It happened in a re instant. So quick it was over before he could process it—enough to make him question if he'd imagined it. The mont Heath’s hand touched him, Kyrin’s face stiffened. The corners of his mouth, which had been lifted in a smile, flattened, and his eyes, always curved like crescent moons, turned sharp. And in them, Luke read an emotion not unlike killing intent.
But it truly lasted no more than a second, and Kyrin returned to his usual gentle expression. Luke almost rubbed his eyes, wondering if he’d seen it wrong—but now wasn’t the ti for that kind of behavior.
At that mont, Kyrin and Luke’s eyes t directly. Whether Kyrin had just happened to turn his head, or whether the gaze was intentional, Luke couldn’t tell. He simply offered a faint smile and bowed slightly.
Once the introduction of the Second Prince concluded, the delegation mbers withdrew from the audience chamber. Luke, too, followed the Foreign Minister outside. And all the while, Kyrin’s gaze subtly clung to the back of Luke’s head. Even as Luke passed through the doorway, Kyrin did not look away.
Just as the door to the audience chamber began to close, Luke glanced back. Kyrin appeared to be enjoying a pleasant conversation with Heath. That image slowly disappeared behind the narrowing gap.
***
“You’re saying you’re going out?”
“Yes. I don’t have any official duties today, so I thought I’d get so fresh air.”
Luke had sought out Dante from the morning. He inford him of his desire to go out, and Dante nodded readily.
“You’ve been handling your schedule nonstop, Lord Luke. You should take a breather. There’s plenty to see around Saintrem Square.”
“Yes, thank you.”
At the end of their conversation, Dante asked if he wanted an escort, but Luke declined naturally. He was heading out to investigate—what good would an escort be?
Thinking that to himself, Luke flashed his usual friendly smile and slowly made his way out of the imperial palace.
If one followed the neatly paved road straight from the palace, they would reach Saintrem Square. Even when traveling by carriage as a delegation, they had passed through this route.
Luke headed slowly toward the center of the bustling square, surrounded by the sounds of lively chatter. He had assigned the investigation to Paul’s group, but they hadn’t turned up anything useful. And he felt bad continuing to send the special task force mbers out on exhausting fieldwork.
This kind of thing required a good amount of stamina. So this ti, he had decided to do it himself. Pretending to sightsee, Luke glanced around before stepping into a nearby restaurant. It was so crowded that there were barely any empty seats, and the place was filled with the savory sll of food.
Luke took a seat in a suitable spot and stared intently at the paper nu for a long ti, acting like soone who was having a hard ti deciding what to eat.
“Hey, first ti at this place?”
As expected, before long, one of the two n eating nearby spoke up.
“Oh, yes. Actually, this is my first ti in Saintrem.”
“These two dishes are good. You gotta try them if you're visiting the capital.”
“Really? Thank you.”
Luke responded cheerfully, then called over the staff and ordered the recomnded items.
“By the way, where’re you from?”
“Ah... Bellian.”
Bellian was a small village located west of Welharun. In truth, it was just a na Luke had quickly recalled from studying the Welharun map earlier. Claiming to be from another country entirely would have raised suspicion.
That was because right now, Welharun had closed its borders tightly. So Luke had no choice but to pretend to be a Welharun citizen.
“Oh, Bellian? I heard the apples they grow there are amazing. Is that true?”
“Of course. Even here in Saintrem, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» they can't beat the apples from our village.”
The two n laughed heartily at Luke’s easygoing manner. Luke knew exactly how to win favor with middle-aged n like these. It was the first ti he’d heard anything about Bellian apples being famous, though.
After that, Luke kept the conversation going with trivial small talk, focusing on breaking down the wall between them.
“But yeah, the capital is definitely sothing else.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Living in a small town all my life, now that I’ve co here... I really want to move up to the capital. I’m actually kind of jealous of people who live here.”
At those words, the two n exchanged looks and gave awkward smiles.
“Well... these days, there’s not much to envy about living in the capital. The state of the country’s a ss.”
“With all the taxes they collect, seriously... How’re folks like us supposed to survive...”
