But his daughter, with a calm touch, pushed his hand away and spoke more firmly than ever.

“I love that person. I will marry the one I love.”

“What? Are you in your right mind now?”

“And now, it’s irreversible.”

Stroking her belly, April had a more determined expression than ever.

A shiver ran down Jan’s spine at his daughter’s spineless posture.

He somehow knew the reason why his once gentle daughter insisted so strongly on marriage.

“April… Could it be…?”

But unable to articulate the unspeakable, Jan quickly averted his gaze.

“No, no way. That can’t be true. How could you…?”

Jan stared at April, as if silently asking her to lie. But his daughter turned away from his painful gaze.

“It’s just as you think.”

“……!”
Jan swallowed a scream that seemed to burst forth, covering his mouth. Then, with a pale face, he fell into deep thought for a while and opened his mouth heavily.

“Who else knows about this fact?”

“My chief physician.”

“Viscount Oswald?”

“We talked about it yesterday.”

“Understood. Don’t tell anyone else for the time being.”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, yeah… leave.”

Jan wrapped his head with his hands and sat hesitantly in the chair.

If Stone is a member of the Wolf Tribe and April is pregnant with his child, all the plans would fall apart. No one knew how the child of the Wolf Tribe would be born. Perhaps he deliberately made April like this.

To use her as a hostage!

Crash!

“Uaaack! Stone!”

In the reception room of Marvel Palace, Kristin’s expression stiffened as she entered.

Adele, who had been anxiously waiting for him, relaxed. It was clear that the conversation with the Emperor did not go well. The heavens seemed to be collapsing with the fact that saving Tanya became difficult.

But in front of Kristin, she decided not to show any emotions. She knew he had done his best to persuade the Emperor.

If what he did wasn’t working, it was better to think of another way in the time of despair than to be disappointed.

“It seems difficult to search officially, Adele.”

When he finally opened his mouth with difficulty, Adele nodded.

“It’s better this way. Rather than trusting the unpredictable Emperor who only thinks about himself, we should rescue Tanya and capture Stone.”

“We…?”

Adele laughed with a glint in her eyes.

“Tomorrow, I’ll take Stone’s carriage to Oswald.”

Kristin looked at her in disbelief.

“Are you in your right mind?”

Of course, Adele expected him not to agree easily. But there was no other way for now.

“Okay, I know you’ll say it’s absurd. But listen to me first.”

“Just go ahead and talk.”

Adele grabbed Kristin’s hands to convince her, speaking earnestly.

“If I take Stone’s carriage to Oswald’s mansion, you lead the Imperial Guards and come. If Stone’s fiancée has been kidnapped, it will be enough reason for a thorough search. This is something we can do without the Emperor’s approval.”

Kristin stubbornly shook her head, as if there was nothing more to hear.

“Just tell me the story first.”

For Kristin, of course, Adele expected her to refuse. However, at the moment, there was no other choice.

“Alright, you might say it’s impossible. But instead of being discouraged, it’s better to think of another way in the time of despair.”

“It’s too dangerous! I’d rather lead the W.G. troops and invade Oswald’s place.”

“Are you going to wage war with Oswald?”

“If necessary.”

“You fool!”

In the end, annoyed Adele shouted.

Kristin, surprised by her extreme statement, looked at her in bewilderment.

“Why make it bigger than it is! You have no justification for going against the Emperor. What crimes are those who get hurt in that fight committing? They are precious to someone as much as I am to you!”

Although Adele’s words were not pleasing, Kristin could not counter them.

“So, in the end, are you going to be the bait?”
“Why don’t you have the confidence to save me?”

“Nonsense.”

“Yeah, so I can go meet Stone too. Because I trust you.”

“But he’s crazier than you think.”

“No one knows him better than I do.”

Of course, Adele was also afraid. To meet the dreadful Oswald again to see Stone. Just thinking about it made it hard to breathe.

But it was something that had to be done.

Rescue Tanya and capture the one who was the enemy of her mother.

She wanted to accomplish it with her own strength more than anyone else.

“So, Chris, trust me. As much as I trust you.”

Late at night, at Oswald’s.

Knock, knock.

Saera, wearing a robe over her nightgown, knocked on Stone’s door.

“May I come in, brother?”

There was no answer from inside.

“I’ll open the door.”

Creak.

Saera cautiously opened Stone’s door.

As expected, it was completely empty inside.

Lately, Stone seemed to go out every night and return around dawn.

Once, she had seen him returning at dawn by chance. He was entirely covered in blood. It didn’t seem like he was injured.

He loved hunting so much, could he have gone for a night hunt?

But recently, it coincided with the time of the murder in Greenhill. Moreover, on the days he went out late at night, murders often occurred.

‘Was the murder in the Orbis Kingdom, as Adele said, really Oswald’s doing?’

‘Is that woman making up stories for no reason?’

Of course, there was a way to confirm whether Adele’s words were true or not.

It just didn’t sit well with her.

Saera, who came out of Stone’s room, headed to the underground tomb of the mansion.

The mansion’s basement was as complex as a maze. The path to the tomb was the darkest and eeriest among them.

And on the way there was Adele’s accommodation from a long time ago.

Even in midsummer, it was so cold that you could feel the chill, and mold grew on the walls and ceiling with water dripping.

“Stubborn wench.”

Holding a lantern in one hand, Saera mumbled with her nose covered.

“To endure in such a dreadful place for two years.”

In fact, it was Stone’s decision to let Adele stay here. The title of a Viscount’s wife was more than enough for a bastard child like her.

Saera also thought it was an appropriate treatment for that lowly wench.

“That lowly wench becoming… the lover of the highest hero of Kallheim.”

Many poets sang songs about the love between the two, and the newspapers reported their news every day. And people were curious about their news.

But now… Saera was nothing.

If April, who married Stone, entered Oswald’s mansion, she would have to give up even the position of the hostess here.

Then her standing in high society would weaken.
In fact, for the past 8 years, she had been performing the substantial role of the master of this place. But now, all that remained for her was the deceptive honor of being the royal concubine.

“Damn honor!”

Saera wanted power, not such honor.

With various thoughts in mind, Saera descended the stairs in front of her.

How long had she been descending the spiral staircase?

A long corridor appeared, constructed with bricks in an arch shape.

She illuminated it with the lantern. The end, untouched by light, looked like the enormous mouth of a beast in the dark.

“Darn it, let’s get this over with…”

Sharpening her resolve once again towards Adele, who brought her to this point, Saera entered into the darkness.