They continued to advance deeper into the secret passageway.

The infiltration unit numbered only ten, including Calix. Their strategy was simple yet ruthless: enter with the smallest possible force, eliminate the enemy leadership, and gain the upper hand before the battle truly began. Without commanders, the remaining soldiers would be directionless, causing their ranks to collapse into chaos. Mopping up the remnants would be easy.

Holding their breath, Calix’s group slipped into the grand ducal castle.

The passage opened onto the outer garden. Beyond it stood the main building, where Waldemar’s troops were stationed. Thanks to Hollein’s information, they already knew where the enemy was gathering and conducting operations. Everything hinged on reaching the main building without being detected.

And yet, something felt wrong.

‘It’s too quiet.’

Just moments ago, a large group of soldiers left the castle. This could only mean that something significant had happened, and he expected those still inside to be in an uproar about it.

But the garden was unnervingly silent. He abandoned his plan to cross the garden and pulled back behind a pillar instead.

“Why have we stopped, sir?”

A soldier who had been advancing quickly asked Calix, confused by the sudden change in orders.

Calix furrowed his brow and muttered.

“…Was it a trap?”

“Yes? B-but there’s nothing around here.”

The soldier tilted his head in confusion. Having overheard the exchange, the others scanned their surroundings, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

There was no one in sight and, aside from that, nothing seemed particularly strange.

“Could it be that it’s gotten colder, so everyone went inside?”

“No.”

Calix answered firmly.

Shaking his head, he pointed towards the massive stone statue standing in the middle of the garden.

As the sun slowly moved towards the opposite horizon, the statue’s shadow grew longer.

Then, something strange came into view.

Instead of the single shadow that should have been cast by the massive statue, dozens of small shadows were scattered and growing.

“Th-that can’t be…”

Karen’s complexion darkened. She realized belatedly that those shadows belonged to soldiers lying in wait.

What was more, they were holding sharp objects that looked unmistakably like weapons.

If they had crossed the garden without knowing any of this, their heads would have been cleanly severed.

The soldiers standing beside Calix went pale.

“What should we do now?”

Karen muttered under her breath and bit down hard on her lip.

She had followed Calix through countless life-threatening situations before, but this time her thoughts were all over the place.

How could anyone have predicted this?

The Thalian forces were disguised so flawlessly that detection should have been impossible. Had the soldiers inside the castle realized that the infiltrators were Thalian troops, they would have attacked long before the infiltration succeeded.

Instead, however, the enemy had drawn troops out of the castle.

They had naturally assumed that these forces were being redirected towards Holchester Prison. But once the Thalian troops were inside, they discovered that the enemy had been lying in wait to capture them specifically.

How was that even possible?

It was as though every move they had made had already been anticipated.

‘No way.’

‘No…’

In an instant, Calix’s eyes turned icy.

He remembered the eerie feeling he had had ever since he set foot near the Grand Ducal Castle.

At the time, he had thought this was due to his concern for Selina.

But what if that wasn’t the case?

What if it had been a warning, an omen that something was about to go wrong?

“…Fall back.”

Calix ground his teeth and muttered the order in a low voice.

It was unbearably frustrating to turn back after coming so far, but the premonition was ominous. Ignoring it and pressing on felt like it would lead to disaster.

Just as they had changed their plan and tried to retreat—

“It’s been a while.”

A familiar voice cut through the trees growing in the garden.

He hadn’t expected to encounter him already.

Calix smoothed his expression into a mask of calm and turned toward the source of the voice.

“Greetings.”

Standing where he turned his gaze was Waldemar.

Waldemar stood on the railing leading to the second floor, and beside him, dozens of archers lined up in formation, bows drawn.

“I never thought we’d meet in a place like this, Callios.”

He scratched his cheek, then let out a short laugh.

“No—should I call you Calix?”

“……”

Calix clenched his teeth.

He was wearing the ring, so his outward appearance was that of Callios. Yet Waldemar knowing the truth hidden beneath—

“This confirms it. Selina really was a spy.”

Karen ground out the words through clenched teeth.

“That’s why I said it! We should have sent her to the underground labyrinth the moment she arrived and killed her there.”

But her fury at the thought of Selina did not last long.

Because standing beside Waldemar was a man Karen had never expected to see.

“…Father?”

Count Hollein—who should have been guarding the north gate—was standing at Waldemar’s side, as though he were his right hand.

