“Hunt down everyone connected to the Second Prince. Make them talk even if you have to t*rture them. Seal the borders and strengthen the capital’s checkpoints!”

Achilleon ground his teeth. Red veins bulged in his eyes, strained with tension.

Tracking down the missing Antor was simple enough. But…

“What about Margharita? Haven’t you found her whereabouts yet?”

The shocking news that Rainan had been found unconscious and Margharita had disappeared left him unable to remain calm.

He didn’t believe a single word of what Antor had spat out like a curse. Not until he heard from Hari’s own lips that she had betrayed him.

Four days had passed since Antor disappeared. In what seemed like a coordinated coincidence, Hari had vanished at the same time, and despite thorough investigations of checkpoint officials everywhere, there were no reports of finding either of them.

“That woman must have fled with Prince Antor.”

The commander-in-chief spoke firmly, but Achilleon remained unmoved.

“I need to find her and confirm something directly.”

What filled Achilleon’s eyes was deep anger.

You want to find that woman and punish her. The watching commander-in-chief understood. He wasn’t the type to go easy on traitors. Above all, the commander-in-chief didn’t want his lord to be shaken by a slave-born mistress brought from a defeated nation.

“How is Mother’s condition?”

“Her Majesty the Queen is gradually recovering her strength. She has nightmares at night from the shock of being imprisoned in the tower. However, Your Highness.”

The commander-in-chief hesitated before speaking carefully.

“The throne is empty. People are extremely anxious. Though the situation isn’t stable, wouldn’t it be better to hold the coronation ceremony as soon as possible and ascend to the throne?”

He agreed with those words. The Queen who heard the King’s last words, the empty throne, the missing Antor. The coronation would proceed without problems. But…

“Mother is still unwell, and isn’t the position of High Priest vacant for conducting the coronation? Submit suitable candidates.”

The High Priest was currently confined to a separate room for the crime of privately using the temple’s inspection team to help the Second Prince. He would soon face trial. But right now he was the High Priest, and things like coronations didn’t even enter his mind.

“Don’t even mention the coronation until we find Margharita.”

Achilleon roughly grabbed the robe hanging on his chair. The commander-in-chief flinched as he watched him strap on his sword sheath.

“I’ll find that woman myself.”

“I’ll follow you.”

“Stay here. Rainan, you come with me.”

Rainan, who had been knocked unconscious by Hari, couldn’t even lift his head.

‘I’m sure she said something right before.’

Sorry… was that what she said? He must have heard wrong. Why would someone betraying and trying to escape say such a thing… he thought, but if it was guilt, that might be possible.

Rainan kept his mouth shut, feeling unsettled for no reason. Margharita had indeed betrayed His Highness the Third Prince.

However, Rainan couldn’t bring himself to tell the detailed circumstances, the fact that he had been stabbed with a sleeping poison. If he said ‘Margharita stabbed me and ran away’… he was afraid of what reaction would come back.

Rainan, who had observed Achilleon for a long time, knew he would be deeply hurt. Even now he seemed to be calmly leading the situation, but in reality his insides were on the verge of turning upside down.

If the betrayal was confirmed beyond doubt, even Achilleon, who had looked fondly upon Hari, might become extremely angry.

Was it because of Hari’s last words? It might have been a hallucination, but that single word of apology kept circling in his head, so Rainan hoped Hari wouldn’t face Achilleon’s wrath.

“That woman could never escape alone. Someone from inside must have helped her.”

“Wouldn’t it be the Second Prince?”

“There could be accomplices. Someone who was close to Margharita… Bring her maids Iliya and Yulessei, and the priest Doris from the Holy Shrine.”

* * *

“You brat, didn’t you hear your father tell you to pack your bags in advance?”

Selina, who was sprawled on the sofa, frowned and covered her ears. The Karnos family had once enjoyed enormous wealth.

After the bomb exploded once due to illegal trading, the family staggered from paying enormous compensation to society, but it wasn’t irreparable. However, now money wasn’t the issue.

