"Has he been notified?"

  Inside the carriage, Drehack Serions suddenly asked.

  "Yes, Your Highness. He is already waiting for you at the palace."

  Among the seven or eight attendants, a young woman wearing glasses pushed them up the bridge of her nose and replied.

  "Good."

  Drehack’s tone was calm, as if he was merely going to ask someone a casual question.

  But only his confidants by his side knew what he intended to do......

  Before long, Drehack’s carriage arrived at the palace.

  Drehack led his attendants into the palace.

  In a corridor, he met the man who had been waiting for him......

  Marsim Letyer spotted Drehack approaching from the opposite end, immediately broke into a smile, and scurried forward to greet him.

  "Your Highness Drehack! You’ve finally returned!"

  Whoosh! Whoosh!

  Yet before Marsim could take two steps, two sharp whistles suddenly rang in his ears.

  Before he could react, his arms were pinned behind his back, and his knees were forced onto the ground.

  "?"

  Marsim stared blankly at the two men holding him, then looked confusedly at Drehack ahead.

  "Y-Your Highness! What is the meaning of this? I have done nothing to betray you!"

  Drehack did not answer a single one of his questions—he did not even slow his pace for a moment.

  As he drew near Marsim, he extended his right hand to the side.

  An attendant immediately pressed the hilt of a sword into his grasp.

  clang——!

  In the next instant, the sword was unsheathed.

  Then, as Drehack passed Marsim, he swung the blade down.

  Thud! Thud! Thud......

  The sound of something heavy bouncing repeatedly on the floor echoed, and warm liquid gradually soaked the corridor’s stone tiles.

  Drehack casually flicked the crimson stains from the sword.

  He spoke flatly:

  "Betray humanity, and you die."

  Afterward, he tossed the sword to the right, where an attendant caught it mid-air and slid it back into its scabbard.

  "Clean this up."

  With those words, Drehack continued forward at the same steady pace, his expression unchanged from start to finish—as if he had merely plucked a leaf from a tree moments earlier.

  "Hehe! Leave it to me, Your Highness~!"

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  A man with fiery red hair chuckled in response from behind.

  Boom!

  Flames erupted behind the group, consuming the corridor floor.

  Within seconds, the flames vanished, leaving only a pile of ash.

  A gust of wind blew, scattering the ash into the garden outside the corridor.

  No one else would ever know that a man had vanished from existence right there......

  ......

  Inside the palace.

  Alicia Serions and her two companions were granted an audience with the Emperor of the Parsara Empire.

  "......Father, that is the entire story."

  "I already know what transpired."

  The Emperor spoke slowly.

  "Alicia, you have done well!"

  "Gulos is an enemy of the world—no one who colludes with them shall be spared. By uncovering this plot and stopping it before it escalated further, you have rendered a great service to the empire. I shall reward you."

  "Thank you, Father (Your Majesty)!"

  The three bowed in gratitude.

  "Hmm."

  The Emperor nodded slowly.

  "You may retire now. The specific rewards will be announced officially at a later date. As for those who erred, those who were wronged, and those who deserve recognition in this incident—I shall deal with each of them personally."

  "Yes, we take our leave......"

  The three exited the audience chamber.

  "Alicia, is this matter finally over?"

  Miko Kedar asked.

  "Well, for the most part."

  Alicia replied.

  "Then Mr. Filkorn is safe now?"

  "Yes, Lord Filkorn is no longer in danger. Father’s words just now made that clear."

  "Haha! In that case, let’s celebrate properly when we get back~!"

  "Of course~."

  Alicia answered with a smile.

  Just then, a group of people approached head-on from the opposite direction.

  Seven or eight individuals of varying appearances surrounded a golden-haired man.

  The golden-haired man aside, his attendants were dressed in ways that seemed utterly out of place in the palace—more like adventurers from the outside world......

  The three came to a halt.

  The group opposite them stopped as well.

  Alicia and Drehack locked eyes across the distance, neither speaking first.

  After a moment,

  Drehack resumed walking forward, his attendants following suit.

  As he passed Alicia, Drehack suddenly spoke:

  "You seem to be playing a very boring game with them."

  With that single sentence, Drehack continued toward the audience chamber without looking back. As for his attendants, as they passed the three, their gazes all fell on Hulim Heyerar without exception.

  Most held looks of scrutiny and curiosity—with one or two carrying a hint of provocation......

  Once the group had departed, Hulim slowly turned to look at Alicia, who had frozen stiff in place.

  She sighed helplessly to herself.

  It would be no easy feat for Alicia to defeat this man.

  She had never imagined that

  the imperial royal family of this generation harbored such a monster......

  ......

  Inside the audience chamber.

  Drehack entered alone.

  "......You have returned, Drehack."

  The Emperor spoke slowly.

  "Yes, Father."

  Drehack maintained his usual impassive expression as he bowed to the Emperor.

  "......"

  The Emperor sat on the throne, staring intently at Drehack, who stood motionless below.

  After a long silence, he spoke again:

  "You have already dealt with it......"

  "Yes. Just now."

  Drehack replied flatly.

  "......"

  The audience chamber fell silent once more.

  Moments later, the Emperor spoke slowly:

  "As ruthless as ever. But......"

  "As ruthless as ever—you do not disappoint, Drehack!"

  "It is my duty."

  "Duty? Hahahahaha!"

  The Emperor burst into laughter.

  "Duty, you say? Amusing! Truly amusing! Indeed, our Serions royal family has produced someone extraordinary!"

  Once his laughter faded, the Emperor said:

  "You may go, Drehack."

  "Yes."

  Drehack bowed again, his face still expressionless, then turned and left the audience chamber without hesitation.

  As for the fact that he had killed a minister in the palace without so much as a judicial trial—the matter was brushed aside in their brief exchange.

  ......

  A few days after Berzera Ud’s arrest.

  Everything gradually settled down.

  Filkorn was reinstated to his position as Vice Captain of the Palace Guard Knights.

  The Fourth Princess, who had been locked in bitter conflict with the Third Prince, was ordered to cease all actions and placed under house arrest for three months.

  As for the Third Prince, Theodore Serions—he was stripped of his right to the throne on charges of colluding with Gulos and exiled to the empire’s borderlands, becoming the biggest loser in the succession struggle.

  Incidentally, Alicia’s faction had halted all operations and made peace with the Crown Prince’s faction as soon as the Fourth Princess Felena Serions turned her forces against the Third Prince Theodore. Thus, they suffered minimal losses.

  Furthermore, having uncovered Gulos’ plot later, the entire faction was rewarded—making them the biggest beneficiaries of the conflict.

  The only lingering mystery was this:

  Among all the factions involved in the struggle, the Crown Prince’s faction—who had the deepest ties to Gulos—faced no punishment whatsoever.

  And the minister who had colluded directly with "The Investor" had vanished without a trace, never to be found again......

  ......

  ......