“Pleasure to meet you, Young Master Jimon.”

Clopeh Sekka politely bowed his head to Jimon.

Cale followed suit, lowering his head as he surveyed the room.

Main castle.

Cale had entered the main castle around dinnertime, but it was only now, with the night nearly upon them, that he was finally being allowed to meet Young Master Jimon.

And the meeting was taking place in the dining room, after all the dishes had already been served.

Young Master Jimon sat alone at the head of the table to receive Cale and Clopeh, without even having the plates cleared away.

And the head steward is here too.

Head Steward Hitelis. Other than her, no one else was visible.

Human, I can feel someone on the ceiling!Of course, with invisible Raon there with them, Cale did not feel much burden.

...There’s not a single visible trace of the Order of the God of Chaos.

Of course, that might simply have been because the route Cale had taken through the main castle had been short, and the surveillance around them too tight to let him look around properly.

Still, he had not yet found any trace of the Order of the God of Chaos.

Even though they were definitely hiding somewhere in this main castle, or somewhere else in Moraka Castle.

“......”

After that initial “Come in,” Young Master Jimon had said nothing.

He merely stared fixedly at Clopeh.

Under that piercing gaze, Clopeh kept a gentle smile on his face and continued in a courteous tone.

“My name is Kase, and this is my younger broth—”

“Enough.”

Young Master Jimon cut him off.

At the table, strewn with enough dishes to suggest several people had been dining there, he picked up a fork. Then he pointed it at Clopeh and spoke.

“Cut the useless crap. I heard you want to buy the mine?”

Young Master Jimon.

This was Cale’s first time seeing him.

After Count Lupe’s disappearance, when the Demon King’s side had tried to swallow up Dioriel territory, Young Master Jimon had gathered Count Lupe’s bloodline and built a force to resist them.

And he joined hands with the Order of the God of Chaos.

What kind of demon was he?

There was a reason Cale had insisted on accompanying Clopeh.

“Yes, Young Master. I do indeed have the intention of purchasing the mi—”

Though Clopeh answered with perfect courtesy, Young Master Jimon cut him off again and spat out a single word.

“You.”

He looked like a man with no brakes on him, a man burning with impatience.

With a frown carved between his brows, he looked down at Clopeh and said:

“How did you talk Terosa into helping you?”

“...Pardon?”

“The mine? Terosa’s not the kind of demon who’d send people all the way here over just one deal. That crazy fanatic bastard.”

Jimon was full of irritation, contempt, and fury. He slammed the fork down against a dish.

Bang! Bang!

As though he meant to shatter it, he kept bringing the fork down and spoke through clenched rage.

“Do you think—”

Bang!

“—I’m an idiot?”

Bang!

“You bastards think you can just walk in and take what’s mine? Huh?”

Bang, bang!

Had he learned swordsmanship?

Crack.

The dish he had been hammering with the fork finally split apart.

Oh?

And Cale noticed that Jimon’s anger was not directed only at Terosa and Clopeh.

The Order of the God of Chaos.

There was anger aimed there too.

Because Jimon’s gaze did not fall only on Clopeh. Every so often, it flicked toward the head steward as well.

Especially when he said the word fanatic, his eyes passed over the head steward before returning to Clopeh.

“......”

Head Steward Hitelis simply stood there in silence, expressionless.

“Huu—”

Young Master Jimon let out a long breath, seemingly trying to calm himself.

Then he hurled the fork from his hand.

Clang!

It skidded across the marble floor, but Jimon did not spare it a glance. He only asked Clopeh:

“Terosa. I asked how that demon ended up helping you. Do you not intend to answer?”

His tone sounded softer than before, but the irritation and anger shadowing his face had not faded in the least.

He looked hot-blooded to the core.

“Young Master Jimon.”

Clopeh smiled gently.

“I have every intention of answering your question.”

“Hah!”

At that composed response, Jimon snorted as if he found it absurd.

And Clopeh, utterly unruffled, calmly said:

“I told Lady Terosa that I am Count Lupe’s sole blood descendant.”

“!”

Silence fell.

Young Master Jimon stared at Clopeh, eyes widened, unable to say a word.

Even Head Steward Hitelis shifted her gaze from the empty air and looked at Clopeh.

“......!”

Then she abruptly froze.

Kase. The one beside him—the so-called second brother—was staring right at her.

Of course, the moment their eyes met, the second brother flinched and quickly lowered his head.

