The man in front of him was a ruthless figure who, for his own gain, wouldn’t hesitate to let anyone die. A cruel man who, after staining his hands with the blood of his kin, had risen to his current position.

That’s why nobles within the royal family feared being out of his favor.

But there’s always an exception.

“Recently, I heard that Boris Black is suffering due to the war in the eastern border.”

At the mention of the name of the troubling figure, the minister’s face slowly hardened.

“Is that so? I don’t know much about the Security forces as they are not under the Interior Ministry’s jurisdiction.”

“Oh. I see. I spoke out of turn.”

“No, you didn’t. But why are you talking about that?”

A cautious vigilance began to appear in the minister’s eyes, carefully hidden behind his deliberately nonchalant expression.
“I don’t have a particular reason. I just felt regretful about the past when the minister tried to place the Security forces under the Interior Ministry but failed.”

“Black and the opposition from his followers were strong.”

“If I were Black, I wouldn’t have made such a mistake.”

One of the minister’s eyebrows, who had been staring intently, raised sharply.

“Mistake. Why do you think that?”

“Do you know why I abandoned the Latour Kingdom?”

“Go on.”

“In a kingdom where power is divided, its strength tends to crumble easily.”

Between Heter’s narrowed eyes, his pupils twinkled.

“Even though the Guard protects the royal family and the Security forces defend the kingdom, the reality is revealed when a crisis arises.”

The minister nodded slowly, as if agreeing.

Heter, who had been watching with bated breath, put a sly smile on his lips. And then.

“So, what I want to say to you, Minister…”

He began a confidential whisper.

‘That should be enough.’

Heter, who left the minister’s office in the palace, twisted his lips.

‘Like an old fox.’

And he briefly glanced at the door he had just exited.

Supporting him as the successor to the head of the Security forces, the minister demanded that Heter transfer some of the territories he had in the Latour Kingdom to his name.

‘I don’t like it, but there’s nothing I can do.’

To achieve his ambitions, he had to pretend to be submissive under the current influential figure.

Straightening his wrinkled forehead, Heter, walking down the royal palace corridor, suddenly stopped.

The back of a man turning around the corner of the corridor looked oddly familiar.

‘Cedric?’

Maintaining the extended gaze, he cautiously moved his steps.

When Cedric stopped walking at the end of the corridor, hiding behind the wall and slightly sticking out only his head.

‘Why did Cedric come to the royal palace?’

He wondered while looking at Cedric’s appearance behind the door.

‘…!’

For a moment, Cedric slowly scanned the surroundings.

The eyes that had been gradually storing venom like a snake quickly hid behind the wall.

Knock, knock.

The knocking sound echoed in the corridor, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing.

A space where the presence disappeared.

Hiding his body, Heter slowly revealed himself in the corridor.

And he moved his steps to the place where Cedric had been standing.

‘Security forces office?’

Heter’s eyes darkened like the darkness itself as he confirmed the place Cedric entered.

A space where even the air seemed to vanish, filled with a thick and stagnant silence.

A faint smile appeared on the lips of Marquis Haribo, who blinked his eyes slowly.

“Are you surprised?”

A voice as whimsical as the faint smile.

The eye makeup around Lamein’s eyes, subtly wavering, wrinkled slowly.

“Marquis Haribo.”

For the first time in a long time, Lamein opened her mouth.

“Yes, please speak.”

Gulp. Lamein, who swallowed dry saliva, wiped away the thoughts that had been confusing her mind.
The man in front of her already knows everything.

The conclusion has been reached.

It’s a situation where there’s no use avoiding any more harm.

She let the hand, which had been hidden behind her back, fall onto the dress skirt.

The man’s smile, who glanced briefly at her hand, became a little deeper.

“How much? What do you know?”

There’s no tremor, but a tense, sharp voice flowed out.

Her straight posture, like a falling spear, momentarily enveloped her in silence.

“Please relax. I’m not someone trying to harm the lady.”

In the gentle voice of Marquis Haribo.

“I want to hear the answers to my questions.”

Lamein responded in a calm, voice holding a hint of a smile.

As if trying to get a confession. Her nerves were more sensitive to Marquis Haribo’s attitude, inducing an answer.

The man, swallowing the sensitive gaze, slowly erased the smile on his face.

“I should start by explaining not how much and what I know, but since when I’ve known.”

Lamein’s gaze was deeply fixed on the man’s lips.

“Lady seems to be certain that she doesn’t remember me.”

“…”

“Well, it’s been such a long time.”

Lamein’s eyelids, which had stubbornly stared, twitched minutely.

‘Long ago? Have Lamein and Marquis Haribo met before?’

The thought crossed her mind that it might be a memory from Lamein’s unrecovered past.

“But I have never forgotten the lady from back then.”

Marquis Haribo raised his lips slightly with a bitter smile.

It was a smile that seemed to express regret that she didn’t remember their encounter.

“When did we meet?”

Marquis Haribo met Lamein’s waiting eyes squarely.

“Now, it seems I can properly greet you.”

As if it was time to reveal everything.

The man’s lips, containing a clear light, slowly opened.

“Zelda Myers. It’s been a long time.”