In that instant, not only the emperor but Jet and Vi also froze.

In the cold silence, Sarah bowed her head and continued speaking calmly.

“I have heard there is a group of Irregulars who serve as His Majesty’s trusted hounds.”

The existence of the hounds—Irregulars who hunted other Irregulars—was common knowledge within the palace, so it wasn’t strange for Sarah to know of them.

“I joined the Imperial Knights because I wished to become a hound and serve His Majesty from the closest position.”

For something she had made up on the spot, it sounded convincing enough.

Having already come within moments of death, she decided to take the risk.

Her goal was straightforward: earn the emperor’s trust, infiltrate his inner circle and assassinate him from within, thus avenging the hounds.

The fastest way to achieve this was to become one of them.

In its own twisted way, this crisis presented an opportunity.

As a Hound, she could remain at the emperor’s side, close enough to kill him.

She would also finally be able to uncover the true identities of the Hounds for herself.

“You joined the knights because you wanted to become a hound…?”

The emperor looked down at the crown of her bowed head, a look of suspicion flickering across his face.

Soon, however, a smile curved his lips.

From his perspective, there was nothing to lose.

To become a Hound, she would have to undergo the implantation of an artefact in her skull.

Out of fifty children with abilities, only five had survived the procedure.

In fact, half of the fifty had died in a fire, and of those who survived, only five had lived through having the explosive artefact embedded in their heads.

Simply surviving the implantation was an impossible feat.

Once the artefact was in place, however, none of them could defy the emperor.

With the ring connected to the device in their skulls, it didn’t matter how much they hated or cursed the Emperor, they were nothing more than his puppets.

The woman kneeling before him had already killed the northern and north-western rebel leaders.

She was far too valuable to waste.

If she was offering herself up as his willing puppet, there was even less reason to dispose of her.

With a greedy smile, the emperor spoke.

“If you’re showing such determination to prove your loyalty to me, then I suppose I have no choice.”

Relief washed through Sarah.

If he rejected her, she would have had to subdue the two hounds behind her. It was said that even ten Irregulars from Konstan would struggle to defeat a single imperial hound.

She would have had no choice but to stake her life on it.

“I’ve never taken in a new hound until now, but considering your accomplishments, I shall grant this request.”

As Sarah quietly let out a breath, the emperor continued, pleased with himself.

“Jet, withdraw your sword.”

A crack formed in Jet’s brow. But the emperor had spoken; he had no choice but to obey. He lowered his blade without a word.

Seeing that, the emperor smiled in satisfaction.

“Introduce our new companion to the other hounds.”

Jet bowed his head.

“Understood.”

** ❋❋❋ ❋❋❋**

Kay had rushed over the moment El brought him the news, and he crushed the window frame in his grip.

Crack—!

The structure collapsed like brittle pastry under the weight of his immense strength.

The Emperor had summoned Sarah directly.

It was highly unusual for him to bypass Kay and summon a knight alone to his presence.

The plan that Kay had painstakingly constructed to keep Sarah as far away from the Emperor as possible was rendered useless in an instant.

He knew the Emperor would never summon her simply to praise her accomplishments.

He must have sensed something.

The mere thought of that vile old man touching Sarah filled Kay with cold, violent fury.

Just then, there was a knock at the door and a court attendant stepped inside and bowed.

“His Majesty requests your presence.”

Kay left the room immediately.

He strode into the audience chamber, where the emperor greeted him with a slow, unhurried smile.

“It seems there was an Irregular among the Third Order.”

Going straight to the point.

Kay’s expression tightened.

“You didn’t know?”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“There’s no way you failed to notice.”

Had one of the knights been the emperor’s informant?

It wasn’t impossible—after all, the Imperial Knights served the crown.

He had believed no one else had witnessed Sarah’s ability.

A careless assumption.

The emperor watched Kay’s stiff expression and spoke in a sly tone.

“You seem quite fond of this subordinate.”

Testing him.

Kay replied as dryly as he could.

“She is merely one of many.”

The emperor stared at him, as though trying to peel back his thoughts, then slowly smiled.

