Hari, feeling unjust, suddenly began to shake.

With a face that said she knew everything, Atia brushed the sweaty hair from Hari’s forehead.

“I know. It’s not a sin to like handsome men, right?”
“As you know, there are many handsome men here as well. You can freely enjoy the sights as much as you want. On the left side, there’s a man like a well-behaved warm climate, and on the right, you can walk around with a beastly man. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Heh…”

Gulp.

Hari’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

He wanted to refute something, but he couldn’t come up with any argument.

Because everything she said was true.

So what if it’s an enemy country?

The Pelren Empire has long been famous for having many well-built and handsome men.

So Hari, who lived in the small Jernest Kingdom, always dreamed of meeting the handsome men of the Pelren Empire.

That dream continued until his country’s collapse.

And even now, he still dreams of the handsome men from the Pelren Empire, whose existence he confirmed with his own eyes.

Hari even had doubts about whether he was really crazy, but what could he do when his heart was so set on it?

That’s when Atia approached, lowering her voice as if making a secret proposal.

“I’ll let you do as you please. You can have all kinds of handsome men on both sides and even be free. In return, I hope you’ll help me a bit.”

“How?”

“I’ll make it possible for you to have everything you want. To have handsome men on both sides and to be free. But I hope you’ll help me a bit.”

“How?”

“Because you have a headache right now, something conflicting with your magical power must be nearby.”

“What?”

Hari, who knew everything about the Duchess, was truly amazed.

From being a Saint to the fact that an unknown headache occurred due to something conflicting with his magical power.

Even in normal circumstances, Hari often suffered from severe headaches when there were murky things nearby.

The closer the distance, the more intense the headaches.

And it had been the first time he had such a headache since the collapse of the kingdom.

‘How much does she know?’

Atia’s feeling of looking down on everything from above was not Hari’s illusion.

It was all true.

Wiping Hari’s sweat with a towel, Atia said, “At first, I thought it was just a headache, but it seems to be more than a simple illness.”

Then, she handed Hari Tian flower tea, saying, “Drink it. It’s good for headaches.”

Gulp.

As Hari drank the Tian flower tea, the headache inexplicably eased.

He also felt the oppressive energy that had been tormenting him from below.

Hari’s face, who quickly emptied the remaining tea, visibly brightened.

“Hari, listen to me carefully.”

Atia didn’t mention that she was under a dark spell.

Just in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Instead, she asked Hari to let her know if he felt a strong energy somewhere in the palace.

Since Atia knew the ending of the original work, she couldn’t reveal the truth.

If Hari doesn’t betray Casus later on, she might have shared some facts.

If Hari were to find out that Atia was under a dark spell, it could become a fatal weakness.

Therefore, Atia mentioned it in terms of benefiting the Duchess and doing something significant.
To some extent, it was true. It was a matter of life and death, so it wasn’t entirely a lie.

“You’re doing something big. Okay.”

“Yes, but it will take time to search this vast palace.”

Upon Atia’s words, Hari immediately pointed to the ground.

“I sense a strong energy from that underground area. There’s definitely something below. I feel an indescribable, enormous energy.”

Atia kneeled and pressed her ear to the ground.

No particular sound could be heard.

‘Well, important things in the palace wouldn’t be easily left in plain sight. So, we’ll have to go underground to uncover the secrets…’

Rolling her eyes in various directions, Atia got up.

“Let’s see. How can we quickly go and come back?”

Time was of the essence.

There was no time to delay even for a moment.

‘I can’t just put the sentinels to sleep one by one. It’s not an easy task.’

In her contemplation, Atia recalled Owen’s strong competitiveness.

The palace warehouse was filled with various spoils gathered from each country.

Among them, anything useful would be claimed by Owen first.

However, unnecessary spoils were sorted separately, and occasionally, without notice, she let close nobles enter the warehouse and choose freely.

Among those items was a cloak that Owen thought was useless.

The Bercelte Cloak.

When worn and all the buttons were fastened, covering the head, the person disappeared from view instantly.

Later, Owen discovered this cloak while exploring the warehouse.

And he would later learn the true value of this cloak.

During the conquest of the Kerasian Empire.

‘Right, that’s it. I can go underground by wearing the Bercelte Cloak.’

Without anyone knowing.

‘If only I have that cloak, I’ll somehow manage.’

This led to another concern for Atia.

Sneaking into the palace warehouse was as difficult as going underground secretly.

‘How can I naturally obtain that cloak?’

If the fact that the cloak has invisibility function is known, it would never be given away by the royal family.

Certainly, the most natural way to get it was the only one.

Pretend to choose useless items in the loot warehouse like any other noble and bring back the cloak.

Entering the warehouse just required the permission of the crown prince.

So, Atia decided to stimulate Owen’s characteristic competitiveness.

But there was still a problem.

How to roast the crown prince she would meet at the palace banquet.

However, the crown prince she encountered at the banquet unexpectedly proposed a hunting competition first.

‘Is there such good luck.’

“In that case, I also have something I want.”

On the other hand, Owen, like Atia, had his own tactics.

To seize the opportunity to subdue Casus so easily.

Now was the right time.
Owen raised an eyebrow and addressed the Wellington Duke and Duchess.

“Can you handle it?”

Following Owen’s words, laughter erupted around.

As the Crown Prince, he never engaged in a deal that would result in a loss.

Knowing this, the nobles alternately looked at the nonchalant Crown Prince and the stoic Casus.

As the laughter faded from Owen’s expression,

Casus opened his mouth without a hint of movement.