With a crooked smile, he descended the steps.
“Impressive. You managed to bewitch the crown prince amidst all that.”
“…You were watching?”
“I saw and heard everything. ‘Lati,’ was it?”
“……”
“A rather adorable nickname.”
Hughman stopped just in front of Latian, his gaze sharp and unreadable.
He hadn’t been anywhere near him inside the ballroom, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been watching.
‘So, he really did cast a spell on me.’
What would’ve happened if I had let my guard down?
His heartbeat pounded in his chest.
Just as he was trying to steady his breath, Hughman suddenly reached out—his hand encircling Latian’s throat.
Not too tight, but firm enough that he could snap his neck at any moment.
“!”
Eyes widening in shock, Latian grabbed Hughman’s wrist.
Hughman’s piercing gaze darkened, the corner of his lips curving slightly.
“D-Duke, why are you—”
“Shh. No need to be alarmed.”
Hughman placed a finger to his lips and whispered.
“This is just a formality. I’m very cautious, you see. From this moment on, I’m going to cast a detection spell. All you have to do is answer my questions honestly. Simple, isn’t it?”
…Wait. So, he’s basically saying he’s about to run a lie detector on me?
Latian swallowed dryly.
At that moment, a familiar sound effect rang in his ears, and a system window popped up.
[Significant turning point detected.]
[A new side quest has been unlocked!]
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
[Side Quest (3-3) ‘Quick Thinking’]
You are in grave danger. A former ally now stands before you as an enemy, determined to uncover the truth hidden within you. He will decide whether to let you live or eliminate you. Endure until reinforcements arrive. If you fail, you will die.
– Reward upon successful completion: ???
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
[Time remaining for survival: 00:08:00]
Eight minutes. Latian’s eyes flickered with unease.
Hughman’s smirk faded as he got straight to the point.
“Latian Dimerlos. Are you truly loyal to the Empire?”
Lying would get me caught.
But telling the truth wouldn’t help either.
It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff with nowhere to go.
His heart pounded against his ribs.
Squeezing his eyes shut for a second, Latian quickly ran through possible responses in his mind before opening them again—this time, with a small smirk.
“Duke, that’s an odd question.”
“?”
“If I’m not on the Empire’s side, does that mean I’m automatically on the Kingdom’s side?”
“That’s precisely what I’m asking. Answer the question.”
Hughman’s brows furrowed, his impatience clear.
It was a gamble, but Latian had subtly reframed the question.
And judging by Hughman’s reaction, he hadn’t caught on yet.
That confirmed something important—Hughman’s spell wouldn’t detect the truth unless the question itself was clearly answered.
Letting out a slow breath, Latian continued.
“No, no. Duke, think carefully.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I’m asking if that’s all the Empire amounts to.”
“…What?”
Hughman’s brow furrowed.
His grip on Latian’s throat tightened just slightly, sending a cold shiver down his spine.
[Time remaining for survival: 00:07:03]
Time was crawling at a painfully slow pace.
Narrowing his eyes in frustration, Latian pressed on.
“Duke! Are you saying the Empire is on equal footing with the Kingdom? That this pitiful, insignificant nation is actually comparable to our mighty Eastern Empire?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Hughman scoffed under his breath.
The truth was, the Empire harbored a deep inferiority complex about its inability to subdue the much smaller Kingdom.
For an official fiercely loyal to the Empire, this kind of provocation was bound to stir irritation.
“The only reason the kingdom is still standing is because the empire is letting it.”
“Exactly! That’s right!”
Latian shamelessly chimed in.
“The empire has plenty of powerful Awakened. No matter how fortified the northern region of the kingdom may be, if the empire truly wanted to, those fools wouldn’t even stand a chance.”
“Oh, of course.”
“They’re just taking the time to make the conquest more effiSient, that’s all…”
As he passionately spoke, Hughman suddenly shook his head, realizing something was off.
“Wait, hold on. Don’t twist the conversation. I clearly told you to answer my question! If you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to suspect you.”
‘Ah. If only he kept rambling a little longer.’
Latian clicked his tongue inwardly.
He still had time to hold out.
Composing his expression into something more serious, he lowered his voice.
