“Baron Clark has dark intentions toward you. It’s at the level of obsession.”

“Kek—”

I choked briefly on my tea at Martha’s blunt statement.

‘Fortunately, I didn’t bring Arkle.’

I was now in Martha’s office, listening to the information she had obtained from Baron.

I had braced myself, wondering if there would be information confirming that he was K, but her first words were already intense.

“And as you suggested, I used his seal to request information from the imperial palace about the mage who cursed Kelston. I’ve also bribed Clark’s proxy who will retrieve the documents. Once permission is granted, we’ll receive them immediately.”

“That’s great! You must feel unburdened being able to handle everything at once.”

However, she didn’t look particularly unburdened.

Martha was frowning with her chin resting on one hand. She muttered as if talking to herself.

“A holy knight? Ha, how ridiculous…. A man who covets another man’s wife is hardly worthy.”

‘Is she annoyed because Baron has feelings for me?’

“Calm down, Martha. As you said, I’m already married to Arkle anyway. Well, strictly speaking, it’s a contract, but…..”

“Yes, that’s exactly my point!”

Martha slammed her hand on the desk.

She seems bothered that the contract between Arkle and me might not be faithfully fulfilled.

‘I should tell her that the contract won’t be affected at all.’

But before I could speak, unexpected words came out of Martha’s mouth.

“Why do so many people still call you Allenheim?”

“Pardon?”

I blinked blankly.

“At the banquet, and this knight too… Is ‘Lize Cayenne’ so difficult to remember? I think it’s easier than ‘Lize Allenheim’.”

“Uh… well, that’s true.”

Not knowing how to respond, I just laughed awkwardly and nodded.

Martha looked at my face as if somewhat dissatisfied, then spoke.

“Which do you prefer?”

“What?”

“Lize Cayenne or Lize Allenheim, which name do you like better?”

Martha cleared her throat and twirled a strand of her side hair with her finger as if trying to act casual.

“I’m sorry for asking such an unproductive question. I’m just asking, so don’t feel pressured.”

“Haha, when you look at me with those eyes while telling me not to feel pressured….”

“Ahem— Cayenne or Allenheim, which do you prefer?”

The question had clearly been about my name just a moment ago, but somehow it had changed.

‘She’s asking which I prefer between Cayenne and Allenheim?’

Martha smiled and urged me once more.

“Don’t worry about it, just speak freely.”

The atmosphere was not at all conducive to speaking freely.

‘Why did such a childish question from her, not from Arkle or Naran… Ah, siblings.’

It felt like I had just remembered an important fact I’d been forgetting.

‘I thought Martha was different from those two… Haha.’

Blood really doesn’t lie, it seems.

“Martha, what matters is that my name is Lize Cayenne anyway. It doesn’t matter which one I prefer….”

Martha raised one eyebrow and was about to speak when I continued with a bright smile.

“—That’s what I’d say if I thought it would work, right? Hehe. Of course it’s Cayenne! I love living here. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to stay in this family for a very long time….”

It was quite an obvious attempt to curry favor, but Martha’s expression became satisfied.

“Is that so? Ahem, it’s the answer I expected, but still, I see.”

Martha cleared her throat, and the corner of her mouth twitched. The expression seemed familiar, and I realized it was the same face she made when I flattered her under the guise of ‘objective evaluation.’

‘It’s been a while….’

Martha kept her gaze lowered and her mouth solemnly closed. She probably thought she wasn’t showing any reaction, but the corners of her mouth were already raised high.

‘At times like this, she’s the most transparent of the three siblings.’

Though Martha herself seemed unaware of it.

For the sake of her usual image, I decided to pretend not to notice.

“So, was there no other reason why Baron tried to kidnap me?”

“No. There was no other reason.”

I hummed and stroked my chin.

‘Then, it really was because of me?’

If Baron Clark was indeed the final villain K who hadn’t been revealed in the original story, this would explain his motive.

I quietly looked at Martha sitting before me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Martha took off her glasses and looked back at me, noticing my gaze.

“You look like you have something to say.”

“Martha…. Please look at this.”

I took K’s letter from my pocket and handed it to her.

After much consideration, this seemed like the right time to show it.

“This is a letter that came to my brother when I disappeared. As you can see, the sender is anonymous, and it says they want to help find me.”

“I see…. Indeed.”

Martha read through the letter calmly, her gaze fixed on it.

“Actually, I found the letter suspicious, so I deliberately published a reply in the newspaper. And the place I arranged to meet that person was the temple that day.”

“……”

“The person who showed up was Baron Clark. In other words, he….”

