The More Reliable Option

The following morning.

Rigen’s bedroom.

I got up and spread a deck of playing cards across the floor.

“Right. Time to try out the second psychic ability.”

I laid the cards face-down and focused my mind.

A simple game — flip them over and match them in pairs.

An ordinary person would need a fair number of tries before clearing it. But——

“Good.”

The moment I concentrated, each card stood out to me, perfectly clear.

My second psychic ability: clairvoyance.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

I flipped through the cards with my telekinesis, one after another.

Every match found in a single pass.

Think that’s obvious, given the clairvoyance? There are actually many different modes of it, and holding one specific mode steady requires real focus.

The usual assumption with clairvoyance is something rather lewd — seeing through clothing, that sort of thing.

But I mainly used it to look inside enemies.

Into their bodies. Watching where their magic flowed, how their muscles contracted.

“Before a person moves their body, the brain sends the signal. Magic works the same way.”

Magic was a limited resource. In combat, every decision mattered.

Whether to channel it into a magic blade, spread it across the whole body as a shield, reinforce only a specific area, track how much you had left versus how much the enemy had spent — all of it had to be weighed and allocated in the moment.

Someone like Patrick, who couldn’t manage any of that, I could break with my bare hands. I simply targeted whatever part of him wasn’t covered by magic.

“Though Patrick was just an idiot, really.”

Veteran fighters were a different matter — they managed their magic efficiently throughout a fight.

And with clairvoyance, I could read where an opponent was about to focus their magic before they even moved.

Beyond that, I had been able to pinpoint the weak points of the Seven Sin God’s servants — those creatures no one had ever seen before — with a single look.

“Seeing through walls is still blurry. Infrared works, though.”

I ran through different modes of clairvoyance.

It wasn’t limited to people. I could see through walls and perceive whatever lay beyond. I could detect living things by their heat signature.

After gauging where I currently stood, I went back to practice.

Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip!

All fifty-two cards shot into the air at once.

The scattered chaos of falling cards sorted itself in an instant into a neat, ordered deck.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

I spread them across the floor again and matched them pair by pair.

Not one finger moved throughout any of it.

Telekinesis and clairvoyance, running simultaneously.

Psychic abilities grew with training, so I practiced whenever I had the chance.

“The problem is my daughter…… does she know?”

As Sirik Karakas, I had kept my psychic abilities as hidden as I could.

But one thing and another had happened, and my wives had found out.

“They might have passed it on to the children. Hmm……”

Either way, the safest approach was to keep the psychic abilities concealed in a fight.

If it ever came out that I was Sirik, things would become extraordinarily complicated.

“The fourth daughter……”

The one who used to sneak into my study while I was working.

She called it hide-and-seek — curled up in the empty space beneath my desk, eyes bright and gleaming.

I had loved watching her chatter away until she fell asleep mid-sentence.

“I want to see her.”

The longing rose in me before I could stop it.

I wanted to hold her, press a kiss to her head, carry her on my back……

Of course, she was a proper imperial princess now, and if I tried any of that in front of people, there would be quite a scene.

But a father’s heart was a father’s heart.

Knock. Knock.

“Young Master.”

A knock, and Amelia opened the door.

I turned toward her without thinking — then stopped.

The clairvoyance was still on.

Through her clothes.

“……”

Your average young fool would have made a fuss. But I was not your average young fool. A man who had been married eight times wasn’t going to lose his composure over something like this.

Just a little embarrassing, is all.

“Young Master Rigen? Why are you looking away?”

“You’re looking especially lovely today, Amelia.”

“……Pardon?”

Oh, dear.

It had come out on its own. I started to turn back toward Amelia, then quickly looked away again.

I’d forgotten to switch the clairvoyance off.

Amelia had gone red. She stood rooted to the spot, rigid.

“……The count is asking for you.”

“Ah, right. I’ll be right there.”

“He doesn’t seem to know yet…… will you be all right?”

Amelia was worried.

That I had beaten Patrick and the other elves and locked them up — the count still had no idea.

I thought for a moment, then said,

“You don’t need to worry about it, Amelia. I’ll tell him myself and sort it out.”

“Yes, well……”

Amelia didn’t move to leave. She lingered.

“……You shouldn’t say things like that to a woman so carelessly.”

“What?”

I glanced back without thinking, then immediately looked at the floor.

Turn it off. Please, turn it off.

Amelia gave no answer. She turned and walked out.

I watched her retreating figure and promptly dropped my gaze.

Right. Let’s switch that off, shall we.

The count’s study.

When I came in, the count rose to receive me.

“Good, you’re here.”

“Yes.”

“I called you because there’s something I wanted to discuss. As you know, we’ll be heading up to the capital before long. I thought a proper sword was in order. What do you think?”

A sword.

Naturally, I needed one.

Everyone’s magic wavelength was slightly different. Using a magic blade on just any sword was asking for it to shatter. A proper one had to be custom-fitted to the wielder.

