Blue flames.

Fire summoned through magic, it was said, shared similarities with ordinary fire yet possessed a different nature entirely.

What would a blue flame actually look like? The memory surfaced of lying awake for several nights, too curious to sleep.

Luna began to examine the area where the fire had originated. She made her way toward Caesar’s desk.

And before long, she found a faint mark left beneath it.

Holding her breath, she reached out and carefully swept away the dust that had settled over it.

Where the dust had been cleared away, a faint mark remained. It was so faint it could easily be passed over without a second glance.

The first clue she had found.

She crouched down and ducked her head under the desk, pulling a light toward her to illuminate it.

Looking at it closely, the nearly erased form of a magic circle revealed itself, very faintly.

So it was true that someone had deliberately set the fire. A chill ran down her spine in that instant, and goosebumps rose along her forearms.

This was the trace of an artificially ignited fire, left there by someone with intent.

Luna immediately took out a piece of paper and began carefully tracing the faint remaining mark.

Perhaps because she had been so absorbed in it.

Before she knew it, her dress was covered in ash and completely ruined, and she had lost all sense of how much time had passed.

Having finally finished the whole process, Luna tucked the paper she had traced against her chest and quietly made her way back to her room.

【 Shifting Perspectives 】

Luna had spent several days combing through every corner of the Grand Duke’s residence, and now she walked slowly through the garden, her face deep in thought.

She had gone back and forth between the study and her own room countless times over those days, searching with a fine-tooth comb, but aside from the clue she had found on the first day, nothing further had turned up.

The person who had used a magic circle to set fire to Caesar’s study.

That culprit had definitely been inside the Grand Duke’s residence. And they would have to be someone who could approach the study without raising suspicion.

She had made inquiries about the servants one by one, but nothing unusual had come to light, so for now she had no choice but to continue reasoning from the clue she had in hand.

But just the day before, the moment she had tried to go out to find an informant, Caesar’s men had blocked her path.

“My lady is not permitted to leave the estate.”

“Why not?”

“It is His Highness’s order.”

Luna was struck speechless in that instant.

She quickly grew angry and demanded an explanation.

“Then how am I supposed to clear my name? Are you telling me to just sit here and become the culprit without being able to do anything?”

“If there is anything you are curious about or find unusual, you are to discuss it with His Highness. That is the message.”

In the end, what had her by the ankle was Caesar’s suspicion, the label of most likely suspect.

…Was there really any need to go this far?

If the real culprit slipped away because of this… a wave of frustration surged up from deep inside her chest.

And then, out of nowhere, a half-forgotten memory drifted back to her.

The day they had sat across from each other under the pretense of a dinner between the Grand Duke and his wife. She had signed the marriage guidelines he had pushed toward her. And at that time, he had said something like this.

‘Then let me ask the reverse. If it is something you have to do regardless, and it comes with fitting compensation on top of that, is there any particular reason to refuse? Unless, for instance, you are some kind of spy sent by someone.’

Going by what he had said, it was possible that Caesar had not trusted Luna from the very beginning.

The cold composure of a businessman. And beneath that, a distrust that ran even deeper. A man who did not trust people to begin with would have no reason to trust Luna.

She had gone and offered to wipe down the orchid for nothing, and now things had gotten this tangled up. She should have just left well enough alone, instead of sticking her nose in and inviting suspicion.

If she could go back to that moment, she would have turned around without a second thought and gone to sleep. The regret came flooding in, too late to be of any use.

If she truly ended up being pinned as the culprit.

In the worst case, it would not end at a mere divorce. She might be dragged off to the imperial palace on charges of attempting to assassinate the Grand Duke. And not only that, the Marquis’s house would inevitably suffer a devastating blow as well. Not to mention that every plan she had built would fall apart entirely, needless to say.

Luna pressed both hands over her face and slowly dragged them down.

She had thought she had barely managed to clear one mountain, only to find herself face to face with an even larger one right after.

These past few days, her thoughts had been tangled like a ball of thread with no end in sight.

But Luna could not afford to give up here.

This false charge, she had to clear it no matter what.

Just let the truth come out later. She would make sure to get a proper apology.

