Jeremy’s words seemed innocent at first glance, but they contained a trap.

If Celiya said she was as beautiful as the rumors claimed, he would try to implicate Dietrich in the Emperor’s assassination as well. If she said she wasn’t as beautiful as the rumors suggested, he would try to meet Celiya in person to verify his words.

Dietrich did not fall for the wordplay.

“She is a criminal who assassinated His Majesty. She is not a person worthy of Your Highness’s curiosity. And…”

“And? If you have something to say, finish it.”

“Regardless of a mere criminal’s beauty, what value could it possibly have?”

At this point, Jeremy could not hide his irritation.

“You are no fun at all, my lord.”

“…”

“Please, don’t waste time on useless matters and focus on preparing a grand funeral for His Majesty. Make sure there’s no room for gossip.”

Jeremy said his piece and left. The court ladies and knights trailing behind him kept glancing at Dietrich as they passed.

Dietrich, who usually wore his uniform, was wearing only a thin shirt today. Perhaps that’s why his hidden torso was clearly visible.

The well-defined muscles trying to break through the white shirt rose and fell repeatedly with Dietrich’s breathing.

The knights gazed at Dietrich with eyes mixed with admiration, envy, and respect. The court ladies, their cheeks flushed red, couldn’t take their eyes off Dietrich until they left the corridor.

Dietrich, for his part, didn’t even glance at them as he walked towards the room connected to his office.

The room was large and spacious, but it was sparse, unlike what one would expect from the chamber of the knight commander who ruled the imperial court. His room was equipped only with essentials: a wardrobe, a bed, a table, and a bookshelf.

He always acted according to plan and never wasted effort on unnecessary things, but giving his uniform to Celiya today was something beyond his expectations.

Dietrich furrowed his brow. The scene he had witnessed earlier came to mind.

He had momentarily felt sympathy for Celiya, who had looked like a frightened rabbit with her white shoulders exposed.

With the presence of the ability user who exuded the scent of hyacinth, Celiya would have been safe even if he hadn’t helped her.

But why had he stepped in to help by sending the knights into the prison?

‘It was a perfect opportunity to confirm her ability.’

Was it because she was terminally ill with only about a year left to live that he felt a momentary sympathy?

Dietrich felt pathetic for having even a brief moment of sympathy and going so far as to give her his uniform.

However, negative thoughts are harmful to living in this world and serve no purpose. Dietrich quickly changed his mind.

‘…There will be plenty of opportunities to confirm it anyway.’

Dietrich had no intention of killing Celiya. At least not yet.

Her life belonged to him, so he should be the one to decide when to take it.

Although Celiya was terminally ill and destined to die in a year, Dietrich could keep her alive long after that year if necessary.

There was one fact that Celiya didn’t know: Dietrich was also an ability user.

Dietrich intended to keep the fact that he had an ability a secret until the moment Celiya died.

If she were to notice that he had an ability, Dietrich planned to kill her without hesitation.

He had been preparing for a very long time to bring down this Abelon, or more precisely, the three dukes who were the leaders of Abelon. He couldn’t afford any more disruptions to his plans.

‘Even if she has an ability, if I judge her to be useless to me, I can simply discard her.’

Dietrich’s eyes sank deep in thought. He decided to immerse himself in cold water to clear his mind. He took off the shirt he was wearing and unbuckled his pants.

As he removed the cumbersome clothes, a body covered in muscles without an ounce of fat was revealed.

His back was full of scars from numerous assassination attempts. Some were from poison, others from burns.

Dietrich possessed an ability that could erase these scars without a trace, but he chose not to do so.

This was because his ability manifested through his bodily fluids, except for blood.

* * *

“I was thinking it was about time to replace the Emperor. This saves us some trouble.”

A man with fine silver hair spoke in a gentle voice. With long hair that covered his entire back and smooth white skin, he was looking down at the chess pieces with one hand on his chin.

There was a sound of a piece being moved. It was the sound of him moving a white knight made of ivory.

“Don’t you think so, Balt?”

The man sitting across from him, called Balt, raised his head. With tanned skin and brown hair, Balt looked like a fierce beast, perhaps due to his large build.

Unlike the silver-haired man who exuded a relaxed, priestly aura, Balt radiated a wild beauty.

Balt looked at the silver-haired man with irritated eyes.

“Ileon.”

