* * *
Zeroth slammed Karl’s head into the wall again.
The white wallpaper was stained deep red with Karl’s blood.
Julian stood at the window, unable to speak, recalling the tragic remnants of his master’s first love.
‘Hailey Norman.’
A famous prostitute from Sophzen, a back alley in the Narman capital.
Before the Kingdom of Narman was restored, the former Duke Graham had investigated him under orders.
When Hailey later discovered he was the king’s son, he boldly demanded a chance—
—wanted to shed his past and take on a new identity.
But before he could be officially acknowledged as the king’s son, he was beheaded by Zeroth.
“How does it feel to be tossed around by a high-class whore? Huh?”
‘Cough. Guhh. That… can’t be. Hailey… that can’t be true.’
Karl gritted his teeth, seething at Zeroth’ cruel taunts.
There’s no way.
Someone that dazzling, that beautiful… he couldn’t have been a prostitute.
He swung his trembling arm at Zeroth’ face.
Smack!
“I don’t mind hitting you until you believe it. The night is long.”
Zeroth poured out his rage again.
He mocked Karl with every piece of truth he knew about Hailey.
The pain of betrayal from someone he believed in, loved beyond reason—
The memory of Hailey shattering before him, even as he said he still loved him.
“Are you saying I didn’t love him?!”
“You’re… crazy…”
Drip.
The darkness finally parted.
And the sunlight poured in.
Karl, still denying that Hailey could have been what Zeroth said, burst into tears.
He, who had endured healing and beating alike, finally broke.
“Why… didn’t he tell me?”
“……”
Zeroth fell silent.
He had been the only one who needed to know the truth.
He thought Karl would just chalk it up to a failed first love and move on.
He had Charlian Nefer, after all.
“I never thought I’d end up as a fool who couldn’t let go of his first love for twenty years.”
At the Duke’s bitter voice, Karl let out a shaky breath.
“Nonsense…”
Drip.
It was hollow, hopeless.
Karl gave a dry, rustling laugh as tears streamed down his face.
Was that all my love had been worth?
Hailey… Hailey Norman.
“Ugh… haha. Just that little…”
Then laughter broke out of him.
He had been the fool who loved too much to even hold his hand.
Even as he told himself not to believe Zeroth, he saw the shattered look in his eyes.
More than anything, Zeroth Graham had no reason to lie to him.
He wasn’t that kind of person.
Karl had known that all too well.
“Hahahahahaha.”
The long, cursed regret, the obsession that had clung like a film, finally peeled away.
What have I been doing all this time?
Karl, his face a wreck, laughed until he passed out.
“Is he dead?”
“No.”
Zeroth tossed Karl’s unconscious body to the floor and shook his head.
He was still breathing—barely.
“What about the independence soldiers?”
“They’ve been secured.”
Julian, who had been watching the exchange while going in and out, had cleaned up the surroundings.
The captured soldiers were dragged to the underground prison.
“The Imperial Knights are interrogating them for names and connections.”
“And the inspector?”
“Outside, praying the Marquis doesn’t die.”
At Julian’s dry response, Zeroth looked down at the blood splattered on his clothes.
“He might faint if he sees me like this.”
“I’ll tell them you’re alive.”
“No need. I’ll drag him to the palace myself. You head back to the estate.”
At the Duke’s order, Julian hesitated.
“The Duchess will be waiting for you.”
“…Forget it.”
“Damn it! Did the Marquis betray us?!”
“What?!”
It was a small wooden house.
A member of the resistance stormed inside, slamming the door open.
At his words, another resistance fighter sprang to his feet.
“Is that true?”
“There’s no sign of the Marquis at the estate. We don’t know where he disappeared to.”
The one who had infiltrated the Rooster Marquis’ estate sensed something was off from the eerily quiet atmosphere.
“Then why did he summon us back then?”
“He either killed those men or had them taken somewhere else.”
At his words, a few of the gathered resistance members clenched their mouths shut.
After the Duchess had been kidnapped, the Imperial family hadn’t left the resistance alone.
Most of them had died fleeing the relentless pursuit breathing down their necks.
“If this keeps up, we’ll die too.”
“Then what are you suggesting? Didn’t I say from the start we should’ve taken over even a small fief?”
Voices rose in desperation—their lives were at stake.
“Then why don’t you go take down the Imperial Army first! A small fief? Ha! We couldn’t even defeat the knights guarding that!”
The resistance was made up of Alphas, but they were no match for the Imperial knights.
The skilled Alphas had been quickly identified and killed by the Empire.
Those who remained were middling at best—neither strong nor completely weak, just barely hanging on.
“Are we just going to die like this?!”
“How are we supposed to do anything without money from the Marquis?!”
Pushed to come up with a solution, the highest-ranking among them grit his teeth.
“If the Marquis is gone, why don’t we ransack the estate?”
“Are you insane?”
“There really was no sign of the Marquis.”
“You actually went in?”
He had disguised himself as a servant.
He hadn’t planned to do more than quietly observe the Marquis’ movements, but no one noticed his infiltration.
“If we use this, we might be able to take over the Marquis’ estate.”
It hadn’t come from the Marquis himself.
It was a security pass dropped by a contact who had been secretly exchanging information with the resistance.
‘He left this behind last time.’
‘Ah, you want it?’
The man had grinned slyly, as if imagining a wildly amusing situation, and casually handed over the pass.
‘This lets you sneak into the Marquis’ estate. You can’t use it often—only in dire emergencies. It’ll work twice at most.’
‘You’re really giving us this? Is the Marquis truly backing us?’
‘Shh, it’s a secret.’
He’d winked, telling him to use it wisely.
There had been quiet rumors among the resistance that Marquis Rooster was providing funding, but no one had expected it to be true.
Since then, stories spread among them that the Marquis was aiding the Naruman resistance in their rebellion.
‘Be careful not to get caught.’
Gulp.
The man who had returned from the estate holding the pass swallowed hard.
The Marquis’ words had been real.
“We don’t know where he’s hiding, but if we take over the estate, he’ll have no choice but to crawl out. The Rooster Marquis’ knights can’t compare to the Imperial Army.”
“We still have a fighting chance.”
Determination lit up in the eyes of those gathered.
Better to act than to die doing nothing.
“Are we the only ones moving?”
“No, we’re far too few.”
“Tell the others—we’re hitting the Marquis’ estate.”
At that, everyone in the room stood up.
This was the only way the few remaining resistance fighters might survive.
Just occupying the estate would provide food and money.
Even if they only stole what they could before the Imperial Knights arrived, it would be worth it.
They had contacts who could launder the stolen goods as contraband.
Starving to death wasn’t their only option anymore.
Greed rose up, overtaking patriotic ideals of independence.
* * *
