IATVWAMOLS 141

141. If Your Tail is Too Long, the Knight Commander Will Step On It

“Why are you asking that?”

Suspicion flickered across Viscount Blaine’s face.

Seraphine too seemed puzzled as to why I would bring up such a question.

“Let me rephrase. Do you know who the child was—the noble’s son or daughter—who supposedly died in that orphanage fire?”

At that, Blaine’s pupils widened. His reaction was all the confirmation I needed.

“So you do know. That child… they’re still alive, aren’t they?”

“How could you possibly…?”

“I’ve been digging into what really happened that night. Can you tell me about the child?”

But Blaine hesitated, unable to easily bring himself to speak.

“If you cooperate with me, I’ll provide you with both funds and a safe haven where you won’t have to live under threat. How does that sound?”

“!”

“My lady!”

Both Seraphine and Blaine turned their eyes on me at once. Seraphine looked completely shocked at my proposal.

“…Very well.”

Glancing at his daughter for reassurance, Blaine finally spoke cautiously.

He began to talk about the child—a boy with blond hair and striking red eyes.

“His unusual appearance was memorable enough, but he also stood out because strangers had brought him in. That’s why I remember him so clearly.”

“Strangers?”

“Yes. They weren’t from the village. They seemed to be outsiders from afar. They claimed they’d found the abandoned child while traveling nearby, but thinking back… even then, something felt wrong.”

I nodded.
Most likely, they had been agents sent by the Empress or Marquis Balton.

Blaine, recalling the boy’s childhood as if it had been yesterday, went on to recount the fire.

“It happened in the middle of the night. While I was away, a massive blaze broke out at the orphanage. When I rushed there, I saw strange men loitering around the building.”

“…!”

“And I clearly saw one of them holding the boy. I’m convinced those men were the arsonists.”

Seraphine’s eyes widened.
It seemed even she hadn’t known this much of the story.

“Then why did you take the blame? You saw the real culprits.”

“I thought putting out the flames was more important than chasing criminals. By the time the fire was contained, they were gone. Later in court, I protested my innocence, but no one believed me.”

“What a travesty.”

Blaine spoke in a voice heavy with anguish.

“I was consumed with resentment, and guilt toward the children who perished. I swore I’d uncover the truth. That was one reason I joined the secret organization.”

“So… did you find anything?”

“I discovered that those who abducted the child were backed by far greater powers than I’d imagined. It was connected to the so-called ‘Laboratory.’ After the fire, the boy was taken there.”

He had tried to track the missing child down, but even he couldn’t easily uncover the Laboratory’s inner workings.

Then, years later—he stumbled across news of the boy in an unexpected place.

“I was gathering whatever information I could about the Laboratory when I heard of a peculiar boy among the slave traders.”

“What kind of boy?”

“Supposedly abandoned as an infant, he was sold off to the Laboratory. But not long after, he returned to the slavers of his own accord.”

I knew this story well.
It was the tragic childhood of Cayenne’s daytime personality.

“It sounded unbelievable. A mere child destroying a Laboratory and surviving alone? I’d never heard of such a thing.”

“…”

“But because of side effects from the experiments, the boy was said to be drastically different by day and by night. And his night form… resembled the child I had once known.”

So it was after Cayenne’s personality had split.

“From then on, I tried to watch over him. I worried the ones who had abducted him might seek revenge. At the time, I thought it the least I could do to atone.”

Atonement, he said.
Yet the more he revealed, the darker Seraphine’s expression grew.

Blaine continued.

“I did everything I could to protect him.”

“…”

“I moved the slave market’s base of operations again and again, made it look as if the boy had been sold elsewhere, and spirited him away repeatedly. But in the end, all of it was useless.”

“Useless? How so?”

“He was never in need of my protection to begin with. That boy… had already become a central figure ruling the underworld.”

“!”

Blaine’s voice sank low.

At that point in his explanation, Blaine’s strength gave out from the strain of speaking so intensely.

Seraphine hurried him back to their estate. I assigned guards to escort them, then returned to my own chambers.

Even alone, my mind buzzed with unrest.
It was a wonder Blaine had survived all this time while carrying such explosive secrets.

If I had been the Empress or Marquis Balton, Blaine would have been the first one I silenced.

Come to think of it, at the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet…

Wasn’t there another reason the remote Blaine family had been invited? Perhaps to confirm whether the man, long past his “expiration date,” was still alive.

“…Maybe I’m just overthinking.”

Ugh, enough.
I didn’t want to stew over this alone. I wanted to talk it out with someone.

Where’s the Administrator? Why hasn’t he come back yet?

He had gone out early in the day and still hadn’t returned.

I reached out telepathically.

[Where are you?]

[I just finished sending Blaine back. My head’s splitting from learning something insane…]

[I’ll tell you in person.]

[Then hurry home.]

But no matter how long I waited, no reply came.

Could something have happened again?

The Administrator always nagged me not to do anything reckless, but in truth, he was the unreliable one.

What if he’d run into thugs somewhere and thrown himself into the fray again?

The thought gnawed at me, but I couldn’t press him further—he had left a note before leaving.

[Don’t be too shocked if I go off the grid for a while.]
[Think of it as the Administrator’s glamorous outing? Rebellion? Something like that.]
[Pohang Port. ꉂꉂ(^ᗜ^*)]

“…So irresponsible.”

Once again, all I could do was wait.
It was unfair. Unlike Mr. All-Powerful, I was painfully powerless.

Will everything really be okay?

I gazed at the darkening sky, and eventually, unable to endure any longer, I summoned my guards.

“I-I didn’t kill him. I…”

Aiden muttered in shock.

He had tried to treat the man’s wound, but the body was already going cold.
The blade had pierced deep into the heart—no doctor could save him now.

Realizing there was no hope of reviving him, Aiden turned pale.

“H-how… how could this happen?”

Marquis Balton had ordered him to keep watch over the prisoner.
Above all else, the man was not to be harmed or killed.

Yet now the prisoner lay dead by his hand. If the Marquis learned of this, he would never forgive Aiden.

“What do I do, what do I do…”

He frantically scanned his surroundings.
The alley was deserted.

After a moment’s hesitation, he wrapped the body tightly in his cloak. So tightly that it was impossible to tell whether it was a corpse or a mere bundle.

He didn’t even notice the blood smearing onto his silver knight’s uniform.

Hurriedly, he slung the body over his shoulder and fled the alley.

By the time Aiden reached the imperial palace, dusk had already fallen.

He had intended to dispose of the corpse in secret, but he had already skipped far too much.
Not only had he been absent for hours, he had even missed the afternoon drills without leave. Any further delay would surely draw suspicion.

With no choice, he carried the body toward the training grounds. Behind them lay an abandoned campsite—he planned to bury the corpse there.

Maybe it’s safer to bury him somewhere I can check on regularly…

Even as he thought this, his hands sweated profusely.

“Aiden. Just getting back, are you?”

He froze.

“S-Sir Commander?”

It was none other than Brecht, commander of the Imperial Guard Knights, waiting for him.

Lately, Aiden’s behavior had been suspicious enough to reach even the commander’s ears.

Aiden nearly dropped the corpse from shock.

That reaction only made Brecht look at him more suspiciously.

“You’ve been sneaking out a lot lately. Where exactly have you been going?”

Brecht strode toward him.