After asking for understanding, the informant moved alone to a place away from them. Then he activated his communication stone.

“Have you confirmed it?”

The person communicating with the informant was at the Offensa mansion. More specifically, he would be spying on Calliphe Offensa’s annex.

‘If Calliphe Offensa and Duke Ortega aren’t in the annex.’

Then the people here must be them.

‘In that case, I’ll lure them in and deal with them.’

The previous leader of the Black Hand tolerated all kinds of illegal activities but prohibited black magic.

Of course, he didn’t prevent the trading of items that could be used for black magic.

However, he prohibited himself and the leadership from directly using black magic.

Saying that would be crossing the line.

‘How amateurish. That’s why they got taken down.’

The informant’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Finally, a report came through the communication stone.

“Reporting confirmation results. The current location of Calliphe Offensa and Duke Ortega is…”

“…”

“…the dining room of the annex.”

“What?”

“Both of them have been confirmed to be in the dining room.”

“That can’t be… What about the child sponsored by Lady Offensa?”

“The child is also in the same place.”

“Are you sure you saw correctly?”

The communication stone returned an irritated response.

“If you don’t believe me, come and check for yourself.”

“…No, I understand.”

After ending the communication, the informant wore an uneasy expression.

“Were they really just unrelated guests?”

He couldn’t disbelieve the testimony of a colleague in the same boat. Clicking his tongue, he decided to guide the guests and Dietrich through the real entrance, not a trap.

※※※

Meanwhile, in Calliphe’s annex dining room.

The informant’s colleague took another look at Calliphe’s face through the window.

‘That’s definitely Calliphe Offensa.’

Next to her was Lynen Ortega. Between them sat Noah, the sponsored child.

While double-checking their identities, Duke Ortega’s special unit passing nearby shouted:

“Who’s there!”

Tch. How sharp. The man hiding in the shadows retreated quickly. He had no more business there anyway, having completed his mission.

When the spy disappeared, Lynen sniffed the air like a hunting dog.

“The smell is getting farther away. I think he’s gone now.”

Calliphe then relaxed her shoulders, which had been tense with fear.

“That’s a relief… But please don’t sniff so much with the Duke’s face.”

The two people were actually Raul and Lina disguised as Lynen and Calliphe. The secret to their perfect disguise was an invention by Dovion, Calliphe’s exclusive merchant.

The Noah sitting between them was also fake.

“Ang.”

Inside was Imelen.

“Ahem. B-but… since we don’t know when watchful eyes might return, shouldn’t we continue acting like fiancés?”

When Raul tried to subtly sit closer to Lina, Imelen waved her arms defensively.

“Don’t approach the fake fangy.”

“I-I’m just carrying out the mission. I don’t have any ulterior motives at all!”

Despite some discord, they were excellently executing the deception operation according to Calliphe’s instructions.

※※※

“I apologize for the delay. I’ll escort you inside now.”

The returned informant led them into a hidden alley and began guiding them through various paths.

Watching his back, I smiled leisurely.

‘Looks like Lina and Raul are doing well.’

The entrance to the Black Hand was hidden. The magical security devices also changed frequently.

That’s why we needed an insider’s guidance through Dietrich as an intermediary, but the problem was that the Young Marquis’s side would certainly be watching me.

More precisely, they would have expected me to send someone to investigate.

‘That’s usually the case. To others, I’m just a noble lady with no combat abilities.’

That’s actually true.

I’ve been through a lot, but to someone who doesn’t know the circumstances, it just looks like I’ve been caught up in accidents and gone traveling with Lynen.

‘So they would have expected me to send someone to investigate rather than going myself.’

That’s also the noble way, so it’s a reasonable assumption.

I used that to my advantage.

I ordered several members of Lynen’s special unit to find Black Hand members or search the Magic Tower, basically to work hard so the Young Marquis’s surveillance would focus on them.

‘And as a precaution, I also instructed Lina and Raul to act as us.’

That was a good move. The informant seems to have just checked the situation at the annex.

Anyway, after these preparations, we disguised ourselves like mafia.

‘I didn’t want to drag Noah into this.’

But Ortie tattled to Noah that we were disguising ourselves to sneak out.

That Ortie, now transformed into a mini slime, had switched careers to become Noah’s excellent accomplice.

Well, anyway.

Having come this far, I need to achieve my goal.

I moved my head closer to Lynen to whisper. His hand lightly touched my waist. I stuttered without meaning to.

“D-don’t forget our purpose for coming to the Black Hand.”

“Of course. The most important thing is that you don’t leave my side.”

“No, what are you saying? Obtaining the brainwashing potion is most important!”

Brainwashing someone isn’t easy. Especially brainwashing through a medium rather than magic is even more difficult.

If Caiman had joined hands with the Black Hand, the Vice Archmage would have been brainwashed in the same way as Marquis Offensa.

‘So there’s a high possibility that the item used for brainwashing remains with the Black Hand. If we take it and analyze it, we can undo the brainwashing of the Marquis and the Vice Archmage.’

While obtaining the item, I also planned to capture the high-ranking official Lynen had mentioned, if possible.

To save the Vice Archmage, we needed to put him in the imperial prison instead.

He would certainly be executed. But I’m not idle enough to sympathize with a terrorist’s circumstances.

‘Obtain the brainwashing potion. And arrest the official.’

These were the objectives we needed to achieve at the Black Hand.

“We’ve arrived.”

The informant drew some pattern on the wall and then slipped through it.

Following him while being mindful of Noah’s safety, we instantly found ourselves in a different place.

It was a spacious but shabby-looking house.

“Whose house is this?”

“I’m using it. It’s a temporary residence. Now, shall we discuss our business over there?”

Lynen asked while following the informant.

“I didn’t know there was an entrance leading directly to a temporary residence. Do other traders come and go this way too?”

“Other traders? Of course.”

The informant chuckled to himself, finding something amusing.

“It’s here.”

Upon entering the room, the informant snapped his fingers, and the candles hanging on the wall lit up, brightening the interior.

We all froze simultaneously.

Because we saw several animal cages with people trapped inside them.

Some of them looked at us and widened their eyes.

“Y-young master Dietrich?”

“You guys…!”

“Were you also deceived and captured, young master?!”

Dietrich, who had been gaping, glared at the informant.

“Why are you holding the leader’s subordinates captive? You b*stard, are you a traitor?”

“A traitor, young master?”

The informant grinned.

“Those who rebel against the new leader of the Black Hand, Master Yulid, are the real traitors. So before we proceed with our business, you and your guests need to decide your stance.”

He pulled back the carpet in the center of the room, revealing a complex magic circle drawn in blood. With an eerie incantation, the entire room was covered in a dark purple barrier.

“Even black magic…?!”

“Hehe. That barrier will drain the life force of anyone who passes through it. It means you’ll shrivel up the moment you leave this place.”

“You b*stard!”

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I just want to confirm your position, that’s all. Of course, I should tell you how to remove it.”

The informant smiled cruelly at the grinding teeth of Dietrich.

“That barrier will disappear on its own when it absorbs enough life force. Simple, right? Oh, as for how much life force is needed—”

He spread his hand, pointing to the hostages among us.

“Let’s experiment with these traitors! Hahaha!”

“You call that talking?! You damned b*stard!!”

Dietrich lunged at him but was knocked down by the informant’s counterattack. The former leader’s subordinates trapped in cages shed angry tears at this miserable scene.

“Um, excuse me.”

In the midst of the chaos.

Standing at the back, I raised my hand blankly and asked.

“So that barrier, is it corrupted magical energy?”

Wasn’t that what I said I specialized in defeating?