The doors of the imperial palace burst open loudly.

Lebel, who had been walking quietly, stopped in his tracks. Those who saw the figure emerging from the imperial palace averted their gaze and hurried on their way.

“…Tamil.”

He clenched the hatred in his hand. It was only a brief reprieve that allowed that bastard to walk around freely. Soon, he would surely send Tamil to hell.

Lebel had not yet informed Ilarid of his intention to deal with Tamil. Though unlikely, if Ilarid were to become entangled in this matter by mistake, it could disrupt his plans.

This was simply settling a personal grudge. Repaying in kind the one who had brutally trampled his benefactor, Limless Rowen Melpiram. Lebel resolved himself thus.

Judging by Tamil’s agitated exit from the palace, something had clearly gone awry.

He was a simple man. One armed only with loyalty towards Cledius.

But looking beneath the surface of that loyalty-wrapped exterior revealed nothing. A life that was just an empty shell. Tamil was merely a man who used power to fulfill his own twisted desires.

Moreover, when his mood soured, he would take it all out on those around him. Even now, as soon as he left the palace, he was kicking passing workers, fully displaying his base nature.

‘There must have been friction with the emperor. Today… his mood is probably quite foul.’

Thanks to Ilarid’s bombshell declaration of making Lebel her shadow, the imperial palace was likely maintaining a state of tense vigilance.

What expression might Cledius be wearing? As the image of that face, crumbling pathetically upon hearing Ilarid’s words, resurfaced, Lebel let out a light chuckle.

What could have happened to upset Tamil’s mood? Perhaps he received orders from Cledius not to mistreat the prisoners recklessly.

He did not treat the prisoners in the prison tower as fellow humans. Most of those incarcerated there were political prisoners. Those who were discontented with Cledius’s actions, those accused of plotting treason, were confined here.

And Cledius had entrusted the prison tower inmates to Tamil. He was forgiven for whatever he did inside the prison tower.

But could the word forgiveness even apply to one who treated people recklessly and violated their dignity? Lebel stared at Tamil’s retreating figure.

Hopefully he wouldn’t fall to someone else’s hand first. The one to end that bastard’s life had to be Lebel himself.

‘Should I inform her?’

If he told Ilarid that he was going to kill Tamil, what would she say? Would she say it was naturally his role to do so, or perhaps…

It was better not to tell her. Though Tamil’s death was part of her revenge as well, it was also Lebel’s revenge. Rather than endangering many, it would be easier on both body and mind to handle it alone.

Had he noticed Lebel’s gaze? Tamil, who had been harassing the workers, suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head towards where Lebel was.

Lebel tensed, his expression hardening.

‘How did he notice?’

Except for near the empress’s palace, he always moved around while suppressing his presence. Strictly speaking, an outsider who wasn’t even a citizen of the empire wandering around the palace would not be looked upon favorably, so he thought it best to be cautious from the start.

Perhaps reading Lebel’s unusual atmosphere? Tamil tilted his head and spat out words of discontent.

“Aren’t you the mercenary contracted by the imperial family? I heard you’ve been struggling since returning from Rosen…”

Lebel simply bowed his head slightly without saying a word. Seemingly irked by his attitude, Tamil approached and began to taunt him.

“I hear you’ve recently gained the emperor’s trust. Has that made your neck stiff with pride?”

“…How could one who lives by His Majesty’s grace dare to raise his head recklessly?”

“Well, well… Did you earn the title of smooth talker with that tongue of yours?”

Tamil tended to lower his guard somewhat when shown loyalty to the emperor. Seeing his expression soften a bit, Lebel immediately followed up.

“You seem to be in a bad mood today.”

“I’ve been prevented from crushing those bastards who defied His Majesty with my own hands. Oh, woe is me.”

He suddenly began complaining. A useless diatribe about how much he suffered and strived for the emperor. Lebel ignored it completely, reviewing what Tamil had just said.

‘By “those bastards,” he must mean the Grand Duke of Le Rosen and the members of the Ranford Company.’

Thankfully, Cledius had acted first. Though an unexpected outcome, it was welcome news nonetheless. While release from the prison tower would be difficult, at least they could avoid the tragedy of facing Tamil.

If one’s fate was to blame life for toying with people’s lives, it would be better not to have such a fate at all. Lebel bit the inside of his lip imperceptibly.

“Take care then. Nothing to do… Might as well drink in broad daylight, I suppose.”

Tamil waved his hand dismissively and staggered off. Lebel watched his retreating figure, finally allowing himself to show the bewilderment he had been holding back.

Though he had been watching Tamil while suppressing his presence as much as possible, Tamil had noticed Lebel’s existence not long after.

Had the duration he could maintain his stealth shortened? Previously, he could have approached close enough that even someone as dull as Tamil wouldn’t have easily noticed.

Had his abilities weakened since his body became strange?

But before finding the cause, there was something that needed to be done first. If he delayed any longer, he might ruin the assassination itself.

Lebel hurried towards the mercenary company’s camp. The members probably hadn’t yet heard that their leader had awoken.

“Captain!”

At Eddie’s shout, the scattered members quickly gathered. They all let out sighs of relief along with exclamations. Some even welcomed the captain’s safety with tears in their eyes.

“Whew, we were so worried we might have to bury a corpse.”

Lailo joked while discreetly examining the captain’s complexion. Though he looked a bit paler than before, he seemed much more alive compared to when he was suffering from high fever.

‘Is it thanks to Her Majesty the Empress’s care throughout the night?’

It must have been the power of love that helped him overcome. Lailo swallowed the laughter rising inside and offered forced words of reproach.

