As it was a private space where no one else was present, they didn’t bother with formalities by calling him “Duke Habicht.”

Martin was the same.

Without standing on ceremony, he let his raw anger seep into his voice.

“Where have you hidden her?”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb. I came here knowing everything.”

Martin snarled as he strode up close to Ernant.

Ernant glanced sideways at Martin, then reached for the teacup in front of him.

As Ernant leisurely sipped his tea, Martin asked in an even harsher voice than before.

“Yulia. Where have you hidden her?”

Martin had no intention of backing down.

It was already clearly confirmed that Ernant had Karl and Raymond kidnap Yulia.

Then Yulia must currently be in Ernant’s grasp.

He would have sealed Yulia’s ability, taken away her weapons, and confined her in his own space.

Recalling this fact, Martin was barely holding onto his reason when Ernant spoke in a calm voice.

“I’ll tell you. Why don’t you sit down first?”

Though Martin didn’t like Ernant’s nonchalant tone, he was at least saying he would tell him about Yulia.

Martin sat down on the sofa across from Ernant, suppressing his boiling emotions.

In the meantime, Ernant took another sip of tea and asked his younger brother.

“Do you want Yulia?”

“……”

Martin didn’t answer, but Ernant seemed to know anyway.

How much his brother desired Yulia.

Martin, who had never shown greed for anything, who hadn’t even been interested in the throne, now had clear longing in his eyes.

So Ernant anticipated. Although Martin had only yielded until now, this time he might bare his teeth.

Rather than letting him even think of that, he should give him despair.

Having made that decision, Ernant slowly opened his mouth.

“If you want Yulia… I’m sorry. You’ll never be able to have her.”

“…Are you saying you won’t return her?”

“It would be more accurate to say I can’t return her. Because she’s not in my hands right now.”

Ernant spoke in a calm voice to Martin, whose eyes were contorting.

“Yulia is dead.”

“Ha. If you’re telling me to believe that—”

“It’s the truth. She jumped into a rift to escape from me. With her ability sealed.”

Ernant muttered as if to himself toward the silent Martin.

“She’s probably dead. Poor thing.”

Silence fell between them after Ernant’s words.

Martin didn’t show his anger.

He didn’t sneer either.

After a sufficient amount of time had passed, he called out to Ernant in a quiet and gentle voice.

“Ernant. My brother.”

“What?”

“You don’t think I’ve left you alone all this time because I couldn’t kill you, do you?”

Since it wasn’t a question asked to seek an answer in the first place, Martin continued.

“I’ve always had the power to kill you. From the moment I awakened my ability, I could have burned you to ashes at any time.”

“……”

“But I didn’t. Because there was no need to kill you. I didn’t care at all whether you took the throne or not, whether you killed our other siblings or not.”

Martin, who had been leaning back on the sofa, leaned his body slightly forward.

Golden eyes like those of a beast flashed coldly as they took in Ernant’s figure.

“Brother. Think carefully. Do I still have no need to kill you now?”

“……”

“Yulia is the first being to ever awaken desire in me. To get her back… I’m quite willing to kill you.”

“……”

“I’ll ask again. Where have you hidden Yulia?”

After asking the question, Martin twitched his fingers.

He intended to snap Ernant’s neck if he showed even the slightest sign of lying.

He planned to cut off his breath before the imperial guards could rush in, and clean up afterwards at his leisure.

However.

“I told you just a minute ago, but you didn’t listen, little brother. Yulia jumped into a rift to escape from me. There’s a high chance she’s dead.”

“……”

“If you don’t believe me, shall I call a witness? Though you’ll have to wait a bit. I cut off one of his legs as punishment for letting Yulia escape. It’ll take quite some time for him to limp here.”

Martin scrutinized Ernant with a sharp gaze.

It was a gaze that didn’t miss even the slightest hint of a monster.

With that intensity, as if not to overlook even the movement of a single facial muscle, he observed Ernant.

Only after examining him for a long time like that could Martin tell. That there was no lie mixed in Ernant’s words.

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Yulia……”

Martin covered his face with both hands, hiding his complicated expression, when he suddenly asked.

“Which rift did she enter?”

“A small rift on the west coast of Hennes Island, an uninhabited island I own. If you want, go look for her yourself. I also hope Yulia is rescued alive, so I approve of you taking action.”

“……”

Martin still glared at his brother with fierce eyes.

He wanted to kill him.

Although Ernant was telling him Yulia’s location as if doing him a favor, if Ernant hadn’t kidnapped her in the first place, Yulia wouldn’t have ended up like that.

So he really wanted to kill the man before him, but—

“I need to hurry……”

There was no time to kill him.

Right now, retrieving Yulia was the urgent priority.

Ernant was, after all, the emperor of a country, and killing such an emperor required meticulous planning and a long time.

So killing Ernant would have to be postponed until after retrieving Yulia.

Bang!

Martin left the audience chamber, slamming the door roughly.

Left alone, Ernant let out a long sigh.

Then.

Crash—!

He threw the teacup he was holding hard onto the floor.

Only one sentence Martin had left behind kept repeating in Ernant’s mind.

−”I’ve always had the power to kill you. From the moment I awakened my ability, I could have burned you to ashes at any time.”

He said he could have killed Ernant at any time.

But he didn’t kill him because he wasn’t interested.

That arrogant attitude unique to those with special powers as awakened ones was hateful enough to want to kill.

But what Ernant found even more unbearable was something else.

It was himself, who felt such hatred towards Martin’s attitude yet couldn’t refute his words.

Ernant also already knew.

That if Martin had wanted, he could have taken anything Ernant had at any time.

Be it the throne, his life, or Yulia.

“I can’t let it be taken. I absolutely can’t let it be taken……”

Ernant, who had muttered as if in a trance towards empty space, left the audience chamber with hurried steps.

An aide who had been waiting anxiously in the corridor urgently asked Ernant.

“Your Majesty, where are you going in such a hurry—”

“The laboratory. I need to check how much progress has been made in today’s research.”

Although Ernant was not born with an ability, not having been chosen by God, there was still hope.

The research being conducted underground, sacrificing a huge investment and numerous death row inmates.

If that research yielded proper results, he would be able to obtain power like Martin’s.

By any means necessary, even if he had to sell his soul, he would obtain an ability more powerful than Martin’s.

With that resolve, he moved his steps towards the basement.

It wasn’t that I just idled away my time while staying at the Grand Temple.

I thought hard.

How could I discreetly convey my situation to the Captain without being detected by Ernant?

However, no particularly brilliant ideas came to mind.

I wanted to go to the garrison in person, but that was dangerous.

Karl would still be with the Captain.

The moment I went there, Ernant would receive a report of my whereabouts through Karl, the spy he had planted in the knighthood.

Then what if I secretly sent a communication item to the Captain to contact him…? I thought about that too, but it was problematic in its own way.

Communication items were so extremely expensive that even Emperor Ernant only had a few.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask Friede for such an expensive item just to talk more comfortably with the Captain.

It was already quite an imposition to be staying here like this.

So the means of communication I ultimately chose was a letter.

I immediately took out the pen and paper provided in the bedroom and began writing the letter.

−Hello, Captain?

−Did you successfully vanquish the Winter Queen?

−I’m sorry for disappearing so suddenly.

−I was attacked by monsters that day and while fleeing, I ended up in a bit of an odd place.

−It’s the Grand Temple. I’m at the Grand Temple. However, I would appreciate if you didn’t tell others that I’m here. I’ll explain the reason later.

I didn’t write about being kidnapped by Karl and Raymond.

Because the Captain never forgave traitors.