“Why are you here…?”

Selina couldn’t believe her eyes.

His unruly brown hair fell thickly across his forehead. His ash-grey eyes were visible between the strands. Although his appearance matched Callios’s exactly, the presence he gave off felt like that of an entirely different person.

‘Don’t tell me… I’m still trapped in an illusion?’

Callios was a man whom everyone in the Empire — including her father — had labelled the Empire’s dog. He had explicitly stated that he was returning to his original post to carry out orders issued by her father. In other words, he was someone who had no business being there.

‘Then why is Callios here?’

A man who looked exactly like him. For a fleeting moment, she even wondered if he might be a twin.

“Is it really that surprising to see me here, Vice-Captain?”

The moment she heard the title he used to address her, it felt as though she were waking from a dream.

The woman who had brought Selina here had said the elder was inside. And there was only one person in this room.

Which meant—

“You were the elder?”

Ultimately, that was what it came down to.

When Selina asked him a question, Callios didn’t answer. Instead, he merely lifted the corner of his lips in a faint smile. As though he had anticipated her stunned reaction to discovering his identity, he calmly pulled her towards him by the wrist.

Selina, already bound, had no way of resisting his firm pull. Callios sat down on the bed and settled Selina onto his lap.

Though he wore a robe, the outline of his body was visible through the gaps. Selina tried to avert her gaze, but trapped in his arms, she could not fully look away.

Tilting his head slightly, he looked down at her.

“So what if I am?”

Since he had summoned her all the way here, it was clear that he had no intention of keeping it hidden. That must be why he could act with such shameless ease.

Selina bit down hard on her lip and looked up at him.

“I don’t really understand. Fine—you deceived me. I can accept that much. But if you truly are the leader of Thalia… why did you tell me where this place is?”

Judging by appearances, this place was undoubtedly the heart of what remained of Thalia’s forces. If it fell, everything else would collapse with it.

So why reveal something so vital to her?

“If I had told my father about this, this place would’ve been overrun already.”

Callios merely shrugged, as if it were of no consequence.

“Well. In that case, we would’ve had to fight an all-out war.”

“A full-scale war against the Empire? That’s an absurd plan—”

At that moment—

Callios leaned in close, bringing his face right up to Selina’s, an amused expression playing on his lips.

“Do you truly think it makes sense for you to be worrying about Thalia right now, Vice-Captain?”

Hostility flared to life in his ash-grey eyes, which had been dull and lifeless until that moment. Selina flinched and tried to lean back, but Callios merely tightened his grip and pulled her closer to his waist.

When they were close enough for their breaths to mingle—

“You’re the one who reduced Thalia to this state.”

His hand slowly slid upward, tracing along Selina’s neckline.

“And yet—why? Are you only now starting to feel a little guilty?”

With chilling precision, Callios closed his hand around Selina’s throat. He wasn’t applying any pressure, but if he did, her slender neck could easily break.

Selina closed her eyes.

She looked as though she wouldn’t mind if he broke her neck.

Callios stared at her, his gaze sinking into a cold stillness. Her forlorn, resigned demeanor only fueled his anger further. He wished she had reacted more boldly, protested or tried to excuse herself, claiming that she had never intended for things to turn out this way.

That would have been better.

“Let’s drop the boring talk and get to the point.”

Callios loosened his grip on Selina’s throat. However, his gaze remained cold and unyielding.

Under his icy stare, Selina slowly opened her mouth.

“…Do you remember the Thalian I rescued from the underground prison?”

“Of course I do.”

Right. There was no way the man acting as Thalia’s leader wouldn’t know.

‘How did he manage to pretend he knew nothing back then?’

Selina inwardly marveled at Callios, who had played the role of the Empire’s dog so flawlessly until now.

“The prison Alter is being held in is the most heavily guarded facility in Thalia. Once you’re locked in there, it’s infamous for being a place no one escapes from—or even comes out alive.”

“I see.”

How could he be so calm? Even knowing this concerned Alter, who had once served as Thalia’s Knight Commander.

Swallowing the surge of emotion rising in her chest, Selina continued.

“If he stays imprisoned there, Alter will die. That prison is filled with inmates awaiting execution.”

