Kyle continued to stare at his trembling hand after his clash with the purple-haired woman. The numbing sensation from their aura collision still tingled through his fingers.
“Your Highness, I apologize.”
“Could you not find any trace of them?”
“No, their footprints vanished completely at a certain point. We searched all the surrounding buildings but found no clues.”
“Hmm… Could they really be working for my uncle? To evade your detection, it would have to be at least my uncle’s ‘Shadow Squad.'”
“It seems unlikely. Blake’s Shadow Squad would never fail to recognize their master. There’s no way they wouldn’t have identified Your Highness.”
Kyle looked at his hand and spoke.
“And what about her?”
Kyle inquired about the purple-haired woman who had fought him.
“Personally, I believe she might be from a different race or possibly from outside the Empire.”
“Outside the Empire?”
“Yes, someone of that skill level could be associated with a secret organization from another kingdom or duchy outside the Empire.”
Kyle quietly closed his eyes and pondered. The idea that she was from a kingdom his father had destroyed or one that had surrendered didn’t make sense.
Would such a person appear after their kingdom was destroyed?
As Kyle continued to think, a sudden thought struck him.
“Could she be someone under the Emperor?”
“The Emperor?”
The guard asked, and Kyle mentioned an organization.
“Anbu.”
At the mention of ‘Anbu,’ the guard was momentarily speechless and took a while to respond.
“Apologies, Your Highness. We have our limits in investigating the Anbu.”
“Of course. If the Anbu, which has been passed down to the Emperor through generations, were so easily deciphered, they would have been abandoned by the Emperor long ago.”
Mulling over the term ‘Anbu,’ the First Prince turned to look back at the Imperial Palace.
“Consider the Anbu as a possibility.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
Kyle gestured for the guard to leave and, placing his sword on a battle-scarred stone, began to replay the duel in his mind.
Next time, he would ensure she knelt before him.
***
“Katarina, absorb the remnants of Frank’s faction and take complete control of the underworld. Gather all the information in the capital and recruit the skilled individuals from the underworld entering the Pleasure District.”
Despite Ian’s somewhat commanding tone, Katarina smiled and responded without any displeasure.
“Hmm, that’s not a bad offer for us. But to keep such skilled people tied down in the underworld, a lot of money will be required. Men in the underworld only trust money. Do you have enough to handle that, Your Highness?”
At Katarina’s question, Ian glanced at Deus before smiling back at her.
“I always tell Deus the same thing.”
Ian’s confident tone prompted Deus to clear his throat before speaking in unison with Ian.
“Don’t worry about the money.”
“Don’t worry about the money.”
Deus and Ian shared a nod, while Katarina and Wiz, aware of the budget available to the Third Prince, couldn’t hide their surprise.
“Your Highness, you’re not joking, right?”
“Katarina, why not trust your client a bit more? Contact us whenever you need an advance payment, and we’ll make sure the funds are provided.”
“Since you insist, I will trust you. But there’s no need to mention what will happen if this promise isn’t kept.”
Deus confidently added to the skeptical Katarina and Wiz.
“Katarina, was it? Trust him on this. He’s remarkably good at pulling in funds.”
With Deus’s assurance, Katarina and Wiz nodded. Ian then turned to Alex.
“Your Highness, what should I do? I’ll complete any task you give me with my life on the line!”
“Alex, you’ll be the liaison between the Katarina faction and me. Oh, and just so you know, the servant who used to deliver your letters to me was found dead.”
“Gasp!”
The news that the servant who always delivered his letters was dead made Alex’s knees tremble.
“Your Highness, I think I’m more useless than I thought. I couldn’t even convey your identity to Katarina. Perhaps it would be best if I retired?”
Seeing Alex trying to back out, Wiz approached with a stern look.
“Alex, you know what you said doesn’t make sense, right? You’ve heard all of Ian’s plans. If you run to the First Prince and spill everything, we’ll all end up like orcs kidnapped by griffins.”
Wiz’s menacing tone made Alex hiccup.
“Hic, Your Highness, hic.”
“Alex.”
“Yes, hic!”
“Let’s do well.”
“Yes, sir!”
Thanks to Wiz’s sharp presence, Alex answered with a disciplined expression. Seeing this, Ian thought he might need more one-on-one time with Alex occasionally.