“Your Grace. What I originally intended to say comes after this.”
Hughman’s face twisted with frustration, but Latian pretended not to notice and continued.
“As you said, the kingdom is nothing compared to the empire. And one day, the empire will claim it entirely. So, how can there be a distinction between supporting the empire or the kingdom?”
“What kind of logic is that…?”
“I’m saying, isn’t the kingdom just part of the empire in the end?”
“!”
Hughman’s eyebrows twitched.
He was caught off guard.
Latian glanced around subtly.
[Time left to survive: 00:02:45]
‘Just a little longer.’
Just as he thought that—
“Then let me ask you differently.”
Breaking the silence, Hughman suddenly posed another question.
“Are you on my side, or the Duke of Ocellania’s side?”
…What a cunning bastard.
Hughman’s sharp eyes locked onto him, brimming with suspicion at Latian’s drawn-out silence.
Stalling any longer with flimsy nonsense was starting to feel impossible.
[Time left to survive: 00:01:54]
‘About one minute.’
Latian took a deep breath and held out for the final stretch.
“Following the same logic, wouldn’t the Duke of Ocellania soon be a citizen of the empire as well? I don’t think it really matters whose side I’m on—ugh!”
“Hah. So that’s it. You’re just buying time, like a sly little fox.”
Hughman’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“You’re no longer a citizen of the empire, are you?”
“N-no, that’s not—urk!”
“I almost fell for it.”
“Khk…!”
“A useless traitor should just die.”
Latian struggled to break free from Hughman’s grip, but it was useless.
Despite being an unawakened mage who hardly trained his body, Hughman was still overwhelmingly stronger than him.
‘I’m going to die.’
His breath was cut off. He didn’t want to die.
‘Is this really it? Am I really going to die like this?’
Just as his vision started to darken—
“Ugh!”
His body lurched as Hughman let out a pained groan, his massive hands suddenly loosening their grip.
At the last possible moment, one of the twins, Sien, who had been slipping out through the banquet hall’s back garden, had struck the back of Hughman’s neck, knocking him unconscious.
The moment Latian collapsed to the floor, he gasped for air, coughing violently.
Meanwhile, a system notification chimed in his ears.
[Ding! ‘Covert Operation’ quest cleared!]
[…Evaluating success results…]
[Success results have been determined.]
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
[Chapter 1 – ‘Covert Operation’]
– You did not waste the opportunity given to you. The result is flawless. You will receive a reward accordingly.
– 『He seems like someone who lives without much thought, but he has a surprisingly sharp side. He looks like he’d faint from a bit of fear, yet he’s more daring than expected. The more you get to know him, the deeper the mystery becomes.』
– (❗) ‘Claude’s’ trust in you has significantly increased.
– (❗) Camaraderie between you and your companions has slightly increased.
━━⊱⋆⊰━━
[You are currently ‘The Northern Region’s New Aide.’]
[(❗) Death Flag has been removed.]
“Aide! Are you okay?”
Latian finally snapped back to reality and lifted his head.
Hughman lay unconscious on the ground, Sien securing him while Haen approached Latian.
“Y-yeah… thanks to you.”
He had nearly crossed the river to the afterlife, but he had survived, somehow.
As Latian trembled, Haen took off his uniform jacket and draped it over him.
Soon after, Claude arrived at the back garden and dragged Hughman, now tied up, behind the bushes.
The twins fastened a magic suppression device around his neck, something they had prepared in advance.
Crafted with precise aura techniques, the device was impossible to remove, even for a skilled mage.
It disrupted the very flow of mana itself.
And for frail mages who couldn’t use magic… they were no different from a fish caught in a net.
“This bastard almost got our aide killed.”
“Good thing we weren’t late.”
“When’s he gonna wake up?”
Latian watched from behind as Haen and Sien crouched in front of Hughman, muttering to themselves.
His trembling had finally begun to subside.
Then, he suddenly felt a light touch at the nape of his neck.
A faint, ticklish sensation spread across his chest.
Startled, he hunched his shoulders and turned his head.
“…It bruised.”
Claude’s indifferent gaze rested on the bruises on Latian’s neck.
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