Luca walked through the cold, damp alley with a complicated expression, still processing everything that had happened that day.
Today’s events were the absolute highest secret within the Chamber of Commerce.
If the Imperial Family’s spies truly discovered this, it would undoubtedly trigger a bloodbath.
He had not expected Mapell to actually risk everything, choosing to ally with the Hawk Family to seek a way to survive.
For a long time, Luca had used his position as a conservative to suppress the Chamber, preventing them from making risky decisions.
He did this to reduce the risk of the Imperial Family taking direct action against them.
This way, the Chamber could maintain its foundation, and he could better appease the Imperial Family with his reports.
He believed he was acting in the Chamber’s best interest.
As long as the Prince did not lose his mind, Luca could provide conservative intelligence, acting as a scale to harmonize the relationship between the two sides.
‘Chairman… your kindness…’
He tightened his grip on the silver bracelet in his hand, treating it as a precious item he would protect even at the cost of his life.
“Luca.”
The middle-aged man shuddered violently and whipped his head around.
He found a man whose face was obscured, wearing a Royal Guard uniform, staring straight at him.
The level of magic power radiating from the man’s body was several times stronger than Lin Yue’s — there were even traces of other strange powers present.
“Sir…”
Seeing the Royal Guard before him, Luca lowered his head slightly, adopting the posture of a subordinate meeting a superior.
“How was the Keris Chamber of Commerce today? Did that Kristoliel make any unexpected moves?” the man asked coldly.
He spoke like an absolute, heartless machine, carrying the overbearing pressure and majesty of a high-ranking official.
“Other than drinking in the bustling market today, which caused the Royal Guards to intervene and interrupt the meeting, there was nothing else — “
“You know the Kristoliel I’m talking about isn’t that fool, right?”
In the blink of an eye, the man had teleported in front of Luca, gripping his head tightly.
Luca’s hair stood on end, and his entire body froze in place.
“To answer you, sir… as for Mapell, she is attempting to save the business as usual. There have been no other moves.”
He subconsciously averted his gaze and sniffed, intentionally avoiding the words “as usual.”
The Royal Guard fell silent again.
He walked toward the light at the exit of the alley with his hands behind his back, his tone neither hot nor cold.
“Your daughter is already 15 years old, isn’t she?”
Hearing him mention this, Luca’s pupils shrank.
He looked up, only to realize that the man had somehow snatched the silver bracelet from his hand.
The man was inspecting it with a cold gaze.
“You have a weakness now, Luca.”
“I know you’ve been away from us for too long, and a desire for a peaceful life has begun to sprout within you.”
“Let me tell you something. If a falcon stops hunting and its wings lose the tempering of the wind and storms, it will turn from a top-tier hunter into meat served on a dinner plate.”
“I will help you find the truth of that matter. I hope you don’t disappoint me. If anything happens, notify me immediately.”
The man was in a foul mood.
Because of Carolarth’s situation, he was forced to come out this late to handle these affairs.
‘They really are a bunch of useless trash who only know how to cause trouble.’
Fortunately, his former deputy had handled things reasonably well.
Luca had done his best to suppress the Chamber and had secured a place within the organization’s core circle.
He casually tossed the bracelet onto the cold ground, the metal clinking against the concrete.
Then, he vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there at all.
“Yes… Sir.”
The Royal Capital was filled with hidden undercurrents, and the new monarch about to ascend the throne ruled with an iron fist.
‘Lin Yue Hawk…’
Could this sharp-eyed young man be the key to everything?
And could this so-called giant commercial ship truly weather this disaster?
Luca didn’t know, but he had subconsciously made his decision the moment his blood dripped.
He squeezed the silver bracelet in his hand and looked toward the light.
He knew it was time to make a choice.
Should he choose his original background or remain loyal to the Keris Chamber of Commerce?
It was neither.
Or rather… he had already reached a resolution since that day.
‘Xiaoya…’
….
