A troop of dozens of elite royal knights galloped out of Langard, charging straight toward a destination outside the city.

  "Hey, Hulim—do you think Berzera will get away?"

  "Don’t worry. He’s definitely convinced he’s gotten away with it scot-free right now."

  "Oh, r-really? Then what about later......"

  "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Things don’t always go according to plan."

  After the convoy vanished into the distance, several figures disguised as merchants and adventurers near Langard’s city gates withdrew their gazes from the departing knights, then slipped away from the spot without a trace......

  The convoy traveled for a long time before finally arriving outside an official outpost.

  Staring at the sudden arrival of such a large contingent of knights, the guards posted outside were completely dumbfounded.

  "Hold it! Who are you people? No trespassing allowed here!"

  "Out of the way! The Imperial Guard Knights are here to apprehend a suspect! No unauthorized personnel shall interfere!!!"

  "T-The Imperial Guard Knights?!?"

  The guards were instantly cowed, scrambling out of the way to let the knights storm inside. Not a single one dared to stand in their path.

  Moments later, the knights poured into the outpost in a flood......

  The commotion outside had, of course, already caught Berzera Ud’s attention. As the highest-ranking official stationed here, he had initially planned to go out and see what was happening.

  But the moment he heard that it was the Imperial Guard Knights—and that they were here to arrest a suspect—his legs went weak on the spot.

  "H-How is this possible? How did they find me? I didn’t leave a single clue behind!?"

  Berzera racked his brain, completely clueless.

  He never suspected that he had been sold out from the very beginning.

  ......

  It was a few days before Crawford Banoren’s assassination.

  "......Berzera, I’m sure you understand what Prince Theodore wants of you~?"

  The man before him, who bore a tattoo of scales on his forehead, smiled faintly as he spoke to Berzera.

  Cold sweat trickled down Berzera’s back. His instincts screamed that this strange man was extremely dangerous—and that the smartest move would be to get away from him as quickly as possible. But since the man was acting on Theodore’s orders, he had no choice but to sit and listen to his instructions.

  "Yes...... I understand perfectly. But——"

  Berzera tried to argue his way out of it.

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  "I’ve always been loyal to Prince Theodore! It’s true that Crawford and I were close once, but I haven’t had any contact with him since he joined Princess Felena’s faction! Why on earth do you want me to do something like this now?!"

  "Hmph~."

  "The Investor" looked at Berzera with an amused smirk.

  "I understand how you feel, but unfortunately, Prince Theodore won’t accept those excuses."

  "To His Highness, Crawford’s betrayal is unforgivable. Your only option now is to prove your loyalty by following His Highness’s orders—prove that you have absolutely no ties to Crawford anymore. Only then can you continue to serve under Prince Theodore."

  "I-I...... But how am I supposed to assassinate Crawford all by myself!"

  "Don’t you worry. I’ll take care of everything for you."

  ......

  "Take care of everything, my foot! I did everything perfectly, and yet I still got caught!!!"

  Berzera was so furious he could have screamed curses at "The Investor".

  But suddenly, he remembered the last words the man had said to him......

  "......Even if, by some misfortune, you are exposed—don’t panic. I’ve left you an escape route~."

  "An escape route......"

  Berzera recalled the contingency plan "The Investor" had told him about.

  Despite all the red flags—he was certain that "The Investor" was up to no good, just as he’d suspected from the start—he had no other choice now. He gritted his teeth and decided to trust the man’s word, if only this once.

  In a hurry, Berzera opened the hidden escape tunnel in his room and scrambled inside.

  It wasn’t long before the searching knights discovered that Berzera had fled, and they returned to report the news to Alicia Serions.

  "......Hulim, what do we do now? He got away through a secret passage."

  Alicia asked anxiously.

  "Expected. Let’s give chase."

  Hulim Heyerar and the others quickly located the hidden passage Berzera had used to escape.

  One by one, they jumped into the tunnel and pursued their quarry.

  ......

  Squeak~!

  At the foot of a small hill, a trapdoor suddenly creaked open.

  Moments later, a man dressed in noble’s attire stumbled out, panic written all over his face.

  He glanced up to confirm his bearings, then ran in the direction he’d been told to go. Before long, he spotted an abandoned cottage.

  Following his instructions, he searched the cottage and found a cache of cursed magic items......

  Staring at the items, which exuded an ominous aura, Berzera’s face twisted with disgust.

  After a brief internal struggle, he gritted his teeth and reached for the cursed magic items.

  After all, a curse wouldn’t kill him right away—but being caught by the knight order meant certain death!

  Whoosh——!

  A sharp whistle cut through the air as Berzera, boosted by the power of the cursed magic items, fled at nearly ten times his normal speed......

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the tunnel, the pursuing knights poured out of the exit.

  "No one here. Did he get away?"

  The knights scanned their surroundings warily, searching for any sign of Berzera, but found nothing.

  "He went that way."

  Hulim suddenly pointed in a direction.

  All the knights turned to look where she was pointing.

  "He’s moving extremely fast. At this rate, he might escape."

  "Everyone, I’ll go on ahead to catch him. Follow me as quickly as you can."

  "Wait, Lady Hulim—alone? That’s far too dangerous! At least let us——"

  "No need. I’m more than enough on my own."

  Whoosh!

  Before her words faded, Hulim’s figure had vanished from the spot.

  The knights were left staring at each other in bewilderment.

  Then Alicia spoke up:

  "Everyone, don’t dawdle! After her—now!"

  "Yes, Your Highness!!!"

  The knights replied in unison, then the entire group of dozens charged off in the direction Hulim had gone......

  ......

  Near the ruins of a dilapidated temple.

  Berzera, exhausted and gasping for breath, finally staggered to his destination.

  "Is this the place? Please let me escape this mess......"

  With a pounding heart, Berzera stepped into the crumbling temple.

  But when he reached the spot indicated by "The Investor", there was no one there—not a soul. Nor was there anything that could change his desperate situation.

  "Damn it! That bastard—he was just toying with me all along!!!"

  Berzera roared in rage, realizing he’d been tricked.

  Tap. Tap.

  At that moment, the crisp sound of footsteps echoed from behind him.

  Berzera jumped in fright, spinning around violently.

  Standing there was a young girl holding a silver wand......

  Upon seeing her, Berzera did not underestimate her because of her youthful appearance. On the contrary, his entire back was soaked in cold sweat in an instant.

  Hulim Heyerar——!