Chapter 105

The three people who arrived at the last room on the right of the third floor, as Aitor had informed them, looked at Teresa with uneasy gazes as she still couldn’t contain her anger.  

“That temper of hers just doesn’t die with time.”  

Duke Tereon clenched his teeth and mumbled, but Teresa seemed too focused on glaring at the door to hear him.  

“Should we just go in?”  

Rayden asked the Duke and the Crown Prince as he took his eyes off Teresa.  

“We can go right in. I don’t sense anything inside.”  

It was Teresa who answered instead of the Duke or Louis. Without waiting further, she pushed Rayden aside and grabbed the doorknob.  

“Wait a moment!”  

Teresa was faster. She grabbed the knob, turned it, and flung the door open.  

“You brat! Aitor!”  

Shouting his name in a booming voice, Teresa stormed inside. Surprised by her sudden action, the three men hurriedly followed her.  

“Huh?”  

But the room was empty. Teresa placed her hands on her waist and looked around, while Rayden stepped out to confirm if this was indeed the last room on the right.  

“Are you sure this is the place?”  

Louis asked, narrowing his brows. Rayden double-checked the hallway again.  

“This is definitely it…”  

Rayden, now back in the room, scratched his upper lip with a nervous expression. Duke Tereon took off his cumbersome mask and opened the curtains to check outside.  

At that moment, they heard a soft *click*, followed by the sound of the door closing.  

“You brat!”  

Throwing the mask in his hand, Teresa strode forward and grabbed Aitor by the ear.  

“Ow! Ow! It hurts, Master! Ow!”  

With Aitor’s sudden appearance, the tense atmosphere among the three men instantly shifted into silence.  

“Is this what I taught you, huh? Is it?”  

Teresa clenched her teeth and pulled at Aitor’s reddening ear. Aitor, now holding his burning ear with both hands, looked to the three men for help.  

Rayden, who had been standing frozen, hesitantly stepped forward to stop Teresa, and only then did she let go of Aitor.  

“You should’ve left Master behind…”  

Aitor muttered as he checked if his ear was still attached. Hearing this, Teresa’s anger flared again, and she moved to strike him once more.  

“Is this what I taught you? I fed you, clothed you, and raised you… and you resort to kidnapping? Kidnapping!”  

Rayden, who had been holding Teresa back, finally lifted her off the ground entirely. Even as she kicked her legs in the air, Teresa continued scolding Aitor.  

“Enough. I think talking is more important than scolding right now.”  

At Duke Tereon’s words, Teresa finally calmed down, ran her hand roughly through her hair, and stepped back.  

“I apologize.”  

A heavy silence followed, broken only by Aitor’s voice, which cut through the tension. Bowing deeply, Aitor apologized to Louis and Duke Tereon. Teresa turned her back on him.  

“Raise your head, Aitor. Right now, I want to hear your story more than I want an apology.”  

Aitor slowly straightened up. Avoiding eye contact, he kept his gaze fixed on the floor. Watching this, Rayden seemed to understand why Teresa had turned her back on Aitor.  

If he was going to regret it so much, if he was going to feel so sorry, what on earth had he been thinking when he kidnapped the lady?  

Scrrrape.  

The sound of a chair being dragged across the floor filled the room. Louis pulled a chair over and sat down, facing Aitor.  

It was as if he was saying, ‘Go ahead and speak. I’m ready to listen.’  

Seeing Louis seated, Aitor slowly began to speak.  

“The day I first came here with Lucas, I met Tristan. He was a mage affiliated with Inferna. The first time I kidnapped Vivian, it was out of personal greed. The second time I met him here, it was under the orders of Inferna’s leader.”  

Aitor’s story began.  

“Robert Fame, the leader of Inferna, told me a few things. Why my father was pursued by other mages, why he couldn’t escape their pursuit, and why he had no choice but to turn to His Majesty the Emperor.”  

Teresa, who had been facing the wall, turned her head to look at Aitor.  

Clenching his fists as if trying to suppress something, Aitor looked deeply unsettled. He seemed like someone standing on the edge of a cliff, battered by a storm, with nowhere safe to go and no intention of seeking safety.  

Fifteen years ago, between Palterno and the Empire, a rebellion broke out in the Kingdom, disrupting the supply of magic stones.  

At that time, the Empire used the opportunity to tighten its grip on the Mage Tower.  

With the disruption in the supply of magic stones, the Mage Tower wavered significantly, and the incident created a deep rift between anti-Imperial and pro-Empire mages.  

After the long conflict between the anti-Imperial and pro-Empire mages, they eventually agreed to a temporary peace. However, they needed someone to take nominal responsibility for the situation.  

That person was Aitor’s father, Caspian Turner.  

One day, while hiding with young Aitor in a small northern village of the Empire after fleeing Palterno, Caspian was discovered by mages. Unable to abandon his son and run, Caspian sought help from the Emperor. But the response he received was a cold rejection.  

“This is the letter Tristan had in his possession.”  

Aitor handed over a letter, which Rayden accepted. After reading it for a moment, Rayden passed it to Louis.  

It was an imperial decree bearing the lark emblem.  

[Do you remember the words spoken at the Quiet Tree? Never forget that you should not expect anything from me, just as I should not expect anything from you.]

The handwriting was unmistakably the Emperor’s.  

What the “words spoken at the Quiet Tree” referred to was unknown. One of the people involved in the conversation was no longer alive, and the other sat deep in the heart of the Empire, in the highest place.

“So, what are you planning to do with the Inferna people?”  

Louis carefully folded the Emperor’s decree and asked.  

