Acting purely on instinct, Anastasia hurled herself to the ground.
“Guh—!”
A man in black suddenly leapt down and struck Victor to the ground in one swift blow.
Anastasia’s legs gave out—she couldn’t even think about standing. The man in black who had pinned Victor turned to her and said,
“Excellent reflexes. I was planning to rescue you anyway.”
A dagger was now clenched in Victor’s hand—when had it even appeared?
Where exactly had that dagger been aid?
Goosebumps prickled up Anastasia’s spine.
Even if she hadn’t liked him much as a person, she had still trusted him as a colleague.
That was why, when Victor had said Namia had “asked him to bring the dragon’s blood,” she hadn’t doubted it for a second.
“Clever enough, I’ll give him that.”
Kiaros’s slow voice ca from behind.
“Just in case, he used soone else. Probably didn’t want any witnesses in the building.”
He gently lowered Namia from his arms. Stumbling slightly, she stood beside him.
The look of shock on her face was identical to Anastasia’s.
***
I stared down at Victor, dumbfounded.
Everything was so painfully clear now. Even his last-minute attempt to kill Anastasia.
We’d caught him red-handed.
Kiaros clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“The Finance Minister will beat the ground when he hears about this.”
His voice carried a hint of disdain.
“The heir to House Arwin... What on earth could he have possibly lacked?”
That was my question, too.
Why would Victor do this?
Wasn’t the Reformist Faction all about preying on people’s weaknesses? Manipulating those with sothing missing in their lives? But Victor had everything. People like him should’ve been the hardest to recruit.
In the original novel, Victor hadn’t even been ntioned. The war hadn’t brought House Arwin any special gains either.
That’s when—
“...Because of you.”
Victor’s voice was venomous as he looked past Kiaros—straight at .
“Namia Roafi. This is all your fault.”
Huh? ?
“I... I only got out of the Reformists because of you.”
His eyes glinted with madness.
“They told I’d only be allowed to leave once I beca completely useless to them. So I went off, overseas, for years.”
My jaw dropped as realization dawned.
That long-term assignnt abroad...
Victor was House Arwin’s heir. He could’ve easily refused the trip. He could’ve co back anyti he wanted.
There was no real reason for a Scroll Departnt official to be assigned overseas for that long anyway.
Back then, I’d just assud our departnt was, as always, doing sothing ridiculous.
But it had been the Reformists pulling strings. And he left them—only after becoming the Arwin heir.
That’s why he wasn’t in the original plot!
So... why co back to them now?
“When I was student council president, you didn’t cling to . Your life was a total ss, and I was your only hope—and still, you didn’t.”
Victor glared at .
“But now that you’ve beco a Minister, you’d never cling to . Not anymore.”
I stared at him in a daze. His logic was completely unhinged.
“So... that’s why you rejoined the Reformists?”
I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t accept it—no matter how I tried to rationalize it.
“So you planned to drag down at the Saint Cairo banquet... let people die, get hurt?”
Victor shook his head imdiately.
“I wasn’t trying to kill you. I stayed by your side so I could save you if an explosion happened.”
Back then, Victor had been sitting next to in the VIP section.
I blinked in disbelief.
If the attack had gone through, I wouldn’t have just lost my position—I would’ve resigned from public service entirely. Even before I could be disciplined, I would’ve stepped down on my own.
No, I probably would’ve broken down. People would’ve died because of . I might not have even made it through the guilt.
Victor had to know all that better than anyone. And that made it even more horrifying.
“You wanted to drag into the gutter... just so you could swoop in and be my savior again?”
I asked, my body trembling.
“Because I didn’t cling to you before—so you tried to make need you, by creating an even bigger gap between us?”
The idea that he tried to hurt people just to manufacture emotional dependency was sickening. I had never imagined Victor could be that cruel.
Even if he wasn’t a good man to , I’d thought—at the very least—he was kind in nature.
“He even smokes.”
Noticing my shock, Kiaros muttered beside /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ with a mocking tone, almost tattling.
“There’s probably a lot the Scroll Departnt’s Minister doesn’t know. He even tried to intimidate Kibon like so back-alley thug.”
I hadn’t known Victor smoked. I’d never imagined that gentle-looking face being used to threaten soone.
Anastasia murmured quietly,
“M-My God... Kibon really reported all that to His Highness? That’s kind of... tacky.”
I shook my head, speaking up in Kibon’s defense.
“No, it’s not tacky. It’s not like he told any of this. Honestly, I think it’s kind of admirable that he kept all that hidden from .”
At our exchange, Kiaros looked awkward and cleared his throat.
Then—
“Why wasn’t I enough for you, Namia Roafi?”
Victor glared at , his expression twisted with rage.
“If I had confessed back then, you would’ve said yes—but that was it. That’s all I ever ant to you.”
His voice was frantic—like he realized this might be the last ti he’d ever speak to .
“Why? Was I supposed to beco Crown Prince for you to even consider ?”
“What...? Oh my god... No. Absolutely not. Never.”
At those words, Kiaros beside visibly flinched. Victor, unfazed, shouted on.
“Then what? You seriously like that Kibon bastard? Why?!”
Kiaros swayed, almost staggering.
Then—
“D-Do you really not know?”
Suddenly, Anastasia stepped in, supported by one of the ravens.
“I-I know why! I pretended not to earlier, but...”
It was clearly her favorite subject—she couldn’t stay silent anymore.
“K-Kibon never hid who he was like you did!”
Anastasia shouted, panting hard.
“K-Kibon never lied or manipulated anyone! That’s the worst kind of betrayal!”
I noticed Kiaros’s hand trembling slightly beside .
“K-Kibon is honest and sincere! When I straight-up asked him if he liked soone, he couldn’t even lie in front of everyone!”
Now holding tightly to the raven supporting her, Anastasia raised her voice dramatically.
“H-He even smoked! And you always said you didn’t understand people who smoked! No one in the departnt knew—but you lied to everyone so easily, it’s creepy!”
The raven holding her hand shook its head fiercely in agreent.
“Absolutely. It is creepy.”
“K-Kibon showed his true self to all of us! Rember his rude tone, that uninterested gaze...”
“Oh, yes. A man exactly the sa inside and out.”
“K-Kibon never pretended in front of the Minister. He’s nothing like you—he’s genuinely different—!”
Anastasia was on a roll, passionately trading lines with the raven.
Until soone unexpected cut her off.
“...That’s enough.”
Kiaros spoke in a strained voice, breathing heavily.
“Please... just stop.”
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