* * *

To his surprise, Count Keinstein had given his bodyguard a separate room. It was less a gesture of consideration and more an unspoken pressure to stay by his side for as long as possible.

Cadel’s room was filled with musty mold and dust as if it had been hastily emptied and cleaned of its former use as storage. Even if he had become a knight of the Empire, he couldn’t escape this harsh environment. Cadel couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the extreme disappointment.

After waiting in the stale air for some time, Cadel followed the servant who had come to summon him to the mansion’s halls.

‘Looks like all the successful candidates are here.’

At the back of the hall were twenty overly sturdy-looking mercenaries and five magicians who stood beside them with grumpy expressions on their faces.

Across from them sat the butler, the escorts, Chelsea and Han, and a man he recognized as Count Keinstein.

He’d expected a dirty look from a nobleman who’d done something so dastardly that his life was threatened, but he was rather unassuming. Moderately plump, moderately wealthy.

Han, Cadel’s examiner, whispered something to Count Keinstein as soon as he appeared. Cadel took a seat as far back in the row as he could, feeling the Count’s odd glances following him.

“This is Count Mace Keinstein, whom you will protect with your life for the next 10 days. Please be courteous.”

As expected, the ordinary man turned out to be Count Keinstein. Cadel bowed dryly, trying to avoid eye contact with the Count as much as possible. If he stood out too much, he’d have a nuisance on his hands that would distract him from his original goal.

‘Surely he won’t bother me just because I broke the magic stone? Please don’t do that. I just need to meet Yozen.’

That was Cadel’s sole purpose: to somehow reach him the moment Yozen attacked the Count and convince him to join. Cadel had agreed to escort him, but he had no intention of truly protecting him.

It wasn’t that he was in need of money, or that he had any personal affinity for the Count. It was even weirder to seriously protect someone who might have a shady backing. If he had been the real Cadel Lytos, he might have been willing to risk his life for the life of a stranger, but he wasn’t.

“We will now assign personnel, so please follow the servants as they lead you to your respective positions.”

The mercenaries who were called in one after another were assigned to locations that matched the Count’s usual movements, such as the dining room, study, and drawing room. Cadel waited for his name to be called and prayed that he would be able to achieve his purpose far away from the Count.

‘I hope it’s out in the open, like a garden, because I don’t want to be standing in a mansion all the time.’

Plus, being lazy would become more difficult. Around the time he was thinking such shameless thoughts and making plans to fool around.

“Next. Carlo Carlos.”

Cadel’s improvised pseudonym was called without much thought. By the time he was called, everyone had already left for their respective positions.

As he stepped forward with a sense of foreboding, Han greeted him with a friendly smile.

‘What? What are you looking at? Why are you laughing?’

Cadel nodded stiffly, his gaze fixed on the butler’s lips. In a precise and concise tone, he informed Cadel of his new assignment.

“Mr. Carlo, stay by Count Keinstein’s side. You are not to be separated from him at any time except when he is sleeping. In return, you will be paid three times as much as the other mercenaries, and I hope you will be happy to accept.”

What a joy. That was truly a sh*tty joy.

Cadel politely glanced at the back of the Count’s head as he ate his meal, dispelling his anger.

Inadvertently assigned to be Count Keinstein’s personal escort, Cadel had to deal with the Count’s obsessive security paranoia for three days.

He would scream at the top of his lungs if Cadel wasn’t next to him, not only when he was moving, but also when he was sleeping. Thanks to this, Cadel was able to return to his lodgings only after seeing the Count asleep in his bedroom and had to wait at the door an hour before the Count woke up.

‘Ugh, I hate to see him now.’

Sleeping four hours a night because of the Count’s bullsh*t seemed to be taking its toll on his already weak body. Cadel rubbed his heavy eyelids and stifled a yawn with superhuman strength.

As he was waiting for that damn slow meal to end, he heard the Count’s voice, which made him feel sick just by hearing it.

“It must be difficult to stand for a long time. It is said that most magicians do not have good physical strength, so please sit here. Perrin, please bring me another meal.”

The Count gestured to the empty seat with a friendly face, but Cadel couldn’t even muster a small smile. He was too tired now, and his appetite was gone. It would have been considerate of him to finish his meal quickly and allow Cadel to doze in a chair while he took care of business in his study, but the Count would have none of that.

A servant set the table as Cadel sat down. Bowls were filled with roasted vegetables, chicken, and fresh fruit. Normally, Cadel would have shoveled it into his mouth as soon as it was available to him, but now he just wanted to bury his nose in the plate and sleep.

“Take it. I’m planning to enjoy breakfast leisurely, so there’s no need for you to eat in a hurry.”

The Count smiled his most magnanimous smile and invited Cadel to dine. He couldn’t resist, so he meekly picked up his fork, but inside his mouth was a firecracker of profanity.

‘Do you want to eat with me? With Carlo, to whom you behave like a duckling that lost its mother every night?! All the while you scream ‘Where is Carlo?!’ and all kinds of things? What a dirty thick face you have.’

At this rate, he would assassinate the Count before Yozen could get to him. Cadel chewed the chicken as hard as he could, imagining it was the Count’s flesh, trying to stifle his rising killing intent.

After the grueling meal, it was time for the Count’s business. Cadel sat in a small chair in the corner of the study, his eyes fixed on the Count as he shuffled through papers.

He wanted to stay awake, at least until the Count was fully engrossed in his work, but he couldn’t help but let his eyes drift closed. Cadel, who kept raising his drooping head, eventually relaxed his eyelids as if in resignation.

How many minutes passed like that? Cadel drifted into a near-fainting sleep, only to be jolted awake by the Count’s jittery scream.

“Wh, what happened?”

Cadel’s heart leaped into his throat as he heard a loud scream. He quickly shifted his gaze, but there was no sign of the Count, who was supposed to be sitting at his desk. Scrambling to his feet, Cadel rushed to the desk and soon found the Count sprawled on the floor.

“What are you doing now…….”

“He, he touched my, my face! He touched my face!”

“He touched your face……?”

The who, where, and why questions were unnecessary. The act of touching the face was a kind of branding that the ‘Shadow Envoy’ left on his targets. Unless it was a special case like Cadel’s, the branded person would be targeted for assassination by Yozen.

It was as if he had been assured that he would meet Yozen, but Cadel could not feel any appreciation for it. It was because of the Count’s bizarre behavior that followed.

In a panic, the Count crouched on the floor and began to unbutton his top. His impatient hands tugged at the thin shirt like a madman, ripping off buttons that couldn’t withstand the force, revealing a side of him Cadel never wanted to see. Cadel’s eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the Count’s pecs.

‘That’s…….’

A pitch-black spot spread exactly near the Count’s heart. Faint shadows seemed to stir within the skin as if the energy of something had seeped into it. The Count also let out an even more horrifying scream when he discovered the fist-sized spot on his chest.

He bellowed at the soldiers and mercenaries who had just heard the commotion.

“The Shadow Envoy has invaded my mansion! Hurry and find him! Hurry!”