“Have you ever seen someone who looks like this?”

Colonel Medenta showed a photo to passing villagers and asked.

“The Lepri factory manager? That guy doesn’t live in this village.”

“Not only does he not live here, but it’s been a while since anyone’s seen his face.”

The villagers replied.

Diana, Colonel Medenta, and Ian once again had to turn back empty-handed. They spent more than half a day searching the village, but still found no clues about the factory manager’s whereabouts.

“It seems there’s a limit to what we can find out just by asking around the village. Please tell Her Highness that, Colonel.”

“…Lord Ian says there’s a limit to what we can find out just by asking around the village, Your Highness.”

“Then does he have a better idea for how to get information? Please ask, Colonel Medi.”

“…Her Highness asks if you have a better idea, Lord Ian.”

“Of course not. How could I possibly know? As Her Highness said, I’m just a fool who knows nothing, aren’t I? Please relay that, Colonel.”

“Lord Ian…”

“When did I ever say that? Please tell him that, Colonel Medi.”

“Her Highness…”

“You definitely said so last night. You told me not to speak when I don’t know what I’m talking about. Please relay that, Colonel.”

“Lord Ian…”

“Ha! I wondered why you bothered to follow me instead of staying at the inn. Was it just to pick a fight? If that’s the case, just go back. I’m tired of arguing! Please relay that, Colonel Medi!”

“I…”

“Do you think I came here just to babysit? Well, there’s not much difference between watching over that brat and assisting Your Highness. Please relay that, Colonel!”

“…”

“What? Are you saying I’m a child? Colonel Medi, you heard that, right? Tell him I’ll fire him as my aide immediately, Me—!”

“Oh, honestly, you two!”

Colonel Medenta finally shouted from between them, unable to take it any longer.

“Why are you both doing this to me? If you’re going to fight like this, there’s no reason for me to be stuck in the middle! Please, just leave me out of it and fight among yourselves!”

Medenta seemed exhausted from trying to mediate between the two who were bickering like children.

“You keep asking me to pass messages back and forth, but in the end, it’s all the same! Hmph, tell Her Highness I’m sulking, Colonel! No, tell Lord Ian that he’s the one upsetting me, Colonel Medi! What?! Why doesn’t Her Highness understand how I feel? Tell her I’m so hurt, Colonel! That can’t be…! No, it’s Lord Ian who understands me even less, Colonel Mediii…!”

Medenta added dramatic gestures and voices to her impersonation of the two.

“Stuck in the middle, Medi Bliven is just too exhausted…! Do you understand? You don’t even care about me, so please stop calling on me, both of you!”

“…”

At a loss for words, the two looked away awkwardly, but accidentally met each other’s eyes. The moment their eyes met, they glared at each other, then huffed childishly and turned their heads away.

“Ugh… Are you two really going to keep this up?”

Medenta let out a deep sigh. She was about to try to coax them with another complaint when—

“…?”

Diana’s sharp intuition kicked in again.

She felt someone’s gaze and turned her head. Sure enough, someone who had been watching them from an alley quickly started to run away.

“…Colonel Medi.”

Sensing something suspicious, Diana called Medenta.

“I’m telling you! Both of you, stop your lover’s quarrel! We need to hurry and resolve this situation—!”

“Colonel Medenta!”

“Y-yes?”

Diana caught her attention and put her finger to her lips, signaling for silence.

“Let’s quietly follow.”

Medenta and Ian’s eyes followed her pointing finger toward the alley.

“Where did he go? He was just here.”

They chased the man in the black hood to the end of the alley, but when he was nowhere to be seen, the colonel looked flustered.

“Over there!”

Diana shouted.

Somehow, the man was already running off in the other direction.

“Doesn’t his back seem a bit familiar?”

“That’s what I thought too…”

Diana and Ian spoke as they chased after the man.

“…”

Realizing they were talking to each other directly, they both fell silent and glared. Medenta wrapped up the awkward moment.

“What are you two doing? Hurry over here!”

A moment later, Ian, panting, looked around.

“Where did he go? How can a guy that bulky move so fast?”

The alleys were so narrow and winding that it was easy to lose someone.

“He must know this area well. Colonel, it seems we’ve lost him, so please tell Her Highness we should block off all exits from this alley.”

But there was no reply.

“Colonel?”

