Chapter 74………………………………………….
In the quiet room, the only sound that echoed unusually loud was the rustling of papers being turned. A moving wrist, flipping documents, flawless and decisive work processing. The man reviewing them was Kabes, the eldest son of the Marquis Ashirun family—one of those praised as a top elite.
His long hair still draped down, occasionally covering the documents, yet he brushed it aside indifferently as if it didn’t bother him at all. He always said he kept it long because Riana liked it, but in truth, it seemed he quite enjoyed it himself.
The leisurely afternoon sunlight filtered through the window bars, stretching long and scattering across the documents. The bright light obscured his vision.
Kabes frowned, debating whether to draw the curtains, then set down his pen and closed his eyes. Having skipped lunch and wrestled with paperwork, he was extremely tired. Stretching languidly, he let out a long yawn and smacked his lips sleepily.
“Maybe I’ll take a nap.”
Kabes was well known for dozing off during work due to how much he slept. If it were anyone else, people would be shocked, but considering his speed and perfection in handling tasks, most simply whispered that it wasn’t strange at all. Ever since his engagement to Riana, both of them had been so consumed with work—delaying even their marriage—that rumors spread of them being a work-obsessed couple.
In any case, there had undoubtedly been more work lately. There was the Founding Festival to manage, and more troubling were the suspicious movements of Lady O’Connell, the Empress, and Bolintran. If it were something openly plotted, they could deal with it covertly—but that wasn’t the case here.
The main body remained still while only fingers moved behind the scenes, which drove Kabes and Riana to frustration. There wasn’t enough evidence to accuse them, and they were too powerful to bring to court on mere suspicion.
The Empress herself was a problem, but even more bothersome was Duke Castrembel standing behind her. Thinking through the situation with his eyes closed, Kabes frowned and abandoned the idea of sleep. Just as he picked up his pen to check at least one more document, someone knocked on the door.
Kabes set his pen down, puzzled.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
His adjutant—the eldest son of Viscount Bran—entered with his usual expressionless face. After giving a proper greeting, he approached Kabes and handed him a letter. Without even asking what it was, Kabes took it calmly, sliced open the envelope with a letter opener, and unfolded it indifferently.
The adjutant showed no reaction to his superior not even checking the recipient. He simply watched quietly.
After reading the neatly written contents, Kabes broke into a grin. It felt as if his fatigue had vanished. He set the letter down on the desk and looked up, meeting the adjutant’s steady gaze.
“Gen.”
“Yes.”
“Where is my sister right now?”
“Lady Riana is at the main house in a meeting.”
“Tell her to come to the palace immediately. Ask her to arrive before evening at the latest.”
“Understood. Judging by your expression, it seems you’ve gained something.”
“Miss Mertens,” Gen added briefly. Kabes nodded.
With a satisfied look, Kabes tapped the desk lightly with his pen. It felt like the shadow he had been chasing for so long was finally beginning to reveal itself.
“I’m glad we provided information to the Astria Merchant Guild. I trusted that Rudiya would make a rational judgment.”
“It was still a gamble. Miss Mertens could have chosen to bury this matter. The Astria Guild is a merchant group—they would avoid ties with politics. Since they’re working with a daughter of the Pelioten family, cooperating with them to cover things up might have been the better choice for the guild.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Despite his brief agreement, Gen continued without changing expression.
“They would either cooperate or withdraw. They likely didn’t want to stir up the Pelioten family.”
“That’s why they handed this case over to us.”
“Because relying on the Pelioten family’s power is more beneficial than dealing with the rigid rules of the imperial court.”
Gen let out a rare sigh. Kabes raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise.
“This is the only case where we’ve managed to grab a tail after chasing shadows all this time.”
“But we never had a pretext before. How many times did we chase shadows only to lose them without reason to intervene? This time, we do. Miss Mertens—or rather, the Astria Guild—just needs to officially request help from the imperial court. And they did.”
He waved the letter lightly.
“Still, it was too much of a gamble.”
“Really? I don’t think so.”
