“The weather is quite nice today. I heard you trained late into the night yesterday. Did you rest well?”

Theorado Van Tain, the commander of the Imperial Knights, had looked indifferently at Pruelle, who sat before him, smiling faintly. He had let Pruelle into his office without a second thought, as it was rest time, and there was no particular reason for his sudden visit.

“We were never the kind to meet and exchange pleasantries. I will have to go out to observe training soon, so could you please get to the point?”

“You know that I was in Tainu until recently. Why do you think I went there?”

“I told you to get to the point. I don't like riddles.”

“I went there to find a way to stop my father. And I found it.”

Theorado's eyes had narrowed slightly at Pruelle's response.

“...I thought you went to meet Baron Willhem, but was it Duke Peletta?”

“I think you know that the distrust towards my father within the family is growing. I won't deny that I considered it a problem unrelated to me until now, but not anymore.”

After finishing his words, Pruelle had maintained silence just long enough to let out a breath. Creating the right atmosphere was essential when conveying something important.

“Do you know about my father's ongoing investment in the Western trade business?”

“...”

“You seem to know to some extent. Then did you also know about the charity party and ‘auction’ that will soon be held in Tainu under Baron Willhem's leadership?”

“...”

“Do you know that those in the Sun Palace have already grasped this fact?”

Theorado's eyes, which had been narrowing little by little, had hesitated for the first time.

As Pruelle's eyes softened, Theorado, who had been looking at him like a pebble on the roadside, had changed his posture and sat up straight.

“What do you think is the reason why the Cavalry and Duke Peletta are still there? I saw too much in Tainu, and I'm convinced that my father has crossed the line.”

There was a lot implied in the phrase “crossed the line.” And Theorado had understood all of it.

“Don't forget that the tragedy of the Apeto family was just a few months ago. If you try to bury it or leave my father alone knowing this, the result will be no different from Apeto... No, a storm greater than that will engulf everyone.”

His voice had sounded calm but all the more chilling like a warning.

Theorado had kept silent and then quietly asked.

“...If what you say is true and His Majesty knows everything, you don't think I would report this to the Duke?”

“It would already be too late when you report. And I also know that you won't.”

“How?”

To the sharply uttered question, Pruelle had twisted the corner of his lips without a sound.

“Because you know that for you, the sword is more important than family or father, and the Imperial Knights are more important than anything.”

Theorado Van Tain had closed his mouth. He had felt a slight surprise at the fact that the young prince, who he had never shown interest in, had suddenly stood before him with such a face.

“I met many people in the family after returning to the capital. Meeting with you today was, in fact, the last in line after all other meetings were done.”

Pruelle slowly recited the names of those he had met over time.

Among them were names of those who had suddenly been robbed of the rights they had originally possessed due to the order of the Duke of Tain, but most of them were people who, like Theorado, had taken a relatively indifferent attitude to the affairs of their family. Even though they knew the Duke of Tain was overly involved in trade investments, they were also people who thought it didn't matter as long as their own business was not affected, even if the southern merchants were outraged that their rights were being encroached upon.

"Did everyone agree with your opinion?"

"Most agree that the family must be maintained well in order for us to enjoy and protect what is precious to us. Isn't it the best time to think again whether a leader who misuses the family's power without fulfilling their responsibilities is really needed by us?"

Theorado, who had inherited the blood of the Tain family more deeply than anyone else, could not argue with that statement.

The reason he had somewhat reluctantly followed the Duke of Tain's requests or complied with them thus far was because he recognized that he needed to fulfill at least a minimal duty and responsibility to help the head of the family to maintain it.

However, if the Duke of Tain had crossed the line without his knowledge, it had turned into a problem that could not be ignored as before. According to Pruelle, it was because of the things he wanted to protect.

What was the reason the once-proud Apeto Ducal House had closed its doors in disgrace and entered financial rehabilitation in the blink of an eye? It was because they could no longer hide the unforgivable sins that had been committed within the family for a long time.

So how had those sins been exposed to the world?

It was undoubtedly deeply involved with the silent will of the Emperor and the hand of the Duke of Peletta, who had carried it out.

They, who had seemed to have no power left after the crown prince's appointment, had moved a character within the Apeto family who had never been considered important, the 3rd son, and finished everything in the blink of an eye. The corrected Duke Apeto was lying down waiting for death, and his lost position had passed to the ailing 1st son.

As if he knew exactly what Theorado was thinking, Pruelle smiled cunningly beyond his blood-red eyes.

"Even if it's not me, His Majesty the Emperor will soon put you at the crossroads of choice. Ignorance won't be an excuse. But if you take my hand now, I will tell you everything I have seen and heard there."

Theorado recalled the conversation he had with the Duke of Tain. The Duke had shown no particular reaction to the news that his son Pruelle had suddenly gone to Tainu, considering it less important than his trade business.

But perhaps Pruelle had calculated even that, making contact with Duke Peletta, who was like the Emperor's aide, collecting all the evidence against the Duke of Tain, and returning. Victory's confidence, never seen before, was read in his confident attitude.

Since when had that child started making contact with the Emperor's side? Many thoughts flowed through Theorado's head in an instant. He guessed that the meeting in Tainu was not the first time.

'When did His Majesty the Emperor and Duke Peletta start watching the Tain family and the Duke?'

Foolishly thinking that the Emperor, through this western monster subjugation, was merely trying to empower the Cavalry, Pruelle clearly told Theorado that his father, too, could follow the path of Duke Apeto.

Unlike the Imperial Knights of long ago, who moved like the Emperor's limbs and devoted their lives to serving the imperial family, the current Imperial Knights were a distortion, with their average ability degraded. They no longer wholeheartedly devoted their bodies and minds to the Emperor and the imperial family. That role had long been handed over to other groups.

But Theorado had experience helping and learning the sword under the same master as the imperial princes in his childhood.

He was one of those who knew best how sharp the Emperor's teeth and claws truly were, residing in the Sun Palace, how talented his brother, Duke Peletta, was with the sword, and that he was someone never to be taken lightly.

And he knew well that it was precisely for that reason he had been appointed as the Commander of the Imperial Knights.

'Even though I thought I knew... I didn't realize until the sword's tip was right before my eyes.'

Who could have foreseen that a slight annoyance caused by the greed of Duke Tain in the trading business would come back like this, snowballing into something more significant? Theorado stared quietly at Pruelle, who was looking at him with a sharp smile like a sword, and opened his mouth.

"...Fine. Let's cooperate."

"You've made a wise decision."

"So, what are you going to do after you get me? Will you become the next Duke of Tain?"

"No."

Pruelle's face was unflappably calm as he answered shortly.

"The next Duke of Tain will be Priscilla. I will not take that position."

"Then?"

At that question, strangely, Pruelle's tension-filled smile softened slightly for the first time.

"I will go somewhere else. To a place where I can safely protect what I want to protect."

It was an incomprehensible statement, but Theorado decided not to think too deeply about it. After all, what mattered now was what had to be done next.

He rose from his seat and looked down at Pruelle with indifferent eyes.

"Alright. Tell me what I need to do from now on."

…

Yuder spotted the security forces not far away and put more strength into his wind-stepping movement.

"Yuder!"

Ever, who was standing by the open window, called his name and beckoned him.

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