"The lead's gone dead..." Ophir's eyes flickered with barely restrained fury beneath his white armor, his voice dripping with bitter frustration when he finally spoke.
Henry's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
The Radiant Phoenix Sanctum's wartime regulations were ironclad—especially concerning military merits, the very foundation of their power.
No leads were one thing, but for Ophir himself to personally investigate only to hit a wall?
"We traced your list to a Ministry of War clerk," Ophir continued, cutting off Henry's probing questions. "A sixth-rank official (equivalent to a deputy minister) assigned to the War Tomb to oversee merit records."
The man had already confessed, bargaining his family's safety for the name of his puppet master.
"To ensure secrecy, I personally escorted hi
