Chapter 33

Suddenly, the Grand Duke sensed a disturbance—along with the hurried movements of the knights.

“…Oh dear, it seems they’ve already discovered it.”

His subordinate had likely handled the scene well, but there was no need to risk being seen as suspicious right now.

The Grand Duke held his breath and waited for the commotion to settle.

A few dozen minutes later, the man cautiously asked:

“But why has Lady Luweiz suddenly been added to the list of targets?”

Until recently, she had been someone they were trying to win over.

“Because she’s capable—and yet, she cannot be mine. That alone makes her someone who must be eliminated.”

Whether it was due to personal resentment or political reasoning, Laura was acting more and more like someone deeply aware of her status as Asel’s fiancée.

And from that, the Grand Duke drew a conclusion:

Laura was never someone who could be persuaded to his side.

“Shall we handle her now?”

“…There will be another opportunity.”

One fortunate detail was that Asel still lacked definitive power or evidence to bring down the Grand Duke.

But he was becoming increasingly cautious.

“There’s no reason to give him an excuse.”

For now, the Grand Duke needed to maintain some distance from the imperial palace.

Of course, this didn’t mean he was cutting ties with the palace entirely.

‘Asel and his inner circle are stronger than expected… I’ll need someone close to them to interfere and cause cracks.’

He still had agents embedded in the palace—loyal spies who had served as his eyes and ears for over a decade without being discovered.

But this mission was risky. He needed someone disposable.

“Find me someone. A person with no ties to me—simple-minded, full of greed, and easy to control.”

And ideally—

“Someone with no deep ties to the Empire, so they can be discarded at any time without consequence.”

Everything was for the sake of the greater ambition.

Even a blade used only for a moment must be chosen with care.