Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 859

Toby was taken aback by how well Harper and Rolando worked together. Although his men outnumbered them immensely, none of them were able to land significantly damaging attacks on either of them. Initially, he had thought that Rolando had lost his mind due to his adoration for Harper, even going as far as putting a death sentence on himself by leaving the palace and touring the lake without any guard and with only Harper by his side. Now, however, it seemed like he had underestimated Rolando's decisions—it was becoming clear that the reason why Rolando chose to go out with this woman all alone was because she was more ferocious and skilled than any of his secret guards.

"Master, let's retreat! It would be better if we leave right now because otherwise, we would be unable to escape once Rolando's reinforcements arrive!" one of Toby's secret guards suggested. They were starting to become anxious because of how Harper and Rolando were easily decimating their numbers. The fear of having to deal with Rolando's full army of secret guards added to that, making the execution of their attack plan sloppier, which led to more deaths of their members. If this continued, they would all die soon!

Toby was unwilling to give up, but he knew that fleeing was the wise choice to make right now.

"Retreat!" he bitterly ordered.

Soon enough, Rolando noticed that Toby and his men started retreating. A sneer crept on his lips, but it disappeared in an instant. He and Harper took care of the remaining assassins, and once the last one was slain, he exclaimed, "What a pity! Our lake tour turned out to be such a mess!"

"What? Are you still thinking of the tour? We were almost murdered by these lowlifes!" Harper replied. She put the Moonlight away and took a look around the boat, which was covered by arrows. It was notable how these arrows were so short—it meant that they were made to be sharper than a normal arrow, so that they could break through people's bones easily. It was a good thing that they were able to hide themselves away before these rained down on them, because otherwise, they would be goners.

"But we're fine, aren't we? Do you want to continue enjoying the nice view of the lake?" asked Rolando with a smile.

Harper's eyes narrowed. While she appreciated Rolando trying to make light of things, she knew they couldn't afford to treat this ambush as an isolated event. "No, Rolando. I think it's better if we go back to the palace right now. Don't forget that you're this country's emperor, and you are not allowed to get hurt in any way. If something bad happens to you..." As she spoke, Miguel came to her mind. "Your dear Prime Minister Miguel will not only be disappointed at me. I'm pretty sure he'll have my head cut off."

Upon hearing what Harper said, Rolando stopped trying to change her mind. Soon enough, the city guards arrived and Rolando ordered them to dispose of the corpses currently littering the lake. The commander of the city guards turned pale with fear upon seeing the scene. It was obvious that it was due to his dereliction of his duty that so many assassins whose mission was to execute the emperor were able to sneak into the capital.

"Your Majesty, do you have any idea as to who would orchestrate such an attack?"

"I don't think that matters for now. I just want you to clean up and take care of everything here right now," Rolando said lightly. "Let's go, Harper. Let's go back to the palace."

Harper nodded. They were transported to land with another boat, now heavily guarded though, to board their carriage. Rolando stood waiting for Harper and then offered his hand to her when she was about to climb into their vehicle. Harper didn't think much of it, but the others were greatly shocked by what they saw. They all wondered who Harper was since the emperor seemed to be taking care of her and minding her greatly.

When they arrived at the palace, Rolando personally ordered some servants to accompany Harper to Harmony Palace. Forsythia breathed a sigh of relief the moment she saw Harper come through the doors. She strode towards her and greeted her, "Your Highness, you're finally back."