And after glancing once at the bowed Cale, Clopeh fixed his gaze back on Young Master Jimon.

The corner of his mouth curled upward.

Because he had seen the corner of Cale’s mouth rise.

Cale had lowered his head to hide it—to hide the fact that he was about to smile.

Clopeh.

Before coming here—

Lord Cale, who had thus far simply left everything in Clopeh’s hands, had offered one suggestion.

When we meet Young Master Jimon today, how about not just figuring him out, but shaking up both his side and the Order of the God of Chaos too?

You mean shake up Young Master Jimon himself as well—ah!

Clopeh had immediately understood why Cale had made that suggestion.

Because he remembered what Raon had said last night, after going to meet Aurora.

Lord Cale, thanks to you, I realized something I had overlooked.

Engraving Cale’s teaching deep into his heart, Clopeh looked at Jimon.

“Yes—yes, you’re my uncle’s only blood descendant?”

Young Master Jimon was Lupe’s nephew.

“Yes.”

Clopeh’s answer was brief and without hesitation.

“Would you like me to show you the birth certificate as well?”

Clopeh strode forward and came to stand beside Young Master Jimon.

Once he got that close, he naturally found himself looking down at him.

“......”

Young Master Jimon looked up at Clopeh with trembling eyes.

At the same time, Head Steward Hitelis stepped closer to Jimon’s side. Even she had lost her composure for a moment.

Shock flashed across her face.

Count Lupe’s bloodline?

In an instant, her thoughts became tangled.

If the Kase standing before her truly was Count Lupe’s bloodline—and if Terosa, one of the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) current Demon King’s close aides, had decided to back him—

Jimon loses both legitimacy and strength.

There was a high probability that support for Young Master Jimon among Count Lupe’s bloodline would plummet.

...Troublesome.

Hitelis did not care in the slightest what happened to Young Master Jimon.

Whether he lived or died meant nothing to her.

The great plan is right in front of us...!

Soon, gray sickness would spread throughout the Demon World.

And the Order of the God of Chaos intended to step forward as the only way to solve it—and become heroes because of it.

And Dioriel is where it starts...!

As a city with thriving commerce and logistics, any rumor that spread from here would quickly race across the entire Demon World.

And it is also a city the Demon King has not brought under his control.

It was precisely because of those advantages that the Order of the God of Chaos had chosen Young Master Jimon.

This is going to get annoying.

Terosa already seemed to have sent one of the Demon King’s blades here.

And the figure being used to conceal that blade is Count Lupe’s bloodline?

If so, then the Kase before her was a dagger himself.

One capable of changing the entire balance of Dioriel territory in an instant.

Calm down.

Hitelis forced herself to settle first.

“Here is the birth certificate.”

Clopeh unfolded the certificate and lowered it toward the table.

“Ah. It’s a bit filthy.”

Of course, after seeing the shattered dish and the mess on the table, he could not bring himself to set it down.

“Please hold it and look.”

Instead, he placed the birth certificate directly into Young Master Jimon’s hand.

“Here. This seal was engraved with Count Lupe’s mana. Feel free to verify whether it is genuine. Lady Terosa already confirmed it before sending me here, of course.”

Hmm.

Hitelis let out a quiet sound at the sight of the seal.

She could not tell whether it truly belonged to Count Lupe, but it was, at the very least, a proper mana seal.

“......”

Young Master Jimon’s hands, clutching the birth certificate, were trembling violently.

The anger had vanished from his face before anyone noticed, and now his pupils wavered aimlessly.

Oh dear.

Hitelis realized that Young Master Jimon had gone blank.

Then again, he’s been pushing the fact that he’s Count Lupe’s nephew. If that’s about to be crushed by this, no wonder he feels like the world’s gone dark.

Jimon’s lips parted.

“Th-that’s impossible—”

To that trembling voice—

Pat.

Clopeh placed a hand on his shoulder, gently patted him, and with his other hand pointed to the seal. Then he said kindly:

“You don’t even recognize your uncle’s mana?”

“......”

Jimon slowly turned his head.

Then he looked up at Clopeh.

As he stared at Clopeh’s smiling face, his lips shook—and then even his eyes lost all focus, trembling without direction.

Oh dear.

The head steward barely suppressed a sigh at the sight.

Young Master Jimon had already failed to hide his impatience when he heard Terosa’s side was sending someone, and had gone to the Pope in a panic to press him for action.

