servants quickly hurried inside to alert their young master.

In one smooth movement, Rian dismounted from his horse. He stood a little behind the three Investigators, while his own guards surrounded him.

“Where are the groomsmen? Take care of our horses,” a royal guard commanded.

“Yes, sir!”

Captain Ward of the town guards hurried out of the house. He bowed courteously. “Your Highness Prince Rian, esteemed Investigators. The assassins have been apprehended.”

“Lead us in,” Lead Investigator Henry White commanded.

The group followed Captain Ward inside.

Unlike the messy scene that the Cordovans had seen earlier, the assassins were now neatly tied and left at the centre of the ground hall. Everyone else stood back, leaving a direct pathway for the Investigators to approach.

Rian easily spotted the Rosewood with bright red hair. Ayden Rosewood was a lot smaller than he expected, especially compared to the brawny town guards standing nearby.

But the sense of magical power was undeniable.

Their eyes met, cold red and lively blue.

Ayden Rosewood inclined his head shortly but didn’t bow. “Hello, your Highness.” His voice was still young, but there was an underlying calmness and maturity without feeling precocious. “The assassins are here. The remains of my family and the Rosewood employees are upstairs.”

The term ‘employee’ felt odd in Rian’s ears. There were servants and personal bodyguards, but no one called them employees.

“I’ll take these men away for questioning,” Lead Investigator White said. “Marais, go upstairs. Bennett, you stay with me.”

Senior Investigator Louis Marais and Junior Investigator William Bennett both nodded.

Lead Investigator White turned to Rian. “Your Highness, you may follow either of us.”

“I will accompany Senior Investigator Marais upstairs,” Rian said.

The three Investigators convened briefly before splitting up. While White and Bennett dealt with the assassins, Marias along with Prince Rian Azure and Ayden Rosewood headed up to the late Earl Rosewood’s study room.

“My condolences for your loss,” Rian said to Ayden as they walked up the stairs. “It must have been difficult to lose all your family members at once. Investigators White, Marais and Bennett will definitely find the people behind this.”

Ayden Rosewood glanced at him. “I hope you will question everyone potentially involved and do not fall prey to treating nobles better than commoners,” he said coolly.

Rian’s gaze deepened.

Who was this other boy? No noble child would say that.

The longer Rian studied Ayden Rosewood, the more he felt that Ayden looked very similar to Alyssa Rosewood. However, the cold expression, the competent mage aura, and the way Ayden stood and spoke was different from the hot-tempered Alyssa he had known. Could Ayden and Alyssa be twins?

Or maybe…In his first life, Alyssa Rosewood had died of the plague-curse, just like him. Was it possible that she was also reborn into the past? And for some unknown reason, pretended to be a bastard male child whilst also completely changing her temperament?

“Apologies for my lack of knowledge, but how old are you, Master Rosewood?” Rian decided to ask. “I’m twelve.”

“Also twelve,” Ren Xiyang said. This body he was in was only ten years old, but he was almost three times that in his past life. To have greater independence now, he needed to raise his age, but no one would believe him if he said ‘fourteen’.

Rian’s eyes brightened. “So you’re twelve too. Will we be seeing you at the upcoming social gatherings at the Capital?” Twelve? Alyssa Rosewood should be ten now, and Silas Rosewood was fourteen…so is Ayden truly a bastard child?

“Not if I can avoid them,” Ren Xiyang said bluntly, his face taking on a bored edge.

Rian chuckled. “Oh, now that you’re Lord Rosewood, it’s unavoidable.”

“Then, do I need to be more powerful or less powerful so that my lack of appearance is excusable?”

Rian’s lips quirked up in amusement. “As the prince, I’m afraid I shouldn’t answer that particular question.”

Ren Xiyang’s eyebrows raised slightly, but he said nothing. They had reached the study room.

A few guards and servants had been left in the room. There was only a large pile of ash left, with a few small magical items that had survived the unnatural fire.

“Your Highness!” The guards and servants in the room immediately bowed.

“Stand at ease,” Rian said.

“Your Highness, Young Master Rosewood, unfortunately the bodies have all been destroyed by the fire,” a servant said.

“We have worked with less,” Senior Investigator Marais said. He first collected the ashes and leftovers into special magical containers. Then, he turned to Ayden. “Master Rosewood, explain the complete sequence of events.”

