Using Karen as bait to catch Cedine, and then using Cedine as bait to subdue Ivlik. Cedine nodded slowly.

“And he wouldn’t allow any of us three an easy death with just one bullet.”

“He’s stupid.”

Ivlik cut in.

“In my past life, I imprisoned and tortured him for 38 hours, regardless of whether I lived or died. If by any chance an outside force had invaded the Duke’s residence in the meantime, I would have killed them all and just died myself. But not Crotsfield. He probably thinks he’ll live happily alone even after killing the three of us after long, long torture.”

Arrogant and stupid. That was Ivlik’s assessment of the Duke. He said it was a plan that should be reconsidered even more, given that he and Lieutenant Liere were soldiers with experience of being captured by the enemy for tactical reasons and escaping alone.

“He probably… reconsidered?”

Cedine replied blankly.

“He reconsidered, but still couldn’t give it up.”

That’s how human beings are. Because they want the other person’s pain more than their death, they end up lowering the success rate of the operation. Cedine fixed military knives to the garters on both her thighs. After covering her thighs again with a thin, light summer skirt, she looked at Ivlik in the driver’s seat.

The gaze he fixed on Cedine’s legs was unusual. So Cedine looked at Ivlik’s center.

“Surely not…”

She didn’t want to believe it.

“Even at this moment?”

“It’s a natural bodily response.”

“The situation isn’t natural at all.”

“It’s natural enough for me.”

Cedine stared at her husband. His idea of what was natural seemed quite different from the conventional meaning she knew.

“So what’s our plan?”

“First kill Crotsfield, then think about it.”

“Okay.”

Cedine got out of the car first. Ivlik followed her, keeping a certain distance. As they approached the warehouse in front of Dock 4, the meeting place, Ivlik slowed his pace. It was because of the possibility that the Duke had spread his subordinates around. It was better to hide the fact that Cedine had company as much as possible.

Cedine pushed the warehouse door that was open about half a palm’s width. The rusty door was heavy and stiff, as if it hadn’t been oiled in a long time. It was a wonder that it didn’t make a grating sound that would set one’s nerves on edge.

If she were the Duke, she would have fixed this entrance first. It was obvious to anyone that it was the Duke who couldn’t afford to have his presence here known to others. Arrogant and stupid. Ivlik’s assessment of the Duke came to mind. Cedine fervently hoped that the Duke’s arrogance and stupidity would lead to a subtle mistake tonight.

The inside of the warehouse was dark. And a bit stuffy. She didn’t know what the warehouse was originally used to store, but there was a unique scent in the air that stung her nose. Cedine didn’t take hasty steps, but waited for her eyes to quickly adjust to the darkness, just as she had when entering Karen’s house. Then, suddenly, a single light bulb lit up in front. A woman with her head bowed low was tied to a chair. Something that looked like an awl was stuck in her shoulder. Cedine, who was about to reflexively call out her sister’s name, hesitated for a moment.

‘Is it really my sister?’

Cedine had been deceived once by a corpse that looked similar to Karen. Having had that experience, she naturally became suspicious. Moreover, the sight of the battered woman bothered her. It had only been a few hours since Karen was captured, but had they already reduced her to this state?

The woman looked half-dead. At this rate, it seemed unlikely she would survive the night even if left alone. Was it simply because the Duke couldn’t control his anger and took it out on Karen?

“Cedine, you’ve had a hard time getting here.”

Duke Crotsfield walked out from behind the high-stacked wooden boxes. Cedine skipped the greeting. Instead, she said she wanted to check her sister’s face more closely and in detail. At this, the Duke grabbed the black hair of the woman who looked like Karen and yanked it back sharply.

At this merciless gesture, Cedine inadvertently drew in a sharp breath. Whether the woman bruised with blood was Karen or not, she wanted to get her away from the Duke as soon as possible.

“Well, is that enough now?”

“I can’t tell even after looking. The jawline does look like my sister’s.”

“I did treat Karen a bit roughly.”