Kabes understood Rudiya’s position and trusted her, but Gen, who didn’t, found it frustrating. Watching his superior smirk, Gen stepped back and bowed slightly, as if he had nothing more to say.
“It’s already been four years.”
“Has it been that long?”
“With each passing year, things grow more intense. The Empress and the concubine won’t stop until Crown Prince Vertasilin steps down.”
“I know.”
Gen watched Kabes respond calmly, then closed his eyes and quietly changed the subject.
“Why do you think they interfered in the Pelioten family’s affairs?”
“We’ll find out when we question them. And we will, soon enough.”
Gen looked at him again.
“A lizard’s tail is never short. Remember that.”
With that, he turned and left the room. Kabes clicked his tongue and turned his head. Just then, Ban entered, closing the half-open door behind him.
“Arguing again?”
“Not really.”
Kabes stood and welcomed him, carrying a teacup to the table. Sitting down, he poured tea with practiced ease—it was clearly not his first time. Looking at Ban across from him, he spoke leisurely.
“Rudiya has officially transferred the case to us.”
“Really? Seems our conversation yesterday helped.”
“Honestly, it was unexpected. I didn’t think she’d step forward and ask us directly for a temporary permit. She doesn’t seem like the type to make requests that might trouble others.”
Ban nodded, calmly lifting his teacup.
“Well, you’ve been friends for a long time. Not that strange.”
“But you’ve heard the rumors.”
Kabes leaned back, smirking, rubbing his tired eyes.
“The princess and her maid. Not exactly a pleasant rumor.”
“Rudiya didn’t seem to care.”
“Well, that’s true. If you meet her, you know how capable and assertive she is. Since she doesn’t appear in high society, Lady Elian’s words probably spread as rumors.”
As Kabes spoke in a calm, drowsy tone, Ban turned his gaze out the window. Kabes followed, and a natural silence fell.
After a brief stillness, Kabes organized his thoughts and spoke again.
“From Rudiya’s perspective, this is just helping a longtime friend and a member of her guild—nothing more. But once she realized it was a staged act by the Pelioten family, it became important for her to step away somehow.”
Ban listened quietly, eyes closed, offering no response.
Kabes continued.
“On the other hand, we’ve known the group we’ve been chasing is connected to the Pelioten family and has secretly been assisting them. But we had no justification to intervene. Even if it was immoral, it was an internal matter—not something legally actionable. But Rudiya bridged that gap. Now, under the pretext of restoring order to the noble society, we can intervene as much as we want.”
“Mm…”
“Now we’ll finally see the shape of the shadow. Once this is handled, things should stay quiet for a while. If we do it right, we might even pressure the Empress directly. Countless crimes she should never have committed will come to light.”
“Hmm…”
“And…”
Kabes trailed off, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Ban, who still had his eyes closed. Leaning forward slightly, he tapped the table.
Ban opened his eyes, meeting Kabes’s gaze.
“What’s bothering you? You don’t look pleased.”
Ban neither denied nor confirmed it, simply sipping his tea as usual.
Instead of answering, he closed his eyes again—a silent affirmation. Kabes raised an eyebrow.
Leaning back with crossed arms, Kabes waited. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable—they had known each other too long.
After a moment, Ban finally spoke.
“It still feels unpleasant.”
“What does?”
“Rudiya.”
“Why Rudiya?”
Ban frowned and opened his eyes.
“She’s becoming too exposed.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
“And it feels like I’m using her. That bothers me, too.”
“Using her? We’re helping each other. We receive help, and she receives help from us. It’s mutual—calling it ‘using’ is a bit…”
“No.”
Setting down his teacup, Ban sighed, his expression conflicted.
“She said she felt sorry to me. But I was the one who never showed my true self. I knew why she came to me, yet I pretended not to.”
“That’s…”
Kabes started to respond but stopped, understanding Ban’s conflict.
After thinking for a while, he realized anything he said would just sound like an excuse. Letting out a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair.
“We’ll apologize later. Both of us.”
Finishing his words, Kabes fell silent, gazing into the distance. Ban also closed his eyes. The silence between the two didn’t seem like it would break anytime soon.
