The certainty that Reyna was alive and all the clues about her whereabouts were in Kirian’s hands.

There was still a chance.

“No, no, no.”

I slapped the backs of hands 1 and 2 with a twig.

“How can you distribute the cards so uncool?”

As I clicked my tongue, 1 and 2 looked down at the cards with a very sulky expression.

“These rough-looking guys just giving out cards is suspicious enough, and now you can’t even shuffle or distribute them nicely. What if you don’t even know the rules of the game?”
I eventually slapped my forehead.

“Ah, Duya. The party is less than a week away.”

“Number 1!”

“Number 2!”

“I’m going to hit their heads—”

Before 1 and 2 could hit their heads, I quickly slapped them on their heads.

“Stop hitting heads! It’s not like bad heads will get any worse!”

Other members, even if they infiltrate as deliverymen or daily gardeners, would find it challenging to infiltrate the mansion, especially up to the most secluded reception room of the Viscount.

So, as good as the method of a dealer who can come and go to the Viscount’s most secret reception room, at this moment, it was almost certain that we would be kicked out by the furious nobleman.

Then, number 5 rushed in.

“Ah, Ant-nim! A client has arrived!”

“Really?”

I slammed the poker rulebook loudly on the desk.

“Until I come back, if you can’t memorize this from the first page to the last page in detail.”

1 and 2 swallowed hard.

“I will teach you division.”

1 and 2 both exclaimed.

“We haven’t recovered from learning multiplication yet…!”

“If you learn division, won’t our heads explode?!”

I left 1 and 2, who were hugging each other and crying, and headed to the secret chamber where the client was waiting.

“What kind of client is it?”

“The details are confidential, so they said they would talk to Ant-nim when they meet. It seems to be a person-finding request.”

Number 5 lowered his voice.

“And just by looking, they seem to have a lot of money. They look like they can tear up a big pile of money as a commission.”

I chuckled and flipped up my hood.

“Really?”

The voice that flowed out was so deep that it could penetrate the ground.

“Well, then, I guess I’ll have to treat them with utmost sincerity.”

I immediately pushed open the door to the secret chamber.

And I froze.

It was Hys.

“Ah!”

As soon as Hys saw me, he pretended not to recognize me. I stiffened.

“At the last gambling den…”

“Ah, yes.”

Fortunately, he seemed to remember me only as Ant. I felt a bit relieved.

I sat down on the opposite chair with a thud. As long as I acted like Ant properly, everything should be fine.

“Why did you come to such a humble place? And even more so, the Crown Prince of the Krycia Kingdom.”

Fortunately, Hys went straight to the point instead of asking about my identity.

Tang, tang, tang. Hys placed three gold bars on the table in order.

I immediately recognized the identity of the gold bars. How could I not? These were the things I had tucked away under my pillow, feeling precious enough to die for, considering throwing them away just because of Pablo’s debt.

To see them again here.

“I’m looking for the origin of these gold bars. Pablo said they came from you.”

“…Yes.”

That Pablo. He was just utterly useless. It was clear he didn’t know the gratitude for paying off the debt and dragged me into gossiping about me.
Pablo was one of the few who had seen my true face. I was momentarily frightened, wondering if Hys already knew my identity, but then Hys immediately asked.

“So, where are you from?”

Hys leaned towards me. There was earnestness in his eyes, but it didn’t seem like he knew my true identity.

“I’m looking for the original owner of these gold bars. I won’t ask how you came into possession of them, but if you tell me the whereabouts of the original owner, I’ll reward you with twice or even three times the value of this gold.”

When I remained silent, Hys placed another item on the desk.

It was a portrait. And a very familiar one at that.

“The owner of the money…”

“Have you seen this woman?”

As Hys inquired further, I withdrew my body.

“No.”

I said it decisively, but Hys’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Really? Take a closer look. When she first appeared at the bank, her appearance was different from this, and even though her demeanor may be different, there’s a possibility you’ve seen a woman with the same face, right?”

It was a precarious situation.

“I really don’t know.”

Hys swallowed a frustrated sigh.

“If she’s not the owner of these gold bars, where did they come from then?”

I quickly shook my head.

“I got them at the black market. The seller seemed unaware of its value, so I swiftly obtained it at a bargain. Unfortunately, I don’t know who the seller is.”

I pretended to carefully examine the portrait.

“It somewhat resembles the seller at first glance…”

“…If he didn’t know the value of the gold bars, it couldn’t have been Reyna… even if she could rip someone off for twice the money, she would never sell at a bargain.”

Hys concluded decisively.

I almost touched my forehead. However, I couldn’t make a move as Hys, scrutinizing me, became more persistent.

“By the way, does Ant always wear this hood?”

It happened in an instant. As Hys reached out to uncover my hood, I caught his hand.

“Ugh.”

A groan escaped from Hys’s mouth as he failed to control his strength.

But strangely, even as Hys swallowed his pain, he was smiling.

Looking at me. More precisely, at my hand.

“Ant. For a man, you have quite delicate hands.”