Chapter 45

A chill like the wind wrapped around her ankles. Aneta shuddered at the unfamiliar sensation.

Carlos, who was not oblivious to her slight tremor, didn’t back away. His innate senses whispered that her reaction did not carry rejection.

“There’s nothing about you that isn’t lovely.”

Carlos caressed her slender ankle with a soothing touch. His attentive fingers gently played around the delicate protrusion of her ankle bone.

By the time his intimate touch withdrew, her bare feet were met with shoes.

Aneta observed the entire process in silence before speaking.

“Where did the person who promised to behave go?”

“Well. I think he’s gone for a while.”

Carlos replied shamelessly as he fitted the shoes on her other foot in turn.

With a soft smacking sound, a plush sensation was felt on the top of her foot, causing Aneta to silently take a shuddering breath.

“How can I remain still when you are this beautiful?”

Aneta could not easily withdraw her foot as Carlos pressed his lips against her exposed leg, gradually moving upwards.

Any sudden movement might end up with a scar on his smug face.

Carlos took advantage of this hesitation.

Maintaining eye contact, he continued his kisses up to the knee, where her dress was disheveled.

Unable to hold his relentless gaze any longer, Aneta finally looked away. She knew all too well what those intensely gleaming golden eyes signified.

Aneta was about to speak up to stop Carlos, but the sudden opening of the door rendered her speechless.

“Sorry, it took longer than expected to…”

The returning owner of the office was momentarily at a loss for words upon seeing the scene before him.

Russell, quickly grasping the situation in his office, swallowed a sigh and spoke.

“You two haven’t forgotten where you are, have you?”

How many people could engage in such intimate acts in the Emperor’s office? Russell, with a thought of their boldness, reluctantly forced himself to step further inside.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Yes, I have, but I can leave if you wish.”

“No need for that. It’s fine.”

Carlos rose naturally as if nothing had happened.

Even so, Russell couldn’t shake the feeling that he was an intruder. With a reluctant expression, he glanced back and forth between the two before taking a seat.

The awkward atmosphere between them dissipated as soon as they began their conversation.

Russell revealed that he had been fully aware of the impending attack and the identity of the target from the start. As always, his information had come from his network of informants.

Even though he knew the other nobles were not the intended targets, he had placed shadows among them as a kind of insurance against any unforeseen circumstances.

The floral columns that Aneta had noticed were indeed installed for the purpose she had suspected.

“The mastermind behind the attack is Count Gaston of the noble faction. He maintained a close, secretive symbiotic relationship with Viscount Folter.”

There were two reasons behind the attack: the execution of a well-acquainted person, and his envy and inferiority complex towards the House of Glories.

Russell said that the former reason was only a side leg of the latter and that it was the appearance of Erez that ignited the latter.

The mere fact that the unremarkable Erez Bauter had come to possess a Glory was enough to ignite the flimsy fuse of Count Gaston’s resentment.

Aneta was well aware of Count Gaston and his inferiority complex.

He possessed wealth but lacked honor, and his riches still fell short of Adenauer’s, making him perpetually desperate to grasp both wealth and honor fully.

“In the end, his unrestrained greed has led him to lose the weight of his head,” Aneta thought mercilessly of the foolish count.

“Where is Count Gaston now?” Carlos asked in the meantime.

“As soon as we obtained information about the attack, we confined him in his villa. His household believes he has gone there to recuperate.”

Aneta refrained from asking if Russell had orchestrated this appearance. There was no need to inquire about something so obvious.

“Then I sent an informant to pretend to be the Count’s agent to secure evidence that he had commissioned the attack. We obtained information about the infiltration route and the operation plan in the same manner.”

The evidence was overwhelming, and Russell could have ordered an immediate execution on the spot, however, there was still something he sought to gain, and so he gave a different order to the informant who assisted in this matter.

He added a condition that they should not harm anyone other than the primary target.

Accompanied by additional compensation, the assassins accepted the money pouch without any suspicion. It was clear they trusted the money more than his words.

“We had a Glory and a piercing arrow, so we weren’t worried about safety at all, but an unexpected variable related to that came up.”

“That variable is Erez Bauter’s true ability, isn’t it?” Aneta spoke, causing Russell to frown slightly as he recalled the situation and nodded in agreement.

Carlos was the next to speak. “So you didn’t stop the attack to confirm his abilities?”

“That’s right. I simply couldn’t bring myself to believe Erez Bauter’s claims about his prophetic abilities, no matter how he went on about foreseeing the future,” Russell replied.

