Callios.

From the moment her father first introduced him, she felt an unsettling sensation. His dark brown hair was so unkempt that it nearly covered his eyes. The glimpses of his irises through the strands were dark, as if they had lost their light. His shoulders were perpetually hunched, perhaps from a lack of proper sunlight. Based on appearance alone, he looked like a dog that had been poorly cared for.

However, there was a different reason he truly made her uncomfortable.

“My name is Callios.”

From the very first time he greeted Selina, there was a strange atmosphere about him. Every time their gazes happened to meet, a vivid hostility toward her flared within those dead, gray eyes. He was like a wild beast that would slip its leash and bare its fangs the moment no one was watching.

“Isn’t it amusing? To think his name is so similar to the man who died before I could even bring him to his knees.”

Callix and Callios.

Their appearances were as different as light and darkness, yet their names were almost the same. Was that the reason?

Her father—who claimed it was his lifelong regret that he had never been able to force the Calix he so despised to kneel before him—seemed to want to keep Callios, a Thalian who bore a similar name, as his subordinate instead.

However, blinded by petty amusement, her father had overlooked something.

“I heard he was a prisoner in the underground labyrinth of Thalia. He’s a man who survived that notorious place.”

Callios was not a dog that would take orders from anyone.

One could tell just by the alien aura he exuded. Although he disguised himself as a dog with his shaggy appearance and slow speech, the identity hidden within was that of a wolf. A wolf that could never be tamed. How could such a man ever become someone’s puppet?

“…If he survived the underground labyrinth, his skills must be extraordinary.”

Yet, Selina did not point anything out. The target she wanted to eliminate was Duke Bryson, not some strange man she was meeting for the first time. In fact, if her father turned his back on this man only to have his throat bitten, there would be no greater stroke of luck.

“If you truly wish to join the Knights of the Sun, keep this man by your side.”

But the moment she heard those following words, she couldn’t help but regret her choice. Cold sweat seemed to break out over her entire body as she realized the target whose back this dangerous man was watching might be Selina herself.

The man looked down at Selina with gray eyes that resembled burnt-out embers. Though that inscrutable gaze troubled her, she reached out her hand, feigning composure.

“I look forward to working with you, Sir Callios.”

“Yes.”

However, the man did not take Selina’s hand, choosing instead to silently bow his head.

_

‘I should have refused back then.’

Selina stared at the man standing rigidly before her like a dead tree and sighed quietly. She had never imagined that someone so formidable — someone who had survived the infamous underground labyrinth — would be watching her so closely.

‘I came here to find Calix’s whereabouts, and now this man has made everything more complicated.’

The Knights of the Sun were an order established by the Empire to destroy the remaining Thalian resistance.

The grandiose name ‘Sun’ was intended to symbolize the Emperor’s majesty — he was the Empire’s own sun. Yet the hidden meaning was far more petty.

It was intended to mock Calix, a mere Thalian who had dared to bear the title of ‘Sun’.

In truth, the name itself did not matter.

To Selina, the Knights of the Sun were the only means of entering Thalia’s heartland and contacting the remaining factions. She believed that finding Calix would be far easier once she was inside.

‘But an unforeseen variable appeared.’

She had expected the duke not to trust her completely. After all, she had already betrayed her father once.

Placing a watcher at her side was only natural.

‘But of all people—why did it have to be this man?’

Selina sighed again.

Ever since he became her adjutant, Callios had been glued to her side. His presence had ruined her plan to question the prisoners.

“…It seems meeting the Commander earlier made you rather uncomfortable.”

Was Callios simply oblivious? He seemed unaware that he himself was the one making her uncomfortable.

“I wouldn’t say it didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

She deflected lightly. In truth, Waldemar made her just as uneasy.

“Has a date for the marriage already been decided?”

“…So the rumor has spread everywhere already.”

She did not need to ask who had spread it.

“I’m sorry, but it’s just a rumor. The commander did make a proposal, but I never accepted it.”

She answered in an attempt to set the record straight, yet a strange sense of unease followed.

