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After walking for quite a while, we passed the main building and entered a deep forest path behind the inner garden.

“This is quite a distance. Where are we going?”

No one answered.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

“……”

It seemed the Red Phoenix Division members had decided to completely ignore me. But I was still willing to play along, so it was fine.

At some point, I suppressed my excitement and began observing my surroundings. I noticed that the Urgon men were acting strangely.

It wasn’t just the Red Phoenix Division members.

‘This is odd.’

Ever since we entered the estate, the servants had been bustling about, and for some reason, Ardehain’s guards were stationed everywhere. It felt different from yesterday.

The entire estate felt restless.

Thud—!

Deep in the forest path, the Red Phoenix Division Grandmaster stopped and turned to glare at Taylor and me.

A building, surrounded by thick bushes, came into view. A magic barrier enveloped the structure. It reeked of shady business at first glance.

“Drag them in!”

The Red Phoenix Division members roughly dragged Taylor and me inside, shoved us into a large room near the entrance, and then vanished in an instant.

Suddenly, Taylor and I were left alone.

As Taylor remained silent, lost in thought, I took a moment to look around the room.

“It’s like a prison, but not quite.”

The open doorway had multiple iron bars, reminiscent of a prison, but the interior wasn’t much different from a regular room.

There was a large table, chairs, and even refreshments.

I looked at the faintly glowing iron bars and chuckled.

‘Black iron.‘

These guys must be rolling in money. To use black iron, which most blades couldn’t even scratch, so casually…

It seemed like a place to detain criminals, but something felt off. Just then, shadows fell across the iron bars, and with a creak—, two men entered.

One old, one young.

The young one was the External Affairs Manager, and the old one was the elder who had accompanied him earlier.

The External Affairs Manager stood with his hands behind his back while the elder slowly walked towards us.

“……”

The elder sat at the table opposite us and met my gaze. Up close, he had a square face and stern eyes. He seemed like the elder responsible for interrogation.

I spoke confidently, as if I were the master of this room.

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting.”

When dealing with an elder like this, it was important not to lose the battle of nerves. It was also a way to gauge their intentions. The elder sneered and said,

“You have some nerve.”

“Thank you. First, please explain what’s going on.”

“Insolent fool. You’re really going through with this, aren’t you?”

The elder glared at Taylor and me in turn.

“Have you given up on life and decided to go wild? Or did you think you wouldn’t get caught?”

I carefully observed the elder’s reaction and played along.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about what you did to the Patriarch.”

At this point, I made my pupils tremble slightly. It was crucial to put on a convincing act of innocence.

“What do you mean we did something? I’d like to know why you think that.”

Taylor, having calmly gathered his thoughts, interjected.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding. We haven’t even touched a hair on his head. If you would explain the situation, we’ll clarify everything.”

The elder scoffed and replied,

“Clarify? You’re sorely mistaken.”

I asked pointedly,

“Do you have any evidence? Why are you doing this to innocent people?”

The elder leaned closer and gazed intently into my eyes.

“You have quite cunning eyes. It seems you truly believed you wouldn’t be found out. And those eyes… they seem completely oblivious to the consequences your actions will bring. Do you really think this will end with just the two of you losing your heads?”

The elder’s posture turned threatening.

“You couldn’t have planned this alone. Perhaps if your entire clan was involved… We showed you kindness, but you, forgetting your place, dare to bite the hand that feeds you.”

It sounded like they had everything prepared to incriminate Samael. While I deduced several things from the elder’s reaction, Taylor calmly stated,

“Again, this is a misunderstanding. I don’t know why you’re saying these things, but please give us a chance to explain. Urgon will surely regret this. We have no connection to Lord Balkan, nor any reason to harm him.”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

The External Affairs Manager, who had been standing silently, finally spoke.

“There’s ample reason. Samael should know better than anyone why they are hostile towards Urgon, wouldn’t you agree?”

I looked at the elder and the External Affairs Manager and said,

“So you’re finally bringing that up. Let’s be honest with each other.”

“……”

“Why go through all this trouble to concoct such a scheme? I could just cause a scene right now, but I’m too curious. Just tell me if you know or not.”

The External Affairs Manager stared at me for a moment and then let out a chuckle. The elder abruptly stood up, looked at me, and said,

“It seems you have no intention of confessing.”

“I do intend to hear a confession though.”

“You’re insane.”

I watched the External Affairs Manager and the elder as they headed for the iron bars and said,

“Where are you going? You should at least answer me before you leave.”

Without turning back, the elder replied,

“We’ll see how long you can keep up this arrogant act.”

***

“How anticlimactic.”

The conversation was rather underwhelming for an interrogation. As we were once again left alone in the room, Taylor muttered softly,

“It’s because of last night’s dinner.”

I looked closely at Taylor’s expression and let out a chuckle.

A person’s true nature is often revealed in times of crisis, and in that sense, Taylor wasn’t bad.