Russell had sought confirmation. Even if Erez’s precognition was genuine, Russell suspected he might have lied, claiming to have seen something he had not driven by a desire for recognition.

“But today, it became clear. Erez Bauter’s ability isn’t about foreseeing the future; it’s the Glory of Control—the power to neutralize other glories.”

Control. This name should have come out at the point of Erez’s appearance, but only now. Aneta was enveloped in an indescribable feeling as she waited for the next words.

“And it seems that this ability doesn’t work on the Marquis of Adenauer.”

With his unique insight, Russell grasped the essence immediately. He sounded confident, but Aneta could not simply agree wholeheartedly and remain silent.

“Yes. But since we have no information about Erez Bauter’s abilities, I think we should hold off on drawing any conclusions. We don’t know what other variables might arise.”

Glory of Control temporarily seals the abilities of all Glories within its range. It means he cannot selectively nullify certain abilities.

Although Aneta knew this, she left room for uncertainty. She was aware of another characteristic of Erez’s power.

Erez could neutralize any ability he knew about. Now that he knew about her relic’s power, could she remain free from the Glory of Control?

Aneta couldn’t answer that question yet.

“Then let’s verify that matter gradually. If we rush, he might sense something and act out. We’ll pretend we know nothing for now.”

“What about Tereza and Serce? Surely they’ve noticed Erez’s abilities.”

Though others might not have noticed, the holders of glories certainly would. Aneta asked this as a formality.

“I’ll inform them myself, so don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

With Aneta’s response, Russell’s gaze drifted and landed on the relic hanging around her neck.

Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the Glory he had only barely acknowledged through the Glory of Observation, he muttered contemplatively.

“…Yes, the relic. Its original name now carries another meaning.”

Named “Relic” for its mysterious, elusive nature, it bore the inherent meaning of “strange/unusual deeds.” But there was another meaning hidden within – “miracle.”

Aneta silently pressed her lips together, placing her hand on the Glory that had ultimately fulfilled both meanings. She, more than anyone, deeply and earnestly understood the name “miracle.”

What else could it be if not a miracle, for a previously nonexistent glory to manifest?

Aneta knew she should be grateful for the miracle. Yet, she was also a human. And as much as she had to embrace the secret of her lack of glory, as much as she had to hide her brokenness in secret, a part of her heart said something else.

‘How wonderful it would have been if there had been no such mysterious deeds or miracles from the beginning.’

Reflecting on how quickly she had such thoughts after finding the glory, Aneta swallowed a sigh, mocking her sudden honesty. Fortunately, none of her emotions showed on her face.

“Your Majesty, how do you plan to handle the remaining matters?”

“First, I’ll pretend to interrogate the surviving assassins before ordering the immediate execution of the remnants and Count Gaston. After that, of course, there will be confiscation of his property and revocation of his title.”

“I’ll help with that.”

Russell, who was mentally calculating the value of Gaston’s assets—enough to cover several months of some departments’ budgets—looked up at Carlos, who had volunteered for the unpleasant task.

“No. There is no need for you to help.”

The unexpected response came sharply.

“This was my independent action. Not only did I allow you all to experience such a situation, but I can’t even rely on the Duke’s hands to clean up the aftermath. Believe it or not, I do have a sense of propriety.”

“If that’s the reason, I’m fine with helping. Please let me assist.”

“Since I’m not fine with it, just pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Despite repeated requests, Russell remained resolute. Aneta silently observed the situation.

“And when I say there’s no need for the Duke’s help, I mean it. The gains from this incident far outweigh the losses.”

The walls of the Arel Palace, used for the banquet, could be repaired using Count Gaston’s confiscated wealth. The interrogation could be entrusted to Louise, and the injured knights would be compensated appropriately.

Russell enumerated the tasks needing attention and then smirked as he prepared to give Carlos a more suitable task.

That subtle expression was a signal to Aneta.

“Besides, it seems someone else needs the Duke’s help. Isn’t that right, Marquis of Adenauer?”

“…Yes.”

As expected, Aneta’s name came up. She had no choice but to affirm his confident question, which seemed to read her mind.

It was true; she had been contemplating seeking Carlos’s help.

Aneta wasn’t curious about how Russell had noticed. The Emperor always saw more than was visible, keeping everything under his watchful eye.

Instead of questioning him, Aneta chose to speak frankly.

“I do have a request to make.”