~Chapter 94~
Kilian, Aisha, and Til went to the tavern.
It was the tavern managed by Paul, the same one where Aisha had first tried so hard to get close to Rune.
Paul must have been warned ahead of time, because he was nowhere to be seen, and the three of them sat alone at the empty bar.
“……”
“……”
“……”
There was an awkward silence.
‘Why did you bring us here, Til, you crazy guy?’
‘I don’t really want to drink with these people.’
‘Why does that annoying Duke talk so much in front of Aisha, but shut up as soon as I show up?’
They were all lost in their own thoughts.
“Um, by the way…”
Aisha was the first to break the silence.
“Was that really from the royal palace?”
“What was?”
“That letter from before.”
“Oh, this one.”
At Aisha’s question, Kilian took out the letter he’d shown to Belmore.
“I never imagined it. Could it be Roselia’s doing?”
Aisha narrowed her eyes and muttered.
“Roselia lost her power, but she wouldn’t just sit and do nothing. She probably wants revenge on the emperor too.”
It was really ironic. Roselia had once wanted Kilian gone, but now she would want him alive, since Kilian’s death would only give Belmore even more power.
“That’s possible.”
“Huh?”
“But it wasn’t Roselia.”
So there’s another group? In the palace? Aisha was shocked, but the next thing she heard was even more surprising.
“It was me.”
“…What?”
“I thought I should be prepared, just in case. So I lied.”
What?!
“Actually, when I was returning from reporting to the palace, I ran into Leoric Ashton.”
“Leoric?”
“He told me you received a strange letter. You didn’t know he read it, but he did.”
Leoric was nervous and hesitant at first, but once he started talking, he told Kilian everything he knew.
So Hans Dworik had subscribed to the “Sunday’s Exposé” since the very first issue and donated huge amounts of money.
Aisha had been curious about him, but couldn’t learn anything about him.
Leoric even told Kilian about the meeting place and time that Hans had written in the letter.
“Then I just guessed. Hans supported the paper even when Roselia had all the power, and now that she’s weak, who would be the type to use that as blackmail?”
“There was only one person who came to mind.”
‘I don’t know if I should praise him or be mad.’
How dare he read a letter to his own sister?
Well, if Leoric hadn’t told Kilian, things might have gotten a lot worse.
“So Leoric Ashton told you everything?”
But Til’s reaction was strange. His voice was lower than usual. Aisha looked at him and saw his face was a little stiff, maybe even annoyed.
On the other hand—
“He must trust me a lot.”
Kilian seemed almost happy as he continued.
“He knew who he could trust to protect Aisha Ashton in a dangerous situation.”
“……”
“Anyway, I told Theorn to write the letter, based on what Leoric told me. That’s all, Aisha.”
“…What?”
“Didn’t you teach me how to do things like this? Take a little information, and spin it into something bigger. Basically, making up a believable lie.”
“Ha, haha… hahaha…”
Aisha gave an awkward laugh.
…Kilian was right.
“The emperor won’t be able to make any moves for a while. But he’ll be watching us closely.”
“But are you really okay? You’re now openly his enemy.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Kilian said in a firm voice.
“The emperor wanted to crush me from the very beginning anyway.”
Aisha was about to look worried when—
“If the emperor tries anything, Rune will handle it. The Duke should just mind his own business.”
Til, who had stayed serious, finally joined the conversation.
“I don’t think you have time to worry about others’ safety right now, Duke.”
He continued quickly.
“Remember when you asked me to find Cox Bildon?”
The sudden mention of that name made Kilian’s eyes narrow.
“Here.”
Til pulled out a rolled-up document and handed it to Kilian.
“I used every source and contact I had to get this information.”
He really worked hard—
chasing Cox Bildon and cursing Kilian the whole time.
But Til had a simple reason for all that work:
He wanted to finally finish his deal with Kilian Winters.
A deal was a deal, and once he finished Kilian’s request, he wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.
Besides…
‘Rune is protecting Aisha, handling the “Sunday’s Exposé,” and it’s been ages since I betrayed Kilian. There’s no need to stay tied to this fake engagement anymore.’
Aisha had done her job as Rune’s shield in society, and now with so many incidents, people weren’t watching Kilian as much.
So tonight, Til planned to end the deal and the fake engagement with Kilian.
‘Still, I’m curious how he’ll react when he finds out who Cox Bildon really is.’
All of Til’s usual smiles and cool attitude faded away as he watched Kilian read the document.
As time passed, Kilian’s face grew colder and colder.
Aisha, sitting beside him, couldn’t hide her confusion.