“If you collapse one more time, we’ll nail you right into a coffin.”

“I’ll tear it open and come out on my own, so don’t worry.”

Lebel brushed off the concern of the gathering members and signaled to Luth with his eyes. The two naturally moved to a more secluded area of the camp, away from prying eyes.

“…Shall we proceed with the mission as planned?”

“Not cancellation, but modification. Luth, gather information on the movement patterns of ‘Tamil’, the imperial torture technician. The sooner the better.”

“…Understood.”

The sentences spoken in Luth’s voice didn’t have much variation in pitch. He quietly nodded after engraving the captain’s orders in his mind.

**

Friendly faces were visible from the entrance of the newspaper office. Jake brightened and waved his hand.

“Oh my, our Jake the reporter, suffering from deadlines!”

“Welcome, Allen! And… um… It’s an honor to meet you, young lady of the Icastel ducal family.”

Jake’s hesitant demeanor was laden with all sorts of thoughts.

Last time, he was too flustered to show proper etiquette, but wasn’t she the precious daughter of a ducal family? There was clearly a difference in status, so shouldn’t he show proper respect?

Noticing his concern, Cecilia waved her hand and approached first.

“We’re meeting as a reporter and an informant now, so there’s no need for such formalities.”

“You’re here about the article, right? You must have a lot of questions about the progress and such.”

Jake headed into the newspaper office and got straight to the point. But strangely, Allen and Cecilia’s expressions seemed somehow gloomy. The reporter’s instinct inside Jake was telling him. Ah, something has happened.

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

Cecilia nodded heavily. He immediately guided her and Allen to an empty reception room.

After confirming that no one else was around, Cecilia hesitantly brought up the subject.

“Jake, I’m really sorry. I’d like you to not publish the article you’re preparing.”

It was like a bolt from the blue for him. He had just barely gotten approval from higher-ups, and he had expected to be able to release it as an exclusive scoop in about a week, but what was this sudden disaster?

“Were you threatened? Did the Icastel family or other noble families put pressure on you…?”

“Jake, ask one thing at a time. The circumstances are quite complicated.”

Allen had already heard most of the situation from Cecilia. Allen also couldn’t hide his devastated expression. Knowing how Cecilia had approached this matter, he forced a bitter smile and stopped Jake.

“My father is currently being held on charges of rebellion against the empire.”

“What? But if you mean your father, then Icastel…”

“I was adopted into the Icastel family. My birth father is Paulo Ranford, originally from Rosen.”

Jake seemed to realize something and let out a short exclamation of “Ah,” before holding his tongue. It was better not to pry into other people’s family matters unless they revealed them themselves.

“His Majesty the Emperor has ordered that the people brought from Rosen be handed over to Tamil, the torture technician.”

Everyone knows. Being handed over to Tamil means certain death. Though release might be impossible, at the very least, she didn’t want them to face Tamil.

Cecilia looked strained as she revealed the circumstances one sentence at a time. She felt she had no face to show the professors at the academy who had lent their strength, nor the friends who had helped. She decided to burn the article Jake had painstakingly written in front of Riwena and the elders.

“There won’t be any harm to any of you. If any problems arise later, I’ve decided to take full responsibility.”

“Wait a minute, Cecilia. You didn’t say anything like that when we talked earlier! If you’re not careful, you could even be expelled!”

Allen, who had been quietly listening to her words, raised his voice. But Cecilia’s eyes didn’t waver. They were firm and upright, like someone who had already prepared themselves several times over.

“I’m prepared for that.”

How could anyone break that firm resolve? The reception room filled with silence. What words should be said next? Sometimes, hasty comfort can make a person even more tired.

All three people gathered in the reception room were ordinary humans.

Just regular people who couldn’t turn back time or possess supernatural powers. Even if Cecilia and Allen were of noble status, it wouldn’t solve everything. To say it’s okay, to say let’s look for the next opportunity, would be…

Allen, who had been sprawled on the reception room sofa, suddenly sat up. The recoil caused Jake to stagger as well. Ignoring Jake’s squawk, Allen looked at Cecilia with trembling eyes.

“Cecilia. That evidence… We made an extra copy back then, right?”

Cecilia was smiling silently. As if she had anticipated something like this from the beginning.

It was a backup copy made in case of emergencies. On their first day at the newspaper office, Cecilia had asked Allen to make a copy of the evidence.

‘Cecilia. Later, when you’re in business, remember to always make an extra copy of important documents.’

‘Why?’

‘Because no one knows what might happen in the future. What if ink spills on the only remaining copy of a document? Or what if a fire breaks out in the warehouse where it’s stored? People like us in business always need to prepare for what’s ahead.’

Why did she have to think of her imprisoned father at a time like this? Cecilia barely held back the tears that threatened to spill at the end of her smile. Her eyes, which had been briefly moist, were now bone dry.

“Allen, please take care of that original. In the current situation, the Icastel mansion is too dangerous to store the evidence.”

“What? Me?”

“Please.”

Allen fell into thought for a moment. In fact, the Diobe Count’s mansion was quite an optimal place for storing such items.

The empress, known to be favored by the emperor. The mansion where her father lived.

Moreover, wasn’t he running an excellent charity organization sponsored by the emperor? Though rotten on the inside, the glossy exterior made it easier to avoid suspicion.

It needed to be stored in the safest place in this mansion, away from everyone’s eyes. An idea flashed through Allen’s mind.

“Alright. I’ll keep it safe for the future.”

If the day ever came when Cecilia could bring this evidence back to the world, Allen intended to rush out with these documents without hesitation. The eyes of the two women in the reception room met with determination.