She had thought his rash, hot-blooded nature would make him easy to use.

But seeing him lose his mind this easily was somewhat inconvenient.

He is still an ally, after all.

Young Master Jimon.

He was the master of this castle, where the Order of the God of Chaos was staying.

He was still useful.

“Mr. Kase.”

Head Steward Hitelis called to Clopeh in a low voice, almost like a warning, and pushed his hand off Jimon’s shoulder.

“Young Master.”

Then she gently took hold of Young Master Jimon’s arm.

She needed to bring the idiot to his senses.

Smack!

“Don’t touch me!”

But Young Master Jimon raised his voice and slapped the steward’s hand away.

Then he sprang to his feet.

“I can’t believe this, I can’t believe it!”

Clutching the birth certificate as if he might crumple it in his fist, he spoke.

“I’ll verify this myself! You’re my uncle’s blood? Trash like you?”

Clopeh shook his head.

“That would be difficult. Your side might damage the birth certificate, after all.”

“...What?”

Young Master Jimon flared with rage.

“How dare you—what do you take me for!”

Clopeh strode toward him.

Then he snatched the birth certificate from Jimon’s hand.

“If you wish to verify it, bring an appraiser yourself next time.”

Clopeh looked down at Jimon without smiling.

“......”

Jimon could not say a word.

He could only stare blankly at the birth certificate.

“......”

Clopeh watched him for a moment, then slowly shifted his gaze.

And fixed it on Head Steward Hitelis.

Hmm.

Hitelis realized anew that this man named Clopeh was no easy opponent.

Unlike the second brother standing behind him with his head ducked in fear, the man before her gave off a distinctly chilly atmosphere the moment he stopped smiling.

“Head Steward, Young Master does not seem to be in any state for conversation at the moment, so we will take our leave.”

Clopeh tucked the birth certificate away and continued in an even, measured voice.

“We have more than enough funds to purchase the mine. If at any time you wish to discuss either the authenticity of the birth certificate or the matter of the mine’s sale, you may come to the annex.”

That was when it happened.

“Hey. You—”

Young Master Jimon opened his mouth.

“Why did you tell me that you exist—”

He faltered for a moment, then continued.

“Why did you reveal who you are to me?”

At that, Clopeh looked into empty air for a moment.

Clopeh, we passed along exactly what our human told us to say.Clopeh shifted his gaze from the empty air and looked at Young Master Jimon.

“Count Lupe said this.”

And once again, with a gentle smile on his face, he said:

“Blood can be trusted.”

Young Master Jimon could not hide the complexity in his eyes.

His whole body was trembling.

“Terosa—the Demon King’s side—must have harmed Count Lupe. I cannot help people like that. Not as Count Lupe’s blood. Isn’t that right?”

Clopeh’s gaze remained calm, almost detached.

“Isn’t that why you too are fighting the Demon King’s side, Young Master Jimon?”

“......”

Jimon said nothing.

Clopeh signaled to Cale that it was time to go and headed for the door.

But before stepping out, he delivered one final remark.

“Young Master, I hope next time we can share a proper meal together. Not this sort of treatment.”

Head Steward Hitelis could feel the ease in Clopeh’s smile as he looked down at Young Master Jimon.

It was the sort of smile only a victor could wear.

By contrast, Young Master Jimon stood there with his head bowed, fists clenched tight, body trembling in fine shivers.

As if he were suppressing his anger.

Hitelis did not see the tears gathered in Jimon’s lowered eyes.

Having held those tears back, Young Master Jimon never lifted his head in the end.

“Then we’ll be going.”

Unlike when they had entered, Clopeh’s party now walked out with complete confidence, as though the castle itself already belonged to them.

After they disappeared from sight, Hitelis finally opened her mouth.

“Young Master Jimon.”

Jimon lifted his head.

With numb, emotionless eyes, Hitelis gave him an answer.

No—not for his sake.

For the Order of the God of Chaos.

“That man will die too.”

The birth certificate?

Whether it was genuine or not, once that bloodline died, it would all be over.

“......!”

Jimon’s pupils shook.

Hitelis seized the hand that had dared to strike hers away.

Then she said slowly:

“We will take care of it. You need only stay still.”

At that, the wavering in Jimon’s eyes settled.

But he avoided Hitelis’s gaze.

At that behavior, Hitelis smiled.

Yes. This was the face that suited him.

“Th—”

Young Master Jimon opened his mouth.