Immigration. Immigration was the answer.

Karnos muttered as he hurriedly gathered bundles of cash.

‘I shouldn’t have gotten involved with that bastard Antor!’

The High Priest was imprisoned in the tower. The nobles who had backed Antor were being dragged to the judgment seat, and Antor had fled. He had vanished without a trace. Karnos trembled as he swept valuables into a large leather bag.

He planned to secretly slip across the border and temporarily take refuge with relatives abroad.

“Selina, you thunderbolt of a girl! Can’t you get up right now?”

Duke Karnos glared at his only daughter who was lounging around ignoring his nagging. He had to take care of that thing because it was his only blood!

“Father, this is our home, so where are you saying we should go? I don’t want to. I won’t go. I won’t.”

“Do you want to die? If we stay here, the Third Prince will drag us out!”

His daughter, who had once lived soaked in drugs, now had candy in her mouth instead. Still leisurely crossing her legs, only the annoying sound of sucking candy could be heard.

“Look over there. It seems like crossing the border will be difficult.”

Karnos looked in the direction Selina gestured. Through the window half-covered by thick curtains, soldiers searching the capital’s streets were visible.

“Who do you think they’re looking for? Do you know, Father?”

“I’ve bribed the guards at the northern checkpoint. They said they’d secretly clear a path at night depending on the situation. Selina, you brat. We have to leave within a week. We absolutely must escape before the King’s coronation. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Are they going around catching Antor? He’s been gone for quite a while, so by now he’s probably crossed the border and then some.”

Selina said something irrelevant as she sat up. Karnos anxiously looked at his daughter’s hunched back. Achilleon would become king. ‘That woman,’ Hari, was Achilleon’s cherished mistress, and the woman his daughter had tormented. Then…

“……”

Karnos seriously considered whether he should cut ties with his own daughter. The marriage arrangement had already fallen through anyway, and if he passed on the family headship, she would ruin the household.

“What are you doing?”

Karnos, holding his forehead, was startled by Selina’s sudden action.

“Hey there!”

Selina had leaned out the wide-open window and called to the soldiers.

* * *

“Pregnant?”

At the absurd words, Antor furrowed his brow. The doctor who had examined the bottle of Hari’s blood nodded ambiguously.

“The symptoms are still at a minimal level, and the reagent changes aren’t clear, so I can’t be 100% certain, but pregnancy is highly likely.”

It was shocking no matter how many times he heard it.

“By any chance, the father would be…”

Whose child is it? The answer was obvious. Antor looked at sleeping Hari’s belly with narrowed eyes. Inside there, with Achilleon…

He knew those two had been together, but it felt like receiving confirmation. Antor, whose mood was twisted like paper, blurted out after thinking.

“It’s my child.”

The doctor’s mouth fell open. The doctor, who had once worked in the court, knew the woman was Achilleon’s mistress.

“So take responsibility and care for her.”

Antor spoke carelessly and sent the doctor away. He crossed his arms and glared at sleeping Hari.

Achilleon’s child. He wanted to immediately remove and kill what was in her belly, but his cold reason stopped him. If it was those two people’s child, it would definitely be born with divine power.

The last remaining descendant of Igrito and a prophet. The other half was blood of the Hitais royal family. He had already finished all his calculations.

Because of the variable called divine power, he thought he would helplessly have the throne stolen by Achilleon, but perhaps he could reverse the situation with this child?

He would become the adoptive father. Maybe Hari’s child could even hear prophecies. Antor irritably threw the crumpled letters on his desk into the fireplace.

The situation was very bad. At the royal castle, the High Priest had been brought to trial. Antor’s close nobles including Karnos were also under investigation, so there were no allies anywhere to secretly extend a helping hand.

He had to ask neighboring countries for help even if it meant promising to give half of what he owned. Antor secretly diverted private soldiers to send requests for support to adjacent countries, but what came back was rejection, rejection, rejection.

They were all cowards afraid of Achilleon’s retaliation.

This was troublesome. He was becoming increasingly isolated.