Arrogant and sharp as a blade, the voice of Duke Tain's craftiness did not make the Southerner flinch or cower in fear.

“You may be angry right now at Duke Pelleta's wickedness, but please look at the big picture. Wasn’t the task you started already predicted to be a difficult venture? If the Emperor's gaze is drawn to the rats instead of Your Highness, this could actually be seen as a great fortune."

"I had anticipated that avoiding the Emperor's attention would be the biggest obstacle in this venture. But no matter what, this is too much."

Duke Tain scratched away at the words he had penned with a disgusted expression.

"Your Highness. Did you not say that opportunity comes with crisis? Whether the Cavalry catches those tenacious rats or not, divert attention to them as much as possible. Then Your Highness can take what you desire without issue. When they dance upon the shadow of an illusion-like honor, you will laugh without losing anything."

The Southerner finished speaking and sipped the tea in front of him.

Duke Tain rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw. His anger had not completely subsided, but the more he mulled over the Southerner's words, the more correct they seemed.

"Yes… you're right. Whether I turn a crisis into an opportunity is in my hands. There's no need to waste valuable money and manpower where it's not needed."

"Thank you for accepting my advice calmly."

"It's far better to listen to you, Athon, than those who can’t even do their job properly and are only greedy."

The voice of the annoying Baron Willhem, who had been nagging for days to send more Knights and complaining about lack of money, came to the Duke's mind and then disappeared. Even his cousin Theo, who never seemed to listen to his words, was better than that guy, but lately, nothing about his work had been satisfactory.

Who could be sure that a good result would come from giving more support to a man who, despite having all the resources of Tainu, had not completed a single task properly? The truth was that most of the finances were tied up, and it wasn't even a situation where support could be given, but the Duke didn't take that part seriously.

He felt much more at ease deciding to listen to the Southerner's words. The Duke relaxed and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"I'll have to tell Willhem to leave this matter to the Cavalry and focus only on moving the goods."

"What are your plans to accomplish this?"

"I'm thinking of using auctions and charity parties like last year. As before, send your top men to Tainu at the right time."

"You're entrusting this to us again?"

"Who else can I trust with this if not you?"

Upon hearing the Duke's reply, the Southerner bowed his head in a courteous manner.

"I am always grateful for the trust and grace you give to me, a humble merchant from the south. However… there is one problem."

"A problem?"

"It may be an unpleasant matter to discuss… may I speak of it?"

The Duke answered, irritably fiddling with a die, telling him to go on. Behind the veil hiding the Southerner's face, his hard-to-read deep blue eyes shone.

"I have not mentioned this to you, for fear of troubling you, Your Highness, but in truth, the internal opposition within our family, which disapproves of us, has grown much stronger than last year."

“What? Wasn’t that issue already resolved last time?”

“Even though it seems like they follow His Highness' command on the surface, the watchful eyes on us have actually increased. Thus, if we go to Tainu again this time, there’s a high risk we will end up with needless tails following us.”

Duke Tain became angry and slammed the table again.

“Then what do you want me to do? No one in the family knows who the real master is!”

“If His Highness permits, we would like to be more cautious this time and contact those who are connected to us. They are people His Highness has met in the south before...”

Hearing the names of those mentioned by the Southerner, Duke Tain frowned.

“Yes… I do seem to remember them. They were southern mercenaries, weren’t they?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Do as you please.”

“If we send them, additional preparation and expenses may be required. That part is…”

“Handle it as before, and don’t bother me with the details.”

At Duke Tain's indifferent reply, the Southerner faintly smiled.

“Yes. But is the First Prince still in Tainu?”

“There was no word of him coming, so probably.”

The answer from the Duke revealed no hint of concern for his child.

“That’s fine, either way. I’m in the mood to play a game now. Athon, it’s only fun with you, so let’s play ten rounds and then leave.”

The place where they were seated was the hidden lounge of the most secretive high-end gambling house in the imperial capital. Duke Tain often visited here when he had conversations he couldn’t have elsewhere.

The Southerner followed Duke Tain, who was leaving through the hidden door of the lounge, with a cold expression that quickly turned to a faint smile. Amongst the laughter of the nobles engrossed in gambling and the faint fragrance of exotic scents, nobody noticed the brief change in his demeanor.

“Athon! Come over here quickly. Give me some advice on how much to bet.”

Duke Tain shouted loudly from afar, afraid that the Southerner would be a little late. The man erased his cool expression and walked over with the same pleasant smile.

At the same time, a robust servant who had been cleaning unusually long nearby quickly pushed the trash aside and slipped out the back door.

He headed to the kitchen where food was being prepared for the guests inside the gambling house. An experienced middle-aged chef, who was skillfully decorating dessert bread, wiped his hands on his apron and came out when he saw Devran. They entered a staircase hidden from others' view.

“Did you already check everything, Devran? That’s too fast.”

“The Southerner came out of the lounge with the ‘guest.’ They are gambling now, so there won’t be any changes for a while, Steiber.”

Steiber Rendley, the Sul’s Deputy Commander of the Cavalry, who was wearing chef’s clothing, clicked his tongue.

“We should still make sure, since the Commander has trusted us with this task in the capital.”

“How can we be more sure than this? There’s a limit to how much I can snoop around those high-ranking people, just having slipped in as a servant. If you’re so worried, Steiber, you should have done my part.”

“What can I do if I’ve already passed the age to be picked as an Awakener servant in a gambling house?”

A few days ago, Kishiar sent a secret letter to Steiber, who was guarding the Cavalry. Inside was the location of a hidden high-end gambling house deep in the capital, along with what Devran Hartude and Steiber Rendley needed to do.

With the enclosed fake identity, get undercover employment in the gambling house, and then locate and investigate the nobleman, Duke Tain, and the Southerner around him.

Why it was necessary to investigate not only Duke Tain but also the Southerner around him was not detailed. They merely guessed in secret that Kishiar, who had revealed the unforgivable sin of Duke Apeto to the world and was currently in the West after passing through the Great Sarain Forest, seemed to want to find out something related to the ruler of the West, the Tain family.

It would not have been too strange if the Commander, who had exposed Duke Apeto's inexcusable crime, had set his next target on Duke Tain's family. Though the idea of watching Duke Tain and his surroundings alone was somewhat daunting, what mattered was the fact that Kishiar had specifically designated them for this mission. The mere thought that their abilities had been distinctly recognized by the Commander made them feel a profound sense of responsibility.

The upscale gambling house frequented by nobles often hired cheap, commoner Awakener for security and labor cost savings. The robust and young Devran was easily hired, but Steiber, being older, had no choice but to enter as a cook.

The work wasn't particularly hard, but watching Duke Tain's surroundings at the gambling house had to be practically left to Devran, so Steiber's worries were not trivial.

"Anyway, about the Southerner who came today with the nobleman, he seemed different from the others who came with him before, even the nobleman's attitude towards him."

"What was different about him?"

"First of all, the time they spent together in the lounge was the longest, and... more than anything, it struck me that the nobleman seemed to trust him a great deal."

"Is that so? In what way?"