‘This story is far more intriguing than I expected.’

That was Ludger’s assessment after hearing Passius’s report.

But along with the intrigue came unease.

For a meeting between two groups that should never have crossed paths, things had been too quiet.

And Ludger’s foreboding hunch proved accurate.

“Surprisingly, there was no violent clash between the two groups.”

“No clash?”

Ludger, who rarely showed surprise, reflexively repeated the words.

It was the Lumenis Church and the elves, of all people.

Two groups fundamentally incapable of accepting each other’s existence.

Their very contact should have triggered an explosive reaction—like volatile chemicals igniting on touch—yet there had been no such conflict?

“Both sides had considerable forces. A meaningless fight would’ve only cost them both dearly, so they likely refrained out of caution.”

Sure. Fighting would’ve been mutually harmful.

But those kinds of people didn’t hesitate to sacrifice their own just to damage the enemy. So...

“There’s something else going on.”

At Ludger’s firm conclusion, Passius gave a slightly troubled nod.

“We suspect they made some sort of deal. We haven’t been able to gather detailed intel even with all our agents.”

It hadn’t been a covert meeting in some building, but outside the capital—making surveillance harder on their end.

Ludger folded his arms, sinking into thought with a frustrated expression.

The Lumenis Church and the elves.

Both had come to the capital for the same reason.

The roots of the dead World Tree buried beneath the city.

The Church had detected traces of demonic power linked to the roots, while the elves had tracked it via the World Tree network records.

And now the two factions, despite baring their fangs at each other, had not fought—but had come to some secret arrangement.

“The most likely explanation is that they shared information about the World Tree below.”

If their purposes aligned, then even arch-enemies could temporarily cooperate.

They could be pooling what they’d learned or simply trading knowledge.

“Is the underground facility still well hidden?”

“We’re maintaining maximum vigilance at all times, but...” Passius trailed off slightly.

He wasn’t the on-site commander—it meant he couldn’t give a clear answer.

“While we’ve tracked the movements of both groups, there’s been no indication that either reached the core of the underground site.”

“But that doesn’t mean they didn’t find something by other means.”

That was Princess Aileen, speaking for the first time in a while.

“Until now, both sides had been desperately scouring the area for a way in. But ever since they met, they’ve gone suspiciously quiet. So quiet, we’re the ones getting nervous just watching them.”

“Don’t they seem like they’re waiting for something?”

“More like... they already found what they were looking for. Whether that’s misdirection or not, I don’t know. But my instincts tell me—they figured something out.”

“Well, that’s troublesome.”

It would’ve been bad enough if it were just one of them—but two?

They hadn’t yet posed a direct threat, but their mere presence hovering nearby was aggravating enough.

And the worst part?

There was no clear way to drive them out.

At least the elves had illegally crossed the border—grounds for punishment—but those bastards weren’t fools. The moment they sensed pursuit, they’d vanish.

Even if they were confronted, the elven kingdom would just plead ignorance.

“So, you came here to share intel and work out a countermeasure?”

“That’s part of it. Honestly, having such vermin lurking around the capital is not something I can just overlook as someone poised to rule the Empire.”

“Hmph.”

Ludger could call it a pain, but Aileen was still one of his most dependable backers.

Not only did she know his true identity—she’d offered him considerable leeway in various ways.

If, in the future, he were forced to change identities again, First Princess Aileen would be an invaluable ally.

He’d received information. It was only fair to give something in return.

“There’s one method I can suggest.”

“Oh? What is it?”

Aileen’s eyes gleamed as if she’d been waiting for this moment.

For all her posturing, it was clear this whole situation had been gnawing at her too.

“It’s difficult to deal with the Lumenis Church, but I know how to handle the elves. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. An elf for an elf.”

An elf... for an elf?

Everyone in the room instinctively turned toward one side.

“Uh, huh? Me?”

Bellaruna, who hadn’t quite caught on to the flow of conversation, pointed at herself with a dumb look.

She knew this day would come—but she’d tried to deny it as long as possible.

Aileen turned to Ludger, her gaze skeptical, as if asking: Really? That one?