Callios usually showed little interest in her. He simply lingered in the background, observing without engaging, reporting anything suspicious to her father. That was all.

But today, the fact that he was speaking to her at all felt unusual.

‘Come to think of it… this might be the first time I’ve really heard his voice.’

Perhaps because he had been alone in the underground labyrinth for so long, he spoke awkwardly. Nevertheless, his voice was unexpectedly steady and pleasant.

Perhaps this was because Callios was acting out of character.

“Still, marriage may not be such a bad choice.”

Selina, who had always treated him curtly, allowed herself a hint of playfulness.

“If I were to marry the commander, I’d be able to escape your surveillance, wouldn’t I?”

Needless to say, she had no intention of marrying Waldemar. She had only mentioned it to show Callios just how oppressive his surveillance had been.

She had even hoped that a little banter like this might ease the tension between them.

However, his reaction was completely unexpected.

“That would be convenient for you, Deputy Commander. Having an easy way to escape whenever you wish.”

In an instant, his voice dropped, turning frigid. The tone made her flinch—it almost sounded like anger.

“Did it really sound to you as though I meant to run away?”

“Yes.”

“You seem like someone who doesn’t know how to distinguish between a joke and sincerity.”

“It didn’t sound like a joke.”

In response to his flat rejection, Selina let out a hollow laugh.

She realized that thinking she could ever be friends with someone like him had been a mistake.

Had he spent so long in the underground labyrinth nurturing nothing but hatred for Thalia? Perhaps that was why he still bristled at her, even though she had once been Thalia’s grand duchess.

“Fine. Think whatever you like.”

She had no wish to set him straight.

She turned away and left him behind.

The soft sound of footsteps followed closely behind her.

“I’m heading back to my quarters. I plan to rest properly tonight, so you should take it easy as well.”

“……”

He never responded to words like that.

If he was tired, he would simply go back to sleep. Selina ignored him and went into her quarters. Fortunately, it seemed that her words had worked — she could no longer feel him following her.

However, the moment she stepped inside the tent, she sensed that something was wrong.

‘Who is it?’

Since that day, Selina had become extremely sensitive to the presence of others. She had become accustomed to checking whether someone was following her or had slipped in unnoticed.

Usually, she would have suspected Callios, but they had just parted ways. It couldn’t be him.

She moved towards the source of the sound, suppressing her presence. Judging by the clumsy rustling as the intruder rummaged through the tent, they were clearly not an experienced operative.

Silently approaching, she drew her sword and pressed it to the intruder’s throat.

“H—hii!”

Startled, the man dropped what he was holding and shot both hands into the air.

“Who are you? Identify yourself.”

“Identify myself…? That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?”

The man whined in a wounded tone.

“It’s Lucas, my lady. Surely you haven’t forgotten me just because it’s been a while?”

“Pfft.”

Unable to contain her laughter at the clear indignation in his voice, Selina burst out laughing. Lucas turned his head away in a sulky manner.

“I knew it. You recognized me and pretended not to.”

“With the way you were moving around, practically begging to be noticed, how could I not?”

The man with light honey-colored hair narrowed his eyes.

“Then why didn’t you recognize me right away, if you’re so good at sensing people?”

“Well. Maybe because you look completely different with and without a mask?”

“Does that mean I look much more handsome without it?”

“Think whatever you like.”

Selina smiled faintly.

She had been tense for so long, but seeing Lucas made that tight knot inside her loosen.

“But what brings you all the way here? Today isn’t our scheduled meeting.”

They were supposed to meet the following month. Usually, they would exchange letters beforehand to arrange a time and place, so bumping into each other unexpectedly like this was rare.

“Why do you think I came all this way in secret?”

Lucas lifted the corners of his mouth into a broad grin.

Admittedly, he didn’t look particularly discreet, but since he was in such high spirits, she decided not to mention it.

“And what would that reason be? I’m dying of curiosity.”

Lucas loved it when she treated him like a child.

Just as she expected, he flashed a sly grin and pulled something from inside his coat when she asked with sparkling eyes.

“At last, the thing you asked for is complete.”

In his hand was a transparent vial filled with deep green liquid.