“Is this true!?” A flash of shock passed across Hughes’s face.

“Yes, it was discovered by those shipbuilding researchers.” Alexei let out a sigh.

Hughes didn’t know much about shipbuilding and couldn’t offer any guidance, so the shipyard researchers had completely let themselves go this time, coming up with all sorts of bizarre ships.

And amidst their chaotic experiments, they gradually discovered something:

The closer they were to Castel, the higher the efficiency of various steam engines and mechanical devices would become, and their failure rates would decrease.

Conversely, the farther they moved away from Castel, the more silent the machine souls on their ships would become, and the less they would respond.

Of course, the current impact was still very weak, with only a minor difference, but its very existence was of extraordinary significance.

Hughes jumped up from his chair and began pacing rapidly.

“Alexei, you know this, right? The Holy Guard nowadays are basically all yield fanatics. They blindly believe in explosive yield, and it’s impossible to completely suppress it.”

“And I’ve found that the bombs used by the Holy Guard are more effective than those tested in the factory.”

“In other words...”

A gradually shocked expression appeared on Alexei’s face. He muttered, “Personal cognition has overridden the world... Cognitive Interference!?”

“It does resemble Cognitive Interference, but... it doesn’t seem to be the same,” Hughes said with a serious expression.

“True Cognitive Interference is the wrong cognition overriding the correct reality. But yield worship doesn’t mean they don’t understand how much damage a specific yield can cause.”

“They’re not using their cognition to overwrite the real world, but rather, expectation.”

“They expect the bomb to explode more violently. The engineers hope the machine soul will become more stable and error-free.”

“This expectation... or rather, this belief, seems to slowly influence reality.”

“The question now is, we don’t know whether this is a general phenomenon or something that only occurs in Castel.”

Hughes let out a long sigh. Castel was no longer just a remote island. Whether it was the Sea God’s soul or the pollution that had drained the entire Storm Ocean, it had now become a convergence of miracles, no longer measurable by common sense.

If this kind of ‘belief influencing reality’ could gradually stabilize and become a permanent physical law...

Hughes shook his head. The possibility was too slim. If belief could freely influence reality, then the Church would’ve already become a divine nation on earth with the support of millions of faithful.

Hughes’s instincts told him there was probably a trap in all this.

Cognitive Interference was already dangerous—could this method of influencing reality truly be safe?

Moreover, it would bring about many troubles. If the world’s physical laws weren’t stable, then the theories written in books would be gradually replaced by empiricism, and experience would begin to deviate. In the end, science would completely devolve into mysticism.

“In any case, this is very likely not a good thing. Inform all researchers that any experiments utilizing this phenomenon must be restricted, documented, and reviewed. We must remain cautious in the face of the unknown.”

Alexei understood the gravity of the matter and solemnly nodded. “Understood, my lord.”

“There’s one more thing, Alexei. I hope you’ll pay closer attention to Galahad. Something seems wrong with the Prince.”

“The Prince? What did he do in Blood Harbor?”

“No, it’s not about what he’s doing now, but something from before. I’ve spoken with Kenn and Jeremiah. Both of them had contact with the Prince—before the assassination attempt. But what they told me doesn’t quite match with the current Prince.”

Alexei blinked, hesitating as he said, “Isn’t that normal? After such a major event, it’s understandable that someone would be completely changed. Revenge often drives a man to abandon his former weak self—that kind of thing’s happened countless times, hasn’t it?”

Hughes shook his head. “If it was just a change in personality, it would be easy to understand. But... how could even his memories not match?”

“Huh?”

“Before departing, the Prince happened to summon Jeremiah, Kenn, and Josh, and promised them he would go to the Northlands to rescue Nora.”

“I see... so he decided to break his promise?” Alexei looked a bit unconcerned. After all, he was a noble. Valuing one’s word was certainly a virtue, but nobles who casually broke promises were not rare either.

“No. He doesn’t remember it at all.” Hughes bit his lip. “Our people asked him about Josh. At the time, he was trying to get closer to Castel. There was no reason to lie about such a trivial matter, yet he said he didn’t remember.”

“Couldn’t it be that he really forgot?”

“First, it wasn’t long ago—just before the assassination attempt. Second, this matter is far from trivial. Based on the information I’ve received, Nora is practically at the center of the storm in the Northlands. No matter his reason for inserting himself into that situation, it’s not something insignificant.”

“And besides that, Josh was the first merchant to come from Castel. According to him, he had a very pleasant conversation when meeting the Prince.”

Hughes stared into Alexei’s eyes. “If you were the Prince, would you forget something like that?”

Alexei furrowed his brows and slowly shook his head. “Impossible to forget. Something’s definitely wrong, my lord.”

“What actually concerns me the most is something else,” Hughes suddenly said. “Connor was imprisoned by the Prince for a long time. You knew that, right?”

Alexei nodded. Connor had gone to Blood Harbor months ago and had been missing since, so being imprisoned was expected. But judging by his condition, he hadn’t been tortured or coerced. That Prince still retained his rationality.

“While Connor was imprisoned, he saw another prisoner.” Hughes sat back down in his chair, narrowing his eyes.

“Johan.”

“Johan?” Alexei searched his memory but couldn’t recall the name.

“He was once the Prince’s steward, serving him for many years. But ever since the Prince returned from Rhine, Johan vanished. Taking his place was Galahad—the knight gentleman who came to visit us. Coincidentally, he’s also a supernatural being, skilled in combat.”

“No one knows where this knight came from—handsome, powerful, a supernatural being. People like that rarely go unnoticed, right?”

“Somehow, the Prince gained his loyalty, and he followed him faithfully—even agreeing to come to Castel. This is the sea, after all, a forbidden zone for the supernatural. Only Moths Chasing Fire, desperate and cornered, would even consider venturing here.”

“The Prince suddenly replaced his long-time steward with a mysterious new follower. Don’t you think that’s very suspicious?”