“I’m her enemy. The enemy who killed the man she loved and ascended to the emperor’s throne. To me, she was the lover of my brother who tried to kill me and became my wife.”

“……”

“Even if we live as a married couple, we can only doubt each other for the rest of our lives. Even if you weren’t involved, so you really don’t have to worry.”

Hyacinth, who spoke decisively, began to pull the thorns from the broken rose. It was an attitude that he didn’t want to continue on this topic.

‘Well. I would hate it if Hyacinth nagged about my harem. Anyway, Hyacinth and I are now strangers, and the problem between Hyacinth and his spouse is for Hyacinth to deal with.’

Having come to ask for help, Latil, out of respect for Hyacinth’s wishes, skillfully steered the conversation elsewhere.

“The sound of birds here is nice.”

“Insincere.”

“No, really. Listening to the birdsong here, I’m reminded of when you snuck into our country like a small, cute white mouse. Even then, the birds were making a lot of noise. Maybe because they saw a mouse.”

“Are you saying that ‘small cute white mouse’ was like a rat?”

“Hmm.”

As Latil coughed awkwardly and averted his gaze, Hyacinth laughed as if incredulous, deflating.

“A small, cute white mouse is much better than someone who came disguised as a ghostly statue, you con artist.”

“Who are you calling a con artist?”

“Besides, are those birds the ones you released when you ascended to the throne? I remember there weren’t many birds when I was studying abroad.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Really? Then when did they increase?”

“What are you talking about, the birds increasing…”

Latil began to speak, then cocked his head. Back when Hyacinth was studying abroad. She remembered him saying ‘there are a lot of birds in Karisen’ and ‘I want to show you the lake where the birds bathe when you come to our country’.

“You’re right. There weren’t many birds originally.”

Latil murmured, frowning. But why are there so many birds now? Before the imposter showed up and ran away, Latil often heard bird calls even while moving about the harem.

But she had not thought it strange to hear the birds, so the bird calls must have gradually increased one by one.

Coming to this realization, Latil’s eyes widened, and she turned sharply.

“Birds!”

“Birds?”

“I’m not sure if it’s a brother or a spy, but it’s clear that they’re using birds, or bird calls, to share information inside the palace!”

“Information?”

“Damn it. I’ve been thinking there are a lot of enemies inside the palace. The information keeps leaking. But if they use birds, they can exchange information quickly even if they’re few… Damn it.”

At Latil’s request, Hyacinth had arranged a guest room at the edge of the compound, where it was easy to come and go. As soon as possible, Latil sat down at the desk and began to write a letter to Carlein, who would be waiting for news at an inn in the capital.

A trustworthy messenger lent by Hyacinth was supposed to deliver the note along with a palace pass to Carlein.

However, even before the messenger could reach Carlein, the Black Forest assassins were already attacking him.

“Why is a man who fled with a maid in love here impersonating us?”

One of the assassins recognized Carlein’s face and sneered, but Carlein didn’t reply. Instead, he scanned the five assassins one by one and muttered coldly.

“I only need one of them. What to do with the rest?”

And before the Black Forest assassins could understand what was happening, he had swiftly overpowered all five of them and quietly returned to his original spot, sitting at the table.

The assassins felt a massive impact in their calves and knees the moment they sensed Carlein ‘move’. They tumbled onto the ground, and by the time they regained their senses, not just them but all of their comrades were in the same state.

Indeed, the King of Mercenaries. The assassins sighed inwardly. The King of Mercenaries didn’t have a benevolent image, he coldly and ruthlessly fulfilled the tasks assigned to him. This meant it was certain he would slaughter them all in a chilling manner this time as well.

But instead of severing their heads from their bodies, Carlein grabbed the collar of the nearest assassin with just his strength, lifted him up, and uttered some strange words.

“Convey this message to your leader.”

At the sound of the word ‘leader’ from Carlein’s mouth, the assassins glanced at each other. It was strange enough that the King of Mercenaries was suddenly impersonating them, but now he wanted to convey a message to their leader?

However, the one standing before them had already overpowered them to the point they didn’t have the courage to retaliate.

As the collared assassin nodded his head in a gasping voice, Carlein threw him onto the floor like trash, looked down at him with chilling eyes, and spoke each word clearly.

“Black market. Flounder. Ice cream on top of Tashir.”

“!”