The moment Dorek announced his identity, the surrounding crowd erupted into an uproar.

This was the busiest hour of the day, and the tavern was the largest establishment in the entire Imperial City.

Many officials of the Holy See were also drinking and gathering with their friends here.

The moment they saw Dorek, they immediately recognized him.

Their expressions became excited as they hurried forward to bow, while ordering the surrounding patrons to clear a path.

"This is wonderful! I never expected to encounter Prince Dorek here."

"With His Highness present, he will definitely uphold justice for us!"

"That Grand Commander of the City Defense Army is no human being at all! He committed such a morally depraved act. The imperial family must punish him severely!"

"Your Highness, you must not let him escape!"

"But isn’t it inappropriate for a prince to suddenly interfere in a case like this?"

"Shouldn’t the Imperial Capital Inspectorate be responsible for handling it?"

"Are you an idiot?"

"The Grand Commander of the City Defense Army is already a subordinate of the Imperial Capital Inspectorate. If you let them investigate this case, they will undoubtedly protect one another!"

Hearing the voices rising from the crowd, Dorek seized the opportunity to speak.

"Everyone, please listen to me."

"I have come only to serve as a witness. I do not intend to personally take control of this case."

"It would still be more appropriate for the relevant authorities to conduct the official investigation."

His statement sounded fair and impartial without provoking the anger of the crowd.

The surrounding people immediately voiced their agreement.

"That’s right! This is how the matter should be handled."

"His Highness only needs to remain here as a witness. The law-enforcement authorities can deal with everything afterward."

"With a member of the imperial family placing pressure upon them, the Inspectorate probably won’t dare shield its own subordinate."

"Exactly. That commander definitely won’t escape punishment."

Hidden among the crowd, Daniel silently observed everything.

He looked into the private room and saw that the scene inside was exactly as he had planned.

The room was already in complete disarray.

Villar’s body lay motionless upon the bed, seemingly devoid of all life.

Beside the bed stood the Grand Commander of the City Defense Army.

He was utterly flustered, his face as red as a monkey’s backside, and his entire body trembled as he attempted to explain himself.

The corners of Daniel’s lips rose into a faint smile.

The plan had succeeded perfectly.

Villar had been a famous dancer and singer at this tavern.

Both the wine she had consumed and the medicinal incense burning inside the private room contained special substances capable of magnifying a person’s desires without limit.

The Grand Commander had obviously drunk the same wine.

Combined with the effects of the incense, he had naturally entered a state in which he could no longer control himself.

Once he began committing the crime, Villar followed the original plan.

She created an enormous disturbance and then decisively took her own life, giving the commander no opportunity to react or defend himself.

He had been caught red-handed.

Once the commander was arrested because of this incident, the other city-defense officials whom Dorek had already bribed could quickly rise through the ranks and replace him.

And this was merely the first step of Daniel’s plan.

The second step would begin once the causal connection involving the Imperial Capital Inspector was established.

After that came the third and ultimate objective—

Increasing Prince Dorek’s presence within the imperial palace.

Had Dorek not appeared at the tavern or interfered in the matter, this would have looked like nothing more than an insignificant case of an official abusing and killing a common woman.

But now, Dorek had appeared before countless witnesses and personally involved himself in the case.

It would naturally attract the Emperor’s attention.

After all, Dorek was one of the few princes with a genuine possibility of inheriting the throne.

Now, he had suddenly inserted himself into a major case capable of causing an uproar throughout the entire city.

Even a blind man would be forced to take notice.

Furthermore, following Daniel’s earlier instructions, Dorek had already bribed several eunuchs within the Holy See.

Those eunuchs had always controlled the flow of rumors and private gossip throughout the imperial court.

With a little manipulation surrounding this case, they might cause the entire Holy See to pay far greater attention to Prince Dorek.

Another important factor was public sentiment.

A prince had personally stepped forward to seek justice for an innocent common woman who had been driven to death by a military commander.

Anyone hearing the story would immediately believe that Dorek was an upright, honorable, and virtuous prince.

It would allow him to establish the perfect image of a wise and righteous future ruler.

Once such an image took root among the common people, it would be extremely difficult to destroy.

When the hearts of the people gradually turned toward him, Dorek’s reputation among the public would naturally far surpass that of the other princes.

Admittedly, using the life of a dancer to build this entire plan was somewhat cruel.

But exchanging a single life for so many benefits was undeniably worthwhile.

Besides, Villar had not had long to live in the first place.

She had contracted several contagious diseases.

According to her original trajectory of fate, she would most likely have died either in prison or from her illnesses sooner or later.

By dying early now, she could at least preserve a degree of dignity and secure an enormous payment for her family.

After considering all of this, Daniel pulled his thoughts back and turned his gaze toward Dorek.

Everything now depended on whether the prince could continue performing according to plan.

At this moment, Dorek had already pushed through the crowd and arrived before the private room.

He stared coldly at the panicked commander and spoke in an indifferent voice.

"I am Prince Dorek of the Eternal Empire."

"You have just committed an unforgivable and depraved crime."

"You have therefore forfeited your right to freedom."

"Remain here and wait for the City Defense Bureau to send officers to arrest you."

In truth, hundreds of incidents were occurring throughout the Imperial City at this very moment.

Some districts had suddenly caught fire.

Others had reported thefts or large-scale street brawls.

Enormous shipments of goods had inexplicably vanished, causing traffic to become blocked across several major roads.

Furthermore, flying and traveling above the permitted speed were both forbidden within the Imperial City.

Every single disturbance had been arranged for the sake of this seemingly ordinary case inside the tavern.

Chief Steward Foster had already followed Daniel’s instructions and prepared everything outside.

For a short period, the City Defense Bureau would have no possibility of sending anyone here to investigate the truth.

Inside the private room, the Grand Commander’s face turned ashen the moment he heard Dorek’s name.

He hurriedly looked toward the subordinates and fellow officials he knew inside the room, silently begging them for help.

At the same time, he shouted that he had been wronged.

"Your Highness, I have been framed!"

"The wine was drugged! I wasn’t acting under my own will—I was being controlled!"

"If you don’t believe me, you can ask my subordinates and colleagues!"

"They witnessed the entire incident!"

The commander had finally realized the severity of the situation.

To avoid imprisonment, he could only insist that he had been drugged and had therefore lost control of himself.

What he did not know was that every colleague standing beside him—

Had already been bought by Prince Dorek.