“Robert Fame said he had something to claim from the Emperor. He extended his hand to me, asking me to join him in claiming it.”  

“And what is it that you want to claim from His Highness the Emperor?”  

Louis immediately followed up.  

“The truth and an apology.”  

Aitor lifted his head and met Louis’s deep golden eyes.  

“My father did his best for the Empire’s Imperial Family. He was treated as a thorn in the side by anti-Imperial mages and was the first to be chosen as a scapegoat by his supposed allies, the pro-Empire mages. And yet, what was the result?”  

Louis carefully placed the folded decree back into the old envelope marked with the lark emblem. Standing up, he approached Aitor and handed him the envelope.  

“If you had something to claim from the Emperor, you should have come to me instead of kidnapping Vivian. You should have spoken with me first.”  

Aitor, who had been reaching out to take the envelope, froze mid-motion.  

“No, I must have been mistaken. It’s not your fault; it’s mine for not giving you enough trust.”  

Louis let out a bitter laugh. He placed the envelope into Aitor’s frozen hand and slowly turned away.  

“By now, Vivian must have passed through the gate.”  

Louis, taking out a small pocket watch from his pocket, checked the time while gripping the back of the chair and gazing at the curtained window.  

When Vivian’s name came out of Louis’ mouth, Aitor’s eyes briefly widened, but he quickly masked his expression.  

The endless, tedious party had prompted him to step out of the casino for a moment. Outside the casino, Palterno was in turmoil due to the sudden death of the Mage Tower’s leader.  

As Aitor walked through the night streets, he couldn’t help but admit that Marquis Cloak’s words were true.  

Trust no one.  

He repeated those words to himself, chewing on them and engraving them in his mind.  

After wandering outside for a long time, Aitor returned to the casino and couldn’t believe his eyes.  

When he turned his head toward where people’s attention was focused, he saw four extremely suspicious individuals and quickly rushed to the V.I.P. room.  

The party, which had started in the morning, showed no signs of ending, and most of the attendees were intoxicated by alcohol and success, completely losing their senses.  

Fortunately, it seemed no one had noticed that the Crown Prince was present in such a ridiculous state.  

Aitor had resolved moments earlier to trust no one, but when he saw Master Teresa, Louis, and Rayden appear, he instinctively removed them from the sight of Inferna and the anti-Imperial mages.  

After meticulously assessing the situation in the V.I.P. room and monitoring the movements of the spies Inferna had assigned to him, Aitor headed toward the last room on the third floor, realizing something.  

It was clear why Marquis Cloak’s words had felt so abrasive and failed to fully settle in his ears. Aitor had wanted to believe.  

He had wanted to trust Louis and follow him. He had wanted to laugh and spend time with them as he had in the past.  

But instead, he had vented his anger on innocent people. His rage toward the Emperor and the mages who had abandoned his father had been directed at those who had opened their hearts to him without reservation.  

With every step he took up the stairs, he felt like collapsing in tears.  

He was terrified that Louis and Vivian would not accept him again, that they would not smile at him again.  

“Aitor. Let’s go to the Empire together.”  

Lost in thought, Aitor lifted his head sharply at Louis’ proposal.  

“Let’s go to the Empire together and claim what you want from His Majesty the Emperor.”  

“…Your Highness.”  

Aitor wasn’t the only one surprised by Louis’ suggestion. Teresa, who had been watching her disciple with pity, also widened her eyes and looked at the Crown Prince.  

“But… I…”  

Faced with Louis’ resolute expression, Aitor furrowed his brows and lowered his head.  

“I kidnapped Vivian, leaving you behind, Your Highness, who was unwell.”  

“Are you trying to say you betrayed me?”  

“….”  

At Louis’ question, Aitor opened his mouth to speak but then closed it tightly. His throat bobbed as if he were swallowing something.  

“Didn’t I already say? That it was my fault for not giving you enough trust… That doesn’t erase your wrongdoing, but my fault exists as well. For that reason, I want to give you another chance. Not as your lord, but as your friend… as your friend, I’m offering you this chance.”  

Aitor lowered his head even further.  

He raised his hand and pressed his palm against his eyes before collapsing to his knees on the floor.  

Teresa approached her disciple quietly. She patted Aitor’s trembling shoulders gently.  

“Anyone can make a mistake. What’s important is to realize it quickly, repent for it, and make sure not to repeat that mistake again. That’s all there is to it.”  

Even at Teresa’s words, Aitor couldn’t lift his head for a long time.  

In the farthest room on the right side of the third floor of the casino, only the distant, chaotic noise of the casino filled the silence.  

No one could easily break the heavy stillness, leaving themselves to the quiet.  

Knock, knock, knock.  

Someone knocked on the door.  

Aitor, who had been staring at the floor for a long time, lifted his reddened eyes to look at the door. Teresa glanced at him as if asking whether he knew who it was, but Aitor shook his head slightly.  

The heavy atmosppere instantly turned sharp.  

Teresa pulled out an offensive magic tool from her pocket. Duke Tereon, Rayden, and Louis quickly drew their swords and fixed their eyes on the door.  

“Who…?”  

Aitor asked. But no voice answered.  

Knock, knock, knock. 

The knocking continued in place of a reply.  

Aitor stood up and slowly approached the door, asking again.  

“Who is it?”  

Still, there was no answer. Before opening the door, Aitor turned his head to look at Louis and the others. When Rayden nodded, Aitor unlocked the door and slowly opened it.  

“Aitor…”  

Through the slightly opened door, Lucas’ violet eyes, filled with unease and regret, came into view.