Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Catherine had been aware of the mysterious visitor to Lance's bedroom but she was yet to figure out who it was. Though she
had no idea about who had been visiting Lance, there was a lingering fear in her mind. Her gut feeling told her that something
was not right. Since that visitor showed up, Lance, who had completely lost his zest for life previously, had started to fight for life.
And surprisingly, he had also started to feel better and look more energetic than before. All this was very unsettling for Catherine.
"Guards!" Catherine summoned the guards. She wanted to get to the root of the matter.
"Your Grace."
"Go and check on all the people who have entered the capital city recently. I want all the details about them," Catherine ordered.
The kind of incidents that were going on in the palace of the South Kingdom and the changes in Lance's health could not be just
a coincidence. Someone must be motivating Lance to fight for life. Otherwise, a man who had been waiting for death could not
become so hopeful for his life all of a sudden.
Catherine narrowed her eyes, trying to think who this person could be. Everything was pointing towards one person. But how
could it be possible? That person must have been dead by now! That person had entered the Labyrinth Swamp right in front of
Catherine's eyes and should have been killed by the Holy Beast summoned by Catherine. How could that person be alive?
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. There was a lingering fear in her mind. But who else could pluck Lance
up except Diana? After thinking hard for a long time, Catherine could not think of anyone other than Diana.
"Diana, you can't be alive! No way! How could it be possible?"
After leaving the palace of the South Kingdom, Diana began hiding out inside the capital city with Howard. She had to stay
undercover in her hometown lest Catherine would find her out. Although she had been an arrogant princess addicted to fun, she
was not all that worthless.
In a secluded house in some less trodden area of the capital city, Diana sat in front of the window after taking a bath. Her mind

was preoccupied with something that her father had said to her. Lance expressed his ardent wish to meet Harper. She had come

to know that Harper was going to visit the South Kingdom within a few days. Hence, Diana did not have much time in her hand.
She had to do something very soon to persuade Harper to meet her father. "Howard," Diana said, fixing her eyes on Howard.
"Do you know what my master likes?" At present, Diana did not have any other way to find out how she could impress Harper.
Her question left Howard rather baffled as he had never paid much attention to all these things. He tried to think carefully and
wondered what Harper liked. But he could not think of anything worth telling Diana. To be honest, he could not recall Harper
mentioning anything about what she liked in front of him in the first place. It was indeed very strange that being her elder brother
who had grown up together with her, he knew nothing about her hobbies and interests. Finally, he gave up. He shrugged his
shoulders and answered honestly, "I don't know." His voice was devoid of any sense of shame or guilt. Diana's jaw dropped
when she heard him. She almost knelt in front of him out of admiration. "Are you sure, you are her elder brother?" she asked.
"Yes. I have watched her grow up," Howard replied with much conviction in his voice. "Then you must be aware of your younger
sister's guileful and scheming nature?" Diana could not help asking. As much as she had been able to understand Harper, she
was not the kind to have spared anyone.
After pondering for a while, Howard answered, "I didn't know about it until she framed me."
"What? When?" Diana almost jumped out of her seat.
"Last year," Howard recalled.
Hearing that, Diana covered her mouth and burst into laughter. "You said, you have watched her grow up since she was a baby.
So, that means you had been fooled by her for nearly twenty years. I can't believe this! Don't you think you're too stupid?" Diana
said, rolling in laughter.
"And, what about you?" Howard retorted in a cool manner. "Catherine is also your sister, but did you know how vicious and
heartless she is? Do you know what she likes?" Howard didn't mean to be rude to Diana, but at the same time, he did not want
to be outwitted by her either. Diana stopped laughing and there was a weird silence between them all of a sudden. Her face

turned pale at Howard's counterattack. What he said was absolutely right! She didn't know much about Catherine either. She
believed that Catherine liked to be the Holy Maiden, but it turned out that she even nurtured a secret crush on Matthew. She was

hungry for power. And to achieve that, she didn't hesitate to kill her father and her younger sister. Catherine was bonded to
Lance and Diana by blood but still, she was so cruel to them.
Howard regretted to see Diana's sullen face. Perhaps his words were too harsh. Though both Howard and Diana had indeed
been through a similar experience, still their cases were different. Harper had indeed schemed against Howard and her other
family members. But it was a retaliation to their conspiracy to kill Harper. Harper had never harmed anybody until the other
person posed a threat to her. At the same time, she would not even spare a person who dared to conspire against her. However,
Catherine's case was different. She was simply too self-centered and ambitious. She could stoop to any level to accomplish her
goals even if it meant killing her family members. And from that perspective, Howard found himself and Catherine to be the birds
of a feather.
"Don't think too much. Harper will reach the South Kingdom very soon. By then, we will find a way to solve the problems,"
Howard said in a stern voice to distract Diana. He was not used to comforting others yet, but he had to do it for Diana because
he felt guilty of hurting her feelings.
No matter how emotionless Howard's words might have been, Diana could sense his concern. Slowly, she nodded her head and
said, "Yes. Even though we are sisters, we could hardly make out what the other person is thinking. Every single human being is
different. You can never know what there is in the other person's heart."
"That's true. People are different from each other. But every heart is essentially made of flesh," Howard said in a gentle voice.
"Even though I had wronged Harper time and again, she had never been so ruthless as to take all our lives. Even our father
made countless attempts to kill her, but she had still forgiven him and allowed him to survive. Catherine is too vicious, compared
to Harper. And even though there is a trace of viciousness in you as well, yet, you are not like Catherine."
Diana was left rather baffled at such a point-blank remark made by Howard. "Your words are too lame," she said. At that point,
Diana was rather irked by his remarks. Yet, she appreciated him by saying, "But thank you for comforting me."
A smile spread out on Howard's face. He explained, "I have never comforted anyone in my entire life. I don't even know how to
comfort people. Harper had been the only person in our family who is good at comforting people. But her way of comforting
people is not always very pleasant to the ears.".