Guided by Tom, Ian safely left the inner palace and made his way to the Katarina faction’s headquarters. Even before he knocked on the door, a man appeared and greeted him with respect.
“Greetings, Your Highness, the Third Prince.”
“You were expecting me?”
“Yes, we’ve been waiting for you.”
Ian was impressed by their keen perception; they recognized him immediately despite his hood and cloak. It truly was an organization that handled information the best in the capital.
“Please follow me.”
As the man opened the door to the innermost part of the building, a red-haired woman and a dwarf man stood to greet Ian.
“Welcome, Your Highness, the Third Prince.”
Ian spoke as he observed the courteous Katarina and the man.
“I expected a rougher welcome, but this is a surprise.”
“You’ve come as a guest for now, so we’re showing the proper etiquette. Are you here as an enemy instead?”
As soon as Ian finished speaking, Katarina unleashed a fierce aura, staring him down.
“An enemy…”
Having already faced the Emperor’s harsh presence, Ian brushed off Katarina’s aura and spoke calmly.
“For now, I’ve come as a guest with good intentions, so how about serving some refreshments?”
“Oh my, we don’t usually prepare refreshments for guests in the backstreets. But if Your Highness insists, we can arrange it.”
“Discussions always go better with some sweets. And coming here at night has made me a bit hungry.”
At Ian’s casual remark, Katarina smiled and glanced at Wiz, signaling a subordinate outside to bring in refreshments and tea.
Katarina wasted no time getting to the point as soon as Ian took a sip of tea.
“Now that you’ve had a chance to enjoy your tea, would you mind telling us why you’re here?”
“Didn’t Alex already tell you?”
Seeing Katarina and Wiz exchange puzzled looks, Ian realized he needed to discipline Alex later to prevent future mistakes. It’s a leader’s role to ensure their subordinates learn from their errors.
“Before I explain my purpose, I have a question. Is the man next to you qualified to hear our conversation?”
Without hesitation, Katarina answered.
“Wiz is like family to me and lends me his wisdom. He is fully qualified, so you don’t need to worry.”
Hearing the name ‘Wiz,’ Ian recalled the character from the original story. Wiz was the one who tormented Duke Blake alongside Katarina for years. Without a description of his appearance in the story, Ian hadn’t recognized him immediately. Confirming the presence of two key figures, Ian proceeded with his purpose.
“The reason I’m here is to recruit you to my side.”
Even though the Third Prince expressed his intent to recruit them directly, Wiz remained calm, as if he had already anticipated it.
“We are a group that deals in information. The moment it’s rumored we’ve taken a side, we lose clients from the other side.”
“What if the reward is so great that it outweighs the loss of other clients?”
“What kind of reward are you so confident about, Your Highness?”
“I’ll help you eliminate the entities that trouble your sight in the capital.”
Hearing something unexpected from Ian, Katarina and Wiz exchanged a silent glance. After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Wiz spoke.
“I’m surprised to hear such a proposal from Your Highness, but supporting you just to handle something we can manage ourselves doesn’t seem worth it.”
Seeing them play hard to get, Ian smiled.
“There’s a difference between being able to do something and being able to do it easily. Taking down the Frank faction, supported by the nobles, would require significant sacrifices. But if I provide the justification to sever their connections, wouldn’t it be much easier?”
“Wouldn’t it also be an option for us to ally with the noble faction instead of replacing the Frank faction?”
“You don’t get along with the head of the noble faction, Duke Blake. He doesn’t know boundaries, and you do. That’s why you control the backstreets as an information guild rather than dealing in incense or assassination.”
Ian’s words left Katarina and Wiz speechless. They felt that Ian had thoroughly researched them.
“Who told you that?”
In a suspicious tone, Katarina questioned Ian, who responded with a sly smile.
“If you were planning to cooperate with the noble faction, the Frank faction wouldn’t have grown. It’s logical to assume they emerged because you refused to cooperate.”
Katarina nodded at Ian’s logical response. She began to wonder about the rumors of Ian being a rogue—maybe he had been pretending all along.
“On what basis can we trust that you can create such justification?”
“Do you find me that untrustworthy?”
Wiz unfolded a piece of paper with information about the Third Prince and began reading.