“Can you make her regain consciousness? I want to have a short conversation with my sister.”

“Cedine.”

The Duke carelessly let go of the woman’s head. The woman wearing Karen’s clothes couldn’t even hold her head up properly.

“You seem to be under some misunderstanding. You’re not in a position to make demands of me, but to beg.”

“Me?”

Cedine tilted her head innocently.

“For someone I can’t even be sure is my real sister?”

“Why on earth are you saying this woman isn’t Karen Liere?”

The Duke flew into a rage.

“She’s unconscious. Half dead. Even if I slap her cheeks or pour cold water on her, she won’t be able to talk to you.”

“That’s disappointing.”

The Duke seemed to doubt his own ears.

“Your Grace, you lack the basics of negotiation. Unless you show me definitive proof that that person is my sister Karen,”

Cedine looked at the Duke and said firmly.

“I’ll just turn around and go home.”

“Damn b*tch. You’re just like Karen.”

“Then show me the proof.”

The Duke, whose facial muscles were twitching, suddenly broke into a languid smile. He grinned suspiciously as if he had just remembered an important fact he had forgotten.

“Cedine, didn’t your dearly loving husband come with you? Why don’t you ask him to come in?”

The Duke knew that Ivlik had accompanied her. Cedine tried her best not to show any change in her expression. But inwardly, she thought, ‘Oops.’

‘So he did plant scouts near my sister’s house.’

She had seen a shadow moving swiftly behind the dark alley. At that moment, she wasn’t sure if she had seen it wrong, so she kept staring.

‘It couldn’t have been a cat.’

Ivlik, who had been observing from outside the warehouse, slowly walked in. Even in this situation, he calmly greeted the Duke. While doing so, he said he hated darkness and fumbled along the wall looking for the light switch. With a click, about a dozen light bulbs turned on simultaneously.

“I see there are other people here as well.”

The Duke’s subordinates who had been hiding in the darkness were revealed. They were all heavily armed. Their gun barrels were pointed at Cedine and Ivlik. One unexpected point was the number of armed guards. Contrary to the expectation that there would be at least dozens, the number of people immediately visible was only twelve.

Cedine remembered that the Duke had also been an outstanding soldier and agent in his youth. The Duke’s military medals and various awards were proudly displayed in one corner of the mansion’s library. Whenever Cedine was summoned to the mansion, she felt like her skin would burn from the sunlight reflected off the plaques.

Look at this. I have more mature experience than you lot, certainly not less. Even if not as much as during my active duty days, I can still handle greenhorns like you easily.

The number of personnel revealed the Duke’s arrogance. Of course, this was assuming he hadn’t hidden more subordinates nearby. If by any chance the person tied to the chair was really Karen, Cedine would inevitably become more cautious of her movements.

First and foremost, it was urgent to confirm whether that person was Karen.

“Your Grace, the instructor who taught me psychological tactics said this. It’s important to dominate the atmosphere from the start. As long as you don’t get drunk on the arrogance of winning at first, the initial advantage tends to continue.”

Cedine made sure the Duke’s gaze was directed at her, not Ivlik.

“Your Grace’s goal is probably to subdue all three of us. To do that, there’s just one thing you need to do. That is to prove to me that the person next to you is Karen Liere. If that person really is my sister, my resolve will crumble immediately. If my sister shouts at me to run away without looking back, I’ll collapse right here on the spot.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Your Grace must know this as well.”

Cedine narrowed her eyes.

“You’re not cooperating at all in proving that it’s Karen. That means…”

At that moment, Cedine caught sight of a figure moving stealthily on the second-floor railing. Someone Cedine knew used to sneak up behind her younger sister and surprise her like that, without making a sound, long before she received training at the Intelligence Bureau.

Tears of relief threatened to well up. But it was too early to feel at ease. She needed to focus on the current situation. Cedine suppressed her emotional surge and continued speaking. It was important to keep the Duke’s attention on her.

“The person next to you is not my sister Karen.”