‘Every time I encounter this guy, something always seems to go awry.’

Whenever he had personally met Kiolle, inconvenient things had happened, such as his arm being injured by Nahan, or unexpected second gender manifestations suddenly beginning. On top of that, unlike the imperial palace where Kiolle needed to be cautious, this place was as good as Diarca family territory. Even a cowardly dog could turn into a courageous lion in its own den.

‘But it doesn't matter if I make his luck worse than mine.’

He had already been planning to investigate why Kiolle became a bodyguard for Katchian, so encountering him here might not be entirely bad. After all, there was no better way to get reliable information than asking the person directly.

"Be quiet for now. Unless you want to announce our acquaintance to everyone here."

Upon hearing the calm reply, Kiolle closed his wide-open mouth. Looking around frantically, he seemed worried that someone might overhear. He appeared quite foolish.

Seizing the moment, Kiolle pinched the sleeve of Yuder's shirt between his thumb and forefinger and pulled him along. They ended up in a small storeroom below the stairs. Though empty, it was spotlessly clean. Once inside, Kiolle whispered cautiously.

"Why are you really here, you Cavalry scum? There's no way someone as poor as you should be here. Could it be... have you sensed something already?"

He seemed like he was about to say "pauper" but quickly corrected himself. Yuder felt the effects of language correction coming into play.

‘Seems like the oath's been worth all the discomfort.’

Though trivial compared to the Red Stone's power, every time Kiolle nearly violated their pact, some of its power transferred to Yuder, momentarily influencing him. The sensation was so slight it was barely distinguishable from the warmth of sunlight.

"True, I have no reason to be here alone. I've come because our Commander has business here."

"Duke Peletta is here? Where?"

"In the waiting room."

Kiolle, who had been rolling his eyes anxiously, finally let out a small sigh and sharpened his gaze.

"So why are you wandering around alone! Do you even know where you are?"

"It's just a tailor's shop, isn't it? You're wandering alone too, so why can't I? Are you saying I can't even go to the bathroom?"

"Yo—"

Grinding his teeth, Kiolle clenched his fists and asked in a restrained voice filled with fury.

"So, you're saying you came out to go to the bathroom?"

"No."

"Are you mocking me!"

"There's no need to explain myself to you."

Kiolle's face twisted like crumpled paper. The agony of wanting to curse but not being able to was vividly visible. Deciding he had teased him enough, Yuder reached out and grabbed Kiolle's collar. Ignoring his sputtering, he pulled him closer.

"What, what are you doing!"

"Be quiet. Now that we've run into each other, let's get some questions answered."

"I refuse!"

"Seems you've forgotten the third term of our oath. Shall I remind you?"

"Would've been more convenient if I had forgotten. Because of that ridiculous term, this time too I—"

Frustratedly shouting, Kiolle suddenly clamped his mouth shut. He avoided eye contact, his face growing terribly pale.

"This time too? What?"

"Fine, then. What do you want to ask?"

Reacting so subserviently out of the blue was practically confessing that there was something hidden behind his previous words. Yuder decided to table the idiocy for later and first fulfill his purpose.

"You seem to have been reassigned as the Crown Prince's personal knight."

"What about it?"

"Were you fired from your position as a high-ranking knight in the Imperial Guard?"

"Fired? It's an official promotion! They said I was the only one fit for the job! I didn't take it because I wanted to!"

"Ah, I see. Then you must know a lot about the place. I hear people from here frequent the Bright Palace these days. Do you know who they are?"

"...Why?"

Kiolle responded with a suspicious and foreboding look.

"I thought I'd meet them, since I'm already here."

"Don't lie. You're here to dig up information on the Crown Prince's treatment, aren't you!"

Look at that. As expected, a little prodding and he spills information on his own.

Yuder couldn't help but think how much faster things would be if everyone in the world was as easy as Kiolle and replied.

"Yes, you're right. So, do you know who they are?"

"Do you plan to nefariously interfere with his treatment? Even if I've made a vow with you, if it harms my family—"

"If you're saying all that, the treatment must be going quite well in your eyes. They must be highly skilled individuals. Where did they find such people?"

At Yuder's question, Kiolle's mouth snapped shut. After trembling his clenched jaw, Kiolle managed to answer with great difficulty.

"...No."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't ask me if those charlatan healers are good or not, because as far as I'm concerned, they're not!"

"Charlatans?"

"What else would you call those who use neither divine power, magic, nor medical skills? I don't believe in such superstitions!"

This was an unexpected answer.

'Neither divine power, magic, nor medicine... But they were effective, so both the suspicious Katchian and Duke Diarca must have implicitly approved of the treatment, even assisting with the disguise.'

Then only one possibility remained.

'Awakeners.'

"And those people aren't here! They've only left their names here, I don't know where they came from, so don't ask about that either!"

"Hmm. Alright, too bad they're not here."

Of course, he didn't find it unfortunate at all. Kiolle shivered upon seeing the suspicious and cold smile that appeared on Yuder's lips. He forcefully removed Yuder's hand from his collar and shouted.

"If you're planning any mischief against the Crown Prince, stop. You may have gained some merit in the West, but don't get too full of yourself. If you try anything, I will not let it pass! Even if it means confessing everything to my father and breaking our oath!"

"I can't feel any sincerity, so let's leave it at that."

At Yuder's comment, Kiolle shut his mouth.

"You're not the type to jeopardize yourself by confessing just to break an oath. If you were, you would have done it by now. If you truly understood your role as the Crown Prince's personal knight, you wouldn't have left Bright Palace to come here. Lastly, I'm not interested in the Crown Prince, but in those healers."

"...No. I've been coerced by you... That's why until now..."

Kiolle tried to argue but soon trailed off and turned his head away. From the speed at which his spirit seemed to break, it appeared that he had some level of self-awareness about what Yuder had said.

"Why are you here today?"

Yuder asked Kiole, who hung his head with a look of injustice. He hadn't expected a response, but a moment later, a low voice answered.

"I'm here because my father ordered me to deliver a message."

"Why send you and not a servant? Do you often handle such menial tasks at home?"

"Don't look down on me! I am sent only when a task is too sensitive to trust to mere servants! It's an important job that comes with a reward!"

Kiole seemed to erupt, as if a sore spot had been touched.

"A reward?"

"Yes. A sword better than the one I'm using now! A legendary sword that you can't even imagine!"

'So they're giving him a sword just for running errands to a repair shop... Something about this doesn't smell like any ordinary tailoring errand.'

Tailors and jewelers who were actually healers in disguise frequented the old establishment of the Diarca family. And here was Kiole, coming to deliver a message from the Duke to that very place.

Anyone who thought there was no connection between these events would be a fool.

"So, you've already completed this delivery errand?"

"I was waiting to make the delivery when you showed up!"

"Good timing, then. Let me see it, too."

"What's so good about it? Why would I let you—"

"If it's just a tailoring errand, as you say, then there's no harm in me looking."

"Why do you want to see it in the first place! Ah, don't touch! Where are you putting your hand!"

Whether Kiole struggled or not after his collar was grabbed again, Yuder effortlessly slipped his hand into the inner pocket of Kiole's chest. Unless you were someone like Kishiar, who naturally carried all sorts of magic tools, the obvious place for noblemen to keep valuables was all too predictable.

Soon, Yuder's fingertips brushed against a piece of paper. Without hesitation, he unfolded it and soon narrowed his eyes, quietly exhaling.

'An order? This is a schedule, address, and the amount, all written in code.'

It was one of the code formats he had tired of using during his previous life when he was by the side of Emperor Katchian. It was impossible not to recognize it.

"You, you shameless bastard... Was the rumor true?"