Luke’s eyes briefly narrowed, but he quickly shifted into a lancholy expression.
“Ah... yeah, that’s true. Honestly, things aren’t great back ho either. We supply apples to rchants from other nations, but they’re saying the borders are barely open now...”
“Damn, you must be having a rough ti too.”
“It’s all because of that damn Prince Heath.”
At that, one of the n slamd his drinking glass down on the table. Luke cheered inwardly. The conversation was going even better than he’d hoped.
“So, you both live in the capital—must’ve heard a lot about Prince Heath, right?”
The two n exchanged uncomfortable glances.
“Well, yeah.”
“Why do you think His Highness made those decisions all of a sudden?”
With a heavy sigh, Luke played the part of a naïve young man while carefully observing the two n. He had a feeling he’d soon get so new intel about the prince.
“Who knows? How’re we supposed to understand what goes on in their heads, right?”
“Exactly. Just hang in there. Better days will co.”
But their response made Luke’s shoulders droop, as if defeated. The two n quickly changed the subject and started chatting about other things. It felt like they were deliberately avoiding talk of Prince Heath. After humoring them a bit longer, Luke paid the bill and stepped out of the restaurant.
He hadn’t dared ask outright, not wanting to draw suspicion, and even put on an exhausting performance—but there was nothing to show for it.
Still, Luke didn’t give up easily. Even after that, he continued his investigation by donning the mask of a clueless youth and gradually breaking down the citizens’ wariness.
“We nobodies wouldn’t know what His Highness the First Prince is thinking.”
“The First Prince? Hm... can’t say I know anything in particular.”
“Yeah, I’m not really sure what he’s thinking either.”
But every answer sounded the sa. Conversations would hint at resentnt toward the prince, but the mont he tried to get to the core of it, everyone backed off. Which only made Luke’s curiosity about the First Prince grow stronger.
“No wonder the others had a hard ti gathering intel.”
Luke let out a deep sigh. Honestly, he wanted to stop every passerby and interrogate them, but that would definitely raise eyebrows. It looked like it was ti to call it a day.
He had told them he’d be going out, but staying out too long might not be looked on kindly. Plus, thanks to being overly picky about who to approach, Luke had wandered into one of the most secluded corners of the square.
Just as he was about to turn back, he spotted an elderly man running a street stall nearby. Luke glanced around. This wasn’t exactly a place where people passed by often—there couldn’t be much business out here.
The old man was dressed in ragged clothes. It seed likely he’d been pushed out of the main comrcial area by other vendors and forced to set up in this empty zone.
Luke’s gaze wandered. He spotted a young child using the man’s lap as a pillow, sound asleep. The child’s clothes were just as tattered as the old man’s.
“Grandfather.”
Luke slowly walked over to the stall and spoke to the elderly man. The man, who had been stroking the child’s head, opened his eyes wide at the sight of a custor.
“Oh, welco.”
Various beautiful trinkets caught Luke’s eye—bracelets, necklaces, and intricately crafted accessories he hadn’t noticed from afar.
“I made all of these myself.”
“You made them yourself?”
Luke asked in surprise, and the old man nodded with a gentle smile. The pieces were so detailed it was hard to believe they were handmade. To think soone with such skill had been forced into this back alley. Was there really no one who recognized the value of this craftsmanship?
Just as Luke was about to sigh at human selfishness, a particular bracelet caught his eye. A thin leather strap adorned with a curious erald-colored stone. It was stunning.
“This bracelet is really pretty.”
“You have a good eye. This stone is known to bring good fortune—it’s a very popular gift.”
“Oh, really? Then I’ll take it. There’s soone I want to give a present to.”
Luke smiled as he looked fondly at the bracelet.
“Will you be giving it to a family mber?”
“No. To a lover. They gave sothing, and I never got to repay them... so this is perfect.”
Luke fiddled with the button Theo had given him, tucked away in his pocket, as he thought of him.
And from far behind a nearby building wall, a shadowy figure watched Luke with sharp focus as he smiled contentedly.
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