Personal meetings with a superior often instilled a sense of tension in subordinates.
“And me?”
Deus looked at Ian with eager eyes, expecting something extraordinary.
“Deus, we’re going to create a human detector.”
“A human detector?”
“A device that can make invisible things visible.”
In modern society, things that turned invisible aspects into visible forms were valuable. For instance, data that showed invisible behavioral habits of people was called ‘digital gold.’
“I don’t know what it will be used for, but it sounds fun just hearing about it. Leave it to this genius magical engineer. I’ll make it in no time.”
“Since it deals with both physical and mana aspects, it’ll be quite a challenge.”
Deus’s eyes sparkled even more at Ian’s words. Whenever Ian said something like this, it always led to the creation of magical items that revolutionized the Empire, fulfilling Deus’s research desires.
Having finished discussing future plans, Ian dismissed the others.
Once alone, he spoke to the empty space.
“Why don’t you come out?”
At Ian’s words, a hidden figure flinched.
“Wouldn’t it be polite to let me thank the person who saved my life directly?”
At Ian’s insistence, the purple-haired woman who had fought Kyle appeared before him.
“What is your name?”
“…”
“I’d like to know the name of the person who saved my life.”
“My duty is to protect you from danger, Your Highness.”
Her response, focusing only on her role, made Ian think she indeed belonged to the Anbu.
In the original story, even Duncan, who met the First Prince, never revealed his name.
He only executed his orders.
“Watching over and protecting me are both your duties. You didn’t think I wouldn’t realize the Emperor would have someone keeping an eye on me, did you? So, what’s your name?”
Ian was curious.
Even in the original story, there was never a detailed description of the woman before him.
Knowing her name might give him more information about her.
The purple-haired woman hesitated for a moment before speaking in a very soft voice.
“Irelia.”
“Irelia?”
Ian pondered the name ‘Irelia,’ but nothing came to mind. Even if she wasn’t in the original story, it didn’t matter.
She possessed the strength to confront the First Prince. He needed to make her fully his ally.
“Irelia.”
“?”
“Thank you for saving my life.”
When Ian bowed in gratitude, Irelia responded with a flustered voice, not accustomed to such situations.
“It was my duty as your personal guard. It was a reward for your achievements, Your Highness. There’s no need for you to bow.”
“That’s that, but gratitude is gratitude.”
“…..”
Staring into her eyes, Ian continued.
“But Irelia, I have a question.”
“Please, ask.”
“When Kyle swung his sword at me, you made me trip over that stone, didn’t you?”
“….”
Irelia avoided answering.
“I see…”
“That’s a misunderstanding, Your Highness.”
“Fine, I’ll let that slide. But here’s my real question.”
“Please, ask.”
“How much of my actions are reported to the Emperor?”
The room fell silent after Ian’s question. Irelia’s silence was answer enough for him.
“Almost everything is reported, it seems.”
“…..”
“Thank you, and I look forward to working with you.”
Irelia nodded slightly and disappeared. However, she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind Ian’s words.
Left alone, Ian gazed at the dark pre-dawn capital and thought.
Now was the time to make the most of the Emperor’s surveillance.
At dawn, Ian, accompanied by Deus, was returning to his palace when they encountered an unexpected figure.
“Ian, wandering around the palace with a stranger so early in the morning?”
“Brother Adrian, I didn’t expect you to visit my palace so early. And this person is someone you know well.”
When Deus dispelled his illusion magic, his true appearance was revealed.
“Adrian, it’s been a while. How have you been? How’s your magical progress?”
“I was curious who Ian was spending so much time with lately, and it turns out to be Deus.”
“No, Brother, I just happened to visit the Magic Tower, and we found we had similar thoughts, so we decided to share our opinions.”
“I see. Could you tell me what you two discussed?”
Adrian’s unusual proactive behavior raised Ian’s suspicions about him.
Though he had given advice and warnings, Adrian had never been so inquisitive.
It felt like he was trying to find out who was aiding Ian.
“Why, is there something you’re uncomfortable telling me?”
Ian and Deus sensed something was off with Adrian’s uncharacteristically aggressive tone.
Cliche Novel 
First Katarina and now Irelia. I hope I dont see Yasuo next
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