To gather information about the royal family, Bialet had visited the underworld and found Bernard sitting in his office at 34th Street.

She had moved secretly without informing Geizen, thinking that he might worry and become suspicious.

Now familiar with the setting, Bialet watched Fabian pour tea into a cup and brought the tea to her lips.

“Lady, ah, or should I address you differently now?”

As Fabian chuckled, Bialet looked at him disapprovingly and said,

“Just call me as you usually do.”

“Then I will address you as ‘Lady.'”

Being the head of the empire’s top information guild, he was already aware of her engagement to the Crown Prince.

According to Fabian, after her engagement ceremony, Geizen had arrived at Bernard’s 34th Street office with his eyes swollen from crying.

“You’ve already seen the bundle of documents about His Highness the Crown Prince, why check them again overnight?”

Apparently, her brother had left the engagement ceremony as soon as it ended, saying he had somewhere to go.

‘I didn’t know he came here…’

Geizen had been throwing tantrums until the day before the engagement ceremony, insisting that he couldn’t give his sister to such a lowly person.

He must have been looking for any information that could be a weakness to convince his sister.

Bialet’s reason for visiting here was not much different, and she couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Fabian looked at her curiously and then asked in a more serious and cautious manner than usual,

“By the way… did you find the key?”

Even though he was the one who had passed on the information, Fabian seemed to hope that she hadn’t found the key.

While sipping her tea, Bialet shook her head with a troubled expression,

“No, I can’t figure out where Geizen would have gone.”

At her words, Fabian seemed to let out a sigh of relief, then resumed his usual playful demeanor.

“Don’t be too heartbroken, Lady.”

Just then, a communication orb tinged with red light caught their attention, and Fabian quickly attempted to connect, looking a bit flustered.

The red light was different from the usual blue, making Bialet curious as she watched him.

Deputy Guild Master, there’s trouble!

“What’s happened?”

The Duke is here, looking for you.

“What? Even when the Guild Master isn’t here?”

It seems he has a specific matter with you.

“Huh… When did he arrive, and why are you only contacting me now?”

I’m sorry. I was overwhelmed by the sudden situation.

“Damn, alright. I’ll cut the connection.”

After hastily ending the communication, Fabian appeared rattled by the unexpected situation.

His usual calm demeanor had long vanished, and he seemed flustered.

Regaining composure, he turned to Bialet, but his voice still trembled slightly.

“As you might have heard, the Duke will be arriving here soon.”

Fabian, wearing a white mask and washing his face quickly, seemed to be thinking of a way to handle the situation.

Bialet was equally startled by the Duke’s sudden appearance.

The sound of footsteps slowly approaching from the end of the long underground corridor echoed clearly.

“Is there no other way out of this underground corridor?”

To her question, Fabian shook his head decisively, adding that the Duke would surely notice even if they used transformation magic.

It seemed that all hope of escaping was shattered, trapping them in a cage.

‘I must not be caught by my father.’

Fabian, who had been peering out of the door, closed it and said,

“This won’t do. Lady, you must hide here.”

In the office located in the underground corridor, without any other place to hide, Bialet crouched under Geizen’s desk.
The footsteps approaching the office gradually stopped, and soon the door swung open.

Fabian, concealing his surprise, respectfully greeted the Duke who stood before him.

“I am honored to meet the esteemed Lord of the Predecessors’ Absence.”

“It’s been a long time, Fabian.”

The Duke, patting his shoulder lightly, sat on the spacious single-seater sofa, looking at Fabian.

“Have a seat yourself, won’t you?”

“Very well, Your Grace.”

Following his command, Fabian sat upright on the long sofa.

Hidden under the desk, Bialet was tensely listening to their conversation, fearing being discovered by the Duke.

“So, you’ve been working with Geizen for three years now, is it?”

“Yes, thanks to the Guild Master handling the work efficiently, it’s been quite smooth.”

Watching Fabian’s attitude, so different from how he usually treated Geizen, Bialet couldn’t help but inwardly scoff.

The respect he never showed to his own boss was now being extended to the Duke, even to the point of flattery.

Fabian then cautiously inquired, glancing at the Duke,

“But what brings someone of your stature to this place…?”

The Duke, laughing heartily, soon replied in a serious tone,

“I need you to find a little rat for me.”

“A rat… sir?”

Confused by the Lord of the Predecessors’ Absence’s words, Fabian asked again.

“Yes. A rat sneaked into the Altar office about a month ago, and we still haven’t caught it.”