“That subordinate of yours volunteered to become a hound.”

Kay’s blood ran cold.

“I have no reason to refuse. If the artifact is implanted successfully, I will gain another loyal hound.”

The emperor continued, unaware of Kay’s shock.

“You seem to care about her more than you claim. As her leader, guide her well.”

“……”

Kay left the audience chamber, running a hand down his pale face.

The emperor had reached for Sarah after all.

Simply driving her out of the capital was never going to be enough.

Now that he knew Sarah was the girl from his memories, Kay’s resolve solidified even further.

To truly protect her, the emperor had to disappear from this world.

Even if it cost him his life.

Kay’s clenched fist trembled faintly.

** ❋❋❋ ❋❋❋**

Sarah met only with Lucian, Hugo, and Lustan to offer her farewells.

“An internal transfer, just like that? Sister, I’m hurt!”

Lucian’s complaining tone made Hugo give a sheepish smile.

“We’ll still be living in the same capital. We’ll run into each other often enough, right?”

Sarah nodded.

“Of course. Only my assignment is changing.”

“With how exceptional you are, it’s only natural you’d be promoted to a better position. Congratulations are in order.”

Hugo offered his mature farewell, and Lucian, glancing at him, added quickly.

“If anything becomes difficult over there, call me anytime, Sister. Even if our divisions differ, I’ll always be on your side.”

Then, in a small voice, he muttered.

“Honestly… I think I’d pledge my loyalty to you over His Majesty.”

Hugo clicked his tongue.

“Careless words will get you killed.”

At that moment, Lustan, who had been silent, spoke in his deep voice.

“Wherever you go, try not to overwork yourself. You push forward far too hard.”

Sarah looked at him, taken aback, then gave a soft smile.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

She spotted Jet waiting behind a distant wall.

Reluctantly, she said her final goodbyes.

“Then, I’ll be going. I’ll come visit often.”

“You have to eat with us sometimes too, Sister!”

“Alright.”

With a faint, weary smile, Sarah turned and walked away. As she approached the wall where Jet waited, he straightened up from where he had been leaning.

“Well then, let’s go say hello to your new teammates.”

His casual tone—like he was suggesting a stroll through town—made Sarah silently study him. The man with an eyepatch looked no different from before: mischievous, flippant, wearing that irritating smile.

“You’re the first person to volunteer to become a hound. Everyone’s curious about you.”

His teasing grin made Sarah tense as she followed behind him.

Soon she would meet him.

The one who had deceived her with lies, the enemy who had murdered her father, her former husband. The leader of the hounds.

Her blood seemed to boil at the thought that she would finally face Carlos again.

‘At last… I will meet you. Even if you prayed this moment would never come.’

Her clenched fist trembled.

Jet led the way towards the spire, heading in the same direction as Captain Isaac’s office.

At the top, he opened the door and stepped inside. It was the familiar division captain’s office, and Sarah looked around, startled.

The hounds who had arrived before her were already sitting on the sofa.

One of them was Vi, the man she had previously seen with Jet.

The other was the small, unassuming man whom she had always thought was Captain Isaac’s aide.

“Pleased to meet you. I heard the news earlier. I’m El, in charge of intelligence.”

He pushed up his glasses and reached out his hand.

Sarah shook it without thinking.

Then her gaze fell on a woman with violet hair.

“No wonder you felt familiar. I suppose we were destined for this.”

Jay grinned, extending her hand in a relaxed and friendly manner.

She was the first woman in the capital to show Sarah genuine kindness.

And to think — she was a hound, too.

Sarah’s heart twisted in bewilderment.

“The leader will be here soon. Ah, though Serena, you might already know.”

Jay’s remark made Sarah look at her in confusion.

A creeping dread washed over her.

And then—

click.

The door behind her opened.

“Leader, you’re here,” Jay called out.

Sarah’s head turned slowly.

Standing there was Kay.

And she froze like stone.

Kay looked at her with eyes full of indescribable sorrow and spoke softly.

“…I’m Kay, leader of the hounds.”