Editor : Amethyst00



"Heroic Houses Alliance?"

"Leo oppa is the Head of the new alliance?"

Hearing the news from Carl, both Celia and Chelsea widened their eyes in astonishment.

"Yeah. Oof—ah, I'm tired," Carl said in his usual cheeky tone, lightly slapping his shoulder.

"I had no idea," Abad added, looking surprised before turning to Eliza. "You knew?"

"I didn't either. This guy didn't say a word."

"Don't be too hard on me. The Head told me to keep this matter absolutely secret," Carl replied with a grin, glancing at Eliza's glare.

And it was true.

The election of the alliance's leader by the heads of the Heroic Houses had been an extremely classified matter. Not even the next heads of those houses had been informed.

Even within the Lordren Empire, the only ones who knew about it were the emperor himself and his closest confidant—alongside Selde and Chade, the heads of the Zerdinger and Lewellin families.

Had the nobles of the empire learned that someone other than the emperor was made the lord of the Heroic Alliance, they might have rebelled.

But with not only the emperor's approval, but also the support of Zerdinger and Lewellin's leaders, there was no room for dissent.

One could say the formation of the Heroic Alliance was already complete.

Carl had known in advance because he had been chosen as the representative of the Hergin family at the noble conference.

"Still, it's a little surprising you didn't even tell Eliza," Celia said.

Carl held up a thumb proudly. "I'm Carl Thomas—man who's survived Lumene on trust alone. Even if she's my girlfriend, I couldn't betray Lord Hergin's trust."

Eliza, who had been glaring at him, began poking Carl's side with her finger over and over.

It was her way of showing she understood but still felt a bit hurt. Knowing that, Carl let out a mock cry and played along dramatically.

Watching them, Celia laughed. "You two really do look like a married couple."

At that, Carl looked a little bashful, while Eliza gave her signature haughty smirk.

'Thinking back to first year, I never would've imagined these two as a pair.'

Back then, Carl was a commoner barely scraping by with the lowest grades, while Eliza had top scores and the pride of a Heroic House.

If someone had gone back to tell their first-year selves, "You'll end up married," what kind of faces would they have made?

While thinking that, Abad subtly sat down next to Celia.

"Jealous?"

"Don't get so close, Butter," Celia grumbled, scooting away with a frown.

Abad grinned at her response, while Chelsea's brow twitched slightly—but she didn't snap.

"You two still don't get along, huh," Eliza said with a shake of her head, as if to say, same old them.

But Carl caught something different.

'Huh? What's this vibe?'

Rubbing his chin, Carl's eyes sparkled.

Fast-witted and a master of reading the room, Carl picked up on the subtle tension between Celia and Abad immediately.

Just then, his eyes met Chelsea's.

As close friends since first year, Chelsea immediately understood that Carl had picked up on the odd chemistry between Celia and Abad.

"Don't say a word."

Chelsea mouthed silently, glaring and clenching her fist so only Carl could see.

He awkwardly looked away, smiling sheepishly.

Chelsea secretly hoped that Celia and Abad's relationship would stay hidden as long as possible.

If word got out, she knew she would be the one who got teased mercilessly—not the couple themselves.

'After all those fights with Celia, people are definitely going to say she's becoming my sister-in-law. Just the thought is terrifying!'

Determined, Chelsea swore to herself:

'No matter what it takes, I won't let their relationship be found out!'

As Chelsea was steeling her resolve—

"By the way, Carl," Abad said, "You sure there's no trouble? Even with the alliance's results, I imagine there are still people who have it out for you."

Eliza scoffed.

"Isn't it ridiculous? As if I'd ever spare a glance at those fools if Carl weren't around."

Just thinking about those who harbored delusional hopes of being her partner made Eliza grit her teeth.

But the part that infuriated her the most was that Carl had been looked down on.

Watching this, Chelsea leaned toward Celia and whispered:

"Watch and learn from Eliza."

"What?"

"She's genuinely angry for the sake of her future husband."

"What are you two whispering about?" Eliza asked.

"Nothing," Chelsea said, quickly pushing Celia away.

Watching them, Carl said with a calm smile, "There's no trouble."

bl

Bang—!

"How dare the Heroic Houses form an alliance without consulting us!"

The head of the Zeltian family slammed the table, eyes bloodshot with rage.

"This is clearly an act of disregard toward the noble houses!"

His voice thundered through the chamber, filled with fury.

Now that the Heroic Houses had united, standing against Leo—the newly appointed Lord of the Alliance—was no longer a wise move. Even among the houses that had previously opposed Arhi, there were signs of hesitation. Some were already showing intent to withdraw from the anti-Arhi faction led by Zeltian, wary of the new alliance's power.

"Damn bats, every last one of them!"

The Zeltian head gritted his teeth.

"Haa…"

But no matter how much he raged, it was becoming impossible to maintain the anti-Arhi bloc.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he clenched his fist tightly.

'I've no choice. At the very least, I must eliminate that Carl Thomas…!'

Just then—

Bang—!

"Father! What's going on with my marriage talks?!"

"Wait!"

"But I can't stand listening to everyone chatter about Eliza Hergin and Carl Thomas anymore—"

"Silence! I told you to wait! How can the one who'll lead Zeltian House be so impatient?!"

