Even though it was nighttime, the magical device brightly illuminating the office caught the Empress of the Blata Empire staring blankly at it. She thought it would be nice if she had at least two more people working.

As she contemplated the fact that even the pinnacle of the Magitech Academy's achievements was nothing more than a tool to extend working hours, she let out a sigh.

“…Sigh.”

Of course, sighing alone wouldn’t get the work done, so Marianne buried her face back into the desk.

Aside from the charisma and dignity required to suppress her ministers, and the extravagant attire befitting the Empress of the Empire, Marianne’s current state was no different from that of a student swamped with overdue assignments.

The previous Emperor had neglected governance entirely, indulging in luxury and debauchery.

Then, a rebellion had broken out, and the thought of how much more time it would take to clean up everything that followed was daunting.

Perhaps because of this, the cold composure she maintained during the day loosened a bit at night. Tonight was no exception.

Though her body continued working out of habit, half of her mind wandered elsewhere. And recently, most of those wandering thoughts were taken up by one person.

“The more I think about it, the more absurd it gets.”

Muttering sharply, Marianne threw her pen down. No matter how she tried to shake it, she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling of being slighted.

It was something that had been bothering her.

Not long after the astonishment of Dia Rose's effective destruction had subsided, the very person responsible—her legal husband—had come to see her.

It was a fact that the man, whose unexpected strength had obliterated one of Abrarum’s major financial sources, had made significant contributions in purging rats hidden within the Imperial government and nobility.

Because of that, Marianne was prepared to let him boast a little.

Of course, she had no intention of tolerating any challenge to the authority of the Empress, so she had granted him a private audience, ready to issue a proper warning should he cross the line.

However, instead of boasting about his strength or achievements, her legal husband had simply asked for gold coins.

—…The funds for maintaining your dignity are paid regularly. Surely you’re not saying that’s insufficient?

—No, not that. You said Dia Rose was one of Abrarum’s financial sources, right? Then the gold confiscated by the Imperial government must be substantial.

That was true. Thanks to the undeniable justification built on the Hounds’ gathered evidence, they had seized not only Dia Rose’s legal funds but also a considerable portion of its illicit assets.

The amount confiscated had been enough to refill the Imperial treasury, which had been on the verge of collapse due to the previous Emperor’s wastefulness and the rebellion’s aftermath.

Even Marianne had been inwardly surprised by the figure, so it was understandable that an ordinary person might feel greedy.

But her legal husband, as expected, was no ordinary person.

—Did you really come directly to me just to ask for this?

Having prepared herself to deal with demands for shares or outrageous sums, Marianne had felt completely deflated.

The amount he requested wasn’t small—at least not by commoner standards. But considering that he had destroyed a branch of the Empire’s largest criminal organization and approached the Empress herself, it was laughably small.

—As your husband, I heard I need your permission if I want to earn money beyond the maintenance funds.

At Marianne’s reaction, Isaac tilted his head in confusion. Technically, he was right. Whoever had explained this to him had done so accurately.

Whoever it was likely hadn’t imagined Isaac would approach the Empress herself just to ask for money. Marianne didn’t feel inclined to blame them.

There was no need to open the treasury. Marianne absentmindedly rummaged through her desk drawer and handed Isaac a pouch she grabbed at random.

—Will this do?

—Yeah. Thanks.

Receiving the pouch, Isaac nodded in satisfaction and began to leave. If Marianne hadn’t called out to him, he would have walked out for real.

—Wait. Did you really come to see me just for that?

—Yeah.

Looking at her as if wondering what the problem was, Isaac left Marianne speechless. If that was all he needed, there was no reason to continue the conversation.

Knowing that, she still felt strangely unsettled and added as an afterthought:

—…If you need such a small amount again, just tell Haria. I’ll send it through her.

—Got it.

With that, Isaac walked out. Strictly speaking, there was nothing particularly problematic about it, but Marianne couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d been ignored somehow.

Even to her, it was laughable, but honestly, at the time, she had felt nothing but disbelief.

Yet, the fact that the first reason he had ever come to her was for something so trivial now felt infuriating in hindsight.

More than that, she felt unsatisfied that, despite her order at the recent tea time for him to refrain from meeting women for a while, he still hadn’t come to see her.

According to Haria’s reports, he had been writhing in frustration from not being able to engage in “that.”

Of course, even if he did come to see her, Marianne had no intention of doing anything. But she still couldn’t shake the feeling of being disregarded.

“Ugh, seriously.”

Clicking her tongue in frustration, Marianne left the office. She had concluded that there was no point in trying to focus on work any longer tonight.

As she opened the door, the waiting maids activated magical devices to light the way and began escorting her to her bedroom. Another maid entered the office to extinguish the lights.

In the darkness that settled over the office, only the pen Marianne had thrown remained, lying abandoned on the desk.

“Ugh…”

A dull pain pulled Haria back to consciousness. Instinctively, she quickly checked her physical condition out of long-standing habit.

Her clothes were neither torn nor removed, suggesting she hadn’t been violated. Her head throbbed from a strong blow to the back, leaving her slightly dizzy, but nothing too severe.

Her eyes were covered with something like black cloth, a gag blocked her mouth, and shackles restrained her ankles while her arms were bound behind her. Aside from these restraints, there wasn’t as much damage to her body as she’d expected.

‘Well, they must have plans for a thorough torture session.’

Knowing her body was intact didn’t give her any relief. Being captured by hostile forces and coming out unscathed was rarely a good sign.

It usually meant the captors wanted her awake to experience the full extent of their pain. Knowing who had abducted her only made her wish she could have died already.

