Kamiel, who had been sitting in his study unable to sleep until late in the early morning, was repeatedly reading a letter from Kasha. The letter, written in an elegant and extravagant handwriting, stated that Kasha would soon be coming to Karileum and would definitely pull Ruth out of the imperial palace.

Kamiel let out a small sigh. While he didn’t know what connections Kasha had within Karileum, it seemed unlikely that Kasha could save Ruth at the moment. Getting inside the imperial palace itself was impossible. He was also under house arrest and couldn’t leave his home for a month. Although his position in administration meant he could work from home, staying away from the palace was a huge disadvantage right now. He had no idea what Ruth’s situation was.

Rubbing his forehead, Kamiel made a frustrated sound. To check if Ruth was okay, they needed to communicate with him, but even sending letters was forbidden. The only information he had was through the palace guards, who reported that Ruth was still fine, but he couldn’t fully trust that.

Restless, Kamiel was tapping his fingers on the desk when he heard a knock on the door.

“What’s going on?”
“A visitor has arrived.”
“At this hour? Who is it?”
“It’s Lord Jessie.”

Kamiel raised an eyebrow in surprise at the unexpected visitor. What could Jessie want at such a late hour? While they were distant relatives, they weren’t particularly close, and the last conversation they had left a lingering feeling. Still, as he was of royal blood, Kamiel couldn’t treat him dismissively, so he nodded.

“Let him in.”

He folded Kasha’s letter and put it away in the drawer before standing up. The door opened, and Jessie entered. He was dressed in military attire, as though he had just come from a dinner banquet with relatives at the imperial palace. A banquet would have ended by midnight at the latest, so why was he visiting at this hour?

“Welcome. What brings you here at such a late hour?”

Kamiel moved to the table in the center of the study and greeted him. Jessie approached slowly and sat down at the table, and after watching him take a seat, Kamiel sat across from him. Jessie placed a rolled-up piece of paper in front of him without a word. Kamiel frowned, staring at the unexpected action, and asked,

“What is this?”
“A gift.”
“My birthday is still far off, and Lindsay won’t give birth for another six months, so what is this gift for?”
“I’m giving it to you because I’m in love with you. A gift of love. Though it could be a gift of both love and hate.”

Jessie smiled playfully, but Kamiel responded curtly.

“Enough with the jokes.”
“I’m serious.”
“I’m a married man.”
“That’s why I said it could be a gift of love and hate.”
“Lord Jessie.”

Jessie smirked at Kamiel’s stern voice.

“Oh, you’re cold. You’re more cruel than you look.”

Seeing Jessie continue his teasing, Kamiel, now clearly exasperated, almost pleaded as he asked again,

“Lord Jessie, what is this?”

At the question, Jessie covered his lips with his left index finger.

“Shh! I don’t know what this is, and you shouldn’t know either. Just think of it as a gift of love from me. How you use it is up to you.”

Kamiel frowned at Jessie’s cryptic words.

“What exactly are you up to?”

Seeing Kamiel’s disgust without even touching the scroll, Jessie laughed mischievously.

“Why are you so suspicious? It’s nothing special. I just thought I’d see your face when you cry before you die.”

Kamiel was taken aback by the dangerous words and asked, unsure if he had heard it correctly.

“What?”
“When I saw you earlier at the banquet, it seemed like you and Ruth weren’t getting along very well.”

But then Jessie made another unexpected remark. Kamiel began to feel his anxiety grow.

“I don’t understand what you mean. Please speak logically.”

“I just meant that. Aren’t you curious? What it would be like to see someone so strong break down and cry… I’ve always wondered what kind of expression a prince, who seems so unlike himself, would have when he cries. Of course, I can’t make him cry, but I could bring him to the point where he does.”

Jessie was speaking recklessly, and Kamiel felt his head start to ache. Jessie wasn’t someone who was greedy in terms of common sense, so it was hard to read his intentions. He was a person whose motives were impossible to understand, and it made it just as difficult to respond to him.

“What exactly are you thinking?”

“I don’t have any particular thoughts. I’ve known him since I was a child, so I’m just more intrigued by him. Don’t you remember? When you were assigned to guard the prince, I tried many times to make him cry. But there was no reaction. That’s when I thought there was nothing here,” Jessie mumbled as he pointed to his own heart with his right index finger.

At that moment, Kamiel finally understood Jessie’s intentions. Jessie had a deep interest in the dynamics between people. His knowledge of even the smallest details in high society made sense in this light. He enjoyed watching the emotions and desires of people clash, revealing human nature down to its core. In a way, it was the worst hobby. On the surface, he seemed like a people person, but if you looked closer, he was dangerously unpredictable.

“That’s a vile taste. What’s in it for you if the prince cries?”

“Hmm… I suppose it would just confirm that no one in this world is without emotions.”

“Is that really the risk you’re willing to take, just for such a trivial confirmation?”

“I’m not taking a risk.”

“I’m not sure what you’re giving me, but based on your reaction, it’s clear it’s something dangerous. Isn’t this a huge risk?”

At Kamiel’s sharp question, Jessie shrugged.

“To you, it’s a risk, but to me, it’s not. I’ve never seen this before, never heard of it, never touched it. What you choose to do with it is up to you. If you’re scared, you can burn it in the fireplace. I don’t care. The point is, I’m giving you a choice. You won’t say my name if you get caught, will you?”

In other words, Jessie was telling Kamiel to take the fall if anything went wrong. Whatever was in the scroll, if it was something even Jessie, a royal, couldn’t handle, Kamiel would likely have to sacrifice himself. Kamiel looked down at the scroll, his life seemingly written on it, and let out a bitter laugh.

“This is amusing. So in the end, you’re throwing me a bait?”

“Yes. I can’t risk my life over a small curiosity, so I’m throwing bait to someone desperate. What will you do? Will you take it, or will you burn it in the fireplace?”

“At least give me a clue about what this is.”

“Think about the purpose of the Northern Palace. You’ll figure it out quickly.”

The purpose of the Northern Palace was simple. It had remained empty for about 30 years before Ruth entered, but originally, the Northern Palace was a place where the royal family hid exiled relatives or those they couldn’t reveal to the public. But the more fundamental purpose of the Northern Palace was…

At that thought, Kamiel looked at Jessie in shock.

“Don’t tell me…?”

“That’s exactly what you think.”

Kamiel was horrified by Jessie’s vague answer.

“How did you get this?”

Kamiel yelled in disbelief, quickly looking around and lowering his voice. At his dramatic reaction, Jessie grinned slyly.

“I swiped it from the Emperor’s chambers. Not exactly stolen, though. I volunteered to care for His Majesty, and copied it all night. It might not be completely accurate. You’ll have to forgive me for a slight margin of error.”

Despite Jessie’s infuriating response, Kamiel lowered his voice and whispered as quietly as he could.

“If this gets discovered, it won’t just be treason. This is imperial confidential information!”

“That’s why I said you could burn it if you’re scared.”

“But you’ve already seen it, haven’t you?”

“I’m royal. It’s no problem for me.”

“This isn’t something that can be brushed off like that.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t use it. As long as you keep your mouth shut, it’s fine. There are no eternal secrets in this world, but you could at least trust me once.”

Kamiel was so dumbfounded, he couldn’t even muster the energy to be angry anymore. He rubbed his forehead and sighed.

“What exactly are you…?”

Seeing Kamiel unable to finish his sentence, Jesse smiled slightly.

“I’m just poking at you because you might end up being executed. How you handle it is up to you.”

After that, Jessie stood up lightly.

“I’ll be leaving now. Take care of the rest.”