The swords I’d used as emperor were long past any use to me now.

“I do need one. Though right now might not be the best timing.”

“Is that so? I was thinking of sending word to a merchant and having one commissioned.”

“Oh, that’s possible? I assumed we’d have to go into a city to order one.”

“Good grief, how old do you think we are? Send word and a witches comes here to take your measurements.”

The count laughed.

Some things had advanced since my time.

I thought it over and spoke.

“I’ll need something rather exceptional. The price is going to be quite steep.”

“This is a sword for my son. What kind of father can’t furnish that?”

“No, I mean, genuinely expensive.”

The higher the rank of magic, the more demanding the requirements for a sword that could sustain it.

My current rank was third. Fourth was coming soon.

A magic blade at fourth rank would run well over a billion won.

That was in my era’s prices, and a hundred years had passed since then.

The count just smiled.

“Leave it to me. You focus on the measurements. I’ll send word now.”

“If you insist.”

Fine — the sword was necessary either way, so I’d accept. And the count clearly wanted this, as a father giving his son a weapon. Refusing felt wrong.

If the number came in too high, I could always haggle.

“Actually, there’s something I need to tell you as well……”

“Hm? What happened?”

I laid out the full sequence of events.

The count’s expression became grave. He exhaled heavily.

“So the elves actually did that?”

“I apologize. It was difficult to hold back.”

“No, if someone ruined food I’d spent good effort on, I’d have lost my temper too. You did the right thing. The right thing, but……”

“As I said, Melius will side with us. And I have a separate negotiation strategy in mind.”

The count nodded.

“All right. Your judgment, then. Do as you see fit.”

“I was going to explain it now, if you’re willing to hear it.”

“Rigen, you and Roderic worked together and pulled us through a serious crisis. What more could I possibly have to say?”

The count nodded with evident warmth.

“You’re brothers acting as brothers should. That’s enough for me. Even if it means losing the elves’ patronage, let the two of you do as you please.”

“Thank you. So……”

“There is one thing I’d like to ask of you, though.”

The count said it carefully.

“Rigen. Alicia is staying at this estate right now. Have you changed your mind about ending the engagement?”

“No.”

I answered without a single second’s hesitation.

The count let out a pained sound, and I smiled.

“She may go by Marquis Crocell’s daughter, but she helped us. Breaking the engagement now means sending her away with nothing. I understand that’s how it would look.”

“That’s exactly what worries me. Letting down someone who helped us doesn’t sit well with me, no matter whose decision it is.”

“Marrying me wouldn’t be salvation for her. It’d be a clean shot straight into a life she can’t escape.”

I said it with a grin.

“Don’t worry. I have a separate plan.”

“Mm, is there a way?”

“Alicia is not the marquis’s daughter.”

Alicia herself had said so, and Heinkel’s intelligence confirmed it. That much was certain.

The count’s expression changed.

“……What are you saying? Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“How could something like that……”

The count let out a troubled groan.

It was a secret so closely guarded that even Librata — her own betrothed house — had known nothing of it.

I said it plainly.

“The elves are usually slow to act. Yet this time they sent someone as significant as the Fourth Princess immediately. A response that swift, that out of character, there has to be a reason.”

“And you’re saying Alicia is that reason?”

“Yes. Alicia is a half-elf, one of her parents was an elf. That means there was some arrangement between Marquis Crocell and the elves, and right now the elves are trying to bury it.”

I stated it as fact.

“There’s a strong chance they’ll demand we hand Alicia over, calling her a witness to the incident. That’s why they sent someone as significant as the Princess. To pressure us into compliance.”

The count thought it over at length, then nodded.

“Following your reasoning through, yes, it does all fit together. So what do you intend to do?”

“We get a grip on the enemy’s weak point and make them listen.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to keep the engagement intact? The moment you break it off, we lose any justification for protecting Miss Alicia.”

“Justification can be manufactured. What I have in mind isn’t something as flimsy as a vague engagement, it’s a more concrete arrangement than that.”

I smiled.

“Could you find room in the household for one more person to work?”

“What?”

“What in this world is more dependable than employment? There’s an agreement, money changes hands, nothing gets more concrete than that.”

Feelings were one thing. Money changing hands was quite another.

Marquis Burzak’s temporary lodgings.

Marquis Burzak was on his knees, shaking from head to toe.

This was a man who lorded over the region around the Alakas mountain range. And yet.

“So you are claiming you knew nothing of what Marquis Crocell was plotting?”

“I…… I knew nothing. Nothing at all!”

Burzak pressed his forehead to the floor with desperate fervor.

Staring coldly down at him was a man with pointed ears.

An elf.

A non-human could not simply manhandle an imperial noble on a whim, of course.

But Burzak was in no position to care about that right now.

“Crocell plotted treason! I had no idea! None!”

“Hmm.”

