The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 70.1
“Just this once. Do not touch what is mine again.”
Even so, he had no intention of telling him anything more.
Brian immediately leaned closer to Cal, pressing his mouth so near to his ear that it was almost touching, and whispered in a low voice,
“This is the last time I let it slide.”
Along with that sharp tone, a sigh-laced breath brushed past Cal’s ear and faded.
Brian passed by Cal without another word, brushing the dust off the sleeve of his uniform as if it were nothing.
Soon after, he climbed into the carriage, where the servants were already waiting and holding the door open with perfect courtesy.
From the window, Cal’s face twisted as he watched Brian’s back recede.
‘Me running around with men and him being an alchemist are the same thing. At least taking a man as a lover is something people turn a blind eye to—but using forbidden sorcery is clearly illegal.’
With a face twisted by desire, pride, anger, and inferiority all tangled together, Cal left the spot.
***
Brian’s steps toward the Inner Palace, where he was to meet the Empress, felt heavier than ever.
The sound of the servants’ footsteps echoed down the gallery, contrasting sharply with his own.
The hallway, lined with thick columns and gilded moldings, was quiet yet full of a unique sense of dignity.
Brian’s gaze as he took it all in was calm.
The space was beautiful, with its silent old statues, deep-green shrubs, and roses whose buds had yet to fully unfurl, but the very fact that this was the heart of the Imperial Palace made it a place where suspicion and intrigue were always brewing, and he could not let his guard down.
—Paired with Prince Tarensiu and Lady Miroi.
The words Cal had said to him before he came to the palace pierced through his mind.
“How could I use those two…”
He muttered unconsciously to himself.
On the surface, the academy was operating without any issues.
When they had first recruited Dean Kelly, countless predictions had run rampant, and rumors had spread that the academy would fall short of its admissions quota.
Instead, applications had skyrocketed.
In particular, the fact that a foreign prince and a noblewoman of the empire had enrolled at the same time became a major topic of conversation.
It was said that countless noble children were already submitting applications for next year in hopes of forming a connection with those two.
Brian let out a derisive snort.
“You think the Empress will just sit back and watch that?”
She was busy moving to seize control of the academy.
No—the academy was merely the starting point.
But in the current state of affairs, a simple political struggle was not enough to even begin.
He needed a justification.
A strategy that was not only justifiable, but one that many would find convincing and efficient…
Brian’s eyes reached the end of the corridor.
There stood the secret door that led to the Empress’s private receiving room.
The armed knights bowed their heads as though it were routine.
Brian was just about to step inside when a sudden thought stopped him in his tracks.
‘A territorial war.’
What if he could tie the academy into a large-scale dispute, where different noble houses clashed militarily and politically over their territorial rights?
A strange smile curled on Brian’s lips.
***
The head of the Locke Trading Company walked slowly down the warehouse corridor with his hands clasped behind his back.
Each heavy iron-locked warehouse door bore a stamped seal.
“Did you hide them well?”
The trading company manager following behind nodded quickly.
“Yes, Master. Everything sent outside is on the normal delivery list. No one can check what’s inside.”
The Locke Company head nodded, seemingly satisfied, though his face remained stern.
“Do not allow a single gap. We cannot let the Luna Trading Company take this from us.”
He stopped and placed a hand on one of the warehouse doors.
Behind it were special alloys, explosive powder, and military supply kits—all absent from the official delivery manifests.
The academy was currently the largest purchaser of materials and equipment.
And the trading company that controlled that supply could use the name of logistics to move weapons.
This was not simply a matter of supply rights, it created an opportunity for military infiltration.
“Luna is too honest for its own good.”
The company head gave a brief laugh.
“They know that if the inspector finds out, it’s over.”
He took his hand off the warehouse door and stepped back slowly.
The manager discreetly handed him a document.
It was a forged delivery statement that, at a glance, looked flawless.
But on the inside corner of the folded sheet, a tiny star had been marked.
The items with that star were not real deliveries.
“If everything goes according to plan, I will own the largest trading company in the Empire.”
His lips twisted into a crooked smile.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
