I tried to make an excuse, but Askan unhesitatingly took off his coat and covered me with it.

I could feel the warmth from the clothes. Unable to refuse any longer and as I continued to gaze, his pupils harboring a hint of laughter widened.

“They say it’s a chilly place even in midsummer. You’ve been made to answer questions with dignity, so listen quickly and leave.”

Recalling the first day I met Andro, he didn’t seem to have a dignified style at all. However, I nodded my head since I believed Askan and listened obediently.
That way, following Askan, we passed through narrow corridors and entered the interrogation room.

“Have you come?”

Seeing Carlton, who came out and bowed politely to Askan, the once clean Andro, now barely recognizable, was sitting tied to the wall in the bleak torture room, with only a desk and chair placed haphazardly.

Askan spoke first.

“Andro Parasita.”

“Gasp!”

Andro, inhaling sharply, lifted his head. His eyes were filled with fear, likely from whatever had happened over the past few days.

“From now on, I’ll be asking questions, so answer truthfully to what I ask.”

“Yes, yes.”

Andro was using honorifics now, unlike the first time they met.

It felt strange, but now, more than such details, he needed to ask the questions he had been thinking about.

“What is your relationship with Kains?”

“We performed missions together during my mercenary days. Since then, we occasionally socialized over drinks, but recently, our relationship soured because he didn’t pay back my money.”

“Do you happen to know about the mission Kains took on about twenty years ago? It was related to the Arwen Empire.”

“The Arwen Empire?”

Andro’s eyes blurred as if he were recalling something. Then, as if he remembered, he nodded vigorously.

“There is one thing that comes to mind. Kains used to talk about it when he got drunk.”

“What was that?”

“He said he went to the Arwen Empire and stole documents from some mansion. It was a gathering of significant people, and the compensation was quite substantial…”

“Documents? Do you happen to know what they were?”

“No. That… well…”

“Do you know which mansion it was?”

“I really don’t know.”

“Do you know which family’s mansion it was?”

“Yes…”

Andro continued to watch Askan’s reaction as he answered. It seemed he had no knowledge, making his complexion pale.

I was investigating Shaul’s death, and unexpectedly, Kains was attempting to steal documents. I wonder if I stumbled upon some unrelated matter.

That’s when, even though I hadn’t asked a question, Andro urgently spoke.

“T-what I heard was not that. I went to steal documents from the mansion, and there was a noblewoman dying in the room.”

“…!”

Hearing that, I held my breath.

Instinctively, the thought crossed my mind that the dying noblewoman Andro mentioned might be Shaul.

“What noblewoman did he say? Tell me exactly.”

“She had black hair, was a young woman, and extremely beautiful, he said.”

“Did he say anything else? Did he mention anything else?”

“The original purpose was to steal documents, but because the noblewoman was dying, the employer was extremely angry. Instead of the originally agreed-upon compensation, he was given a much larger amount and was ordered to keep quiet.”

“Ah…”
“Kains quit being a mercenary after that incident, but whenever he gets drunk, he says he wants to take on a job that pays as well as before…”

It was confusing.

If Kains was indeed the intruder into the mansion, someone among them was most likely the one who killed Shaul.

The intruder left no evidence, so meticulous that it seemed unlikely they broke in to murder Shaul but rather to steal documents?

‘Then who in the world killed my mother?’

If Andro’s words were true, then the perpetrators were not among those who invaded the mansion that day.

Currently, Orland was investigating the poison found in the mansion.

We needed to find out how the poison entered, but we must not forget that Shaul’s cause of death wasn’t poisoning.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s too complicated. For now, I need to find out what documents the intruders stole.’

I tried to calm my thoughts and spoke to Andro.

“Do you happen to know the people who accompanied Kains when he went to carry out the mission for the Arwen Empire?”

“Well, I don’t know everyone, but some…”

“Tell me who you know!”

My knowledge from reading novels was limited to Kains. However, it was delightful news that Andro knew more people.

If we could catch those who invaded the mansion, we might discover who ordered this.

Askan, who had been silently watching, spoke in a low voice.

“Leave capturing those involved in this to me. They reside within the Kalua Empire, and the Imperial Guards would move faster than you.”

Askan’s words were not wrong.

As a noble of the Arwen Empire, my movements were limited. If the Imperial Guards took charge, they would capture the related parties much faster.

“Thank you, Askan.”

Askan responded to my words with a faint smile.

Unexpectedly, words came from another source. Andro, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, shouted as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Imperial Guards? The Emperor’s Imperial Guards?”

Andro looked at Askan with a bewildered expression.

He had suspected that this place was unusual, but it seemed he hadn’t anticipated that this was the torture room of the Imperial Guards.

Contemplating, Andro spoke.

“Oh, I’m done for. Lord Thirteen, I apologize. I’ll do anything you ask; just please spare my life.”

Askan, with an indifferent expression, addressed Carlton standing behind him.

“Did you hear what he said? Capture all those he calls for.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Upon hearing that, Andro’s face turned not just pale but almost ashen.

After realizing that Askan was referred to as Captain, Andro seemed to have finally grasped who he really was.

Approaching the tied Andro, Askan asked bluntly.

“Who are the relevant individuals? Speak.”

“Well, there’s the former mercenary Tannes, Denny…”
Andro responded with a much more polite attitude than before.

Not long ago, when Kains was found dead, it felt like there was no way he could be of any help. But now, it felt like a new hope had emerged.

He seemed to be one step closer to the true culprit who killed Shaul, who had been shrouded in mystery.

“Askan, if I catch those involved, can I arrange for them to be transferred to where my father is afterward?”

Askan nodded readily.

“If that’s what you want.”

There was no reason for Orlando to hide the truth any longer. It was urgent to inform Orlando of the facts I had uncovered as quickly as possible and to find out what the missing document was.

Moreover, it was necessary to approach who had ordered the theft of the document and the concealed truth of that day.

I looked up at Askan and smiled.

“Thank you in various ways. I don’t know how to repay this favor.”

Thanks to Askan’s help, things were going smoothly. Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to move so freely within the Kalua Empire.

“Of course, you should repay it. I’d like it with interest.”

“Is there anything you want from me?”

Askan’s eyes, looking at me in response to my question, intensified. There seemed to be an inexplicable and thick emotion swirling in his eyes.

“Like me more.”

“… What?”

“I would like you to fall in love with me a lot, as I am now.”

The words “as I am now” felt oddly unsettling.

At that moment,

“Ha!”

Carlton, who was conversing with Andro behind me, suddenly burst into laughter. It seemed like he had heard Askan’s words.

I looked at Carlton and Askan alternately with a bewildered expression.

Carlton immediately began to cover his mouth with his hand, turning white as if being strangled. In Askan’s eyes, glistening with an unpleasant light, a hint of mockery passed as he stared at Carlton.