“We’ll attack starting tomorrow,”

  I said confidently, as I saw surprise spread across everyone’s faces.

  “Are you insane, Shin!?”

  Cynthia shot back, staring at me with her viper-like eyes; I could almost feel her disapproval piercing straight through me.

  “I agree with Lady Cynthia. Attacking now could be a bad idea,”

  added her loyal vassal. To think he still dared to answer me after what had been done to him three years ago… To my great relief, it was Manu who responded.

  “On the contrary, I think this is the best moment to strike.”

  “Explain,”

  Cynthia finally conceded, rubbing her temples.

  “The best defense is offense. And since they don’t suspect you’re our ally, they’ll put everything into searching for us in the city. That’s our best chance to hit them.”

  Manu’s answer made both Donavan and Cynthia think. Still, she didn’t seem ready to give in so easily.

  “Here’s what we’ll do then: we’ll attack the day after tomorrow. Make sure you recover, and we’ll finish the preparations tomorrow. Charging in headfirst like that never brings anything good.”

  The young princess sighed as she slumped into her chair, exhausted. After all, she had prepared all of this for us, on top of conducting the research I had asked of her.

  “In that case, it’s time for me to leave. It would look suspicious if I weren’t home, even if I’ve sworn loyalty to Lady Cynthia and answered her call.”

  Standing up, the tall vassal bowed to Cynthia before heading home.

  “Never say never, they say, huh? I never expected I’d have to work with my torturer one of these days,”

  Manu complained as he walked toward the computer in the room.

  I found myself alone with Cynthia for a moment, my heart pounding as I observed the delicate features of the young woman I had once loved. I really have no luck, I thought, as I picked up my cup of tea and took a sip, lost in thought—nostalgic, almost hateful—at the fact that she was with Jack.

  “A defeat is a defeat…”

  I murmured into the void as our gazes crossed, yet not a single word left our lips, as if we both had so much to say without being able to.

  If you keep looking at me like that, I might regret having been obsessed with my goals back then, I laughed inwardly as I savored the taste of my tea.

  “I just checked the contents of the key I found in Céline’s safe. There are three things on it, and you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you.”

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  Manu’s voice, proud of his discoveries, shattered the tension between us.

  “So what exactly did you find?”

  Céline was still as clever and quick as ever—her habits hadn’t changed…

  “I found a high-level martial art based on deduction. I think it’s an art she created herself, drawing inspiration from the Blue Sage’s art.”

  What Manu had just said surprised me. It was exactly what he needed right now. Even though the Blue Sage’s art suits him, it’s very limited in terms of versatility, especially since most of its runic language has been lost over time.

  “That’s good news. How long do you think it’ll take you to master it?”

  I asked, curious to know whether we truly needed to delay our operation to strengthen ourselves first.

  Seeing the grin form on Manu’s face, I understood that he was confident.

  “By tomorrow, I’ll be operational with this Jegal art, even if it’ll take me time to fully master it.”

  “That’s enough,”

  I replied, thinking that if that was the case, I’d have to complete my own new martial art by tomorrow as well.

  “If you’re already happy with the first piece of news, I can’t imagine how you’ll react to the rest.”

  The princess and I were completely in the dark. Because there was more?

  “Céline is a double agent. She’s working with Rubis.”

  Manu had just dropped a bombshell. That explained her increased mistrust toward us, and especially her overly harsh punishment, even if one of the Ten Kings had been involved.

  “What do you mean?”

  The most shocked by the news was Haru. She, who seemed utterly stunned, had just woken up to this information. And her doubt was justified: after all, Céline originally worked for a vassal family of the Warrior Queen.

  “We’re going to have to dig into this information. It could be far more useful than we think,”

  I chuckled, gesturing toward Cynthia to let her know she had even more work ahead of her, while she sighed, worn out by the additional burden piling onto her workload.

  “Is there anything else interesting in there?”

  I added, curious about what else we might exploit.

  “I’ll go through it tonight. I’ll tell you tomorrow when we meet again.”

  Manu needed time to dig? No problem. We still had a little time—though he’d have to move fast.

  “Well, I suppose it’s time to sleep,”

  Cynthia had just brought the meeting to a close, and she wasn’t wrong, even if sleep would be hard to come by after all these revelations and the battles we’d just endured.

  Haru and Javis shared the same room with two beds. They surely had a lot to talk about, and that worked in my favor if I wanted my plan concerning her to move forward. I wondered how she’d react when she learned the whole truth. She might cry… she might even kill me.

  Manu and I shared the same room, one bed each, and of course the princess would have her own room, far from the common folk.

  Collapsed on my bed, sleep refused to come. Manu, on the other side of the room, alternated between studying the new art he’d obtained by stealing it from a level-2 awakened—quite the delicious trophy, I admit—and analyzing mafia data whenever he got tired or stuck.

  Annoyed by the sound of his mouse and keyboard, I got out of bed and gestured that I was going to get some fresh air.

  Walking along the right wing of the massive villa, I hoped to avoid Cynthia. Unfortunately, fate wasn’t on my side.

  The moonlight pierced through the clouds to reach her, revealing the fascinating, almost angelic beauty of the young woman. She was wearing a tracksuit, yet it didn’t take away any of her charm.

  When she saw me, I noticed a faint smile, while my heart tightened. So that’s what they call heartbreak, huh? I really wish I could’ve skipped this part. Taking a deep breath, I gathered my courage and walked toward her.

  I stood beside her, gazing at the stars. That night, neither of us spoke a word, aside from exchanging looks filled with a mix of regret and nostalgia.

  “I really hate losing…”

  I murmured, as the wind carried my words away.