Treason. Rebellion against the Millennial Empire.

One wrong step and his entire bloodline could be wiped out, his lands stripped away.

Burzak wept openly, pressing his palms together.

“P-please spare me! Your Highness! I’ve told you everything I know, truly……”

“Who gave a mere human the right to address Her Highness directly!”

Crack!

The interrogating elf swung the scabbard and cracked it across Burzak’s skull.

Burzak went sprawling and lay there trembling.

The elf stared down at him with open contempt and raised his hand to strike again.

With every intention of beating him to death.

“That’s enough.”

A voice from behind the curtain.

The elf hesitated and looked back.

“He might be lying. We should press him further, Your Highness.”

“Stand down, Wayne. ……That is an order.”

“……”

Wayne grimaced deeply but stepped back.

Burzak lay there shaking, eyes fixed on the curtain.

A shape, barely visible through the cloth.

The noble bloodline of the first emperor of the Millennial Empire, Sirik Karakas.

“Crocell’s daughter, Alicia, went to the Librata estate?”

“……Y, yes. I’ve told you everything I know. Every word of it is true.”

“Then let’s make our way there as well. Wayne, see to the proper formalities for a visit.”

“Yes. I’ll withdraw and make the preparations.”

Wayne grabbed Burzak by the collar, hauled him upright, and walked him out of the room.

Outside, Burzak shook and glanced nervously about. Wayne exhaled and released him.

“You may be called for further questioning, so stay close and wait quietly. Understood?”

“Y-yes! Of course!”

Burzak bent into a deep bow and scrambled away.

Wayne watched him go with a frown — and then another elf man approached.

“Letting him go without killing him. Remarkably charitable.”

“Berk.”

“Sent Patrick to lean on Librata a little and the boy comes back having taken a beating. These humans are surprisingly stubborn, aren’t they?”

Berk spoke in a lazy drawl. Wayne’s frown deepened.

“Who authorized that? Neither of us gave those orders. And that place……”

“Do I take orders from you? We’re both first tier warriors.”

“……”

Wayne’s jaw tightened.

The elves were divided into four clans, and there was no love lost between them.

Wayne was Black Lily. Berk was Grey Cosmos.

Neither could issue commands to the other.

Berk glanced toward the room and let out a low whistle.

“That princess really is pointlessly indecisive. Just kill humans one after another and things sort themselves out quickly enough.”

“Questioning Her Highness’s judgment is disrespectful.”

“Disrespectful? To what? I’m Cosmos and the one in that room is a Rose. We’re different clans — why would I pay her any reverence?”

Berk gave a dismissive snort.

The emperor’s authority was something every citizen of the empire was expected to acknowledge.

But among the elves internally, the matter was considerably more complicated. Reverence for the emperor was one thing — how they treated his children was quite another.

Even setting that aside, Berk was pushing well past any reasonable line.

“Sirik Karakas? Yes, I’ll grant him that. Even accounting for the usual exaggeration of legend, he was genuinely extraordinary. But does being the daughter of an extraordinary man mean she deserves my respect?”

“Berk, your conduct right now is crossing……”

“What exactly is wrong with what I’m saying? We’re elves. The one in that room is a half-blood.”

“Berk!”

Wayne reached for the hilt of his sword. Berk tilted his chin.

Go ahead and draw.

“……”

Wayne’s teeth ground together. Berk shrugged.

“You fool, even the half-blood in there can hear this conversation perfectly well. She knows exactly what I’m doing. And yet?”

Berk drew his thumb slowly across his own throat.

Magic gathered in that finger. A thin trickle of blood ran down.

Berk’s eyes caught the light as he spoke.

“She doesn’t have the strength to cut my throat! The authority! Or the nerve! No matter whose daughter she is, I won’t kneel to an ornament like that. That’s the behavior of a dog or a horse!”

“……”

“Wake up, Wayne. Why are you so on edge? Scared she can hear us? Why?”

Berk rolled one shoulder.

“Right, right, we should respect the princess. Our elves have one of the emperor’s children too. That means we’re not behind the dark elves or the celestials. Useful as a symbol, as decoration. Sure, I’ll go along with it, that much. And for that reason, I don’t cross the line.”

“……”

“But that’s all it needs to be. Get it together. Watching someone barely better than me crawl around scraping the dirt is nauseating.”

Berk’s lips curled.

“Think about why the elders paired the two of us as her escort. Among the first tier warriors active right now, we’re the only two without a betrothed or a partner. The elders knew exactly what they were selecting for.”

“……”

“Pull yourself together. If it comes to it, we’re going to have to bury everything. That’s why we’re here. I trust you, but you’re not returning that trust.”

“……”

“We’re on a job. Let’s do it well.”

Berk whistled lightly and turned away.

In raw combat ability, Wayne had the edge.

But Wayne said nothing.

This was one day before Rigen would come face to face with his own daughter.