Chapter 103

Opening the large, heavy door, Aitor was greeted by the boisterous noise of casino patrons.  

The sun was still high in the sky. Yet, the casino was already packed with people. The acrid smell of cigarette smoke, an unidentifiable floral fragrance, curses, and frivolous laughter filled the air, making him frown. However, it was far less suffocating than the place he had just left.  

Standing in a spot overlooking the first-floor casino, Aitor slipped his hands into his pockets and took a slow breath to ease the tightness in his chest.  

But the lingering suffocation remained, and just as he was about to turn to leave the casino—  

“Leaving already?”  

The door he had pushed open moments ago opened again, and Marquis Cloak appeared. Aitor paused for a moment, staring at Marquis Cloak’s youthful face, then turned to leave.  

“You were close to the Crown Prince, weren’t you?”  

Marquis Cloak hastily spoke, as if trying to stop Aitor, who was silently walking past him. Aitor, who was about to descend the stairs, halted and turned around.  

“I also heard that you’re acquainted with the eldest daughter of Duke Dinever, the Crown Prince’s fiancée.”  

When Vivian’s name spilled from Marquis Cloak’s dark lips, Aitor furrowed his brows and stepped closer to him.  

“What are you trying to say?”  

“Ah, so you’re finally willing to talk to me.”  

Marquis Cloak smiled, his eyes crinkling with lines that seemed to mock Aitor.  

Aitor turned his gaze away, roughly running a hand through his hair, then perched on the railing where he had been standing earlier.  

“If you have something to say, say it quickly.”  

Marquis Cloak chuckled at Aitor’s insolent tone and slowly began to walk.  

“The fact that you’re here… does that mean you’ve betrayed the Crown Prince?”  

Aitor didn’t like the word “betrayed” that Marquis Cloak had chosen. But he couldn’t think of a retort.  

“What is life, after all? Lords, vassals—what do they matter? In the end, we all put ourselves first.”  

Standing next to Aitor, Marquis Cloak gazed down at the people indulging in pleasure, a crooked smile on his lips, and continued speaking.  

“Emperor Henry has always been that way. He’s sharp as a blade. Perfect, cold-blooded… Because of that, he’s achieved many things, but those under him always had to remain on edge.”  

“Are you trying to tell me old stories now?”  

Aitor wrinkled one side of his face and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.  

“What kind of person is the Crown Prince in your eyes? The Luideos I know is the spitting image of Emperor Henry.”  

Aitor, who had been staring at the stairs leading to the first floor, turned his head to look at Marquis Cloak. Marquis Cloak burst into laughter, seemingly amused by the icy blue gaze Aitor directed at him.  

“So, are you saying that, like my father, who was abandoned by Emperor Henry, or like you, I’ll also be abandoned by the Crown Prince?”  

“Haha. Is that how it sounded to you?”  

For some reason, Marquis Cloak couldn’t stop laughing.  

“Ah, but you’re mistaken about one thing. I was never one of the Emperor’s people.”  

“And you’re proud of that?”  

“Haha. You’re an amusing person. Your father was the same.”  

Marquis Cloak brushed off Aitor’s sharp words with a laugh and wiggled his fingers behind his back.  

“What I’m trying to say is, don’t trust anyone.”  

Aitor raised one corner of his mouth in a sneer. Marquis Cloak glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, and slowly began to speak.  

“How much do you know about Robert Fame, the leader of Inferna?”  

Aitor straightened from where he was leaning on the railing and looked down at Marquis Cloak.  

Who exactly was this man?

Marquis Cloak had betrayed the Emperor and crossed over to Palterno, seeking refuge with Inferna.  

And yet, here he was, warning Aitor not to trust Inferna’s leader, Robert.  

“I heard Robert Fame personally recruited you. I can imagine the kind of words he used to turn you against the Crown Prince.”  

Meeting Aitor’s gaze head-on, Marquis Cloak briefly glanced at the V.I.P. room door.  

“For now, I’ll say just this: Robert Fame. He’s an Imperial. And not just any Imperial—he was very close to the Imperial Family.”  

Aitor’s brows furrowed deeply.  

“What are you saying right now…?”  

“If you want to hear more, come find me in secret. I’ll tell you about your father, the Emperor, and this man called Robert.”  

Marquis Cloak stepped closer to Aitor, leaning in to whisper near his left ear.  

“I need to have some insurance too, don’t I?”  

With a sly smile, Marquis Cloak slowly backed away and returned to the V.I.P. room. Aitor stared at the tightly shut door for a moment before pulling something from deep within his pocket.  

A peridot earring.  

Aitor stared down at the glittering earring, which looked just like someone’s eyes, then carefully clenched it in his fist.  

***

At the heart of Palterno, the most luxurious hotel closest to the Mage Tower, in its grandest room, stood a large window that seemed to embrace the city.  

From the window, the Mage Tower could be seen up close.  

“For a secret meeting… No matter how dark it is beneath the lamp, isn’t this a bit too extravagant?”  

Lucas whispered to his Master.  

“Perhaps it’s beneath an extravagant lamp.”  

As Lucas and Teresa continued to glance around the room, there was a knock, and the door opened.  

“Father!”  

Vivian ran toward one of the two men who entered, the shorter one, and threw herself into his arms.  

“Vivi.”  

“Father.”  

Vivian buried her face in her father’s chest. It was the same embrace that had held her tightly since she was young. The faint smell of tobacco and mint filled Vivian’s nose.  

“Are you alright?”  

Vivian nodded vigorously. For some reason, she felt like she would burst into tears if she opened her mouth, so she bit her lip and buried her face deeper into her father’s chest.  