Glancing around cautiously, he spoke to Waldemar.

“Please don’t forget your promise to recognize the merits of our house.”

“Of course. As promised, I won’t kill your daughter.”

“Father!!”

Karen could not believe it.

She had always thought that his earlier surrender to the Empire was an unavoidable decision he had made to save her life. But now she realized that it was her own father, Count Hollein, who had derailed this entire plan, not Selina.

“It was all for you, my child.”

Hollein looked down at his daughter with eyes that seemed to say she would understand someday, after enough time had passed.

Karen, who had failed to notice her father’s betrayal in the slightest, prostrated herself before Calix.

“I’m sorry. This is—this is my fault. Please punish me…!”

Karen trembled as she apologized on her father’s behalf. Calix merely looked down at her with cold eyes.

Initially, it could not truly be considered Karen’s fault.

The greater fault lay with Calix himself, for failing to notice his subordinate’s betrayal. Believing that there would be no other chance if not now, he had accepted Hollein despite knowing that he had already betrayed him once before.

After all, someone who betrays once will not hesitate to betray again.

‘This is all my fault. But…’

Calix removed the ring that had concealed his identity until now.

Mist swirled thickly around him, then dissipated, revealing Calix’s true form.

Waldemar let out a hollow laugh, as though he could not believe what he was seeing.

“I never imagined you’d crawl into enemy territory looking like that. Fine. I’ll admit—you’ve got guts.”

“That’s my line to say to you.”

Calix drew the blade he had honed to a razor’s edge from its scabbard.

Brrr.

As if venting the rage he had suppressed until now, the sword trembled in his grip.

“I didn’t expect you to show your face before me, knowing who I am.”

Calix tilted his chin slightly, adding with open mockery.

“Have you ever beaten me even once? The fact that I’ve never once seen your face until now is proof enough.”

That’s why even your own father never made you his successor.

Waldemar’s expression hardened.

“…You must be scared, knowing you’re about to die. Your thinking seems rather dull.”

But Waldemar quickly restored his expression and raised a hand toward the archers standing beside him.

The line of archers drew their bowstrings taut. If even one of them released, dozens of arrows would rain down on Calix at once.

“Who’s the one that truly can’t read the situation here?”

Calix showed no sign of being intimidated.

This, more than anything else, displeased Waldemar.

Despite knowing he was in the worst possible situation, Calix still carried himself with that arrogant air of superiority until the very end.

“Believe in that monstrous power of yours if you like. Today, it ends here. This time, I’ll tear you apart with my own hands—until I see you die.”

Leaving it to others had only given Calix room to maneuver.

This time, he intended to kill Calix himself, to watch the life leave his body with his own eyes.

“So die quietly.”

Waldemar swept his hand downward.

Shh—shh—shh!

A deluge of arrows rained down.

Calix’s group rushed to take cover behind the pillars, but there were too many arrows to evade. One person was hit in the leg, and another in the arm.

Karen was no exception.

“Ugh….”

She collapsed with a groan, an arrow embedded in her leg. Seeing this, Hollein panicked and grabbed Waldemar by the collar.

“Y–you said you would spare Karen!”

“She’s standing with Calix. How am I supposed to aim without catching your daughter in it? If you want her spared, tell her to come over here—right now.”

“K–Karen! Karen! Come here at once!”

Hollein called out desperately, unable to bring himself to run to her himself.

“Attack.”

At Waldemar’s command, the soldiers hiding behind the statues charged forward like a wave, straight towards Calix’s group.

Waldemar raised his hand once more, a cold smile curving his lips.

A second volley of arrows was taken aim at them.

“D*mn it!”

Count Hollein snatched an arrow from the archer beside him and drew it back on the spot, aiming straight at Calix.

“So all I have to do is kill Calix first, is that it?!”

If Calix died, this whole situation would be over. That was the logic driving him.

Hollein set his sights on Calix’s head.

He had, after all, taken the heads of enemy commanders on the battlefield more than once. Once known as a crack shot, he believed that striking Calix’s head from this distance would be effortless—

Thud.

In that instant, a dagger flew faster than the arrow ever could.

It struck Hollein squarely in the forehead.

If Calix died, the whole situation would be over. That was the logic driving him.

Hollein had set his sights on Calix’s head.

After all, he had beheaded enemy commanders on the battlefield more than once before. Renowned for his marksmanship, he believed that decapitating Calix from this distance would be effortless.