The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

“I see.”

The man quietly listening in the back, Brian, nodded. He knew what intentions the Empress held in her words and deliberately reacted.

Kailos suppressed a hollow laugh.

“I’m debating whether to leave it be, or add a word of my own.”

Having said that much, Empress Tera held out her hand to Brian. He immediately took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped her hand.

She had only drunk a single cup of tea. Why, then, was there a need to wipe her hand so?

Kailos glanced down at the teacup in his own hand. It was nothing but tea prepared by the Crown Prince’s household.

And that, he realized, was the problem. Empress Tera must find it displeasing simply to be present here at all. Kailos kept his smile fixed at the corner of his mouth.

Even if she wished to rise and leave, she was enduring it because she did not know what conversation might pass between the Duke and himself. All he needed to do was show her that she had not wasted her time.

Whatever he thought inside, Kailos continued the conversation with practiced ease.

“That matter can be considered at leisure. Cassian is still young, after all.”

He spoke as though concerned for his younger brother. But Kailos clearly saw the Empress’s lips thin tightly.

Was she unable, or unwilling, to conceal that she had caught the hidden meaning?

In truth, which academy Cassian might attend was not the true issue at hand. By saying so, Kailos had drawn a clear line, dismissing the Empress’s unspoken intent—that the number of those supporting the Second Prince was growing—as nothing worth mentioning about a mere child.

A faintly charged current flowed between the Empress and Kailos.

“Ahem.”

The Duke of Delta, who had merely been watching, cleared his throat to draw attention.

“It seems I’ve kept a busy duke waiting without speaking.”

“It is no trouble. I came to offer my gratitude to Your Highness, so of course I would wait. I only sought an opportunity, and in doing so made too much of my presence.”

Everyone present knew the Duke had deliberately broken into the strained atmosphere. And it was plain from his favorable attitude that his action had been for Kailos’s sake, not the Empress’s.

That the Duke, who had always kept neutrality, was siding this way made Empress Tera’s gaze grow all the colder. What on earth was his reason?

“Thank you for returning my child home safely.”

At last, Empress Tera seemed to grasp the situation somewhat and turned to look at Brian. But he only shook his head slightly. He did not know the information she sought.

Sensing the shift, Kailos spoke calmly, with no change in expression.

“Not long ago, I happened upon Lady Miroi, alone and lost, without even a single attendant.”

The Empress unconsciously gripped the armrest of her chair.

“I merely sent a carriage so she might return without discomfort.”

“Why are you telling us this only now?”

So the girl’s father had come to thank him for returning a daughter who had been wandering alone.

If only that were the sole interpretation. But the Empress found the situation far from pleasing.

Why had Kailos been the one to seize such an opportunity? Worse still, could it be that the Crown Prince had arranged the situation himself? Suspicion lingered in her eyes.

“Now that I think of it, it is strange she had no attendant at her side.”

At the Empress’s doubt, the Duke of Delta’s expression darkened.

“She said she had an appointment and went out, but when she did not return even as the hour grew late, I was gravely worried. It is an embarrassing matter, and I could not speak of it openly.”

At his explanation, the Empress forced a smile, though her face remained uneasy. Seeing this, Kailos kindly added an explanation of his own.

“It was a chance encounter for me as well, but I judged that revealing her private movements might cause needless misunderstanding, so I simply did not make it public.”

By dismissing it as coincidence, he only further scraped against the Empress’s temper.

For an instant, her expression hardened. In the struggle for power, even losing access to information was no small defeat.

“It was hardly such a great deed, but since he came to deliver his thanks, I could not disregard his sincerity—that is the only reason I arranged this meeting.”

Kailos’s words once more underlined that this was no conference, nor any venue for negotiation, but purely a matter of courtesy.

The Empress forced her lips into a smile, yet could not continue her words. The last to hear of any matter was always the weakest on the board.

Watching the faint crack quietly spread across her expression, Kailos felt a subtle satisfaction. But, as though it was too soon to be content, he turned his head toward the Duke and addressed him.

“I have heard you are troubled with issues of estate management.”