Lucius entered the antique store. The warm sunlight permeated the quiet and peaceful interior.

As he walked toward the counter, he changed his direction toward the shelves.

Cling! He couldn’t tell if the antiques displayed on the shelf were shaking because of his touch or what.

Lucius’ gaze turned toward the two women standing in front of him.

Judging by their attire, one seemed to be a maid, and the other appeared to be a noblewoman.

The maid was draping a scarf around the noblewoman’s face.

However, upon closer inspection, it looked more like a tablecloth than a scarf.

As Lucius stared intently, the maid completely covered the noblewoman’s face with the tablecloth.

“. . .”

Lucius stood beside them in silence.

‘I’ve been feeling their gaze all along.’

Investigating the source of the gaze, he found two women behaving quite suspiciously.

Lucius pretended to browse the items while pricking up his ears.

“I-I can’t breathe!”

“Please endure. It’s beautiful. It suits you well.”

Listening to their suspicious conversation, Lucius picked up a candlestick.

At that moment, the maid stiffened and became alert.

‘She’s not an ordinary maid,’ thought Lucius as he felt her gaze check the candlestick in his hand and the sword at his waist.

The maid even glanced at Lucius’ ankles, where the dagger he always carried was strapped, even though it was not visible due to his clothing.

It seemed she was trained to inspect for hidden weapons.

While placing the candlestick on the shelf, Lucius pretended to make a mistake and lightly slapped it with the back of his hand.

The heavy candlestick fell to the floor, creating a loud noise.

Startled, Rayna, with the tablecloth over her face, shivered.

“Pardon me,” Lucius said, picking up the fallen candlestick near the young lady’s feet.

“I apologize for startling you with my carelessness.”

He properly placed the candlestick on the shelf and then looked at the noblewoman.

“Are you alright?”

“. . .”

The tablecloth still flipped over her face, Rayna was greatly flustered.

‘How can I be okay?’

With a tablecloth covering her, she didn’t look okay at all.

‘Just think of me as a crazy person and go away!’

Perhaps the unusual behavior had attracted unwanted attention.

‘What should I do?’

Frustrated, Rayna held her breath even more.

“Fuuu-haa. Fuuu-haa…”

Each time she desperately took a breath, the tablecloth was pulled in and out of her mouth.

‘This is a disaster,’ sensed Maya.

Rayna, with a tablecloth covering her face and exhaling heavily, looked so suspicious that it wouldn’t be surprising if patrol guards took her away immediately.

“I, I…” Rayna finally managed to open her mouth.

“I’m alright.”

She stubbornly answered through the tablecloth.

A heavy silence settled between them.

As Rayna’s mouth dried up inside, Lucius spoke again.

“You seem uncomfortable.”

“. . .”

“Do you need help?”

Lucius didn’t easily back away. It seemed he wanted to see her face.

Rayna’s frustration grew.

Without seeing his expression, she couldn’t tell if Lucius was examining her or simply being kind.

‘If Lucius really came to find me.’

Although it was embarrassing, all she had to do was follow her plan.

And if he didn’t come for her, she would just leave him with the worst first impression possible.

With determination, Rayna grabbed the tablecloth and pulled it off.

Gradually, her face was revealed. Her previous neatly coiffed silvery hair was now disheveled, and due to the lack of breath, her cheeks were slightly flushed.

Even without seeing, Rayna knew her condition was a mess, but she forced a small smile.

“I’m really fine—hiccup.””

When Rayna made eye contact with Lucius, she hiccuped.

With a deep furrow in his forehead, Lucius stared at Rayna intensely, almost frighteningly.

Under the penetrating gaze, Rayna couldn’t move a muscle.

Gradually, Lucius’ eyes narrowed as he looked at Rayna, and he took a deep breath.

At that moment, a hint of agitation appeared in his normally calm and shining golden eyes.

Not only that, but Lucius even took a half-step back from her.

‘What’s going on?’ Rayna wondered.

Right then, like a savior, the clerk appeared.

“Here you are.”

Still taken aback, Rayna widened her eyes as she saw two glass bottles in the clerk’s hand.

