“Let’s call it a day.”

No melody in the world could have sounded sweeter.

Though the representative, overseer, and manager were utterly drained, the mere thought of parting ways with Duke Lucart lightened their steps.

However, just as Theron turned away, simultaneously bestowing misfortune and relief upon them, a bright, clear voice unexpectedly reached his ears, making him pause mid-step.

“Hello, everyone! I brought lunch! You need to eat well to stay strong!”

Theron’s expression, which had remained impassive until now, hardened noticeably upon hearing a voice he had never once encountered in all his visits to the site.

At the same time, the air around him grew so cold that even those nearby could feel the chill.

The overseer and manager, who had been following closely behind him, froze in their tracks, their faces paling.

Even Greuga’s representative turned white.

Theron slowly turned his head in the direction of the voice and asked the manager beside him,

“Are children allowed to wander around such a dangerous site?”

It was a question that demanded an immediate answer.

Yet, overwhelmed by the sheer, terrifying pressure, the site manager could do nothing but stand frozen in place.

Though they had seen each other daily in recent times, even for a short period, the Duke of Lucart, a man who stood above the clouds, remained an existence that an ordinary man like himself—one merely skilled in managing people—could never grow accustomed to.

As he stood there, unable to open his mouth, his jaw trembling, Theron’s presence grew even more menacing.

“According to safety regulations, children under the age of fifteen are strictly prohibited from entering the site. Answer me, manager.”

No one knew that regulation better than himself.

He had been appointed as the lead overseer of this massive ship’s construction precisely because he handled his duties by the book.

A mistake that allowed a child onto the site was unthinkable for someone like him!

‘Why can’t I get the words out?’

It never crossed his mind that the overwhelming presence pressing down on him was the faintest trace of killing intent from one of the strongest warriors in the empire.

As a site manager adept at handling the roughest workers as if they were unruly children, he had never before faced the murderous aura of a true knight, one trained solely in the art of killing.

‘Dear, it seems my time has come.’

Even though his wife had nagged him to no end just the night before, it was still her face that surfaced in his mind in what he believed were his final moments.

Just as the manager squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the end—

“Your Grace, please calm yourself. Shouldn’t we first confirm whether a child has actually entered the site?”

Greuga’s representative stepped forward and appealed to Theron.

Though his face was also drained of color, he had at least sparred with knights before, allowing him to withstand the suffocating pressure and speak his mind.

At his words, Theron’s killing intent subsided somewhat.

It was a reasonable point, and he recognized that he had let his temper get the better of him.

His nerves were frayed from his ongoing frustrations.

“Haa… Hahh…”

As Theron withdrew his aura, the lead overseer, drenched in sweat, collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out beneath him. The manager, looking as though he had just escaped death itself, muttered prayers under his breath.

Clicking his tongue, Theron strode forward.

He didn’t bother telling them to follow.

Even if he gave the order, the lead overseer wouldn’t be able to comply, the representative held no direct responsibility for any violations, and as for the manager…

Well, he was already scrambling after him without needing to be told.

Soon, they arrived at the source of the high, clear voice he had so impatiently dismissed as a child’s.

“How has today been?”

“Same as always, miss. But now that it’s almost finished, I’ll finally be able to return home soon.”

“That’s right. Oh, that reminds me—there were a few letters for you today. Just a moment, I know I put them somewhere…”

A sharp crease formed between Theron’s brows.

“That person…”

Before he could even voice the question, the manager, having finally regained some control over his legs, blurted out in a panicked voice.

“Ah! Ahhh! That is Lady Julia Everett from Baron Everett’s household!”

“The Everett family… That would be a neighboring territory.”

The Greuga representative, who had rejoined them at some point, muttered this observation under his breath. The manager, seizing onto it like a lifeline, hurriedly elaborated.

“Y-Yes, that’s right! But most of the people from their territory work here. That’s why Lady Everett frequently visits them. She’s well known for her kindness, and every time she comes, she takes such great care of them…”

His rambling explanation sounded less like an excuse for allowing a noble lady onto a construction site and more like the effusive admiration of someone genuinely impressed.

