Everyone hushed, knowing that the root cause of the accident was Empress Wyeno.

“Next, how about you, Duke?”

Valented’s gaze turned toward Duke Vladis.

The Crown Prince’s eyes momentarily flickered.

A purple aura shook an empty wine bottle, finally pushing it to the floor.

Crash!

Sharp sounds accompanied large and small shards flying in all directions.

The Crown Prince’s ability was telekinesis, allowing him to move anything graspable with his gaze.

“Did you not take care?”

It was a trivial quarrel.

The Crown Prince did not stop there and mouthed a word.

‘Monster. Rat. Bastard.’

At that moment, the Duke picked up a shard of glass that had jumped up to the table.

By the time he thought the shard twinkled, it was already embedded in the wall behind the Crown Prince.

Crack. Crack.

The sturdy temple wall was webbing.

“I am the monster, and you are the rat.”

The wall seemed about to engulf the Crown Prince at any moment.

Kashar readily admitted his mistake.

“I apologize. When a rat bastard like me wanders around, it’s only right that it should stay in the rat pocket. Isn’t that correct?”

The meaning was to crawl into the hem of the Empress’s skirt, like the lesser rat he was.

“The red rat is quite clever, isn’t it? My lover must be worried. The rat and its young must use their brains to live.”

Everyone was shocked to see the Duke disrespecting the Crown Prince.

And the question they had always held spilled out.

‘Really, is Duke Vladis insane?’

The Duke had shown signs of madness, first during his initial onset and later on the battlefield.

Returning from war, the Duke was not insane but a monster playing with the Crown Prince.

So, such a question was natural.

‘What if the Emperor reinstates the Duke’s inheritance rights?’

If the Duke truly had a chance at the throne, whose side should they take?

But it was not yet time to show their cards.

“How dare you insult me and my mother?!”

The Crown Prince fumed.

All objects within his gaze twitched, as if ready to fly at the Duke at any moment.

Preventing the imminent explosion was Ekanesia Han Lihart, the Empire’s only princess.

“Both of you, stop.”

The princess, her silver hair tinged with pink, walked between them, her eyes firmly closed.

‘Blind Princess. Halfwit Seer.’

Those were all nicknames for Ekanesia.

She had been blind from birth. She had survived Wyeno, awakening her precognitive abilities at 15.

But Ekanesia’s predictions were worthless.

She could only see her immediate future, nothing else.

“Ah, how impressive.”

Valented snorted sarcastically.

“Do you want to lose your speech when you can’t even see?”

Normally, the decorous Crown Prince couldn’t hide his emotions when dealing with the Duke.
Despite the Crown Prince’s provocation, Ekanesia did not back down.

“If you do not cease here, I will inform the Emperor of everything that happened at the gathering.”

The Crown Prince’s expression froze.

The Princess, who had always been quiet, was now stepping out of line.

While everyone was surprised by the unexpected situation, the Duke who rose from his seat pushed Ekanesia aside.

“You lack compassion. Even for your sister.”

As the Duke approached, Valented visibly tensed.

Seeing this, the Duke sighed. To be so afraid when you haven’t even exerted all your strength.

He looked at the Crown Prince as though he was a nuisance and pathetic.

“It’s always fascinating. Though you get exactly what you wish for, you’re still unstable. It seems the madness is not with me but with our brother.”

Ever since he became a Duke, his attitude had been consistent.

He had no interest in the throne, nor did he think of it as something stolen from him.

‘There’s no need for another leash.’

The position of absolute power was nothing more than the most dignified leash.

That was Kashar’s philosophy.

“So do not provoke. Unless you want to keep your smart head attached to your neck.”

The story of how he had taken an enemy commander’s head in battle passed through everyone’s minds.

The Crown Prince was no exception. He took steps back and eventually announced the end of the gathering.

“…I hereby dissolve the gathering.”

It was the exit of a loser who couldn’t overcome his inferiority complex.

“Since Your Highness has graciously excused himself, this humble Duke will also take his leave.”

Kashar also left, leaving the royal family behind.

The priest who had guided him thus far followed.

“I will accompany you to where Young Master Hallen is.”

He looked like a dog trying to wag its tail.

Kashar, already in a bad mood, could not let it pass.

“If donations are needed, I will sever your neck and donate gold equivalent to the weight of your head to the temple.”

“…What? What do you mean…”

“It means moderate yourself.”

Eileen’s accompanying priest must have been part of the temple’s plan to deliberately leave him out.

His irritation escalated at the thought of the priest who stayed by Eileen’s side.

If he had not met her soon enough, he would have drawn his sword out of sheer frustration.

(This is a time separator.)

A week had passed since the ceremony.

Kashar’s office.

Frizia handed over the data he had requested.

It was an ancient text on dragon magic.

“Are there no other texts?”

“Well, even this one was hard to come by.”

When Elvitor, the chief merchant, said it was difficult, it almost meant impossible.

Kashar verified the item and paid the price.

It was the mining rights to a red diamond mine that he had previously seized from Frizia.

“Keep the contents of the request confidential.”

“Of course.”

Though they clashed in business, they were serious when it came to transactions.

Swallowing her curiosity, Frizia watched the text disappear into his possession.

“I shall leave now.”

Even as Frizia left the office, Kashar was lost in thought.

He had been investigating the dragon’s magical power. Specifically, whether anyone besides the royal family possessed it.

Suddenly, a question Eileen had asked him in the carriage came to mind.

‘Have you ever eaten or seen food similar to what I’ve made?’

Seaweed soup.

Though it tasted and smelled different, the dish he had verified on his birthday was the same as the soup Queen Viviana had once made.

Queen Viviana did not die in the tower.

She disappeared from the tower one day, without a trace, as if she had evaporated, avoiding strict surveillance.

No one could find any trace of Viviana, despite extensive searching underwater.

Dragon magic is abundant.

However, the magic possessed by each member of the royal family had different colors and sensations.

‘It was the same magic.’

The dragon magic he felt from Eileen, who was asleep.

The faint sensation he had felt in the tower where the Queen disappeared was definitely of the same kind.
He was unaware of some connection that existed.

Kashar’s eyes flickered in a dark red hue.

It didn’t matter what kind of being Aileen was.

However, the premise of her disappearing must not exist.