# Chapter 36: The Situation Changes Dramatically
The council chamber was deathly silent.
"Gulp."
The sound of swallowing saliva came from the Great Prince. Under normal circumstances, with his steady personality, he wouldn't have been so undignified. But the problem was that Rowen Harvey was the Kingdom's Financial Officer.
The Great Prince had a deep understanding of financial matters, which was why he lost his composure. If Rowen Harvey had truly tampered with the kingdom's finances, it wouldn't be a simple matter of how many gold coins the kingdom had lost.
If anyone else had said that Rowen Harvey had betrayed the kingdom, these princes and princesses would only have been slightly surprised. They wouldn't have fully believed the news.
But Su Xiao had just resolved the "Little Princess Assassination Case," and his terrifying efficiency had shocked several princes and princesses. So they couldn't ignore the information he provided.
"Is it reliable?"
The old king spoke. Although his expression was calm, this was the first time he had questioned whether the information Su Xiao provided was reliable.
"Rowen Harvey has already fled the capital. According to my understanding, Rowen Harvey was escorted out of the royal palace by the Undead·Yierduo, passing through Feishi Canyon, then arriving at Supha Sea area, followed by the Aangniu River region. Based on the time, he has likely already reached the Nubaha Desert, and may even have arrived outside the Divine Wall."
Su Xiao had obtained information about Rowen Harvey from Yierduo. Not only that, but he had also learned other secrets.
For example, Rowen Harvey was not a pure human. He had two-thirds Undead bloodline and one-third human bloodline. That's right, Rowen Harvey was a hybrid, and an anomaly among hybrids.
Most hybrids had obvious characteristics. For example, the two little girls at Su Xiao's mansion. Su Xiao had studied them. These two had more human blood, but their eye color, skin color, etc., all had Undead race features. There were also some differences in body shape, such as pelvic size and finger length.
To ordinary people, the difference between hybrids and humans required careful observation. But in the eyes of professionals like Su Xiao, the difference between hybrids and humans was obvious.
Although Rowen Harvey was a hybrid, he was an extremely rare existence among hybrids, or perhaps the first case in history. He had no Undead race characteristics at all. No matter how one observed him, he was 100% human. In other words, no Undead bloodline could be detected within his body.
Initially, the Undead race also believed Rowen Harvey was human. For this reason, his mother was nearly exiled for infidelity. But a certain event changed Rowen Harvey's life: he awakened Undead power in his early childhood.
It should be noted that Undead power could be acquired either through acquired training or innate inheritance. As a mere two-year-old child, Rowen Harvey had no conditions for acquiring Undead power through acquired means.
This incident alarmed the upper echelons of the Undead race. They began to study Rowen Harvey, this hybrid Undead.
After some research, the Undead upper echelons reached a conclusion: Rowen Harvey was indeed a hybrid, and one leaning toward the Undead race. Yet his physical characteristics were completely human.
The Undead upper echelons immediately recognized Rowen Harvey's value. Initially, they intended to cultivate him toward the combat side. Unfortunately, Rowen Harvey had limited talent. However, when Rowen Harvey was 17, he displayed astonishing financial talent.
After decades of maneuvering, at 59 years old, Rowen Harvey became the Financial Officer of the Saint Soding Kingdom, deeply trusted by the old king.
Inside the council chamber, the old king leaned back on his throne, squinting his eyes. In his view, Rowen Harvey's betrayal was more troublesome than the "Little Princess Assassination Case."
The "Little Princess Assassination Case" was basically concluded. The mastermind had been caught, and the Undead hiding within the capital had either fled or died. As long as there were no mistakes in the subsequent cleanup, there would be no more problems.
The old king summoned a guard. Ten minutes later, he confirmed the news that Rowen Harvey had fled. The Second Princess knew about this. In fact, Su Xiao had learned about Rowen Harvey's escape through the Second Princess's intelligence channels. But she hadn't spoken up. Not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't. Something had happened during her acquisition of this intelligence that absolutely couldn't be known by the old king.
"Up to now, there have been no problems in the financial aspect."
The old king rubbed his forehead, thinking about what Rowen Harvey had done during his tenure. No problems in the finances—this was the most terrifying situation.
Rowen Harvey had already fled. Catching him was basically impossible. During his tenure, he must have done something. Otherwise, the Undead race's years of painstaking efforts would be wasted. If that happened, even if Rowen Harvey escaped back to the Undead race, he would definitely not have an easy time.
"Father."
The Great Prince stood up, his gaze fixed on the old king. The old king's elbow rested on the armrest of the throne, his fingertips pressing against his forehead as he gently rubbed it. He didn't look at the Great Prince.
The Great Prince took a deep breath and continued: "Father, I withdraw from this competition. Give me the kingdom's financial authority. Although I don't know exactly what Rowen Harvey did, I will find a way to remedy it."
The Great Prince knelt on one knee. The smile that usually made people feel like a spring breeze had disappeared, leaving only unwillingness.
To take over financial authority, the Great Prince had to withdraw from this power struggle. Otherwise, he would be seen as having ulterior motives, taking advantage of the national crisis to rise to power. That was absolutely unacceptable.
Therefore, the Great Prince chose to give up. Compared to the throne, he saw further. Who knew what kind of time bomb Rowen Harvey had left in the kingdom's finances? If the kingdom's economic system collapsed, the first to suffer wouldn't be the commoners, but the soldiers on the front lines.
Once the Divine Wall was breached, it wouldn't be a matter of the throne anymore, but the survival of all humanity.
"..."
The old king didn't speak. He just looked at the Great Prince for a while, then turned to look at the other princes and princesses.
Sensing the old king's gaze, the Third Prince stepped forward and knelt on one knee: "Father, I also withdraw. Let me go to the front lines. Legion Commander Heshitelite can hold the northwest, and I... can hold the southwest."
The Third Prince knelt side by side with the Great Prince, his fists clenched. He had prepared a lot and paid a lot for the throne.
The reason the Great Prince and the Third Prince did this was because both of them knew what Rowen Harvey's betrayal represented.
If the Saint Soding Kingdom was compared to a pyramid, the tip was the royal authority. The next level was military authority, financial authority, and governance. The level below that was the institutions branching from these three. These three supported the royal authority. If any link had problems, the royal authority could directly collapse.
At present, the kingdom's finances had no problems. But Rowen Harvey was a spy sent by the enemy. This spy had been lurking for so many years, and now he had escaped. Yet the kingdom's economy still showed no problems. This was terrifying.
"You two, won't you regret this?"
The old king smiled. He had anticipated that the Great Prince would do this. Perhaps it was precisely this character of the Great Prince that made the old king give him a "right to avoid death." As for the Third Prince, he indeed surprised the old king.
"No regrets."
The Great Prince and the Third Prince answered in unison. Don't think the two brothers were of one mind. Even now, they still couldn't stand each other.
"Alright, then let it be so."
The old king stood up and slowly walked out of the council chamber. There was no earth-shattering reversal, such as the old king directly appointing the Great Prince or the Third Prince as heir.
This matter was not a test arranged by the old king. The kingdom truly needed the abilities of these two people.