As the manager’s endless chatter grew increasingly tedious, Theron turned his head toward the approaching presence.

“Hello! It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m Julia Everett.”

Her greeting was slightly unpolished, as if she were unused to such formalities, but her radiant smile was enough to smooth over any rough edges.

Yet, a noblewoman with such a bright and sunny demeanor was nothing extraordinary.

Any young lady who had been raised in the sheltered comfort of a noble family tended to have a similarly unblemished smile.

Even so, for some reason, Theron found himself unable to look away from Julia.

Sensing his gaze, she tilted her head slightly before quickly turning to exchange greetings with the manager and representative.

Then, moved by an inexplicable impulse, Theron spoke.

“I am Theron Lucart. Lady Everett, I have some questions for you. Would you accompany me for a moment?”

“Yes. In fact, I have something to discuss with you as well.”

Julia nodded without hesitation, her demeanor cheerful yet resolute.

She offered the anxious manager a reassuring smile before following Theron, mentally reaffirming her resolve with each step.

The moment she had heard that a high-ranking noble—an extremely high-ranking noble—had come all the way from the capital, she had made up her mind.

She would inform him of the disappearances of children occurring not just in Everett’s territory, but in the surrounding regions as well, and request his help in finding a resolution.

It wasn’t as if she, her mother, or the other lords of the nearby lands had done nothing until now.

Yet, despite all their efforts, they had been unable to even grasp the tail of the problem.

Eventually, they were forced to admit the truth.

This was beyond their power.

They needed the help of someone with far greater influence.

Involving external forces in one’s territory was neither honorable nor without cost—it meant sacrificing some degree of control and making certain concessions.

Even so, they had no choice but to ask for aid.

“My lady, please, I beg you, find my child. Please, please, I’m begging you.”

Recalling the tear-streaked face of a woman clutching her skirt and sobbing, Julia fixed her gaze on Theron’s unwavering back, her determination solidifying.

It was the moment when the male lead, Theron, and the female lead, Julia, first became entangled, just as the plot of Julia, Where Are You.

***

The imperial palace—by far the most magnificent and grand structure in the empire, or even the entire continent—boasted an overwhelming level of security so severe it was exhausting just to look at.

Deep within the heart of the Central Palace, the most lavish and imposing section where the emperor resided and conducted his affairs, the master of the palace gazed down upon someone.

The 18th Emperor of the Reinhardt Empire.

The moment he ascended the throne, his name was erased, and he was called nothing but ‘His Majesty.’

Leaning back into his chair, he spoke.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Your Majesty! If you grant me just a little more time, I will surely—!”

The woman, who was supposedly the greatest alchemist on the continent, now had her forehead pressed against the floor, wailing in desperation.

The emperor replied in a detached tone.

“How amusing. The one who leads research on manipulating time is now begging me for more of it.”

“That’s not… No, I have devised a new experiment! With this experiment—!”

“I’ve already heard that it failed.”

Before she could even finish, her desperate lie was exposed. The alchemist’s face darkened instantly.

It was clear that someone opposed to her had tattled.

Having lost all hope, she suddenly looked twenty years older. She tried to open her mouth again, but the emperor raised a hand to silence her.

“There is no need for further words. Today, you shall follow in the footsteps of your predecessor.”

“Y-Your Majesty! Please, just one more chance—!”

Sensing her end, the alchemist crawled on her knees, reaching out toward the emperor. But he didn’t even bother to speak. He simply gestured toward her with his chin.

A royal guard, who had appeared without a sound, grabbed the dazed alchemist by the arms and dragged her away, rough and unrelenting.

“This one is at least quiet. That’s good.”

His muttered words, spoken with an utter lack of regard for human life, were devoid of any emotion.

A chamberlain approached the emperor.

“This is the list of candidates to replace her.”

It had been over a decade since the research on the Elixir of Immortality began.

Despite barely making progress, the mages, alchemists, scholars, and other necessary scholars who whispered the word ‘immortality’ into the emperor’s ear had managed to keep the research alive.

“It will take time.”

“Of course, creating an elixir that grants eternal life would require time. How much do they need?”

“I cannot give a definitive answer.”