So Ludger kindly explained.

“She’s one of our senior members. Bellaruna Petanada. Codename: Fitzgerald. As you may # Nоvеlight # know, she’s an elf—and an expert in pharmacology and alchemy.”

“And how does that relate to this situation?”

“Her abilities go beyond that. She’s one of the few elves who can access the World Tree network.”

At that, Aileen’s eyes widened.

She knew only elves acknowledged by the World Tree could connect to it.

“Is she from a noble bloodline?”

“No.”

“Then how...?”

“That’s just one of her abilities.”

Ludger’s voice brimmed with confidence, and Aileen’s gaze toward Bellaruna intensified.

Bellaruna hiccupped involuntarily under the pressure.

Ludger turned to her.

“Bellaruna. You’ll need to go to the capital.”

“......”

It hadn’t been that long since things went to hell in the capital—and now again?

Worse, Shadewarden trackers were still there to kill her.

It was practically a suicide mission.

And yet Bellaruna didn’t flat-out refuse.

More precisely—she couldn’t.

But that didn’t mean she was going to nod along obediently either.

Time to use the method she’d developed for politely rejecting assignments.

“That thing?”

“Yes.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Why?”

“......”

This was one of Bellaruna’s recently perfected miracle three-step rebuttals.

Innocent, childlike questions that left the other party speechless.

Repeat the sequence often enough, and the other person would give up from exhaustion.

But sometimes, you meet someone entirely immune to such miracles.

“Because you’re the one who hacked into the World Tree network and drew the elves here. So you need to clean it up.”

That someone was Ludger.

He had money, power, and seniority.

If he said go, you went. End of story.

“B-But still...”

“Don’t worry. I’ll assign a guard detail.”

“But the Shadewardens...”

“Think of it this way—you’ll get to experiment with the World Tree as much as you like. Sure, it’s dead—but imagine what you could discover.”

“...!”

Bellaruna sucked in a breath.

It was an irresistibly tempting offer.

But she mustered every ounce of willpower to resist.

It’s a trap. That’s bait!

She still had plenty of unfinished work to do here!

“And I’ll also hand over the plant and herb samples collected from Kasarr Basin.”

“...!”

Bellaruna’s ears twitched.

Even if it was just about anything else, the fact that the Casarr Basin opened only three days a year—and that these samples came from an isolated, self-contained ecosystem—struck Bellaruna’s heart with pinpoint precision.

Ludger looked at her with an expression of pity.

‘Look at her eyes.’

Just moments ago, she seemed ready to risk death rather than go back to the capital. But now? The tables had completely turned.

“Uh, how much...?”

“...Not that much, but I plan to ask for help from other mages and collect as much as I can.”

Bellaruna exhaled sharply through her nose and turned to Aileen.

“Let’s go. Right now!”

“......”

Aileen stared at Ludger in stunned silence.

* * *

After sending Bellaruna off to pack her things, Ludger moved on to wrap up the discussion.

“For now, we’ll have Bellaruna enter the World Tree network and confirm what happened. Once we understand the situation, we can plan our next moves.”

“I see. Thanks to that, we now have a path forward. I didn’t expect you’d have such a competent elf on hand.”

“...Well, yes.”

A competent elf.

Technically speaking, it wasn’t wrong—but that competence was only the tip of the iceberg when compared to the madness that was Bellaruna.

Thankfully, Ludger was good at managing her. Otherwise, there would’ve already been several disasters by now.

‘Come to think of it, she’s not the only one that’s hard to handle.’

Just look at Seridan.

If Bellaruna was a mad scientist in biotechnology, Seridan was a mad scientist in mechanical engineering.

A more polite term would be extreme explosion maniac.

In hindsight, Ludger felt Seridan's codename might’ve been better as Alfred Nobel or Julius Robert Oppenheimer.

Considering what both were famous for inventing, the names would be a disturbingly good fit.

“So, is that all you came for?”

“We’ve handled the immediate issue, but there’s still something I’d like to verify.”

“Because of what happened in the Casarr Basin?”

The sun had set, and the day was nearly over.

Anyone with decent ears would’ve already been briefed on what had happened in the Casarr Basin.