His meticulous questioning of the elder was largely aimed at understanding the situation he was in.

Taylor spoke again,

“The fact that they only brought you and me here means they’re definitely planning to use the dinner from last night against us.”

“There’s only one thing that could be considered an assassination threat.”

“Indeed.”

It seemed Taylor was thinking the same thing as me.

“Poisoning.”

“The chilled strong liquor, that’s it.”

“They knew I would choose the strong liquor.”

Taylor’s act of picking up the strong liquor and pouring it…

Was it a coincidence that Balkan had asked Taylor and me to choose the drinks?

Was it a coincidence that Taylor had chosen the chilled strong liquor?

No. It was only natural for Taylor to choose the strong liquor. I would have done the same. It was a familiar drink.

“That servant bastard did it on purpose. Urgon is full of nasty people.”

I couldn’t believe that the servant who had acted so friendly from the first day of the banquet could be so malicious.

Everything was intentional.

“I don’t understand. Even so, they can’t just accuse us based on strong liquor alone. I didn’t pour the drink only for Lord Balkan.”

“Don’t be naive. They could have tampered with the glass, or added a substance or reagent to the liquor and the glass that would react with each other. There are many ways. But as you said, there’s definitely a weakness in this plan.”

Taylor’s eyes gleamed as he looked at me.

“What do you think?”

“It’s true that they lack solid evidence.”

“Why do you think so?”

“If they had evidence, they wouldn’t be acting like this.”

If they had evidence, they would have used direct force to subdue us and would be preparing to attack Samael right now.

“I think they’re trying to buy time. I could tell just from the reactions of the elder and the External Affairs Manager. They’re just waiting for the time to pass.”

“Why?”

I paused and looked outside the iron bars.

Taylor also fell silent, following my gaze.

A moment later, a shadow fell across the bars, and a familiar face appeared.

“How are you feeling, you Samael scum?”

Libre was observing us with a look of disdain, as if we were monkeys in a zoo.

“It’s quite amusing to see you sitting there dejectedly.”

“It’s not so bad.”

“Such bravado from those about to die.”

“You’re finally showing your true colors. What do you think?”

Libre’s eyes widened momentarily, like a pervert, and he replied,

“You seem to be desperately searching for a way out. Unfortunately, it will be difficult. Of course, we won’t kill all of you. We need to claim our spoils of war.”

I stared at Libre for a moment and then laughed.

“You know nothing. You’re just a jealous pervert.”

“What?”

“It seems your father hasn’t told you his true intentions.”

As soon as Libre’s eyes flared with anger, I said,

“You have quite an ugly look in your eyes. Come in. Shall we have a go?”

“You scum…”

“If you’re not coming in, get lost.”

Libre, who had come to provoke us, was unable to contain his anger. He clenched his fists, trembled with rage, and then turned away.

“As expected, he can’t just barge in.”

I activated my senses and surveyed the surroundings.

After confirming that no one was nearby, I spoke to Taylor again.

“This was a trap to frame Samael from the beginning. They’re waiting for the perfect moment. This isn’t a situation that will end with simply clearing up a misunderstanding.”

“So what you’re saying is…”

“Yesterday’s dinner was the key. It was the decisive moment to frame us.”

“What do you mean by ‘buying time’?”

“It means they’re waiting until they have irrefutable evidence. If they’re going to accuse us of poisoning, there’s only one possibility.”

Taylor pondered for a moment, then his eyes widened.

“Someone was poisoned instead of Balkan.”

“Exactly. They’re waiting for something to happen on that front.”

“If someone was poisoned… it could only be Elder Parin or someone from Ardehain, right? Balkan poisoning them? Does that even make sense?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Then…”

Taylor frowned.

I understood Taylor’s confusion. I had been puzzled by that part as well.

I tapped my head and said,

“It wasn’t Balkan. It’s the opposite.”

“Not Balkan?”

“That’s the key.”

Taylor, with a grimace, said,

“Explain it clearly.”

“You’re still a fool, I see. At the banquet yesterday, Balkan kept looking at Elder Parin.”

“I did notice that.”

“Elder Parin is a scholar-like mage. As I’ve heard, he has a strict personality. If Balkan had dirty intentions, he would have to be cautious of Parin.”

“What does that have to do with what you’re saying?”

I explained my thoughts.

“Balkan couldn’t have been unaware of Elder Parin’s personality. Yet, Balkan invited Elder Parin to the dinner meant to frame us. And in that situation, he’s cautious of Parin? Isn’t that strange? If Balkan was truly wary of Parin, he would have tried to meet with us separately, without Parin present.”

“That’s a weak basis for such a claim.”

“Everything was planned. If all of this was truly a trap to frame us, the answer is clear.”

Taylor, who was about to retort, suddenly had a look of realization in his eyes.

“…So what you’re saying is…”

Taylor’s voice wavered slightly.

“Are you suggesting Elder Parin is an accomplice?”

———–