Brave, Planning

After Syldra and Rosetta left, Samael remained standing in the doorway, motionless, until their footsteps faded into silence.

His expression was calm, his gaze cold as he stared into the corridor beyond.

The warm glow from his room spilled outward, illuminating a small patch of floor before vanishing into the cold darkness of the moonlit hall.

…… Came to see me in secret—just to “congratulate me on my engagement under the guise of thanking me”?

The black-haired, crimson-eyed youth shook his head slightly.

Even if she were close friends with Lakazet, how meaningful could her relationship be with the man Lakazet is engaged to?

As a “friend,” there was no reason to make a private visit to congratulate an unfamiliar groom—especially before the engagement was even public.

And gratitude?

Did a member of House Lentiya truly need to personally thank someone for such a trivial act as being helped up?

Camille was merely a minor duchy carved from Dalabi’s territory.
Lentiya stood among the most prestigious vassal states within the mighty Aetelarma Empire—renowned across the continent.

Outside imperial protocol, a Lentiya heir walked as an equal to any duke’s lineage.

——The only plausible reason Samael could think of for Syldra seeking him out alone was that she, too, belonged to that group:

Those who knew Camille’s secret—and sought to claim the Heart of the World before anyone else.

…… The Heart of the World was a secret known only to the highest echelon of Camille’s ruling class.

A Pandora’s Box of annihilation—once revealed, it would plunge the world into war.

It must never be exposed.

Since the sacred site housing the Heart had been breached by unknown intruders six months ago, the Duke of Camille had raised the alarm.

…… And naturally, Samael had been warned repeatedly.

He had met Lakazet roughly eight months ago.
Her first request to begin a romantic relationship came three months after the breach.

Her aggressive pursuit. Her forceful demand for marriage.

Samael couldn’t help but suspect she had heard whispers of the Heart—and come hunting for it.

So when he realized the representative of House Lentiya had come to see him in secret, while the higher-ranking nobles were still occupied with their banquet—

He immediately assumed Syldra was just like Lakazet.

He believed she, too, had come for the Heart.

That was why he adopted a stern demeanor, pressing her: “From whom did you hear of me?”

If she lied—if she concealed her intent—he would detect it instantly through the “scent” of negative emotion.

.….. To defeat the strong as the weak, one must appear strong through weakness, lull the opponent into lowering their guard—then strike without warning.

Only by disarming suspicion could he glimpse her true intentions.

That was Samael’s logic. That was his method.

Yes, he took pride in his bloodline—perhaps to an extreme degree. But this innate arrogance served as the perfect disguise.

He wasn’t delusionally self-obsessed.

But he was willing to use that illusion for survival.

A butterfly surviving in a predator-filled jungle evolves perfect mimicry.

Samael cast one last glance down the darkened corridor, then quietly closed the door.

He had assumed the Lentiya representative came with a hidden motive.

…… He hadn’t expected the result of his test to be this:

She seemed utterly unaware of the Heart.

When he pressed her—“From whom did you hear of me?”—he sensed regret, sharp fear, deep confusion.

But not a trace of hope.

One who lies to conceal their purpose hopes their fabricated excuse will pass scrutiny. They feel hope.

Yet this young lady from Lentiya felt only:
Regret—for meeting a man alone.
Fear—for being physically restrained.
Confusion—for the sudden turn of events.

No hope that her lie wouldn’t be uncovered—because she wasn’t lying.

This meant she had no intention to deceive about how she learned of the engagement.

Only then did Samael confirm:
She came because Lakazet claimed they were engaged.
Not because she knew of the Heart of the World.

She was not one of them.

Later, he even tested her again—pretending to sleep, exposing himself in vulnerability, watching for any suspicious action.

…… Yet she simply sat, sipped her tea, then sat in silence once it was gone.

She didn’t approach. She didn’t search.

She didn’t even seem to care about the young man leaning against the bed beside her.

He moved to the window, gazing out at the endless darkness stretching across the land—a shroud over his heart, over Camille.

…… Then, in the void, a vision flickered:

Fiery red hair. A vibrant, alive face.

Like a light piercing the night.

“……”

Why did she come to see me tonight?

He couldn’t decipher her motive.

…… Frustration. Restlessness. Slowly crept into his chest.

The heir of Camille—born with the ability Devour Malice, capable of detecting lies and absorbing negative emotions—

For the first time, he faced someone whose mind he could not read.

Moonlight bathed his windowsill. On the nightstand, his coat lay where the girl from Lentiya had casually placed it.

****

Silver light also fell upon Syldra’s bedside.

At this moment, her heart was still as a mirror.

On the other bed, Rosetta’s soft breathing signaled she was already asleep.

Silence wrapped around Syldra. After a long pause, she gently pushed back the covers and sat up.

In the dim room, the elegant silhouette of her youthful form cast a delicate shadow on the floor beneath the pure moonlight.

In two days, the Duke of Wylding would publicly announce Lakazet’s engagement to Samael.

If nothing was done to stop it before the union became official—before the representatives recognized it as a diplomatic fact—then resistance would become nearly impossible.

With home-field advantage, once Wylding declared the alliance, it would instantly become an international matter demanding attention from every attending nation.

And with the Duke of Lentiya far away in the north, her influence—her voice—would carry little weight.

After all, she was just a child. No one would rally behind her.

Therefore—

A plan crystallized in Syldra’s mind.