“Get me out of here! Get me out, I said!! Aaaagh!!”

Three days ago, Mildred had been dragged into the Rems Royal Hospital. Ever since, he had been locked inside a secluded room on the second floor, screaming without rest. At first, thick tears had streamed down his face, but now even those seemed to have dried up.

His hands were scraped raw and red from clawing at the iron bars, yet the director didn’t so much as spare them a glance.

Approaching the wailing man, the director’s irritation was unmistakable.

“If you keep this up, you’ll only hurt yourself. Step back.”

That was all he said—cold, mechanical words.

“Who the hell are you calling a patient, you crazy bastard?!”

Driven mad by the director’s indifference, Mildred screamed back at him. His flushed face made it obvious how agitated he was, yet the director didn’t react. In two weeks, at most, he would be compliant again, just like everyone else.

The problem was that, right now, he was far too loud.

The director quietly observed Mildred, then flicked his gaze behind him, cautiously checking Kyle’s reaction. That was only natural—after all, it was Kyle who had brought Mildred here.

The director was debating whether to administer another sedative when Kyle silently stepped forward. His movement was so soundless that the director flinched and instinctively stepped back.

They were much closer now than they had been in the hospital lobby. From this distance, Kyle’s height and build felt even more overwhelming, forcing the director to crane his neck just to look up at him. He swallowed hard.

The chill in Kyle’s eyes alone was enough to make him shrink.

Meeting that icy gaze, the director hastily lowered his head.

“Uh, um.”

Letting out an awkward cough, he retreated and pretended to check on another room. His legs were still trembling. Even so, he couldn’t fully pull his attention away—he stole glances at Kyle from the corner of his eye.

Just what in the world was going on?

Mildred’s father, Mason Peyton, had personally signed the admission papers. True, Mildred was the kind of son the world would be better off without—but the same could be said of the eldest son as well.

Useless or not, discarding one’s own child like this…

The director clicked his tongue inwardly. Still, parents abandoning children—and children abandoning parents—was hardly unheard of. Especially here, at Rems Royal Hospital.

What truly unsettled him was the fact that Mason had come here that day together with the Grand Duke.

“Father!! Father, please save me!! Your Grace!! This is a misunderstanding! Please, just listen to me once! Please!!”

Mildred’s desperate cries echoed in the director’s mind, causing his eyes to narrow in contemplation.

As the director let his imagination wander, Kyle faced Mildred.

Mildred’s eyes widened in shock. Gripping the bars even tighter, he pressed his face against them and begged.

“Please spare me, Your Grace. I’ve committed a terrible sin. I’ll never do it again—please! Please!!”

No matter how much he pleaded, Kyle did not respond. He merely looked down at Mildred with an expression devoid of emotion.

Shivering under that frigid gaze, Mildred forced out his words through a cracked, hoarse voice.

“Just once… please spare me. Your Grace.”

Kyle stared at the man kneeling with clasped hands, then spoke his first words—flat and emotionless.

“I already spared your life.”

“……”

Only then did Mildred understand.

“I could’ve killed you that day.”

That was the mercy Kyle had shown him.

Mildred’s grip on the bars loosened, his hands falling limply. His vacant eyes stared at the shattered floor beneath him. He couldn’t tell which fate was worse—death, or slowly losing his mind in a mental hospital.

As rain seemed to echo inside his collapsing consciousness, a dry voice rang in his ears.

“One year. Stay quiet for that long.”

Mildred snapped his head up, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask anything. Kyle’s gaze pinned him in place. His entire body trembled.

There was no mercy, no tolerance in those cold eyes. He knew—he would never be allowed to ask for more.

He simply nodded.

In just one year, he could be free.

Hope sprouted amid the ashes, and Mildred noticeably calmed down. Light returned to his eyes.

Having said all he needed to say, Kyle turned away without hesitation. As thunder roared overhead, his footsteps faded into the sound.

The director, who had been watching Kyle from the sidelines the entire time, quickly hurried after him. Walking briskly, he spoke in a low voice once they reached the middle of the corridor.

“Would you like to see Mr. Rupert as well? He’s on the same floor—”

Before he could finish, Kyle shook his head.

Looking awkward, the director added that Rupert had suffered a dislocated shoulder, but his condition was better than Mildred’s—in other words, Rupert had given up much faster.

The director continued rambling, but Kyle showed no interest. His sharp eyes remained fixed ahead as he walked in silence.

Echoing within the sound of his footsteps were Mildred’s endless protests of innocence.

“I only hit the maid! I—I didn’t mean to kill her, I just wanted to knock her out for a bit! That was… that is… it was Foil and Rupert who harassed the lady with filthy remarks! It’s true!

Those damned bastards.

He wanted nothing more than to sew their mouths shut, cut off their fingers, and send them to the front lines as cannon fodder. It would serve the nation better that way.

But he couldn’t.

He was already at his limit. If he lingered any longer, he might have reached through the bars—or shoved a gun straight into their trapped mouths.

For a soldier, pulling the trigger was easy.

The only reason he endured was one thing.

“Don’t do that. Okay?”

Maude’s voice echoed in his head like tinnitus on a sleepless night.

Silently, he kept walking.

It was time to return to Maude’s world.

***

“Feels d*mn good.”

James smiled in satisfaction for the first time in a long while. He had just received news that Clifton had begun to move.

That alone was enough to put him somewhat at ease. No matter where he dug, it would all eventually lead back to Baros.

His lips curled upward. Grayson, who had delivered the news, looked brighter than usual as well.

But good news never came alone.

Hesitating, Grayson continued carefully.

“They say they’re still in contact with weapons dealers. All of them are large-scale operations, so they plan to investigate further.”

The moment he finished speaking, James let out a heavy sigh. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he snapped.

“What the hell is wrong with that bastard?! Does he even understand what he’s doing?!”

Grayson nodded quietly in agreement. There wasn’t a single word he could dispute.

Rubbing his chest in frustration, James soon returned to his usual grim expression.

On the surface, things looked elegant and peaceful—but beneath the water, no one knew how violently the legs were kicking.

This fragile peace could shatter at any moment if it served someone’s interests.

The continent was a massive powder keg. All it needed was a spark called justification.

And whatever happened, they could not allow him to become the Crown Prince of Berren.

The global situation was anything but stable. These were turbulent times.

“If war really breaks out, we’re all dead meat. Do you think that bastard would stand on the front lines? We’d be lucky if he doesn’t sell out Berren first.”

Suddenly, he recalled the words of the smuggler who had said they would witness a war of a different dimension. He had thought they were just trying to sell another self-defense gun, but now he could no longer dismiss it.

James couldn’t hide his anxious thoughts. He kept his hands moving restlessly, unable to remain still. His eyes, lost in thought about the past, trembled.

“I heard the Baros folks are spending quite a bit on fleets and weapons. Do you know anything about it?”

It was only about a year ago, so it wasn’t an old story. James mumbled to himself, biting his lips and shaking his legs.

He realized he couldn’t let it go any longer.

Finally, as if he had made a decision, he clenched his hands.

“I need to inform the Grand Duke.”