This was by no means a simple matter. Before the campaign, the Emperor said he would leave the affairs of the Valent Kingdom entirely to him.

And yet sending Ingram Kasvah now meant the Emperor was testing his loyalty.

Since Leon returned to the Urcheka Empire, Emperor Abarus always showed him trust and warmth. His late father taught the Emperor swordsmanship in his youth, and the two were close.

That was exactly why Leon had to be more careful. He was not alone now. He had soldiers under the Fershtein name and many people to protect.

Leon glanced back at the annex entrance and, seemingly resolved, made his way to the parlor.

When he entered, Ingram, seated on the sofa enjoying her wine, gave a satisfied smile. The blood-red liquid swirling in her glass seemed to give off a nauseating smell.

“So you’ve finally found it in yourself to speak with me?”

For three days, Ingram moved through the castle as though it were her own home.

Everywhere her footsteps fell, backed by the Emperor’s authority, screams followed, and under the pretext of rooting out traitors, innocent ledgers were torn open.

But Leon knew.

What she was truly after was not evidence of treason. She wanted to see for herself what his feelings were toward the slave he was supposed to use as war spoils.

Leon crossed the parlor, stood by the window, and lit a cigarette. Acrid smoke immediately filled every corner of the room.

Ingram fanned the air and narrowed her eyes.

“Smoking in front of a lady. That’s hardly the behavior of a man of refinement.”

Leon drew on the cigarette deeper in response to her rebuke. It was past two weeks since he stopped sleeping beside Adela, and now, like it or not, he had to admit it.

Strangely, the terrible insomnia only quieted beside the sound of Adela’s breathing. Nights without her were a sharp bed of thorns again.

“Count Fershtein?”

Ingram’s voice shook him from his thoughts. Leon flicked the ash off his cigarette and answered coldly.

“I spent over ten years as a slave in Valent, you see.”

Leon gave that offhand reply and maintained a dry silence, and the heat of humiliation spread across Ingram’s cheek. She composed her expression quickly and spoke with a fairly sharp edge.

“Fine. It would be faster to discuss the weight of the ‘special investigative authority’ than petty etiquette.”

“Right, so have you found those traitors?”

“Still under investigation. But, Count, there are reports of Valent remnants appearing in this area. Surely those rats haven’t gotten inside the castle?”

As Ingram suspected, the possibility of a rebel faction existing was real.

Emperor Abarus made enemies in every direction through excessive conquest.

But no one of that caliber remained in the Valent Kingdom. The person with the highest claim to the throne was Adela, and every bloodline after her was killed.

Which meant that if anyone plotted rebellion in Valent, they would need to put Adela forward as their figurehead.

‘Even if she harbored such intentions, it would not be possible.’

Leon kept Adela confined to the annex, and no one could enter or leave freely.

“By the way, I investigated everyone in the castle, and there’s just one person left.”

“……”

Leon ground out the cigarette he was smoking and clasped his gloved hands together. Ingram immediately continued.

“His Majesty expressed great concern over the rumor that the Count was torturing the princess. If something were to go wrong, the people of Valent would grow unstable.”

“My slave is my business.”

“But I need to see for myself. Surely you won’t refuse?”

The veins on the back of Leon’s gloved hand rose. His taut throat bobbed once, heavily, then stilled.

Feigning composure, he gave his attendant a brief nod. It was the signal to bring in Adela, seated in a wheelchair kept waiting at the annex entrance.

A moment later, from the far end of the corridor, the heavy grind of wheels against stone approached.

Ingram’s gaze shifted toward the sound, and Adela appeared, perched precariously in an old wooden wheelchair.

Beneath the shawl draped over her, her thin ankles hung limp and powerless. Her pallid complexion, swaying without control, held no warmth of the living.

“You called for me, Count.”

Ingram rose from her seat and approached the wheelchair at the sound of Adela’s weak voice. The hem of Adela’s crumpled skirt was caught dangerously under the rough wooden wheel.

She was in far worse shape than the last time Ingram saw her, which pleased her greatly. The information she gathered since arriving at the castle seemed to be largely accurate.

Adela, tormented by the Count night after night, was forced to dance on an injured foot. After she collapsed, not even a physician was called, let alone a maid left at her side. She was simply abandoned.

‘Torturing a woman who’s about to die anyway.’

She felt a flicker of fear at Count Fershtein’s ruthlessness, but for her, it was rather convenient.

“I hear there are those in Valent plotting rebellion. Have you heard anything?”

“I don’t know anything.”

Adela shook her head with effort at Ingram’s question. Ingram tilted her head slightly at the response.

Even if rebels truly existed, it seemed unlikely they would trust Adela enough to move forward with anything.

‘She looks like she’s about to die.’

After studying Adela for a long moment, Ingram returned to the sofa and lifted her teacup.

“I am most grateful for the Count’s cooperation.”

“Is the investigation finished?”

“Yes, I think she can be sent back now.”

As the maid wheeled Adela away and disappeared, Ingram took out a hand mirror and touched up her makeup. Then she moved toward Count Fershtein, who kept his distance from her throughout.

“Marry me.”

“I thought that conversation was over.”

Leon took out another cigarette, put it in his mouth, and answered without interest.

“You know well enough that I didn’t come all the way to the Valent Kingdom for a pleasure trip. I wouldn’t want to see the Count put in a difficult position because of a report I wrote.”

Ingram’s gaze rested on the letter on the desk, the one bearing the Emperor’s red seal. For a moment it looked not like paper but a sharp blade.

“Are you threatening me right now?”

“Of course not. I’m simply proposing with all my heart.”

Last time, Leon rejected her, but this time she was confident. To make this marriage happen, Ingram badgered her father until she secured a private audience with Emperor Abarus.

‘Why don’t you see how sincere I am about you?’

She came to Valent, even acting as the Emperor’s representative, because of the man standing right before her.

Through the white smoke, between the black strands of hair, those blood-red eyes flashing at her captivated Ingram.

With his sleeves rolled up and his hand braced against the window frame, the muscles of his back stood out hard and defined. Each time he exhaled a rough breath through his clenched lips, the buttons of his taut silk shirt seemed ready to burst open.

Desire for Leon Fershtein made Ingram’s body flush.

“Take my hand, and there will be no more of these tiresome complications.”

She was the only daughter of House Kasvah, one of the most distinguished ducal families in Urcheka. As the most sought-after bride in the empire, proposals arrived daily.

“I have no intention of marrying anyone for the time being.”

Leon straightened, gave that short answer, and walked out of the parlor.

Walking back down the corridor, his face was heavy with worry and irritation.

At this rate, Ingram Kasvah would never give up. She combed through the castle like she was picking out lice, ready to shake loose even a single speck of dust.

‘She looks ready to forge documents and manufacture a crime that never happened.’

The Emperor, too, seemed eager for him to marry a Urchekan noble quickly.

But what weighed on him most was the annex.

Lately Adela was strangely quiet. Given her condition it was natural, but an inexplicable unease settled over him.

‘I should increase the annex guard.’

Leon stood for a long time looking toward the annex entrance in the distance, then turned and headed for his office.

His long shadow darkened the empty corridor behind him.