“Was plotting something, you mean.”

Martha nodded and continued my thought.

Although I didn’t go so far as to mention the original plot where he secretly helped Jean Allenheim infiltrate to destroy Cayenne, it was enough to convince Martha.

“And it seems I was his motive.”

“It appears so.”

“Then, did you find out why Baron is so obsessed with me?”

“He said he was… saved by you.”

Martha said with a sour expression.

“Pardon?”

This was something I had heard directly from Baron before.

Martha handed me a document from her desk. It contained Baron’s personal information.

“According to our investigation, that fellow seems to have grown up as a temple worker without parents.”

“I see.”

I slowly read through Baron’s life as written in the document. Even at a glance, it didn’t seem very smooth.

Then, there was a passage that caught my eye.

“He was imprisoned for theft when he was young?”

“That’s right. It was even a repeat offense.”

“What he stole was… donation money that Allenheim had contributed to the temple.”

“Thanks to Allenheim’s leniency, he was able to get out of prison. And the person who showed him that leniency was….”

“Me… I suppose.”

“He knew that too. Who had saved him. He confessed everything while conversing with me.”

I doubted they actually had a conversation, but….. that wasn’t important right now.

Seeing my confused reaction, Martha observed my expression and said.

“It was so long ago that you probably don’t remember well either. It’s understandable if it feels like you’re hearing this for the first time.”

Because it really was the first time I was hearing this.

‘Baron didn’t even appear in the original story, so there’s no way this story would have been covered….’

To think there was such a connection between Lize Allenheim and Baron Clark.

Then, after Baron got out of prison thanks to Lize back then, has he been loving her alone all this time…?

“What an extraordinary person….”

“Extraordinarily creepy.”

Martha said decisively.

“But now there’s nothing to worry about. That man won’t be causing trouble for a while.”

Martha calmly cleaned her glasses.

She was right. Baron was now imprisoned, so he wouldn’t be able to carry out the same plot as in the original story.

But….

‘Is this really enough?’

The motive had been revealed, and all circumstances strongly suggested that Baron was K, but for some reason, I didn’t feel like the matter had been clearly resolved.

“You don’t look relieved.”

Martha noticed my expression and rested her chin on one hand as she looked at me.

“You still have concerns, I see?”

“Haha, there’s no immediate problem, but strangely, I can’t seem to feel at ease.”

“I understand that feeling well…. It’s because you’ve been living without a moment to relax all this time.”

Now that I heard it, that was true.

The days I’d spent here had been a continuous series of events without rest.

‘There were many enjoyable moments in between so I didn’t feel it was difficult, but now that I think about it, I really have been running non-stop….’

But with the original story’s greatest workaholic sitting right in front of me, I couldn’t complain too much.

“Oh, I’m fine! It’s nothing compared to you, Martha.”

“That’s true.”

Martha agreed immediately and smiled with a “puh.”

“But that’s because I’m used to this lifestyle… If you try to keep up all at once, you’ll get hurt.”

“Hmm, when you put it that way, that makes sense too.”

“So why don’t you take some time to clear your head? We need a second production for the Cayenne Theater soon anyway.”

“Martha, are you saying….”

“I’d like you to visit Kelston. I’ll provide all the support you need to create your work.”

I never expected the opportunity to make a follow-up film would come so quickly…! And this time, I could make it with substantial capital investment.

‘Is this how artists feel when they start with a low budget and succeed….’

Filled with a rising sense of fulfillment, I clenched both fists tightly.

“And the Chalice of Valera that’s supposed to be there…. I’d like you to oversee the search for it. I’m sorry for assigning you two tasks at once after telling you to rest. Is it too much pressure?”

“Well, since I’m going anyway, I’ll take care of both at once! I was worried about entrusting it to someone else, so this works out well.”

When I spoke with a bold laugh, Martha smiled with a “huhu.”

“Thank you. Then, depart when you’re ready. As I said, I’ll provide all the support you need. No matter the cost.”

“Yes, Martha…!”

My heart was still pounding even after leaving the office.

Although I suddenly had two tasks to handle, excitement took precedence.

‘Now, the biggest issue is this.’

What genre should the new movie be?

‘I need to draft a plan to allocate the budget before departing for Kelston….’

Since I’m receiving substantial financial support, should I make a blockbuster with heavy investment? Or a safe sequel to 〈In Search of the Holy Grail〉?

‘Or….’

An adult film filled with my personal preferences?

‘In that case, the protagonist would naturally be….’

Deeply immersed in my imagination as I walked, I ended up bumping into someone.