IBTBD 25

‘What kind of deal could he possibly mean in this situation?’

When I looked up with trembling eyes, Erzin gently stroked the back of my head.

“What if I told you the real reason I came to this castle? Would that be enough to make a deal?”

The real reason…?

My mouth felt as dry as sandpaper.

Of course it did—because the reason he came to this Black Dragon Castle was to kill König Kreuz.

‘Don’t tell me… he knew that already?’

Normally, someone under enchantment wouldn’t even realize they were under it.

I had assumed Erzin was the same—that he was just a puppet moving according to implanted commands.

That was why I thought he was being wrongfully used, and why I’d tried to help him.

‘But this… this means he already knew he was going to hurt König?’

And apparently, that wasn’t the only secret Erzin had been keeping.

“If that doesn’t suit you, should I tell you the secrets Astrahan is hiding?”

“Chyuut…?”

Secrets Astrahan is hiding?

I widened my eyes at him in disbelief.

“There are so many, I don’t even know where to start.”

Erzin folded his slender fingers one by one and gave a bitter smile.

Unlike the masked smiles he had worn until now, for the first time, I could feel something genuine in him.

But I had no time to consider his sorrow, his sincerity, or the truth behind it all.

[Cr– critical trouble! H-he’s coming!!]

Sevi’s urgent voice rang from the ceiling.

And at that exact moment—

Thud. Thud.

The tightly shut door began to shake violently.

The sound of steel clashing followed, as if they had anticipated Erzin’s resistance.

The situation was escalating far beyond what I had imagined.

“……!”

So this is where my scrappy little life as a cadet ends.

I screamed silently in despair, but suddenly, Erzin’s grip around me loosened.

“However… it doesn’t seem today is the day.”

Placing me gently on the table, Erzin raised his hands like a soldier surrendering in his final moment.

‘Why… why let me go so suddenly?’

Was he helping me escape, knowing I was trapped?

I truly couldn’t see through him.

“You’re already late, anyway.”

He just kept smiling slyly, as if he knew something I didn’t.

Bang!

A louder knock this time signaled that König’s patience had reached its end.

[We have to go, now!]

Sevi’s voice gave me the final warning from above.

There was no time left to hesitate.

“Chyut!”

I gave Erzin a sharp nod.

I wasn’t sure if this was the right choice, but it meant I was accepting his deal.

Understanding, Erzin smiled faintly and nodded back.

‘Now I really have to go.’

I used the cabinet like a tree, springing up onto the wall-mounted candelabra, and launched myself toward the ceiling.

From far below, I faintly heard Erzin whistle at my nimbleness.

And just as I reached the ceiling and reunited with Sevi—

Crash!

The bedroom door burst open.

“Erzin Astrahan.”

König’s flat, emotionless voice followed.

Clank, clank, clank.

Fully armed knights closed in on Erzin, leaving no gaps in their encirclement.

Their sharpened spearheads wavered dangerously close to piercing his throat.

“What’s your true purpose for coming to my castle?”

“By order of His Majesty the Emperor…”

“Spare me that pathetic excuse.”

König’s lips twisted into a cold sneer.

It was obvious he already knew what Erzin had done the night before.

“……”

Erzin chose silence.

It was the wise choice—but the opponent was König Kreuz.

The master of Black Dragon Castle, said to have neither blood nor tears.

“There’s no need for excuses.”

From the start, König hadn’t cared about the reason.

The only thing that mattered was that Erzin Astrahan had dared infiltrate Black Dragon Castle with the intent to kill him.

At König’s gesture, the knight commander raised his spear high.

The tension was so thick it could burst with the lightest touch.

“W-wait a moment—!”

A trembling hand blocked the knight commander’s spear—it was Gerard.

“Y-your Grace, the Duke…”

For once, Gerard observed all the formalities as he stepped closer to König, desperate to intervene.

His face flushed with urgency, his fingers shaking uncontrollably.

“He is the heir to the Astrahan Duchy, and a guest invited by His Majesty himself.”

That was the only protection Erzin Astrahan had.

Whatever his true purpose, at present he was staying at Kreuz Castle under imperial orders.

If something happened to him, even the mighty Kreuz family would not walk away unscathed.

“You know very well the court is already waiting for an excuse.”

Gerard’s voice was practically pleading.

Countless nobles in the capital, and even the palace itself, were waiting for Kreuz to fall.

In that situation, Erzin was like a lit fuse.

Once the fire was lit, there’d be no stopping the explosion.

But—

“A guest? Don’t make me laugh. All I see is an assassin who came for my head.”

König was unmoved.

“Erzin Astrahan attacked my chambers, and I killed him before I realized it. What more explanation is needed?”

At that moment, he raised his sword high, leaving no room for further discussion.

“L-Lady Cherry…!”

Gerard, panicked beyond reason, shouted desperately.

“Cherry?”

Both König and Erzin turned their eyes to him.

“L-Lady Cherry recently picked up a new hobby, did she not? If that hobby were suddenly taken away, she might fall into despair, or even, um…”

Gerard rambled, rolling his eyes as if grasping at straws.

Even he didn’t seem sure if this excuse made sense.

But logic wasn’t the point right now.

König Kreuz—

The lord Gerard had served for over a decade—was not the kind to fear imperial pressure.

If the Empire used Erzin as a pretext to march against them, König would welcome it, eager to crush imperial knights with his own hand.

So Gerard needed to distract him by any means necessary.

And “Cherry” was the only viable card to play.

Or so he thought.

“…Ha. So you’ve given me yet another reason to kill him.”

Instead, it was like throwing oil onto fire.

“B-but…”

“Substitutes are easy to find.”

It wasn’t even a hobby he particularly liked.

Muttering to himself, König raised his blade once more.

The razor-sharp sword cut mercilessly through the air—

“L-Lady Cherry might be so distraught she decides to run away from home again…!”

At once, König’s sword froze midair—then swung toward Gerard instead.

“Say it again.”

“Y-yes?”

“Repeat yourself.”

“L-Lady Cherry… in despair… might run away…”

Gerard stammered the words out.

And then—

Clang!

The sword fell to the ground, clattering loudly through the silent corridor.

That evening.

Dinner was held in the grand banquet hall.

A long table was laden with delicacies to welcome the guest’s visit—yet the guest’s seat sat empty.

Crunch, crunch.

I gnawed on almonds, staring blankly at the vacant chair.

According to the head chef, they’d been roasted in specially processed butter that even animals could eat.

But I couldn’t taste anything at all.

Honestly, I couldn’t even tell if the almonds I loved so much were going down my nose or into my mouth.

[Grrr… Don’t forget about Sevi.]

‘Yeah. I’ll set aside some snacks Sevi likes.’

I slid a few neatly sliced figs and raspberries to one side of the wide plate.

Dinner was quiet.

Not a single voice, not even the clinking of utensils.

Even the servants, though unaware of the full details, seemed to sense the castle’s tense atmosphere, moving so carefully their footsteps made no sound.

The silence was finally broken by Gerard.

“Sir Astrahan is…”

Would you like me to continue and translate the rest of the dinner scene in this chapter as well?