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Chapter: 18
“Ghk…! What the hell do you think you’re—!”
A punch reinforced with inner energy—there was no way it didn’t hurt.
Just as Adolf, his face flushed and one of his front teeth knocked out, tried to push himself up, Karina stomped down on his hand and clamped a hand over his mouth.
Covering his mouth so brutally that he couldn’t even scream, Karina warned him coldly,
“If you say one more word, we’re both dead, you brainless bastard. Got it?”
Karina crouched in front of Adolf, staring down at him. Her gaze was chilling beyond words.
Faced with that terrifying look, Adolf froze and nodded without even realizing it.
Still covering his mouth, Karina let out a soft, mocking chuckle.
“And even if you expose me, do you really think the people here would believe you over me?”
At her confident smile, Adolf suddenly recalled Isabella’s ability.
A power that used scent to bewitch or confuse others.
Damn it—this wasn’t just bad, it was overwhelmingly bad.
Having effectively wandered into enemy territory unarmed, Adolf stiffened with tension.
After giving him a detached look, Karina finally removed her hand from his mouth and stood up.
“Now that you understand, get lost. Unless you want to be caught by the count and tortured.”
At her murderous warning, Adolf silently gathered the letters that had scattered when he fell, stuffed them into his bag, and left the estate without a word.
Karina watched his retreating back for a moment before slowly curling her lips into a grin.
* * *
“You’re telling me Karina and the kids from Team Two snuck in as maids of the count’s household?”
At Adolf’s muttered complaint, Isaac let out a quiet snort.
“Looks like they pulled some tricks to get in.”
He was referring to Isabella’s scent-based ability.
Rubbing the spot where his missing front tooth had been knocked out, Adolf growled,
“So we’re just going to sit back and watch?”
“More importantly—did you do what you were told?”
Ignoring Adolf’s question, Isaac asked coldly.
Startled, Adolf stiffened and pulled a letter from his bag, handing it over.
It was a suspicious letter with neither sender nor recipient listed.
Only the delivery location was written—and even that was a rural church, suggesting it wasn’t the recipient’s actual address but merely an intermediary drop.
After briefly examining the envelope, Isaac opened it and checked the contents.
[The gift is safe.]
That single, cryptic sentence was all it contained.
Below it was an unfamiliar seal: a snake coiled around an apple.
At that moment, Felix—one of Team One’s members and an adoption candidate who had remained almost invisible until now—spoke up quietly.
“That’s the symbol of the Southern Dark Guild.”
“The Southern Dark Guild?”
“We sometimes call them ‘Adam.’”
Dark Guilds existed in every region—divided broadly into east, west, south, north, and central. Each had its own emblem, disposition, and objectives.
Felix had been raised as a member of the Western Dark Guild.
“I’ve heard Adam has deep ties to the southern nobility.”
“Southern nobles… like the Four Great Ducal Houses?”
At Isaac’s pointed question, Felix nodded.
“More specifically, many say it’s a Dark Guild fostered by House Ludovico.”
Among the Four Great Ducal Houses, House Batius was the most powerful.
That the other ducal houses constantly checked Batius—whose dominance was upheld through a unique ability passed down for generations—was common knowledge, even to a three-year-old child in the countryside.
So for a vassal house of Batius to be secretly colluding with another ducal house…
There could hardly be clearer evidence of corruption.
But with neither sender nor recipient listed, this letter alone couldn’t prove Count Frederic’s betrayal.
Perhaps anticipating the risk of interception, even the delivery location had been set as a temporary receiving point.
And the message itself was a single, cryptic line—like a cipher. If the count claimed ignorance, there would be no way to refute it.
Felix seemed to think the same and spoke gravely.
“This letter alone can’t be used to accuse the count’s household.”
“True. But the seal definitely belongs to Adam, doesn’t it?”
At Isaac’s question, Felix nodded again.
Isaac’s lips slowly twisted into a lazy smile.
“If a seal bearing that emblem turns up inside the count’s estate, he won’t be able to deny it.”
Isaac was thinking along the same lines as Karina.
* * *
“You just let Adolf go even after he came in disguised as a courier?”
At Isabella’s sharp voice, Karina casually picked at her ear and pretended not to hear.
“At the very least, you should’ve taken the count’s letter! If what you say is true, that letter is a crucial link to outside collusion!”
When Karina still didn’t respond to Isabella’s irritated tone, the usually quiet Albin spoke up.
“N-no… That letter alone wouldn’t be proof. Th-they wouldn’t have left the sender or recipient written down.”
“Even so, if Team One opens the letter, they’ll learn about the seal!”
“Karina, why didn’t you take the letter from Adolf?”
After Isabella’s sharp question, Ariel asked more gently, as if urging her on.
Just then, Albin—who had been lost in thought—suddenly realized something.
D-did you… let him take it on purpose, Karina?”
Silence fell over everyone.
Seeing the reaction she expected, Karina curled her lips upward.
“That’s right.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“What if Isaac’s team gets their hands on the seal first?!”
Isabella and Ariel cried out in alarm, while Albin hesitantly voiced his conclusion.
“Y-you’re using Isaac’s team as bait?”
A slow grin spread across Karina’s face.
Exactly. He’s smart.
There was a method Karina had learned in the past.
The way she had seized the position of cult leader in a fractured demonic sect after the Heavenly Demon vanished—overcoming twelve legitimate successors.
They had mocked her for being the previous leader’s illegitimate child.
Yet she had driven out successors who far surpassed her in power and influence.
First: conserve your moves and never reveal all your cards.
Second: if you can avoid fighting, conserve strength and wait for the right moment.
Third: when necessary, fully exploit human ignorance, hunger for power, and greed.
Some branded her a wicked witch and claimed she was unfit to be leader.
But all she had to do was show them.
That she hadn’t conserved strength because she was weak.
She was the only person of her era who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Namgung Hwi—having reached the state of Transcending Demons by carving it out with blood and flesh while enduring scorn and ridicule.
In the end, even those who disparaged her methods had no choice but to bow before her overwhelming might.
Ultimately, it all came down to achieving one’s goal with the least possible loss.
Pulled back from her memories, Karina looked up at the sky, then calmly spoke through the artifact.
“Albin.”
It wouldn’t hurt to test him a little.
“H-huh?”
Albin’s flustered voice came through. Karina continued,
“If you were on Isaac’s team, how would you infiltrate the count’s estate?”
“….”
Albin fell silent.
Isabella and Ariel waited as well, curious about his answer.
After a moment, Albin spoke steadily.
“The estate’s security has tightened since the first infiltration was discovered. Th-the count would be on guard for another attempt.”
Pausing to catch his breath, Albin laid out his thoughts.
“I-if it were me, I’d use the waterways. Every estate has separate channels for clean water and waste. No matter how many guards they post, the darkness and maze-like structure make infiltration and escape easier.”
“Oh….”
Karina murmured in genuine admiration.
But Albin immediately added,
“B-but that’s only if I were Isaac’s team. Isaac himself wouldn’t use the waterways.”
Confused, Isabella asked impatiently,
“Then how exactly do you think Isaac’s team will get in?”
After a brief pause, Albin answered with conviction.
“If it’s Isaac, he’ll break through the front.”
Karina smiled softly.
“Same thought as me.”