But nothing she ever wished for had come true in her life.

“You’re awake.”

The cloth blocking her vision was removed, and a flash of light momentarily blinded her. Her vision blurred but soon adjusted.

As she struggled to observe her surroundings, she recognized that she was likely in a basement. It wasn’t a particularly unique location—just an ordinary, spacious underground room one might find in a large house.

However, the people gathered there were far from ordinary. About ten figures in black masks stood in a circle, all staring down at her.

‘The Elder Council’s direct unit, then.’

Even without actively sensing, she could tell from their overwhelming auras that none of them were normal. Haria quickly concluded who they were.

The Shika—one of the continent’s most renowned assassin families. And the real heads of that monstrous lineage were the decrepit creatures of the Elder Council.

“Remove her gag.”

At someone’s command, the gag blocking her mouth was removed. Haria clenched her teeth, trying to break the poison capsule hidden in her molar, but her effort was meaningless.

As she half-expected, the poison had already been removed. She didn’t bite her tongue either.

It would only hurt, and killing herself immediately wouldn’t work. Besides, if her captors were Shika, such an act would only make their job easier.

Instead, she sneered and said, “Quite the effort for capturing one person. Isn’t this overkill?”

“Of course, we haven’t moved all this force just for the likes of you.”

A man stepped forward, his deliberate steps echoing in the basement. The aura radiating off him distinguished him as the leader.

The subtle pressure from his presence alone was nearly suffocating, but Haria gritted her teeth and shouted, filled with venom.

“What do you want?! You used my family like dogs because we were low-ranking, then let them die like nothing. Now you dare come crawling back as if there’s unfinished business?!”

Haria’s family had indeed been Shika, but of a low standing within the lineage.

The Shika operated under an unforgiving hierarchy, where orders from above were absolute. Haria’s family, as far as she was concerned, had been nothing more than slaves.

Yet despite their servitude, her family had taken pride in being Shika. Raised on countless tales of their legendary assassins, Haria had shared that pride—until her family was discarded as expendable and annihilated.

“To be Shika is to dedicate one’s body and soul to the bloodline. Ordinarily, traitors like you should be executed on sight. But the Elder Council is merciful. They’ve granted you a chance to redeem yourself through service.”

In short, they wanted information in exchange for her life.

It was a lie no one would believe.

“Tell us everything you know about the Empress. No detail is too small. But before that, I have a question.”

Haria had expected them to ask about the Empress. But it was strange—there was no way the Shika, of all people, wouldn’t know she had no privileged information.

Which meant their real objective was something else.

“What is it?”

“Was it truly Isaac von Meyer, the Empress’s new husband, who annihilated the top-tier Abrarum combat forces stationed at Dia Rose?”

‘Ah, so that’s what they want to know.’

Haria didn’t know the details of Shika’s current state, but she could easily guess they were not fond of the Empress.

The Shika had been deeply tied to the ruling powers under the previous Emperor, amassing enormous profits. The current Empress had stripped those privileges away, making her a thorn in the Elder Council’s side.

As long as she lived, they would never rest easy, which was why they had to monitor and suppress her.

If the Empress had gained a new and formidable power, they had no choice but to confirm it. And once they did, they would inevitably try to eliminate it.

Haria didn’t know the full extent of Isaac’s strength. But she knew that, when it came to assassination, it would be difficult for him to defeat the Shika.

After all, he was the Empress’s shield, her scapegoat, and a pawn to solidify her next moves and plans.

Such was the fate of the man who bore the empty title of the Empress’s husband—the Hound Captain.

With no hesitation, Haria grinned wickedly and said, “That idiot playboy wiped out Abrarum’s top-tier fighters? Have the Shika turned into fools? Are you being serious?”

“…”

The masked man’s face was hidden, but Haria could tell he was frowning. He grabbed her wrist and asked again.

“Is that the truth?”

“Ha! The only thing I’ve seen while tailing that guy is the women he sleeps with. Were those top-tier fighters women, by any chance? Then I could believe it. He seems pretty damn good at that, after all.”

“…You’re not lying.”

The man was clearly a skilled assassin, but at the end of the day, he was still a Shika. It never occurred to him that someone like Haria, at the bottom of the hierarchy, might be able to deceive him.

“So what now? Do I get to live if I spill everything about the Empress?”

“No. The plan has changed. You’re of no use to us.”

At some point, the man had drawn a dagger. The moment her usefulness ended, she was to be disposed of. Haria wasn’t surprised.

She had failed to fulfill her sworn vengeance. But if she could give even a small taste of bitterness to the Shika who had betrayed her family, then she would take solace in that.

Her only regret was one thing.

“Maybe I wish I could have loved, just once, like a normal woman.”

Her words made her almost want to laugh. With that lingering regret, Haria closed her eyes.

“This is it, huh? Is this the moment I’m supposed to feel unexpectedly touched? Wow, I’m genuinely moved.”

“What?”

Haria’s eyes flew open. The voice wasn’t the masked man’s. It was a voice she had only recently grown familiar with.

Raising her head, Haria saw someone holding the decapitated head of the man who had just tried to kill her…

“Uh… Excuse me, but who—? No, wait, that voice…”

“Oh, right. I forgot. I was still wearing the mask and the disguise Derrygan gave me.”

The stranger, whose voice was all too familiar, peeled off the fake skin covering his face.

The artificial disguise fell away, revealing the true face underneath.

“Captain?!”

“Yep.”

Smiling down at her was, unmistakably, her Captain—

Isaac.