And yet she was asking directly—meaning she wasn’t interested in the surface-level reports.

‘She wants to know the truth that’s buried deeper.’

Ludger chose to back out with a neutral answer.

“I believe Duke Kadatushan can explain it better.”

“Are you brushing me off, after I went out of my way to help you take down Ranfaltz?”

“And yet that helped you immensely, didn’t it? Don’t tell me you think I don’t know where all those scattered subsidiaries ended up.”

“But some people made an absolute killing from short-selling. It’s not like I was the only one who profited.”

“And in the process, we removed a tumor feeding off the Empire. We cut off the heads of traitors leaking precious data to foreign countries—what more success could you ask for?”

A sharp back-and-forth, with neither side giving an inch.

In the end, it was Aileen who conceded first.

“Fine, I give up. I was just trying to sneak a piece of bread, but you came at me with fangs bared.”

“If you want the last piece of bread, you’d better be prepared to offer something equal in value.”

Ludger replied as if it were no big deal, but all the while, he was carefully observing Aileen’s reaction.

Despite pretending otherwise, she was clearly sulking at not getting her way.

Her expression practically screamed: “I came all the way here myself. Can’t you cut me some slack?”

No—not “practically.” That was exactly what she was thinking.

Ludger allowed himself a small smile as he watched her.

No matter how composed and mature she tried to act, those little flashes of emotion suited her surprisingly well.

“Still, since you came all the way here, you should rest before returning.”

“Hmph. Why would I stay in a place that won’t welcome me?”

“If you had given us notice in advance, I would’ve prepared a much more luxurious welcome. A real shame.”

“...You really don’t let me win even once.”

A faint crease formed on Aileen’s elegant brow.

That was her go-to expression when she was genuinely irritated.

Passius, aware of this, discreetly motioned to Ludger behind her back.

—That’s enough. Any more and it’s dangerous.

Any more teasing, and things would get dicey.

Ludger silently agreed and decided to offer a carrot instead of a stick.

“So, what are you so curious about?”

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t tell me?”

“If Duke Kadatushan happened to forget to send in a report, I suppose it’s up to me to fill in the blanks.”

“Hah.”

Aileen let out a disbelieving chuckle.

But she didn’t say no.

The truth was—she was genuinely curious.

Even if she was pouting, her eyes said she wanted to hear it all. Like a stray cat acting aloof but dying to be pet.

“So, what is it you want to know?”

“Everything!”

Well then.

Ludger glanced at Passius, who shrugged and rose from his seat.

Intent on giving the two some privacy, he casually stepped out of the room. Aileen didn’t stop him.

Hans also took the hint.

Ludger wanted to have a private conversation with Aileen von Exilion.

“Alright, alright. Let’s wait outside, everyone.”

Hans shoved all the Owens executives out the door.

* * *

Ludger and Aileen stepped out after finishing their conversation.

Having satisfied both her curiosity and her craving for idle chatter, Aileen looked quite pleased.

But the moment they entered the corridor, her eyes narrowed at the strange tension hanging in the air.

Ludger noticed it too.

‘This atmosphere...’

A strange tension was thick in the hallway.

Ludger turned his gaze toward the source.

Phantos.

He’d lost a significant amount of weight since their last meeting—and now he was radiating killing intent like a drawn arrow.

That intent was aimed squarely at Passius, who awkwardly shook his head in refusal.

‘Tch. Just when I thought he’d calmed down lately.’

Phantos had been itching for a fight for a while now.

Now, with a Master-level knight appearing before him, there was no way he could just let it go.

Aileen noticed the mood as well—and a smile curled at her lips.

It was a smile that, in Ludger’s opinion, spelled trouble.

Aileen walked right up to Phantos and stood in front of him.

Phantos, who had been zeroed in on Passius with folded arms, gave her a sidelong glance.

It was a rather disrespectful gesture toward a princess—but Aileen let it slide.

As far as she was concerned, Phantos had earned the right to act that way—as a true warrior.

“Hey, warrior. You look awfully parched.”

“......”

“In that case, how about a little spar with our knight?”