At that moment, a cold wind was blowing in the imperial palace, and tension was running high.

Karaf was anxious and restless, unable to be still.

He felt that he would not be satisfied until he found some trace related to Asha.

If there was something through which he could sense her presence, his restless heart would find some calm.

Karaf frantically searched the imperial palace where Asha had stayed, but she had not possessed much in the palace.

Though all the items in the room were gifts he had given her, they seemed like mere shiny decorations, and he could not feel her presence at all.

Not even the fragrant odor that came from her, or the faint traces of her touch were perceptible.

It was as if nobody had ever been in this room…

That drove him mad.

Karaf ordered the chief eunuch to bring all the personal belongings Asha had had when she first arrived at the palace.

She really hadn’t brought much with her when she came here.

Looking at the small basket of possessions, Karaf’s face contorted further.

But the moment he discovered something in it, he unconsciously slammed his fist down on the table with a ‘bang’.

At the loud noise, all the surrounding servants and knights flinched.

Karaf lifted one of Asha’s belongings with shaking hands, his eyes wide.

It was a steelcolored dagger.

His trembling fingers slowly brushed over the horse’s face carved into the dagger.

That horse was all too familiar.

No, it was a face he could never forget.

It looked exactly like the accursed horse that had whisked Asha away during the opening ceremony.

Karaf’s hands were shaking, and his face was twisted in pain.

“Banessa… lied to me.”

She had certainly told him that the horse was one she had raised in the minority village in the past.

But that horse, as if prepared, had galloped away carrying her as soon as the opportunity arose, and the Ricaians immediately attacked the monastery.

Had she conspired with them from the beginning to deceive him?

Had even she, whom he had trusted, betrayed him in the end…

The curse of the assassin seemed to ring unpleasantly in his ears once more.

‘…The Banessa beside you now? I’d bet my life she’ll resent and hate you.’

Karaf clenched his fist that he had slammed on the desk until the skin was white.

He had resolved never to trust the minorities again…

How pitiful he felt for thinking that this time would be different.

Feeling so insignificant and pathetic for being betrayed even by the woman he loved, he couldn’t bear it.

“Your Majesty!”

Duran approached him in desperation.

Karaf mumbled as if his soul had left him, staring straight ahead.

“Didn’t she say she would abandon everything and come to me, even the minorities?”

“Your Majesty…”

“Did I believe that… was she planning this from the beginning…? She made me lose my mind with sweet words, intending to betray me cruelly. The blood of betrayal always flows in those damned minorities, doesn’t it, Duran?”

Duran spoke quickly as he looked at Karaf, who was mumbling madly with bloodshot eyes.

“Your Majesty, please calm down. It’s not certain that Banessa has betrayed you.”

“Then! If she hasn’t betrayed me, why hasn’t she returned to the palace yet? Is that damned horse still running without rest?”

He let out a derisive laugh at his words, and Duran bowed his head in reply.

“……There must be some reason. Banessa seemed very surprised by the horse’s unexpected behavior during the opening ceremony. The horse was uncontrollable. Judging by Banessa’s reaction, it appears to be a calculated lone crime by the Ricaians. Perhaps they are monitoring her thoroughly, preventing her from returning to the palace. After all, Banessa has a history of escaping their hideout secretly.”

Karaf paused.

That did sound plausible.
Perhaps Vanessa had already made up her mind to come to him, but those foolish curs might have forcibly taken her away and imprisoned her somewhere.

The fact that the word “Shefi” reached the Imperial Palace was undoubtedly not a coincidence but part of their meticulous plan.

Vanessa has no connection with them.

Vanessa… she may not have colluded with them.

Karaf momentarily regained his sanity with the hope that sprang up like a small flame in his remaining heart, but he soon became confused again.

But hadn’t she already secretly conspired with the ethnic minority assassins before?

Perhaps she had made up her mind to abandon him and cultivate another flower at some fool’s whim.

Karaf muttered to himself in a suppressed voice.

“Just one last time… I want to trust her just one more time. Duran, you said that there might be a chance that the Rikaion scoundrels have imprisoned her to cause a rebellion… Perhaps Vanessa knows nothing and is merely being sacrificed in their scheme…”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Duran quickly replied, as if he had been waiting for that.

“But if… if she does not return to me even when we subjugate Rikaion…”

Karaf couldn’t bring himself to say the rest, swallowing it down.