Her surprise made the hiccups stop.

The items she had commissioned to hide Calyx were right in front of Lucius.

Although the bottles were wrapped in cloth, revealing nothing of their contents, Rayna’s heart pounded as if it would leap out of her mouth.

“The payment has already been made—”

Before the clerk could finish speaking, Rayna swiftly snatched the glass bottles with both hands.

“Then we’ll be on our way.”

Accompanied by Maya, Rayna walked past Lucius.

He watched her hurriedly leave the shop; his gaze followed her retreating figure.

Just as he was about to take a step forward, he squinted.

Without warning, a sharp headache struck, making it impossible for him to keep his eyes open.

Lucius covered his eyes with his hands and took a breath.

“Grand Duke?”

The clerk looked at him, puzzled.

“…The stuff.”

Lucius, removing his hands, spoke in a low voice.

The clerk quickly groped the pocket on his chest.

Lucius was a long-time customer with a deep connection to the Master.

He always requested the same thing, and he always left empty-handed.

But today was different, so the clerk’s words resonated with energy.

“Although we couldn’t find the item you mentioned, we were told that this might be helpful for you.”

The clerk extended an envelope to Lucius.

He accepted it and tucked it into his coat.

“Continue the search.”

“Understood.”

As Lucius left the store, a man stood beside him as if he had been waiting.

“My lord.”

The man, wearing a hooded cloak, was Lucius’ right hand, Cyril.

“Have you found what you were looking for?”

“. . .”

“My lord?”

Lost in thought, Lucius finally looked at Cyril properly.

“Are you alright?”

Cyril sounded worried.

“The knights are searching for the Young Master in the southern area, Milord. Why don’t you take a brief rest for now?”

Lucius’ journey to the capital was initially unplanned. But upon hearing that the useless Master had suddenly gotten something, he changed his route and arrived at the capital.

Cyril hoped that Lucius would take a proper rest, even if only for a short while.

“Did you find any useful clues?”

“I apologize,” Cyril bowed in regret.

“As expected, I shouldn’t have done it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I killed the director too quickly.”

Lucius spoke with a chilling tone.

When he visited the southern hospice, he discovered that Calyx had escaped.

After witnessing the solitary confinement room where Calyx had stayed, he understood why his younger brother had fled.

They had confined Calyx in a windowless cell, providing him with meager meals—watery porridge and hard bread that was difficult to chew.

Examining the records, Lucius found no evidence of purchasing the necessary medicine for Calyx.

It turned out they were neglectful in their care and secretly embezzled the expensive fees as well.

Calyx was undoubtedly a direct member of the prestigious Ingerson family.

What the director did was tantamount to belittling and insulting the Ingerson family and its owner.

Right then and there, Lucius beheaded the director.

‘I shouldn’t have made it so easy.’

Considering everything that was created because of the director, his punishment seemed too light.

He should have extracted as much information as possible before cutting him down.

Breathing heavily, Lucius looked at Cyril.

“Did you get the list?”

“Here it is.”

Cyril handed Lucius the documents.

“It’s a list of people who passed through the southern region around the time the young master Calyx disappeared.”

As Lucius took the documents, Cyril added,

“As you know, even if a child traveled with them, only adults are recorded on the list, as no tolls are collected for children.”

It meant that it was virtually impossible to find the person who left with Calyx just by looking at the list.

Without showing any concern, Lucius flipped through the papers, pausing at a certain point.

On a specific date, names of noble families familiar to him were concentrated on the list.

Noticing Lucius’ focus, Cyril spoke,

“It’s said that cadets from the naval academy stopped by for their vacation.”

Cadets from the naval academy—nobles sent their sons there for similar reasons: to confine them and prevent them from causing major disasters.

They were idiots and troublemakers who only wore fancy cadet uniforms and didn’t hesitate to do dangerous things while relying on their family names.

The fact that they happened to be in the southern region at that time struck Lucius as significant.

“Cyril.”

Lucius pointed to the section with the cadets’ names.

“Investigate these individuals first.”

Lucius closely examined a name written far below.

Jonathan Krollot.

“I’ll personally investigate this one.”