Of all the intelligence Joey received, one piece stood out—Second Prince Camilla had killed one of Prince Benjamin's private guards, then forced her way into his territory, only to be placed under house arrest by Benjamin himself.
Even with the situation escalating this much, Camilla still chose to act this way.
Joey couldn't help but question her motives, especially because he was aware of how unusual her Private Military Force was.
Among all the princes, Second Prince Camilla remained the most dangerous in Joey's eyes—not just because of her extreme narcissism and self-centeredness, but because of the abnormal loyalty and origin of her private guard.
In his investigation of Kakin's royal history, Joey had found disturbing truths—funerary sacrifices, once part of ancient custom.
Among the most disturbing was a specific type: the "Afterlife Consort" ritual. These were individuals—usually of the opposite sex—buried alongside princes who had failed to become king.
They were meant to watch over the dead prince in the afterlife, preventing him from becoming a malevolent spirit and threatening the throne or the kingdom.
Contrary to their glorified title, Afterlife Consorts were in truth untouchables—outcasts branded with a status known as "Mibōmin"—literally "those who must not be touched."
These were the lowest class in Kakin, stripped of rights and banned from holding any public office, especially military roles.
Yet Camilla… gave them power.
She granted these Mibōmin entry into her private military, even establishing a special autonomous district where they were treated as equals to royal army soldiers.
Joey knew that district. In all of Kakin, it stood as a complete anomaly.
But because of it, Camilla was seen by the oppressed as a savior, garnering massive support from society's lowest rungs.
That alone suggested she might not be as selfish as she seemed.
But Joey knew more.
These Mibōmin had resurrected the "Afterlife Consort" ritual—this time, merged with Nen—to forge a grotesque and lethal curse-based assassination system.
These curses served one purpose:
To eliminate all other princes in Camilla's path to the throne.
The process was brutally efficient.
Selected individuals would carry an item—name, photo, clothing, or even a body part—belonging to their assigned target.
The longer they held the item, the stronger the curse became—especially if they died near the target.
Their deaths would amplify the curse exponentially, potentially instantly killing the prince—a perfect spiritual assassination, fulfilling their twisted role as Afterlife Consorts.
Joey had discussed similar kill-switch mechanisms with Kite in the past, specifically regarding V5's methods for dealing with foreign threats from the Mobius Lake.
The V5 also employed suicide operatives, Nen users whose deaths triggered powerful countermeasures against anything from outside the known world—like forcibly banishing threats back to the Dark Continent.
Even the most fearsome Nen users hesitated to flaunt their power, lest they attract the attention of V5's spiritual assassins.
Not even Joey could shrug off that risk.
Gold Experience and Killer Queen were useless in the face of a preloaded curse.
Only exorcism-type Nen could possibly help—but Joey wasn't a specialist, nor did he know any trustworthy Exorcists.
Exorcist-type abilities were rare, and usually came with steep risks. The more potent the Nen to be exorcised, the more dangerous the process.
He recalled Neferpitou's "Terpsichora" puppet on Komugi's body—a possession so powerful that even sacrificing oneself might not be enough to remove it.
Knov's apprentice Shaiapouf, who swallowed Terpsichora, had become its vessel, its sacrifice.
Perhaps an exorcist could remove a curse, but only with perfect timing—and even then, only if the conditions were favorable.
So if Camilla's private guards got close enough to a targeted prince…
Even dying wouldn't guarantee salvation.
That's why she offered herself to Benjamin.
By placing herself in his territory, she could disassociate herself from any attacks on other princes.
Joey suspected the real show was about to begin—the moment Camilla's guards made their move.
He had one piece of comfort:
From his bug spy, he confirmed that "Little Eye"—Muzer's ability—was now active on Camilla.
Though Joey wasn't certain of Little Eye's exact mechanics, it seemed to involve continuous surveillance.
And Camilla, having killed Muzer herself, wouldn't know that Benjamin had inherited Muzer's ability and was now watching her every move personally.
That was where Joey's report ended.
But his insect camera remained in Camilla's zone—no longer near her, but near Queen Duazul, Camilla's mother.
Something about the Second Queen didn't sit right.
She was too composed. The intel from earlier suggested she might also be a Nen user.
What was her ability?
Was she supporting Camilla?
At 10:00 a.m., representatives from the various Prince Suites began to arrive in Zone 12.
All but Second, Sixth, and Fourteenth Prince Suites sent at least one representative—even the now-prince-less Zone 13.
Zone 13 sent two people: one under Queen Sevika, and one from the Hunter Association.
The queen had not returned, but had heard of Prince Marayam's death, and thus refocused her efforts on protecting Prince Woble.
Still, she harbored distrust toward Joey and Kurapika, which was why she hadn't sent her full guard.
From the rest:
Zones 3, 7, and 8 sent one person each.
Zones 4, 5, 9, 10, and 11 each sent two.
Added to the three returning guards from Zone 13, that made 21 total.
Even more than in the manga.
Including Kurapika, Joey, Hisoka, and Shurikenv, and Prince Woble, there were now 26 people in the room.
Joey activated En, silently covering the room. He and Shurikenv never strayed more than a few meters from Prince Woble, who was still knitting quietly.
