“Then go to the Golden Palace.”

Ruth tilted his head as though he didn’t understand, responding to Ail’s words. Seeing Ruth make such a foolish face, Ail grabbed his hair and yanked it. Ruth felt as though his hair might be ripped out, and he looked into Ail’s eyes and said, “It hurts. Please stop doing this.”

“I will. Until you start listening to me properly.”

“If you keep doing this, I’ll really go back to Vera.”

“Try it. I already owned Virel, so taking down Vera will be easy.”

Ail whispered with a smile, and Ruth looked at him with a surprised expression.

“Has my father returned?”

“No. But I did speak with your brother.”

“Did he give in easily?”

“He had no choice but to. He would have died if he didn’t. Now, back to the main topic—aren’t you curious about Salina’s situation?”

As Ruth began to show signs of reacting, Ail teased him by kissing him. Ruth seemed to understand Ail’s intentions and shook his head firmly.

“I’m not curious about that.”

Ruth answered with a small laugh, and Ail, looking at him with an alluring gaze, let go of his hair and grabbed Ruth’s cheek. He gently pressed their lips together and continued whispering.

“Are you sure you’re not curious?”

“I’m fine.”

“Really not curious?”

“No.”

Ruth smiled slightly and kissed Ail’s cheek in return. Then, he sought out Ail’s lips again. They pressed their lips together again, sharing deep breaths and exploring each other’s bodies. Ruth, who had been awkwardly leaning forward while standing beside Ail, was now sitting on Ail’s lap. Ruth shifted his left leg between Ail’s, continuing to kiss him with uncertainty, then leaned into Ail’s shoulder and straddled his thigh.

As the kiss deepened, they both started to feel out of breath. Just as their passion was heating up, there was a knock on the door. With their lips still pressed together, neither of them answered. Then, Meril’s voice called out from outside.

“Jessie has arrived.”

At Meril’s words, Ruth reluctantly pulled his hands away and pushed against Ail’s chest. However, before he could even step off Ail’s lap or catch his breath, the door suddenly opened, and Jessie entered the room.

“My, you two are getting a little too carried away with the affection during the day.”

Jessie, who had entered with a familiar desert boy, chuckled and began scolding the two of them. The guards and Meril outside the door were shocked by Jessie’s rude behavior, but Jessie casually walked over and, without permission, sat in front of Ail and Ruth.

Ruth was still sitting on Ail’s lap.

“Since the prince is still sick, shouldn’t you get off?” Jessie said with a sly smile, addressing Ruth.

Ruth’s face immediately turned bright red, and he quickly got off Ail’s lap, sitting beside him instead. His face was so flushed that he couldn’t bear to look at Jessie. He turned his gaze away, glancing to the side. There, the boy was smiling with sparkling black eyes.

The boy’s smile made Ruth feel a little embarrassed, and he quickly lifted his head and greeted him.

“Thank you for coming all the way here.”

“It’s no trouble. It’s not far from Turthan,” the polite boy replied. Ruth, still blushing, smiled awkwardly. He felt embarrassed to show that side of him to the boy, and his face refused to cool down. However, the boy seemed completely unbothered and unaffected by Ruth’s awkwardness. His clear, calm eyes reflected no hesitation. The boy was taller and appeared more mature and intelligent than his peers. Ruth, now able to relax, took a moment to observe the boy carefully and noticed something familiar about him. He resembled Ail a lot, which Ruth had also felt the last time they met.

Ail, noticing Ruth’s slightly lingering gaze on the boy, felt irritation mix with the disappointment from earlier, and he abruptly spoke up.

“Stop with the unnecessary chatter. What’s the real reason you’re here?”

The boy, sensing Ail’s sour mood, turned to him and answered politely.

“I have something to report.”

“What is it?”

“Lyman Kaizel is dead.”

The boy’s words came out sharply, causing both Ruth and Ail to glance at each other simultaneously. Both of them looked shocked, and their eyes conveyed a strange tension. They seemed torn between disbelief and the feeling that it couldn’t possibly be true. Jessie, too, looked at the boy in disbelief. The atmosphere was thick with the weight of the news. If what the boy said was true, it meant someone other than the Red Scorpions had killed Lyman Kaizel, and in an extraordinary way, no less—by blowing up a bridge. The death itself was tragic, but the unknown presence behind it made the situation even more complex. All three of them fell silent.

After a long, awkward silence, Ruth finally spoke up.

“Do you know who did it?”

“We also looked into things to get a better understanding of the situation, but we haven’t been able to uncover much. However, we did manage to find out who could manufacture that amount of explosives. After gathering information, we went to Lord Rejin’s estate three days ago, but he had already left. We then returned to the desert to confirm, and have come here in a hurry.”

“Did you find out the source?”

“Yes. There are only three people in the entire continent capable of manufacturing such explosives. Two of them were occupied with other tasks, leaving only one person.”

“Who did that person take orders from?”

“They said they couldn’t reveal that. They just did it as a favor to someone they owed a debt to from long ago. They also said they never intended to kill Lyman Kaizel. It seems the explosion happened at the wrong moment because of the heavy rain during the rainy season. The bomb was supposed to go off before they passed, but the bridge got wet, which delayed the explosion. After the carriage passed by quickly, flaming arrows hit the bridge, setting it on fire and causing the explosion.”

If the boy’s words were true, it was an awful stroke of bad luck. Ruth looked down at the floor, his gaze drifting, while Ail seemed to think deeply about something before lifting his gaze to look at the boy.

“Who else knows about this?”

“No one, as of now. It’s the rainy season, and with the bridge having exploded, the body hasn’t been found yet.”

“Then bury it. We’ll say Lyman Kaizel is missing.”

Ruth felt something strange about burying Lyman’s death, so he glanced at Ail. Seeing the exchange, Jessie, who had been quietly observing, spoke up first.

“I don’t think there’s a need to hide it. Doesn’t this mean the chancellor position will be vacant?”

“I’ll leave it vacant for a month. There’s no need to inform those groups about Lyman’s death, giving them time to reorganize. While they’re wasting time waiting for Lyman, I’ll dismantle their forces, and in a month, I’ll change the chancellor. We’ll deal with things while they’re distracted. So, Jessie, you keep quiet about this.”

Jessie nodded, understanding Ail’s intent.

“Understood.”

“Anything else to report?”

“That’s all the news I have.”

“Alright. Then leave.”

Ail spoke authoritatively, still with his arms crossed. The boy hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head and stood up. Jessie remained seated, deep in thought. Ruth, after looking back and forth between Ail and Jessie, stood up to see the boy off. After walking quietly for a couple of steps, the boy stopped and turned back to look at Ruth, as if he had something to say. Ruth met his gaze.

“Do you have something to say?”

The boy, after a brief pause, nodded and looked up at Ruth.

“Last time, you asked me for my name.”

“That’s right.”

“My friends call me Ayu.”

Ruth, feeling touched that the boy had remembered the question, gave him a kind smile.

“Alright. You know my name, right?”

“Yes.”