Royal Guard, Office “Basterd! Do you have any idea who that woman is?”
The Chief of the Royal Guard sat at his desk, erupting in a fury at his subordinates.
“She is a guest of the Prince! You actually dared to try and arrest her? Do you have a death wish?”
He glared at the useless trash through gritted teeth.
He hadn’t expected them to be so blinded by their usual greed for bribes that they would offend a monster they couldn’t possibly afford to provoke.
There wasn’t a single clean hand in the entire department; all 100 or so members were fat with corruption, and there was no escape for them.
“I told you long ago that the bribes you collect from regular shops are enough to feed you. The Royal Capital is a den of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, yet you dared to do something so stupid?”
Thinking about it only made his anger flare.
Renault had the Prince’s faction watching over him, so if he did something out of line, someone would bail him out.
But who would help a lowly Chief like himself?
“What should we do now…”
The Royal Guards under his command were clearly panicking.
They were used to distorting the truth, but they had offended such an important figure.
“I don’t know. You’re on your own — “
Just as he was stroking his mustache, several screams suddenly erupted in front of him.
He stood up abruptly, only to find several guards already lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
“This — “
He took two steps back as a cold sensation pressed against his neck.
“The information I wanted… is the investigation finished?”
The man behind him was dressed in a Royal Guard uniform, holding a sword in one hand.
The cold blade cut slightly into the flesh of his neck, and bright red liquid flowed out.
“Master… Master Xavier!”
“Are you patrolling in person? Why are you wearing a uniform…”
He forced a smile, terrified that he would be sliced in half.
“Don’t waste my time with nonsense, or I won’t mind replacing the Chief.”
“Yes… of course…”
He frantically swept the messy documents off his desk and pulled out only the results of the investigation.
“The ones who had a conflict in the market today, aside from that noble guest, included… a young man with grey hair and brown eyes. He seemed to be on the guest’s side. However, after asking around, no one else has seen him before…”
“Grey hair and brown eyes…”
Xavier seemed to hear something that defied intuition.
“Are you sure it wasn’t black hair and brown eyes?”
“Black hair and brown… could it be…”
The Hawk Family had produced a Rank 6 powerhouse a century ago and had been a dominant force in the Royal Capital 10 years ago.
Eventually, they were sent to the border in a functional exile because their achievements had overshadowed the monarch.
Were they returning?
Xavier’s gaze became exceptionally cold, as if he had a grudge against the Hawks.
“Among the younger generation of that family, there is only one useless young master… he can’t stir up any trouble. Given their current influence, they wouldn’t recklessly set foot in the Royal Capital again.”
Unless… they intended to join forces with another power.
“Oh, by the way, Master Xavier… many little masked mice have been caught in the Royal Capital recently.”
He informed Xavier of the new discovery.
“We don’t know their purpose yet. We are currently interrogating them, but…”
The Chief paused, seemingly afraid of being blamed.
Xavier nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.
“We can’t get any useful information. They either self-destruct or the information in their brains is wiped. They don’t even remember who they are…”
These methods seemed like the abilities of the Holy See.
“Hmph.”
Xavier had already reached a conclusion and prepared to head back to report to the Prince.
“The Chamber of Commerce in the capital needs these seeds of unrest. If the water is stirred a bit more, the Imperial Family won’t have to bother making a choice.”
“As for that guy suspected to be from the Hawk Family…”
“Have people keep an eye on him. Don’t alert him. I will investigate personally.”
Xavier suddenly teleported away, leaving the office filled with corpses and a messy desk.
“Sigh…”
The Chief shook his head.
In the end, it was karma.
Those guards were greedy and never bothered to clean up their tracks.
But since he was responsible for their deaths today, he would see to it they were buried properly.
As he was cleaning up the tragedy, a small, agile black bird sat by the window, scratching its head with its talons.
However, its eyes were not those of a normal bird; they appeared hollow, like an abyss…
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