In truth, the employee wasn’t entirely convinced that she was Catherine Sillion, the infamous troublemaker of the Sillion family—notorious not only among nobles but even among commoners.

Though a few sketches claiming to be her portrait had circulated, their authenticity was uncertain. Moreover, as a mere employee at the gladiator arena, he had never had the chance to see the face of a high-ranking noble.

But he didn’t argue and instead ran off to call the manager.

If the woman who had given him orders weren’t Catherine Sillion, the manager would just make a pointless trip, and he’d get scolded for wasting time.

But if she was the real troublemaker from the Sillion family…

Swallowing dryly, he pushed himself to run even faster.

It wasn’t long before the manager appeared before Catherine.

“Lady Sillion, it is an honor to meet you.”

Panting heavily, he greeted her with a clumsy attempt at noble etiquette.

As the manager of the capital’s largest gladiator arena, he was a lower-ranking noble in name only. However, for his safety, he memorized faces of key figures from powerful families like the Sillions.

Running over with his tiny eyes widened as much as possible, he confirmed Catherine’s face and immediately resigned himself to the fact that today would be a terrible day.

“It is an honor to welcome you. This seems to be your first visit to our arena, so I would be happy to guide you personally—”

“Enough. Take me somewhere we can talk.”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Catherine cut him off.

The manager obeyed without protest.

He had long since learned from experience that it was best to follow along when dealing with the Sillion family, no matter what. Getting on their lousy side over some petty grievance would be akin to signing his death warrant.

Click.

The door opened smoothly, revealing a well-furnished room with a perfect view of the grand arena below.

Catherine entered and immediately sat on the extravagant sofa in the center of the room.

“Where is Gladiator No. 12?”

Without offering the manager a seat or any gestures of courtesy, she got straight to the point.

“I didn’t see him on today’s roster.”

The manager, of course, did not dare to sit.

He could not attempt to lighten the mood with a friendly smile or a joke about taking a seat in this situation.

Despite his dull-looking exterior, he was exceptionally perceptive and skilled at navigating social situations—traits that had allowed him to hold onto his position as the manager of the capital’s largest gladiator arena for so long.

And with just a glance at Catherine’s eyes, he understood immediately.

She despised him.

It wasn’t just dislike or aversion—her gaze suggested she didn’t consider him human.

The moment he realized this, the manager relinquished any pretense of dignity.

“You’re looking for No. 12? He’s a truly outstanding fighter. There has never been a champion as skilled as him. In every match, he displays either fierce struggle or overwhelming dominance, adjusting his tempo like a work of art—”

“Where is he?”

Catherine cut off his rambling with a wave of her hand.

The manager hunched his shoulders and quickly responded, openly gauging her reaction.

“Well… it seems he won’t participate in any more matches.”

“‘Seems’?”

Catherine’s brows shot up, her voice sharpening.

Her already large eyes widened even further, and she leaned forward threateningly, making the manager shrink back in fear.

“Y-yes. Due to… personal circumstances…”

She had expected the manager to clear up the swirling rumors, but instead, every answer from him was infuriatingly vague.

“What circumstances? Is he injured? Dead? Or has he quit being a gladiator altogether?”

She bluntly listed the rumors she had heard, but the response was underwhelming.

“I… don’t know for certain. He might be injured… or dead… No, I don’t think he’s dead, but I can’t say the possibility is zero. And I can’t confirm whether he left the arena either since he’s still registered as a fighter.”

Catherine exploded.

“What? Aren’t you the manager of this entire arena? How do you not know anything for sure?”

“Well, I am, but even as a manager, I can’t oversee every detail of the fighters’ personal lives.”

Seeing his beady eyes dart around anxiously as sweat trickled down his forehead, Catherine concluded that he wasn’t lying.

Deciding she wouldn’t get any more valuable answers from him, she clicked her tongue in irritation and gave a new order.

“Then bring me someone who knows what happened to No. 12!”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

As if willing to grant her every request, the manager hastily summoned several employees and shouted loudly.