“I don’t want to interrupt the reunion of father and daughter, but we have a lot to discuss. Please, take a seat.”  

Louis approached them and spoke.  

Finally lifting her face from her father’s chest, Vivian introduced Lucas and Teresa, who were seated on the sofa.  

“You are…?”  

“A pleasure to meet you, Duke Tereon.”  

Tereon widened his eyes at Teresa, blinking rapidly.  

“Do you know each other?”  

Louis, arms crossed, alternated his gaze between Duke Tereon and Teresa. Lucas and Rayden, who had been standing idly in the back, couldn’t hide their curiosity either.  

“Yes. We fought together as comrades during the war.”  

Vivian wanted to ask how they knew each other, seeing Teresa’s somewhat awkward expression, but that wasn’t important right now.  

“Please, take a seat.”  

Once Rayden, who had quickly checked the windows and rooms, sat on the sofa, Louis began to speak.  

“The Mage Tower Master is dead. It was expected, but I didn’t think it would happen so quickly.”  

At Louis’s words, Rayden nodded.  

“With the Mage Tower Master’s seat vacant, there will be chaos for a while. It won’t last long, but…”  

Teresa glanced at the Mage Tower visible through the window and spoke quietly.  

“On the surface, it seems like the anti-Imperial mages are behind it, but Inferna is likely involved beneath it all.”  

At Lucas’s cautious words, everyone except Teresa turned their gaze to him.  

“Inferna?”  

“Yes… Not just the death of the Mage Tower Master, but everything happening now—they’re likely connected to it.”  

“And what makes you think that?”  

Rayden exchanged a subtle glance with Louis before asking Lucas.  

“While looking into Inferna because of Aitor, I found evidence that they’ve been making deals with the anti-Imperial mages recently.”  

Louis leaned back on the sofa, tapping the armrest with his finger.  

Marquis Cloak had been with Douglas, one of the anti-Imperial mages. Inferna was suspected of dealings with the anti-Imperial faction, and the information Louis had recently gathered about Inferna’s leader flashed through his mind.  

His tapping finger suddenly stopped.  

“Where is Aitor?”  

When Louis asked about Aitor’s whereabouts, Teresa, Lucas, and Vivian exchanged glances.  

“It seems someone broke into the cabin where I was staying with him. Aitor left with Zero, and I escaped from there with Lucas.”

As Vivian explained, Lucas, who had been nodding enthusiastically, quickly added his own explanation.

“He asked me—no, he begged me! He told me to make sure to get the young lady safely back to the Empire. Yes! That’s exactly what he said.”

Teresa sighed as she watched Lucas defending Aitor. She withdrew her arm from the sofa’s backrest and leaned forward.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but Aitor isn’t with us right now. I don’t know what that brat was thinking when he kidnapped the lady, or why he hasn’t shown up in front of us yet. But one thing is certain: he’s with some very dangerous people.”

That d*mn apprentice had kidnapped the Crown Prince’s woman.

Teresa stared at Louis, who was seated at the head of the table. A long time ago, she had seen Emperor Henry from a distance. Louis looked just like him.

The Empire’s only prince. He had come to Palterno to rescue his woman.

Teresa recalled the time when she had taught Aitor at the magic academy, and how he used to blush while talking about the Crown Prince and Lady Dinever. She barely managed to swallow the curse that was about to escape her lips.

She needed to find out what had happened to that foolish apprentice immediately.

“We need to figure out what happened to Aitor. Then Lucas and I can either knock him out and drag him back, or humiliate and punish the people who instigated him.”

As Teresa’s frustration became evident, Louis slowly began to speak. As Louis explained, Teresa’s and Lucas’s expressions grew increasingly grim.

“…So you’re saying that brat kidnapped Lady Dinever and has been running around doing dangerous things because he wants to avenge his father?”

Louis and Duke Tereon remained expressionless, but Rayden nodded in their place.

Teresa muttered a low curse and abruptly stood up.

“M-Master!”

Lucas grabbed Teresa, who was striding toward the hotel room door.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to catch that brat and tan his hide…”

“M-Master!”

Tereon sighed deeply as he watched Teresa, who was dragging Lucas along as she tried to leave.

“That temper of yours hasn’t changed at all.”

At Duke Tereon’s remark, Teresa stopped in her tracks and glared at him, her chest heaving.

“Take a seat first. You don’t even know where he is.”

“Didn’t I tell you before not to act all high and mighty, pretending to be rational?”

“And you still haven’t fixed your habit of losing your temper without thinking. Remember how you failed before even starting a mission because of that?”

Vivian, who had been watching Teresa and Duke Tereon argue, suddenly stood up.

“Stop it! Both of you, stop!”

At Vivian’s shout, both Tereon and Teresa fell silent.

“Let’s calm down first and think about what we can do. Lucas, are you certain that Aitor is with dangerous people?”

Lucas, who was still holding onto Teresa’s arm, nodded.

He explained everything—from the time they had infiltrated Inferna’s base, the key someone had handed over, the time they had entered Room 308 together, and how Aitor had disappeared from there only to later emerge from the casino unharmed. Lucas scratched the back of his head as he finished.

“I don’t know who attacked the cabin earlier, but now that I think about it, they might have been from Inferna. It seemed like Aitor didn’t want those people to find the young lady.”

As Lucas spoke, Louis, who had been deep in thought, got up and approached the large window. The sun was setting beneath a cloudless sky. The Mage Tower, silhouetted against the sun, looked even darker.

Night was approaching.

Louis, his golden eyes deepening, stared at the Mage Tower and the landscape of Palterno before turning to Lucas.

“Where is the casino that serves as Inferna’s base?”