The silver-haired man, called by his name, narrowed his eyes. His deep blue eyes, impossible to read, curved into a crescent shape within his deep eye sockets.

It was a beautiful smile that noble ladies couldn’t stop admiring. However, unfortunately for Ileon, Balt was not a noble lady but a noble lord.

Moreover, he was the head of the Portman family, one of the three ducal houses supporting Abelon, and one of only two Sword Masters in the empire.

“Stop that disgusting smile. It makes me want to vomit. Can’t you see I’m trying to concentrate on the chess game?”

Despite his grand status, his language was quite crude.

Ileon chuckled softly at Balt’s behavior and said,

“You’re going to lose anyway, so why don’t we have a conversation?”

“You bastard! Just because you’re good at chess, you think you can look down on people? The game isn’t over until it’s over!”

Balt shouted as he moved his black knight. Ileon, who had been looking down at the chessboard, shook his head.

“My friend. It’s good to build muscles, but how about using your brain a bit? Otherwise, you’ll be eaten by the weakest.”

“…You bastard?”

“Look carefully. By moving your knight, you’ve left your king defenseless. A foolish king who abandons the knight protecting him without seeing the bigger picture…”

Ileon trailed off as he moved his white pawn. With a click, his pawn took its place near the king, making a clear sound.

“Checkmate.”

“Arrrgh! You insufferable bastard!”

An enraged Balt shouted and flipped the chessboard along with the table. The expensive mahogany table crashed to the floor with a loud thud under his brute strength.

The chessboard and chess pieces on the table scattered across the floor. Displeased with the mess in the room, Ileon immediately called for his butler.

“Clean this up.”

“Yes, master.”

The butler bowed deeply and righted the overturned table. Then he quickly cleaned up the chessboard and chess pieces from the floor and left the room.

Ileon looked at the still-fuming Balt with a relaxed expression. Although the two men were completely different in appearance and personality, they were both from the Three Ducal Houses, said to be so powerful that even a flying bird would fall from the sky in their presence.

Balt was the head of the Portman Ducal House, while Ileon was the head of the Gredrik Ducal House, which was also the Empress’s family.

“Balt, you should do something about that rough personality of yours. What would others say if they saw this?”

“Let them say whatever they want. Do you think I care about such things?”

Balt snorted. Ileon, looking at Balt, continued with a gentle smile on his face.

“Why did Celiya Brillion kill the Emperor?”

Balt noticed that Ileon was trying to change the subject, but feeling guilty about overturning the innocent table, he pretended not to notice.

“That trash of an Emperor must have messed with countless women. There must be many who hold grudges against that lecherous Emperor, so that woman must have assassinated him out of resentment.”

Balt said, stroking his chin. Ileon muttered softly.

“…Resentment, is it.”

“What else could that pretty woman be lacking that she had to kill someone? I bet she got fed up with the old Emperor getting all excited down there and killed him out of irritation.”

Ileon sometimes envied Balt’s ignorance, living without a care in the world. Living on impulse without thinking must be stress-free.

“Do you really think she killed the Emperor for that reason alone?”

“Come on. How would I know? If you’re that curious, why don’t you go to the Imperial Palace yourself and ask that woman, Ileon?”

“…”

“If you want to know the truth, you’d better hurry to the palace. Unless you want to have a conversation with a cold corpse, that is.”

Ileon furrowed his brow. Balt, looking at Ileon’s pensive face with frustration, rose from his chair. The chair creaked under the weight of his massive and heavy build.

“The Emperor’s mad dog will try to kill that woman for the crime of assassinating the Emperor. To survive in the palace after losing his master, killing that woman is unavoidable for him.”

“…We don’t know yet how a dog who’s lost its master will act.”

“Oh, come on. I’m trying to be kind here, and you’re making a fuss.”

Balt walked towards the door. Just before leaving the room, he turned to Ileon and added,

“I still don’t like you. Just as much as that emotionless bastard.”

Feeling slighted, Balt left the room with those final words. The door closed with a thud.

Alone in the room, Ileon was thinking about Dietrich.

What kind of dog could crawl up from the bottom and completely take control of the Imperial Palace’s military power? A dog that can climb to the top of its master’s head and manipulate them at will has already transcended being a dog at that point.

Ileon muttered to himself,

“Mad dog, indeed. It’s probably a nickname made up by ‘something’ wearing the disguise of a dog.”