“I apologize for being late unintentionally. You’ve been waiting for a long time……”

“……”

“Please wait a moment. You, follow me.”

“Then, Lady, please stay here for a moment.”

As the person called God’s Absence entered the reception room and saw her, he lost his words, and immediately took Fabian out.

Biare, who was sitting on the sofa confused by the sudden situation, was trying to make sense of what was happening in her head.

Meanwhile, the Guild Master, who had taken Fabian to the nearby office, grabbed his collar and punched him.

“You…… knew everything, didn’t you?”

“Kekek― Isn’t it really funny? How could your sister……”

“Shut up, you madman.”

Looking at Fabian laughing like a lunatic, God’s Absence thought he wanted to bury him in a hole right then and there.

Even though he had been performing the role of a close aide for generations, Fabian was a troublesome seed who could be unpredictable no matter how well he did his job.

The owner of this place, who had loosened his robe and removed his mask, ruffled his black hair roughly.

He should have noticed something was off when Fabian kept going on about a Lady and receiving some customer, but it was his oversight to have missed it.

On a normal day, that guy would have handled it himself, but this time he persistently insisted that the Guild Master must step in.

The Guild Master was having a hard time calming down because of him, who was still chuckling despite causing such a major incident.

At the same time, he began to feel anxious about how she had visited such a dangerous place, and whether she might have noticed what he was doing.

Feeling frustrated about how to handle this sudden situation, he let out a deep sigh.

As all sorts of thoughts were swirling in his head, a knock was heard from the door of the office.

Knock knock―

The Guild Master and Fabian looked at each other with widened eyes, and at the owner’s nod, Fabian carefully opened the door, showing only his face, and said.

“Lady, what brings you here?”

“This was the only door around here.”

“Well, that’s true, haha. If you go back―”

“Open the door. I heard everything.”

“……What do you mean?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t recognize my own brother?”

“……”

No matter how much Gaizen used transformation magic to alter his voice and appearance, he couldn’t hide his gait and habits.

The distinctive rhythmic footsteps that echoed in the corridor when God’s Absence appeared earlier were similar to the footsteps her brother used to take when he was in a good mood.

Biare, who had been suspicious all along, left the reception room and went looking for them.

After eavesdropping on all the conversations coming from the room she found, Biare felt like the misaligned puzzle pieces were slowly coming together.

‘So that’s what it was……”

In the end, the person called God’s Absence of Burnaud 34 was Gaizen.

Feeling bitter about confirming another aspect of the Ruschef family like this, she suddenly felt calm.

Normally, she would have been angry with a sense of betrayal, but now Biare was no longer surprised by this level of revelation.

Only, her heart ached at the fact that her brother was involved in such matters again.

“Why don’t you come out now, Gaizen.”

“……”

God’s Absence, who reluctantly revealed himself, stood there receiving his sister’s cold gaze.

“Umm, I’ll be in the reception room, so please talk comfortably.”

Fabian, who had been awkwardly standing between the Ruschef siblings, couldn’t bear the tension flowing between them and left his position.

“May I come in?”

Gaizen nodded resignedly at Biare’s question as she stared into the inner office he was said to use.

The office of God’s Absence was decorated with luxurious ornaments that didn’t suit Gaizen.

Seeing this, Biare was reminded of the basement walls that were so splendid they seemed magnificent.

Those phrases that could only be seen in the scriptures of the God Ekarto must ultimately refer to her father.

Biare just let out a hollow laugh, and Gaizen, who had been watching her closely, seemed to be racking his brains to avoid this situation.

“Don’t rack your brains.”

“……Sister.”

“Don’t think about avoiding it anymore, Gaizen.”

“……”

He couldn’t say anything and kept his gaze fixed on his feet.

Although she felt sorry for her brother’s appearance, Biare now had to hear the truth about the Ruschef Duchy.

“If you try to run away from here, I’m thinking of never seeing you again.”

“Sister, how can you say that!”

“It would be best if you explain everything to me.”

“……”

“Everything, without hiding anything.”

Gaizen, who had been hesitating to open his mouth, started his story, saying he could only tell what he knew.

He said that the Ruschef family, originally of common origin, had already extended their reach into the underworld while amassing wealth by operating a merchant group.

Their ancestor, who possessed a vast amount of information, skillfully used the war to secure the title of duke, and eventually, the Ruschef family was reborn anew.