Ian wondered if Medenta had given up on them entirely, but when he turned around, neither Medenta nor anyone else was there.

“What the… Where did everyone go?”

Ian, flustered, started searching the alleys again.

“Ahem… Your Highness! Princess Diana! Where are you?”

But he couldn’t even hear Diana’s breathing.

The alleyways were as narrow as an anthill, branching off in every direction.

“I told you to stay by my side. A princess who needs so much looking after, getting lost like this…”

He was clearly the one who had gotten separated, but he sighed as if he now had to go find the lost Diana.

Just then—

Whoosh!

Ian sensed something flying at the back of his head and barely managed to dodge. It was a well-sharpened blade.

“…!”

Ian finally realized it was a trap.

“…They were after me.”

An assassin.

“Was I lured here? Is that guy from before working with this one?”

But the hidden assassin didn’t answer, instead leaping out and swinging a knife at Ian. Dodging the blade, Ian watched his movements closely.

He has a gun. Why isn’t he drawing it?

The assassin didn’t seem interested in pulling out the gun at his waist. Maybe he wanted to finish this quietly, or was just trying to threaten him.

‘If that’s the case, he’s much easier than the assassin I met in Kesher village in Kargen.’

Ian reached for his own revolver behind his back.

“Huh?”

Just then, he tripped on something. As he stumbled, the assassin lunged at him.

“Argh!”

But in the next moment, it wasn’t Ian who was writhing in pain, but the assassin, who’d been struck on the temple.

“It’s a trap, you idiot.”

Ian grinned, having struck the assassin’s temple with the b*tt of his revolver, then tripped him.

“Let’s see that stupid face of yours.”

He tried to rip off the cloth covering the man’s face, but the assassin managed to slip away and darted off in an instant.

“He’s really good at running away…!”

But this time, Ian wouldn’t let him escape.

He already had a good idea of the organization that kept sending assassins after him, but needed confirmation.

Now that a fool had walked right into his hands, if he followed him, he might get a clue.

“Ha. Too bad for you, you’ve got nowhere left to run.”

The assassin, having run into a dead end by mistake, looked panicked as Ian blocked the exit.

“P-please, spare me!”

“Why should I?”

The way Ian grinned, he almost looked more like the villain.

But at that moment—

“Oh, there he is, Your Highness! It’s Lord Ian!”

Colonel Medenta’s voice rang out behind him.

Ian’s concentration broke for a split second. The assassin didn’t miss the chance, scrambling up the wall to escape.

“Knew he’d get away…!”

Ian grabbed the assassin’s ankle, but couldn’t overpower his desperate struggle.

Rip—!

The cloth around the ankle tore in Ian’s grip, and the assassin escaped.

“Lord Ian!”

Medenta came running up.

“Ahem, are you… are you alright?”

Diana, who’d followed, also looked at him awkwardly.

“…Lord Ian?”

When Ian didn’t answer, Diana looked at him with concern.

“…Yes. I’m fine.”

Ian replied, crumpling the cloth in his hand.

“Did you catch the suspicious person, Colonel?”

“No. I took a wrong turn and ended up getting Her Highness lost too… I’m sorry.”

The colonel replied.

“He knows these streets well. Otherwise, there’s no way someone that big could have shaken off all three of us.”

Ian turned to leave the alley. Because of that, Diana and Medenta didn’t see the dark look on his face.

His grip tightened.

“I’ve seen that somewhere before.”

The mark on the assassin’s ankle.

A design that looked like a swallow—it wasn’t unfamiliar.

“So it wasn’t Duke Promes who’s been sending the assassins?”

‘But the ones who tried to kill me in Kesher were definitely sent by him in retaliation for the railroad opening ceremony attack.’

“Seems like more people want me dead than I thought.”

But Ian just scoffed at them all.

“Let’s go, Lord Ian!”

Medenta and Diana hurried to catch up with Ian, who was walking away quickly and silently.

“…Huh?”

Soon, Diana’s startled voice rang out.

They say the darkest place is under the lamp.

As soon as they emerged from the alley, there he was—the suspicious man. He was talking to someone, hidden by the corner, so they couldn’t see the other person. The bulky man fidgeted uncomfortably in his tight clothes, and in the process, his hood fell off.

And to their shock—

The man was someone all three of them knew.