“It was the Demon King who killed my uncle, right?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

Hitelis answered with the truth, without a trace of hesitation.

“...I see.”

The strength left Young Master Jimon’s body, and he sagged back into his chair.

Only then did Hitelis pat his shoulder the way one truly would comfort him and say:

“By tomorrow night, the demons Terosa sent—and Kase’s group along with them—will all be dead. So set your mind at ease and rest. Tonight, tomorrow night, and every night from here on.”

Young Master Jimon looked up at her.

“H-heh, haha—”

A laugh spilled from his mouth.

Hitelis met it with a deep smile.

Because the laughter of a puppet sounded rather pleasant.

“Haha—”

And Jimon could not stop laughing.

The moment Kase had held out the birth certificate—

he had heard the voice of a child.

Jimon. Count Lupe is still alive.The mana in the certificate is proof.

*****

The next morning.

Having slept deeply for the first time in a long while, Cale waited for breakfast and recalled what Count Lupe had said through Aurora, the head of the mediator group.

‘Jimon was the child who followed me most closely. And that child joined hands with the Order of the God of Chaos? I can’t believe it.’

Count Lupe had said there were members of his bloodline he could not trust.

That their greed made them too unpredictable.

‘After he lost his family as a child, he was raised at my side until he came of age. He was the child who inherited Moraka Castle and the mine because of me. Strange.’

Knock knock.

Right on time, servants from the main castle arrived with the breakfast.

Food was set out in the dining room on the second floor, and after everyone left, one old man remained behind.

He approached Clopeh.

“It is a pleasure to meet you.”

At the bow, Clopeh asked:

“Who are you?”

“I am the head steward.”

At that moment, Clopeh’s eyes met Cale’s.

Clopeh spoke.

“So the real one has come.”

Not Hitelis.

The real head steward.

The one who had originally managed Moraka Castle.

One of the hands and feet Count Lupe had left behind for the young Jimon. And from what they had heard, he had later been pushed aside as Young Master Jimon began aiming for the lord’s seat.

Yet he still introduced himself as the head steward.

That meant it was Jimon’s will.

As expected.

Young Master Jimon might not have betrayed Count Lupe after all.

While looking at the veteran steward, Clopeh casually said:

“So you managed to avoid the Order of the God of Chaos’s eyes.”

“!”

The steward’s eyes widened.

The Order of the God of Chaos. Even the Demon King’s side did not know about them—so how could these people?

But the head steward did not carelessly open his mouth.

Watching that with satisfaction, Clopeh calmly said to him:

“What is it you came to say?”

The real head steward, who had heard that Clopeh was courteous, realized from the way he carried himself—like a noble born to command—that this was the man’s real nature.

“...He told me to warn you to be careful tonight.”

“Then I suppose the Order of the God of Chaos intends to kill us.”

“......!”

Leaving the head steward unable to answer, Clopeh turned to look at Cale.

Nod. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

At the signal from Cale’s slight nod, he opened his mouth.

“To the Order of the God of Chaos and to the Demon King’s side alike, you and I are probably nothing more than mildly troublesome variables.”

Sitting in the seat of honor, Clopeh looked to his left.

The real head steward followed his gaze.

There sat the second brother, the one known for being dim-witted.

“Deliver this to Young Master Jimon.”

Clopeh’s calm voice reached the steward’s ear.

“If he wishes to meet Count Lupe, tell him to come to the person who saved him.”

Then Cale smiled at the steward.

Straightening the shoulders he had kept slightly hunched.

Leaning back against his chair, the second brother looked at the steward.

From that calm expression and those eyes, he felt it.

If Kase’s gaze was that of a noble—

Then the second brother.

Those eyes were like the eyes of someone he had once seen from afar in the past.

Yes, like him.

The previous Demon King.

Like him, they were indifferent, and yet seemed to see through everything.

There was no foolish young man before him now.

There was only someone with a gaze that was chilly, and bottomlessly deep.

Cale had still done nothing to the Order of the God of Chaos—the people who had made Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk like this, made Choi Jung Gun like this, and who might even have done something to Choi Jung Soo as well.

He was merely keeping a record and waiting for the time to strike.

“Head Steward.”

Cale used a little of his dominating aura on the head steward, Jimon’s eyes and ears.

A pressure that filled the space.

Standing at its center, Cale conveyed his will.

“Where is the Pope?”

Cale drew a relaxed smile for the first time in a while as he looked at the trembling head steward.