Ren Xiyang responded to Investigator Marais’ questions. He explained again that he saw the fire in the study room and came quickly, subsequently dispatching the assassins that wanted to eliminate the Rosewoods. He showed the crystal ball he subsequently used to contact the Investigators’ headquarters.

Rian stood to the side and quietly listened.

Investigator Marais looked dubiously at the window. The closed window overlooked the vast grounds of the manor, and there was no nearby house.

Ren Xiyang saw their expression. “Let me demonstrate,” he said. He smoothly unlocked the window and jumped out.

A few servants gasped in shock when they saw their new young master jump out the window. They hurried forward, only to be even more shocked.

Ayden Rosewood was producing flames under his feet, and he was flying!

The servants and guards both inside the room and outside the manor below the window rubbed their eyes in disbelief, completely stunned.

Investigator Marais had never seen this application of fire magic before. And…he noticed that this Ayden Rosewood did not cast any verbal spells. What frightening ability at such a young age!

It was likely that Ayden Rosewood was truly a Rosewood…but if so, why did the late Earl Roland Rosewood hide this talent? Even if Ayden was an illegitimate child, this terrifying ability would more than make up for it.

Ren Xiyang descended smoothly back into the room, landing lightly.

“This is enough for today,” Investigator Marais said. “We will question Master Rosewood again in the future as necessary.”

Ren Xiyang nodded. Marais and the other Investigators seemed competent enough for the task. With the murder investigation delegated, he looked towards the quiet servants. “Prepare some rooms for the Prince and the Investigators, so that they won’t have to travel to the town and back every day.”

“Yes, Young Master Rosewood, we will do so immediately,” the servants said.

“Prepare a few more rooms, as others will be arriving later,” Rian added.

“Yes, your Highness.”

Before Rian realised it, Ayden Rosewood had given his curt farewell and left the room, with not a single word wasted.

A few of the Royal Guards frowned slightly, disapproving of Ayden Rosewood’s cursory behaviour towards their prince.

But Rian himself wasn’t as critical. His younger self might have been, but now…he judged Ayden Rosewood as someone who didn’t care for strict class structures, and as someone who didn’t want anything from Rian.

He couldn’t help but glance over at where Ayden had been standing mere moments ago. Thoughts layered up in his mind, but he couldn’t decipher Ayden’s motive, nor figure out who Ayden Rosewood truly was.

That was, not yet.

 

---

 

Ren Xiyang knew nothing of the prince’s thoughts, and he didn’t care either.

The employee named Kel had been following Ren Xiyang around since the morning. Now, she led Ren Xiyang to the suite in the family wing of the manor that the servants had prepared for him earlier.

Ren Xiyang didn’t know it, but Kel had been assigned by the other servants to be his personal servant.

Ren Xiyang found his new suite more than serviceable. There was a small living-study room, a bedroom, and a bathroom.

“Young Master Rosewood, if there is anything else you need, please tell me,” Kel said, with her head bowed down politely.

“A notebook or paper, and a pen,” Ren Xiyang said.

“I will retrieve them immediately.”

Kel was very good at her job. It didn’t take long for her to return with multiple new notebooks, sheets of paper, and various writing implements.

“Thank you, Kel.” Ren Xiyang took out some of the gold coins he had taken earlier. “Buy me a few sets of plain black clothing. Something similar to what I am wearing is fine.”

Kel was perplexed—surely Ayden Rosewood would have more clothes?—but she accepted the gold coins nonetheless. “I will do my best.”

“You can leave now. Please knock when it’s time for dinner. Tell the chefs to lightly boil some vegetables to accompany the dishes, don’t prepare too much for me,” Ren Xiyang added. Lunch had been fine, but the servings were too large and the proportion of vegetables to meat and bread was too unbalanced.

“Understood, Young Master.”

Kel left. With a click, Ren Xiyang locked the door.

Finally, he had some privacy again.

First, he carefully looked around the rooms. In the bedroom, he caught sight of his reflection in the standing mirror.

His red eyes were supernaturally luminous. That red hair was too bright for his tastes. As for the rest of his body…that needed to be dealt with too. Unfortunately, Alyssa Rosewood didn’t even know trans people existed, let alone the transition process in this world.

Ren Xiyang turned away from the mirror and returned to the desk in the main room. The servants had been really thoughtful, they had even put a raised footrest for him.

With paper and pen, Ren Xiyang started writing.