At the furious outburst, the son flinched, then quickly retreated from the room like a scolded child.

"Pathetic fool."

The Zeltian head let out a deep sigh and clenched his fists even harder.

'If it comes to this… that Carl Thomas must be dealt with!'

"Lord Zeltian."

A voice called out from behind.

Startled, the Zeltian head whipped around.

There, standing in the shadowed corner, was a demon—one of the subordinates of Ziguas, the King of Desire, who had been cooperating with him.

"Where is Ziguas? And why did they send a lowly servant like you?"

"The King of Desire is busy. You should be grateful I came at all."

"You insolent—how dare a mere demon—!"

"More importantly, Carl Thomas just left the Lewellin estate."

"…!"

'A perfect opportunity…!'

bl

"Ughhhh…"

A brown-haired man hugged himself tightly, trembling all over.

"It's not even that cold. Why are you shaking like that?"

"Boss, southern autumn nights aren't supposed to be this cold!"

"Stop exaggerating…"

Carl clicked his tongue as he looked at the beastkin man before him.

He was Tiri, the leader of Carl's personal intelligence network.

And more importantly—

'A former Shadow operative.'

Though Tiri had retired from the underground and started a new life, his background still made him one of the highest-tier operatives in the field.

'Too bad he's so expensive.'

"Boss, don't forget the special bonus you promised me this time."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Carl nodded as he inwardly wept tears of blood at the coming expense.

"But… would they really show up? I mean, this setup looks super suspicious," asked Freyna, standing beside Carl with a puzzled expression.

Carl replied calmly.

"If I return to Lumene, they won't have another chance."

Predicting such an outcome, the head of House Hergin, Elkan, had already relocated Carl's family to Hersia.

With House Hergin's protection, kidnapping his family to use as leverage was now impossible.

And once Carl returned to Lumene, the chance for an assassination would disappear altogether.

No matter what anyone said, Lumene was one of the safest places in the world.

Those who wanted Carl dead were the ones hoping to force a political marriage with House Hergin.

As time passed, Carl's position within House Hergin would only solidify.

'By then, even if they succeeded in killing me, it'd be obvious that forcing a marriage would no longer be possible.'

At that point, House Hergin would begin hunting for the culprits behind the scenes.

Of course, that applied now as well—but Carl knew the people after him were likely gambling that House Hergin wouldn't act to protect a mere commoner before anything had been officially announced.

"Desperation makes people act rashly."

"And if they don't take the bait?"

"Then…"

"Then?"

"I'll have to come up with a new plan."

Carl had no intention of letting those after his life roam free.

Especially when—

'There's a high chance they're connected to demons.'

Carl scratched his head with a scowl.

If someone dared target him despite the risk of antagonizing House Hergin, it meant they were confident they wouldn't be caught.

That could only mean one thing:

They were likely in league with Tartaros.

Carl chose not to voice that thought aloud.

Just as he sank deeper into thought—

Tiri's eyes suddenly turned sharp.

Seeing that, Carl let out a faint, dry chuckle.

'They're here.'

Leo sat perched atop the clocktower, gazing down at the streets stretched out beneath him.

Behind him stood Melina, quiet and upright, as though guarding his back.

"Carl reminds me of Lysinas when he starts scheming with that quick brain of his," Leo said, casually.

"I figured demons would show up since the signs pointed to the Lord of Desire making a move… but it looks like the Zeltians were discarded."

"That one was called Ziguas, wasn't he? That so-called Lord of Desire."

Leo's voice remained flat.

"He's just as sly as the Lich King. Despite the name, he never overreaches."

"So the Zeltians were just a sacrificial pawn from the beginning."

The Lord of Desire's intent was simple.

Cause internal strife and weaken the noble families' overall strength.

Just luring a major house like the Zeltians to ruin was a victory for Tartaros.

And if they succeeded in killing Carl, that would've just been an added bonus.

That's why the demons might've helped the assassins move unseen—but nothing more. Any further involvement would have been too costly.

As Leo pondered the demon general's methods, Melina spoke up.

"Still, Carl handled it all quite cleanly."

"Well, he had to. Otherwise I'd be the one in trouble."

Leo smiled faintly as he said it.

Melina's eyes widened slightly as she looked at him.

"What?"

"You feel… different."

"How?"

"I don't know. A bit more relaxed? Like you've let go of something heavy in your heart."

"Hah. And how would you know that?"

"Because I'm always watching you. Supporting you. And it suits you."

Leo gave a dry chuckle at her earnest tone.

"Is that so?"

"Mhm. By the way… did something happen? Some kind of shift in your thinking?"

"Someone gave me a bit of a lecture."

"Hm."

"What now?"

"Well, since someone's words managed to shift your thinking… can I say something too?"

"…You've been bottling things up?"

"A little."

"…"

"A lot, maybe?"

"Fine. Go on."

Leo looked resigned, and Melina's eyes sparkled as she seized the moment.

"Leo, I think you need to trust me more. Or rather—stop treating me like a kid! Do you even know how old I am?"

As Melina finally let loose all the things she'd been holding back, Leo gave her a weary look.

'I shouldn't have asked.'

"Leo, you're spacing out right now, aren't you?"

'Yep. Definitely shouldn't have asked.'