It was then.

The words Caesar’s man had said suddenly came back to her.

“Right. He said to discuss it with him if I find anything unusual, didn’t he?”

Why had she not thought of that?

The person best suited to make sense of the clue she had found was him.

Something seemed to click, and Luna’s eyes changed.

Without hesitating, she turned and headed somewhere.

* * *

In Caesar’s office, Leonil’s report was well underway.

There was a matter that had been giving Caesar a headache of late.

Baron Eldor, who had borrowed a large sum of business funds from Caesar not long ago.

He had drawn on not only his own money but other people’s money as well, leaving nothing but debts with the trading house, and had abruptly vanished without a trace.

It was not a common occurrence for a nobleman with a solid business to collapse overnight and dispose of his title along with everything else.

Having received urgent word that he was attempting to flee to another country, Caesar had him arrested at Arken Harbor, where he had been spotted.

After having his men press Baron Eldor relentlessly, they uncovered that Count Kalian was behind him.

Count Kalian.

Caesar knew that name well.

He had placed first in the imperial civil service examination, the most difficult selection process in the empire, and had risen to the position of Minister of the Treasury at the youngest age on record.

Despite his youth, his exceptional intellect and swift judgment had naturally made him a name on people’s lips, which was precisely why his appearance in this matter had come as a complete surprise.

Caesar had begun tracking him, and in doing so had uncovered clues connecting him to a shadowy organization.

Not long ago, a report came in that Count Kalian, who had attended the Crown Prince’s banquet, had made a covert contact with an unidentified woman.

Caesar had stepped away briefly in order to catch him in the act.

But by the time he arrived at the scene, it was already too late. They had vanished without a trace, which spoke to just how cautious and elusive the man was.

Leonil spoke to Caesar, who was skimming through documents with a somewhat tired look on his face.

“Circumstances have been identified suggesting that Count Kalian drew on large sums for political funds and under-the-table payments.”

“Evidence?”

“Likely due to the Count’s meticulous nature, we have failed to secure physical evidence. However, we do have a witness in custody.”

Caesar fell briefly into thought, then spoke in an even tone.

“One witness is not enough. Secure several, Baron Eldor included. The more the better. Once preparations are complete, we move immediately.”

“Yes, understood. Your Highness.”

“And the Grand Duchess?”

“She appears to be keeping herself quite busy in her own way, but nothing particularly notable…”

Knock, knock.

Before Leonil could finish, a knock sounded at the door. She had arrived at just that moment.

“It’s me. Adelia.”

Caesar gave a brief nod, and the door opened as she stepped into the office.

“I came because there is something I need to discuss.”

After a brief silence, Caesar instructed Leonil.

“Leave the documents and go.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Leonil carefully set the stack of documents awaiting approval on his desk and quietly withdrew.

The office door closed, and only the two of them remained inside.

Caesar glanced at her briefly with an indifferent look, then dropped his gaze back to the documents without missing a beat and spoke.

“Is the investigation going well?”

“Thanks to you.”

Luna answered his question with a small smile. It was a smile that carried a certain confidence.

“If you came to find me, there must be a reason. What is it?”

“The reason I came is none other than this. I found a very important clue.”

Luna took out the paper she had prepared and carefully unfolded it. She held it out in front of Caesar and spoke.

“Here. It is a mark I found beneath the desk in the study. You said traces of someone having set the fire were found, didn’t you? That was true. Because a magic circle, drawn very faintly, was discovered.”

“That is quite surprising.”

He said it was surprising, but there was something not quite right about Caesar’s manner.

From what she knew, magic was said to be uncommon. She had also heard that there were plenty of people who had never once seen it in their lives. And yet a magic circle of all things had been found right here in the Grand Duke’s residence, and his reaction was only that?

Luna did not understand it, but she pressed on steadily.

“I traced only the faint remaining marks onto this paper. Please look into what it is. You should be able to find out without much difficulty…”

“I already looked into it. That magic circle is an ancient one. In other words, its origin cannot be traced to any specific source.”

“What? Then you already knew and…”

…He was watching to see how I would react.

Luna trailed off mid-sentence, deflated, and snapped her mouth shut.