‘Did they deliberately bring in dying children? But if they’re supplies meant for Henrik, the black mage, could they possibly be…?’

They might be intended as sacrifices or test subjects.

Pretending to sympathize with their complaints, I asked:

“Weren’t they deliberately selected to be supplies without issues? According to the collaborator’s requirements.”

“From what I know, the collaborator doesn’t care about anything except that they’re smart.”

“Smart?”

“Yes. Smart or talented kids. Ones who are easy to teach. That’s what he asked for.”

Teach?

‘Whatever it is, it seems they’re not being used as sacrifices.’

I looked at Yulid.

‘So did he actually rescue these children?’

Though watching him beat his subordinate mercilessly, he hardly seemed like a good person.

“Hey, by the way.”

The subordinates who had been sharing information with me cautiously approached. They seemed to have lowered their guard since I appeared to be sympathizing with them.

“Why did you suddenly become the boss’s secretary? Did he get some leverage on you too?”

“…Are there others he has leverage over?”

When I deliberately played ignorant, the subordinates gave knowing looks.

“Quite a few. Especially among those who originally had their own forces, many serve the boss because he has dirt on them.”

“Don’t misunderstand. We follow the boss because we respect his strength. We’re just saying there are people like that too.”

“I see.”

I nodded casually.

‘It makes sense. If he’d been planning a rebellion for a long time, Sharen would have discovered it. So he must have struck quickly, in a short period.’

To gather the necessary forces, Yulid’s methods seemed to involve exploiting others’ weaknesses and demonstrating his own power.

An effective but precarious approach.

Such methods could backfire the moment he showed any vulnerability.

“Secretary.”

“Ah, yes!”

Yulid was calling me, flicking his blood-stained hand. I quickly ran over and handed him a handkerchief.

“Check the children. See if there are more defects.”

“Yes…”

I looked at the children huddled together. Though frightened, their eyes were filled with hostility, likely from having already seen the worst life had to offer.

I thought of Noah, and it made me uncomfortable.

“Some are injured, but they should recover quickly with treatment. Besides the child with a fever, none seem seriously ill.”

Yulid gestured to his subordinates.

“Bring medicine. And the other supplies too. I need to check everything myself since I can’t trust you to do it properly.”

“Ah, understood.”

The subordinates, suddenly subjected to an inspection, brought the items with gloomy expressions.

While I gave medicine to the feverish child, Yulid opened the boxes one by one.

They appeared to be magical materials for Henrik.

“Ha, the leather is in terrible condition. Do you want to end up the same way?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

“These fangs have too many scratches. They need to be replaced with new ones. How are your fangs doing?”

“Eek! I-I’m sorry!”

With each box Yulid opened, he toyed with his dagger. His subordinates trembled, fearing it might end up in their heads.

This was truly rule by fear.

‘Since he gathered these men through force, he can’t afford to show weakness.’

But then it happened.

Clang!

The dagger Yulid had been tossing and catching fell to the floor.

“Ugh…”

He clutched his stomach. The subordinates who had been getting scolded looked at him in surprise.

“Boss? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… huff.”

Yulid’s complexion was visibly turning pale.

Running over in alarm, I could see the reason.

In the supply box Yulid had just opened were familiar black spheres.

‘Monster cores!’

Just like in the “Marino” event, the insects inside Yulid’s body seemed to have become active in response to the monster cores.

‘Plus, he seemed to be in pain even before we came here.’

“Urgh, ugh…”

The pain must have been intense, as Yulid gritted his teeth and swallowed his groans. He didn’t even have the luxury to leave the room.

He was trying to hide his condition by lowering his head, but the gazes of his subordinates grew increasingly meaningful.

“Boss?”

“Could it be… are you unwell?”

Though their words expressed concern, their expressions told a different story.

The moment they discovered Yulid had a weakness, they would surely sell the information at a high price.

There must be many who wanted to usurp Yulid’s position. Perhaps chaos would break out today.

If that happened…

‘It would be the perfect opportunity for me to escape.’

If internal strife broke out among the rebels, Dietrich and the resistance would easily win.

Sacrificing Yulid alone would make everything easier.

‘Good.’

I hurriedly moved toward the door.

“Secretary? Where are you going?”

“…”

Just as I was about to exit, I turned to look at them. The subordinates appeared puzzled but also wary, concerned I might make the first move.

And Yulid, who seemed about to collapse, with no capacity to even comprehend the situation.

“Right now…”

I focused my gaze. Looking sharply at the subordinates, I pointed outside the door.

“What are you standing around for? Clear away those supplies and bring a chair for the boss to sit on!”

“What?”

“Are you deaf? Do I, the boss’s secretary, have to do it myself?”

“Ah, understood.”

The subordinates moved, bewildered by my sudden orders.

As the monster cores were moved away, Yulid’s breathing stabilized slightly. I supported him and carefully helped him sit down.

“Boss, are you alright? It seems you have indigestion from the dinner earlier.”

“What? Indigestion?”

The subordinate who had brought the chair asked, seemingly unimpressed. I nodded firmly.

“Yes. Acute indigestion. Everyone gets it sometimes, right?”

“But…”

“He looks too ill for it to be just indigestion.”

“There must be another reason.”

To the suspicious subordinates, I deliberately raised my voice.

“Well, we’ll know once he takes medicine! What are you doing? Go get some digestive medicine!”

At my words, the subordinates exchanged glances. After what seemed like a silent agreement, all three temporarily left the room.

Yulid then raised his pain-contorted gaze.

“Why didn’t you leave? It was your chance to escape.”

“You knew?”

“My hearing works fine.”

He swallowed heavily, seemingly forcing down blood rising from his stomach.

“Did you think I’d be touched by such a stupid act?”

“…I told you. I need information from Henrik. For that, you need to be safe.”

“Ha.”

Yulid sneered irritably.

“Whatever your reason, you got lucky. If you had left, I would have planted this dagger in your head.”

“Do you even have the strength for that?”

“I can send a few scarecrows ahead of me to the afterlife.”

His gleaming eyes and smile were chilling. I was certain that if I had actually left, a bloodbath would have ensued. I probably would have been the first to die.

‘I want to hit him on the head.’

But since that would likely cost me my wrist, I just snorted.

“You worried for nothing. I truly had no intention of leaving.”

“…What?”

“Why would I leave when I can solve this problem?”

Did he really think I’d believe the ‘indigestion’ excuse?