Biare let out a sigh at the thought that her family, known as the faithful snake of the imperial family, might have actually been holding their lifeline.

According to Gaizen, the one to inherit the position of head of the family must be both the leader of the merchant group and the operator of the information guild.

That’s why he, who had received harsh education and training from a young age, was able to occupy such a position.

To prevent any information related to the underworld from leaking out, employees had been signing magical confidentiality contracts using blood as a medium.

But if anyone were to violate this, even by chance, it would be followed by a binding that would cause their heart to burst.

“Then are you alright?”

“Yes, the direct lineage of the family is not bound by it.”

It was because they had been periodically contracting with magicians while avoiding the eyes of the emperor who forbade magic that their tail had not been stepped on for so long.

Biare couldn’t understand at all what was happening in the underworld.

Only one thing was certain: the Ruschef family was no longer the family she knew.

“Sister, that’s all I know. Now it’s your turn to tell me.”

“……”

“What’s the reason you came here?”

Biare hesitated again and again. Whether it was right to show this button to her brother.

But Biare knew well that she couldn’t uncover everything with her power alone.

Biare took out a cufflink she had hidden in her bosom.

“I want to know who the owner of this button is.”

Surely the organization in that pattern must be related to Dension’s death.

“……Why do you have this?”

She quickly made up a lie to avoid suspicion.

“I picked it up by chance when I went to a reception hall before. Because it wasn’t an ordinary pattern.”

“You haven’t shown this to anyone else besides me, have you?”

Gaizen, frowning heavily, snapped at his sister irritably.

Biare had tried to find the owner of that pattern several times in the past, but couldn’t figure it out.

Yet Gaizen seemed to know very well what that pattern meant. In great detail, too.

“No, you’re the first. What on earth is this?”

“Well…… it’s an assassination organization.”

“What……”

“I haven’t seen them directly either.”

According to him, they were an assassination organization made up of murderers.

Surely the person backing them must be someone influential or wealthy to some extent.

He said that even the information guild couldn’t know who their master was because they rarely showed themselves.

Biare, who had closely observed Gaizen while he was talking, swallowed a sigh of relief.

Her brother was not lying.

But there was something that bothered her.

‘Why on earth did Father?’

He clearly knew well that the owner of this pattern was an assassination organization, yet he intentionally deceived Biare.

‘He acted as if he was seeing it for the first time.’

No matter how many times she thought about why her father had acted that way in the past, she couldn’t easily come up with an answer.

‘Did he want to cover up something?’

The belated sense of betrayal towards him rather calmed Biare’s mind as if cold water had been poured on it.

She now decided to face the truth. The thought that the truth might be nearby made Biare move.

At least, she couldn’t just stay in one place if she wanted to extend her reach to the information guild under Ruschef.

After the chilly autumn passed with cold air settling in, the harsh winter approached quickly.

At a time when the night was not yet deep, Biare headed to the Duke’s study where he was working late.

“Father, it’s me.”

“Yes, Bia. What brings you here?”

“I’ll be of age next year, and I have something I’d like to ask of you, Father.”

It must have been the first time since childhood that Biare had directly asked something of the Duke.

The Duke’s eyes widened at his daughter’s request, but soon he showed a gentle smile.

“Of course, it’s my daughter’s wish, so I should naturally grant it.”

At the Duke’s words telling her to speak comfortably, Biare raised her lips in satisfaction and answered.

“I want to help Gaizen until he comes of age, at least.”

“What? What do you mean……”

“As you know, Father, he’s still a child.”

“But hasn’t he been doing well so far?”

Although not as much as Gaizen, Biare too had learned basic business skills as a member of the Ruschef family.

Of course, no one would make her, who had been raised delicately, handle the day-to-day operations of the merchant group.

“Perhaps you don’t trust me?”

“That’s not possible. Bia, as you know, this isn’t something you can……”

Seeing that he seemed unwilling to make any concessions, Biare decided to add a touch of sympathy.

“I have no intention of coveting Gaizen’s position.”

She wished more than anyone that Gaizen would become the next Duke. If that was what her brother wanted.

“Bia, it’s not that I doubt you.”

“I’m asking you like this, Father.”

The Duke, after letting out a deep sigh, looked at Biare and answered after much consideration.

“Alright, I’ll do as you wish.”

Without knowing what ulterior motives she might be hiding, the Duke must have decided to support the seemingly close siblings.