“Bring in everyone who has any connection with Number 12! Whether they’re fighters or doing other work, it doesn’t matter—hurry!”

He seemed determined to carry out Catherine’s orders to the best of his ability.

However, as is often the life case, effort does not always guarantee results. The responses from the summoned employees were far from satisfactory.

“I’m sorry.”

“So you’re telling me that not everyone has even the slightest connection with Number 12? Is that right? Did I hear that correctly?!”

The manager bellowed furiously at the employees, almost excessively so.

But no matter how much he raged, people wouldn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere. Ultimately, he had no choice but to dismiss the employees after his outburst.

His face flushed red from expressing his anger with all his might, remaining uncovered as he turned to Catherine with a now calm expression.

“I’m sorry. No one here knows anything about Number 12.”

Catherine knew that already, having witnessed the whole exchange firsthand.

“How on earth are you managing these fighters?! And yet you strut around acting like some kind of big-shot manager…!”

The manager bore the full brunt of Catherine’s fury as she berated him.

Thanks to his earlier efforts in loudly reprimanding the staff—so much so that their ears might be bleeding—those under his command had been spared her wrath. But as the one in charge, he had no such escape.

He simply repeated in his head over and over again: I am a dead man. I’m dead. Completely dead. He endured Catherine’s meaningless venting with that mantra.

“Hmph! You useless fool! I will get rid of you for good!”

When the manager finally heard the words that usually came at the end of the usual tirades from disgruntled spectators, he struggled to keep a smirk from forming and simply bowed repeatedly.

“I’m sorry. I sincerely apologize.”

Of course, a smile threatened to break through because, while the Sillion family wielded significant influence, they didn’t have the authority to replace him.

This gladiator arena was intertwined with imperial interests. No matter how much of a rampaging brat she was, a Sillion troublemaker wouldn’t be able to jeopardize his position.

Unaware of the manager’s audacious thoughts, Catherine ran her fingers through her disheveled hair after venting her anger.

She glared at the ceiling, admitting that today’s outing had been a complete failure.

And more than that, the plan she had devised involving Kertan had been crushed before it could even begin…

In truth, no matter how exceptional a gladiator was, tracking down a mere commoner shouldn’t be that difficult.

Yet, Catherine was in a position where she couldn’t even wield that small amount of power.

Kertan had vanished against her expectations, and she was now in the miserable predicament of being unable to search for him. The inability to properly vent her frustration only fueled her helplessness and rage.

“You!”

“Y-yes, yes! Please speak!”

Catherine was about to utter another round of harsh words at the subordinate before her—someone weaker than herself—but she shut her mouth.

There was no point wasting any more time on this fool.

She had already spent more time wandering around the arena than expected, meaning she was returning home much later than planned.

It would be disastrous if that wretched Sillion heir took issue with her absence and came looking for her.

Catherine abruptly stood up and strode toward the door before stopping. She turned her head slightly and spoke.

“If word gets out that I was here today, something exciting will happen.”

Her sharp, menacing glare made the manager bow even more profoundly than before.

“Of course. I have not met anyone today.”

“Tsk.”

Hearing the manager’s first halfway-decent response since arriving, Catherine clicked her tongue and pulled a small pouch from her cloak.

“That mouth of yours better stay shut forever.”

Clink, clatter, clank!

The metal hitting the ground echoed as several gold coins spilled from the pouch.

Catherine looked at the gleaming coins with evident distaste before pulling her hood up.

Even after saying this, her wretched family would no doubt find out about her outing soon enough.

After all, secrets could only be kept by the dead.

She had left during her probation period and gone to a gladiator arena, of all places.

There was no doubt they would come down on her like a pack of hounds.

Still, if she had secured Kertan today, she would have endured it all without complaint.

But leaving empty-handed made her scowl sincerely as she exited the arena.

The manager, who had kept his head bowed until Catherine disappeared, finally straightened his back and muttered to himself.

“Greuga and Sillion… That Number 12… I thought he was trouble, but he is something else.”