Joey had already concluded that Woble was completely resigned to her fate.
Even after learning about Nen, she only showed mild interest, then returned to her usual peace.
Judging from her glances at him and Kurapika, it seemed she had completely entrusted her life to them.
Bold girl.
Joey couldn't help but admire her composure.
From being cast aside to now willingly playing the pawn, she showed no bitterness. The only time she seemed truly happy was when she realized she wouldn't die immediately.
In some ways, Joey thought he'd made the right choice in becoming her guard.
He glanced toward Woble's Guardian Beast.
Maybe he was also being influenced—by the Beast? Or by Woble herself? Or the succession war?
Kurapika had begun his lesson on Nen, but Joey's thoughts were elsewhere.
If Kakin truly believed in the land of the dead, and that Afterlife Consorts could suppress vengeful spirits...
What if the reason no prince can leave the Succession War was because those who died in past wars were cursing the ship?
If so, how could they be appeased?
If the vengeful spirits could be pacified, perhaps Kurapika's theory could come true—and the Guardian Beasts would vanish.
"If any of the 21 of you already know Nen, please raise your hand."
Kurapika's voice pulled Joey back to the present. He scanned the line of representatives.
Surprisingly few raised their hands.
Notably, the guards from Prince Halkenburg didn't raise theirs—though Joey knew they were Nen users.
Only Slakka, from Prince Zhang Lei's guard, and Belilent, from the Hunter Association (once guarding Prince Marayam), raised their hands.
Suddenly, a maid with a wide face gasped and stared at the back of the room.
Joey noticed her immediately—this was it.
The killer who had attacked in Zones 14 and 13… was here.
He remembered their ability's name:
"Silent Majority"
But the specifics escaped him.
Now was the chance to study it.
He also noticed Shurikenv's eyes shifting toward the same target—he'd seen it too.
The maid suddenly screamed:
"There! I saw her! A strange woman, right over there!"
She pointed to the back of the room.
But no one else saw anything.
"Am I the only one who can see her?!"
Joey leaned in to whisper to Shurikenv:
"If something happens, can you shoot the threat instantly?"
Shurikenv replied coldly:
"No. I need to assess the situation. If it threatens the prince, I'll exercise my right to use lethal force."
"What a pain," Joey muttered. "So who decides what's a threat?"
"Each situation is unique," Shurikenv replied tersely. In other words—he decides.
Joey rolled his eyes.
Then it happened.
One of the guards—Longi, from Prince Tubeppa's private force—suddenly clutched his throat and began choking.
"Longi!"
Joey narrowed his eyes. His En told him something was off.
He prepared to act—but Shurikenv's voice slid in coolly:
"Make a move, and I'll consider you the attacker."
Joey blinked.
Was this a threat… or a cover-up?
He recalled that in the manga, Shurikenv claimed he could identify the true attacker.
But now, his words raised suspicion.
Was the attacker connected to Prince Benjamin?
Or was Shurikenv trying to muddy the waters?
Most likely the latter.
After all, every prince except Woble was on Benjamin's kill list.
Sowing chaos was advantageous to him.
While Joey analyzed, Longi withered—and white serpents with lips emerged from his corpse.
Just then, Sakata from Prince Zhang Lei's guard drew his gun and shot both Longi's corpse and the serpents.
"Spread out," Sakata said calmly. "There might be more inside him."
"Ooh~ scary~" Hisoka purred behind Shurikenv, who flinched—he hadn't noticed Hisoka approach.
A real expert, Shurikenv thought grimly.
"9mm standard issue," he said. "Might be bigger calibers in play. For those without Nen, guns are still the best defense."
"Agreed," Hisoka replied lazily.
"Any leads, Juan?" Joey asked.
"None. Whoever did it was subtle," Hisoka said.
But Joey didn't buy it.
Hisoka looked like he was enjoying the show.
"Ribery! Where's the woman you saw?" one guard asked the wide-faced maid.
"She's gone! I swear she was there… how could she disappear?!"
Sakata had Ribery detained and immediately called the Royal Army:
"This is Sakata, guard of the Third Prince. I accuse Queen Konubin (Sixth Queen) of conspiracy to assassinate Prince Woble. I request her immediate arrest."
A cold voice responded:
"Request denied."
"Why? Guard Captain Mao'er of the Fifth Prince can support this!" Sakata insisted.
Mao'er, who had just lost his subordinate, backed Sakata.
But the voice from the other end remained firm:
"Circumstantial evidence is easy to fabricate. Royal privileges must not be infringed. A 72-hour observation team will be dispatched to Room 1010. That is all."
And the line disconnected.
Sakata released Ribery.
Without official permission, she was useless—but could still serve as bait.
More targets meant greater safety in numbers.
"This incident is outside our planned curriculum," Kurapika said. "Those who wish to continue training must decide by 11:00 a.m. sharp. Further delay will make mastering Nen in two weeks impossible."
He turned toward Joey.
"Any leads?"
"A few," Joey smirked. "Though thanks to Mr. Shurikenv here, we missed our chance to exploit the gaps. My En's been active the whole time—you think I came away empty-handed?"