The dark evening in the Imperial Palace.

"…Butler!"

Drunk and furious, the Second Prince called out, his anger echoing through the shadowed halls. The humiliation he had suffered earlier in the day still burned in his chest.

His still-swollen cheek stung, and as his butler rushed to him, the Second Prince demanded in a voice full of rage,

"Did you dig up anything on that man?"

The butler nodded hesitantly, his eyes trembling as he answered. He knew all too well who the prince was referring to—the man who had dared to strike the Imperial Prince of the Empire.

"His …