“No talent in swordsmanship, no talent in magic, little influence among the nobles as a rogue prince. How can we trust Your Highness’ capabilities?”
Despite Wiz’s blatant attack on his lack of abilities, Ian laughed and spoke.
“Indeed, you base your judgments on ‘information.’ It’s a good decision-making method. Let me provide you with new information about myself.”
Making decisions based on data is an advanced decision-making method even in modern society. However, it has a weakness: when a new trend emerges, the decision-making outcome can be completely reversed.
“If you have new information that can change our judgment, we’d welcome it.”
Ian slyly pulled out the ‘Detector’ from his pocket.
“It’s true I lack talent in magic and swordsmanship. I enjoy the rumors of being a rogue because it makes my enemies underestimate me.”
“Enjoying the reputation of being a rogue is new information to us.”
“Keeping others from knowing your true self is the easiest way to deceive them.”
“Then why don’t you show us the real you now, so we don’t misunderstand?”
Ian responded to Katarina’s somewhat provocative tone.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Ian then held the palm-sized Detector and began to examine Katarina, Wiz, and the room. The Detector revealed hidden items or devices around the people. Behind Katarina and Wiz, he saw a suspicious device, likely a mechanism to open a secret passage.
“Is there a secret passage leading outside? Is it for unexpected intrusions?”
Katarina was shocked by Ian’s soft-spoken words. It seemed he knew about the ‘secret passage’ that only Wiz was aware of.
“What are you talking about? Is there a secret passage here?”
“I can see an empty space beyond one of the walls behind you. It seems like pressing the brick with the dagger pattern will open the secret passage.”
“How do you know that?”
Katarina asked, surprised. Ian pointed to the Detector.
“It’s the power of the Detector I created. I think it’s a useful enough tool to identify the secrets of an organization that has dominated the backstreets for years. Don’t you think this is a useful ability?”
Seeing Katarina and Wiz nod slowly, Ian continued.
“This machine is special. It might also create the ‘justification’ to eliminate the bothersome entities, as I mentioned. Rumors about it have recently started spreading in the palace.”
Wiz, recognizing the value of the Detector, asked.
“Do you have extras?”
“What would you do if I did?”
“As Your Highness knows, this machine would be incredibly useful in the backstreets. Many people try to bring in strange items hidden in boxes. We’d like to secure as many as possible.”
Katarina nodded in agreement. Incidents often occurred when verifying the items brought by guests. Explosions or strange objects popping out of boxes were not uncommon.
“Based on what you’ve shown us, we need to revise our information about you. And don’t worry, this information won’t spread. The fewer people who know about this device and your ability to produce it, the more valuable the information will be.”
“That’s why I like working with smart people. Isn’t it worth considering drawing the empire’s future with me?”
Katarina smiled at Ian’s proposal.
“The thought of Your Highness creating more devices like this is thrilling. But I’m not entirely convinced. We prefer to remain neutral.”
“Even in neutrality, we can have a cooperative and friendly relationship, can’t we?”
“We don’t know enough about Your Highness, and you don’t know enough about us.”
“Picky, aren’t you?”
“We prefer to be careful. I’m sure the intelligent Third Prince understands that committing to one side as an information organization means staking our future.”
“Then it’s best to build trust as a customer first.”
“We will treat you as a special S-rank client. If Your Highness continues to impress us, we might end up holding onto your coattails.”
Laughing, Ian pulled out the Detector he had pocketed earlier.
“Consider this an advance payment. I have a small request to earn your favor.”
Gaining the trust of talented individuals is simpler than expected. Recognize their talents early, exceed their expectations with gifts, and reward their performance.
Katarina and Wiz were taken aback, not expecting Ian to offer the Detector as an advance payment.
“Are you really giving this to us?”
Despite Wiz’s astonished words, Ian nodded. They would soon realize its usefulness and keep coming back for more. Besides, it wasn’t a permanently functioning device.
“Think of it as a token of trust.”
Perhaps because they received the Detector as a gift, Wiz spoke to Ian in a more friendly tone.
“What would you like us to do?”
Confirming the hint of obsession in Wiz’s eyes, Katarina shook her head.
“Considering your capabilities, it should be as easy as turning a hand over.”
Cliche Novel 