Waldemar had promised to spare Alter’s life if Selina agreed to marry him. However, she could never fully trust that promise, given that Alter ended up in that very prison.

“…So,”

After silently turning her words over in his mind, Callios finally spoke.

“It sounds to me like you came all this way just to beg me to save Alter.”

“Just Alter?”

The restraint Selina had been forcing on herself snapped.

“Alter was Thalia’s Knight Commander. Even if he’s imprisoned now, he’s someone who gave his life for Thalia’s army. And you call that ‘just’?”

Hadn’t the Elder been gathering the remnants of Thalia’s army? She had assumed that, upon hearing about Alter, he would rush in, despite the great risk involved.

Although she hadn’t expected the Elder to be Callios, she was still certain that Alter mattered to him.

“At least it’s fortunate Alter didn’t hear that himself.”

She muttered the words while glaring at him. Callios let out a quiet chuckle.

“To think you’d be willing to risk your life for Thalia’s Knight Commander. I had no idea you two were that close.”

“….”

“But Alter’s own view of things seems a little different. He seemed to hate you.”

He murmured the words in a flat, detached voice.

“…I’m just trying to pay for my sins. Alter is one of the people I wronged.”

Selina muttered the words as if offering an excuse, but her reply lacked conviction.

She had indeed come all this way to save Alter.

Was her concern for his life genuine, or was she simply trying to avoid feeling guilty again?

Or was she just trying to avoid feeling guilty again?

After a moment, Callios asked.

“Were you imprisoned in the underground labyrinth as well, paying for your sins toward Karen?”

“That’s—”

“Whatever the reason.”

Callios rose to his feet.

As he did so, Selina, who had been sitting on his lap, was forced to stand up too.

Still holding her arms, he looked down at her curiously.

“You seem rather fond of paying your debts.”

Then he asked calmly.

“I wonder. What do you intend to offer me as payment?”

“…What is it that you want? Someone who has hidden their true identity and played their role so flawlessly — what could they possibly desire?”

“What could someone who has hidden their true identity and played their role so flawlessly possibly desire?”

She had a good idea:

The fall of the Empire.

The restoration of Thalia.

‘If that’s it, then our goals align.’

Depending on how things went, she might even be able to tell him her true objective. Perhaps, just perhaps, Callios might know something about Calix.

If she could help him and gain information about Calix in return, they could form a mutually beneficial alliance.

Holding on to that faint hope, she asked him.

“I want you.”

In that instant, Callios stepped in close, pressing himself firmly against her. A sharp, biting scent washed over her like a wave. Until now, she had been so tense that she hadn’t even had the presence of mind to notice his natural scent. But as he closed the distance between them, the solidity of his body and the familiar hint of tobacco in his scent flooded her senses, leaving her unsettled.

Perhaps scent truly did have the power to stir memory. As the sharp fragrance she had once known rushed over her, her memories began to waver and blur.

‘It smells like Calix…’

Thinking of him again, Selina bit down hard on her lip to steady herself.

At some point, Callios’s gaze darkened as he looked down at her. Finally, in a low voice, he released the heavy emotions he had been suppressing all this time.

“I want to see you fall. All the way to the bottom.”

The words were steeped in resentment and hostility. Selina inhaled sharply without meaning to.

But he wasn’t finished.

“I want you to be broken. Would you grant my wish in return if I promised to save Alter?”

He asked, his face cold and expressionless.

Selina couldn’t bring herself to answer. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

What would become of her if she said yes?

How did Callios want to break her?

His eyes were too dark and deep for her to dare glimpse what lay beneath.

After hesitating for too long, Callios let out a quiet, amused chuckle.

“I guess the bond between you two wasn’t all that strong after all.”

Then, as if nothing had happened, the chill drained from his expression, and he returned to his usual blunt, impassive look.

“I’m joking. I’ll need your help to rescue Alter—I can’t have you breaking just yet.”

The word yet lingered unpleasantly in her mind. But before she could ask about it, he smoothly changed the subject.

“It’s fortunate that our interests seem to align this time, Vice-Captain.”

He slowly released Selina from his arms.

“Now then.”

He said, a gentle smile even touching his face, as though he’d never been threatening moments ago.

“Shall we discuss the rescue operation?”