The next day.

The stale taste of the bread sat heavily on Keryu’s tongue, but he forced himself to chew.

He had no choice but to eat—starving himself would only weaken him, and right now, weakness was not an option.

His gaze flickered briefly to his surroundings. The assassins were still there. They hadn’t left his side, hadn’t dropped their guard even once. And that was what troubled him.

He had watched them for an entire day now. Whenever one of them stepped out, the other remained behind, their watchful presence never wavering.

If that wasn’t enough, these assassins weren’t normal.

His fingers tightened around the crust of his bread.

As long as he had seen them, they had not once come out of their stealth. That only means one thing: they had an artifact. Some device that allows them to remain cloaked at all times.

‘They haven’t slipped up even once,’ Keryu noted. ‘A normal stealth spell would have faded due to lack of mana. But they remain unseen constantly. This isn’t natural. It’s an artifact—one that grants them complete invisibility.’

That realization was disturbing, but it also gave him something useful: whoever their master was, he had access to rare and powerful artifacts. That level of influence only narrowed the list of suspects.

And then, it happened.

The quiet rustle of movement at the prison’s entrance caught his attention. He looked up just in time to see one of the assassins rush inside, his usually calm demeanor replaced by something far more serious.

“He’s coming.”

Keryu’s fingers twitched, his grip tightening on the half-eaten bread.

The other assassin straightened immediately, his back going rigid as the tension filled the air.

No name was spoken, yet all three knew exactly who he was talking about.

Their master was on his way.

Keryu inhaled slowly through his nose, forcing his expression to remain neutral.

He had made his decision—whoever was behind this, he would kill them with his own hands. But wanting something and achieving it were two different things.

‘I’m not ready,’ he admitted to himself. ‘Not yet.’

If he acted carelessly, he would die before he even had the chance to learn the full extent of his enemy’s plans. He needed to tread carefully. He needed information. And most of all—he needed an opportunity.

The faint, distant echo of footsteps filled the prison. It was slow, deliberate, and heavy with purpose.

Each step sent a wave of tension through Keryu’s muscles, his entire body coiled like a spring, ready to snap.

Whoever this person was, they weren’t just any noble or political figure. The weight behind their presence was undeniable. Even the assassins—who had been utterly composed this entire time—seemed affected by it.

Keryu’s breath came out slow and controlled. He kept his gaze focused straight ahead as the figure finally stepped into view.

And then—

His entire body was locked up in shock.

His eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his face before his expression hardened with fury.

“You!!”

The word tore from his throat before he could stop it.

Standing before him, bathed in the dim glow of the prison’s torches, was none other than Alex.

The very man who had been the source of his suffering. The one responsible for every obstacle, every wound, and every scheme that had led Keryu to this exact moment.

His blood burned, rage searing through his veins like fire. But he couldn’t act—not yet.

Alex’s lips curled into a slow, knowing smile as he stepped closer to the cell.

“Surprised to see me, Keryu?”

His voice was smooth and amused, dripping with arrogance.

Keryu’s jaw clenched, his fists balling at his sides.

But then it hit him…

‘Wait—!’ Everything he had heard until now, and thought about the master of the assassins playing in his head. ‘I need to calm down.’

If Alex was the master of those assassins, then it meant just one thing: Alex was more dangerous than he had initially thought.

That was not all, as the reason Alex came here must be justified, and it was probably being recorded by him. If Keryu were to show harmful behavior or try to harm Alex, he might just be playing into Alex’s hands.

After all, Alex wouldn’t have come here without expecting Keryu to show violent or murderous reactions.

Thinking about it that way, Keryu calmed down in seconds.

Taking a deep breath, he continued eating his half-eaten bread while secretly summoning a black-colored pill from his system storage and swallowing it with the bread.

‘Oh?’ Alex, on the other hand, expressed his surprise at that, raising a brow as he had expected Keryu to come running at him.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’ He soon shrugged his grin widening as he added, ‘Let’s see if you can do the same after seeing what I’ve brought you.’

Keryu, feeling uneasy for some reason, frowned, staring at Alex, who suddenly spoke.

“You can come in now.”

The next moment, the sound of heels clicking against the floor was heard again, and Keryu unconsciously tensed. ‘Who’s it now?’ He thought.

And then, he saw her.

Her features were strikingly similar to his; she was just more on the beautiful side. Her black hair flowed down her waist like a gentle waterfall while her eyes, which always held an immense love for him, were somehow controlled.

She was Eris, his first love and his sister.

It had been a while since he had seen her, but she was just as beautiful as he recalls—maybe more than that, but not less.

The strange thing, however, was her expressions. She seemed to be hesitating. There was some uncertainty in her expression and some doubt.

Yes, those were not directed at him. But what made him worried was that she wasn’t even looking at him.

“E-Eris—” He tried to call out to her, his expression filled with love and care, but Alex, standing right next to Eris, cut him off.

“You can move to the side while I do the questioning.”

Those words were said to Eris, and although reluctantly, Eris still nodded her head and moved to the side, still not looking at Keryu.

Keryu, on the other hand, stilled in his spot as Alex’s words reminded him about something he had completely forgotten.

“I’m going to be interrogated…” He mumbled absentmindedly.

Of course, he was prepared for it. The pill that he had in his mouth, pressed below his tongue, was the proof of it. But that plan wasn’t made with Eris in the equation.

He was going to say many hurtful things about Eris to make Alex believe that he didn’t care about her, but if he did the same now…

‘Eris would be hurt…’ Keryu clenched his fists at that thought.

Yesterday, he had hurt Maleshia, but he didn’t worry much about her because he knew that the situation could be improved with one chat with her.

Eris, however, was different.

He couldn’t meet her, much less talk to her.

If he were to hurt her with his words, then he didn’t know when he would get another chance to talk things out with her.

“Do you know her?”

Alex spoke again, this time, his words directed at Keryu, who just stared at him, deciding not to answer.

Keryu had no obligation to answer Alex after all.

He could and would remain silent. He didn’t want to do what he had planned to do, as it would obviously hurt Eris.

But Alex just smirked at his attempt. ‘You think you are smart?’

“I will take your silence as yes, so let’s move to the next question.”

The moment Keryu heard those words, he knew that his plans were again falling apart.

After all, staying silent wasn’t an option anymore, as that would basically be saying yes.

Keryu stared at Eris, his expression helpless. ‘Do I have no other choice…?’

The fact that Eris wasn’t even looking at him disturbed him more, so with no other choice left, he gritted his teeth and bit on the pill under his tongue.

It was all or nothing now.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep