Chapter 33

Ratil came to see Kalain, but there was Ranawen? As soon as he entered Kalain's room, he was taken aback by the unexpected scene. Kalain and Ranawen were standing side by side. Kalain, with her seductive charm, and Ranawen, with her cold and noble demeanor. The two of them standing together seemed perfectly harmonious on the surface, but considering their backgrounds and personalities, they were a completely mismatched pair. Were they fighting? Ratil recalled the incident with Gestah and Klein and quickly scanned the two. Fortunately, there were no signs of a fight. Most importantly, the chessboard on the table behind them looked incredibly peaceful.

"Master?"

Kalain, rather, seemed to find Ratil's awkward stance more unusual and asked calmly.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, I didn't expect to see Ranawen here. The two of you... were playing chess?"

Ratil answered the question without thinking. However, his eyes remained fixed on the chessboard, and a loud voice in his head echoed, "They're playing chess?" Kalain and chess didn't seem to go together, let alone with Ranawen as her opponent. The two of them playing chess...

"Did my presence disturb you, since you came to see Kalain?"

Ranawen's cold interjection finally brought Ratil back to his senses. He noticed that her voice sounded even colder than the last time they met.

'Ah, now that I think about it, the last time we met, the atmosphere wasn't good.'

Ranawen seemed hurt by the gift she received, even though she hadn't shared a bed with Ratil.

'Is it because of that?'

Ratil cautiously observed Ranawen. It was ridiculous to be so cautious with a concubine, but he was also the eldest son of the Duke of Artaxi, a nobleman's heir, so it was natural to be concerned. Besides, with such a beautiful face and a deep, troubled expression, it was hard not to be drawn to her. However, when Ratil turned to Kalain and glanced at Ranawen, Kalain frowned slightly and asked,

"Master, why did you come to see me?"

"Huh? Oh, right. I came to see you."

Ratil finally looked at Kalain again and noticed she was frowning. Why was she frowning? He wondered inwardly but answered calmly,

"I was just curious how you've been doing lately..."

But Ranawen interjected again.

"You weren't curious about how I've been doing, were you?"

Ranawen's voice had become even colder.

"No, that's not it..."

Ratil recalled how his father used to meet the concubines one at a time. He hadn't understood why at the time, but now he thought he understood. Standing in the room with the three of them, even though they weren't fighting, the atmosphere was awkward. The way Kalain and Ranawen, who had been playing chess amicably just a moment ago, exchanged subtle glances was also awkward.

"I planned to visit you all in turn."

But without revealing his true feelings, Ratil calmly answered Ranawen. Ranawen pressed her lips together, looked down, and muttered,

"Is Kalain the first one you're visiting?"

Her voice was cold, but there was a clear hint of disappointment. In contrast, Kalain stood expressionless, but the corners of her lips were slightly upturned. Ratil awkwardly alternated his gaze between the two and took a step back.

"Your Majesty?"

"Why are you doing that, Master?"

"Uh... I just remembered something urgent I need to handle."

"Really?"

"You came here, and you're leaving already, Master?"

Kalain's "Master" made Ranawen's gaze shift to the side. It was as if she was thinking, "What's that?" Kalain, receiving that gaze, only stared at Ratil with her green eyes. Ratil took a few more steps back and quickly left the room, closing the door to prevent the two men from following.

"Your Majesty?"

"Why are you doing that, Master?"

"Uh... I just remembered something urgent I need to handle."

"Really?"

"You came here, and you're leaving already, Master?"

Kalain's "Master" made Ranawen's gaze shift to the side. It was as if she was thinking, "What's that?" Kalain, receiving that gaze, only stared at Ratil with her green eyes. Ratil took a few more steps back and quickly left the room, closing the door to prevent the two men from following.

"Your Majesty?"

Ratil, holding the doorknob, was called by the guards standing in front of the door.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Three times."

"Huh?"

"Why are you doing that? I think I've heard it three times."

"I don't understand."

"Never mind."

Ratil forced a mechanical smile and pointed down the corridor.

"Let's go back."

The guards raised their eyebrows and looked at the closed door.

"You just came here. Are you leaving already?"

"Yes. I realized I came here in the middle of work... What? Why are you suddenly grinning, Seunet?"

"I'm not grinning."

"Are you? I just saw you grin."

"I'm not grinning. Really."

* * *

After leaving the harem, Ratil went straight to the public office. The excuse he gave Kalain about having urgent work was partly true, but not entirely a lie. There was always a mountain of work to do in the office. As soon as he sat at his desk, he called the chief steward and asked about the progress of the tasks he had instructed in the prison.

"The portrait is being drawn. The investigators have set out to capture the black mages, and the Gnosis priest has also departed for the Sosta territory."

"Good."

Ratil sighed heavily. Catching the emperor's assassin was not a simple matter, and the situation was getting more complicated.

'Black mages and curses...'

While he was deep in thought, the chief steward seemed to have something to say and hesitated.

"Why?"

When Ratil looked at him, the chief steward spoke cautiously,

"Your Majesty... Why are you here so early?"

"Huh?"

"You came to see Kalain, didn't you?"

"Oh, so that's why everyone..."

Ratil glanced at the clock. Seunet had asked a similar question. It seemed he had come out too quickly. Checking the time, he understood why the chief steward asked. He had been in the harem for less than thirty minutes.

'Well, I did leave after just a few words.'

But it was embarrassing to tell the chief steward that he had come out because the two concubines were having a strange power struggle. Ratil laughed awkwardly, and the chief steward asked worriedly,

"Your Majesty, are you perhaps... not satisfied with the current concubines?"

"Heavens, no."

"Perhaps you should take three more-"

A loud thud interrupted the chief steward. Ratil turned his head in surprise.

"Sorry."

Seunet was picking up the fallen scabbard.

"It must have been loosely tied."

Why did the scabbard fall? Ratil looked at Seunet in confusion, who smiled and answered, then reattached the scabbard to his belt in front of Ratil. Before the chief steward could scold him, Seunet quickly asked,

"Your Majesty, the fake culprit mentioned Prince Tella. Shouldn't we investigate this?"

The impact of the curse and the blood-spewing culprit must have been too vivid. In the process of giving instructions for the aftermath, he had momentarily forgotten about Prince Tella.

"Right."

Ratil nodded, realizing he needed to handle this matter immediately. The 'fake culprit' had mentioned 'Tella' before dying.

"Of course, there's no harm in investigating."

Seunet's heavy topic made the chief steward forget about the new concubine and asked seriously,

"Could the real culprit be someone who supported Prince Tella?"

Seunet suggested a different perspective.

"Perhaps they did it to insult Your Majesty. The scope is different."

Ratil nodded, agreeing with both of them.

"The person who supported Prince Tella might have created a fake emperor's assassin to insult me, or they might have been involved in the assassination of the late emperor."

Of course, neither could be ignored.

"I will investigate this matter."

While Ratil was lost in thought, Seunet stepped forward, looking reliable.

"No, Seunet, you don't need to."

However, Ratil immediately refused.

"I think it's better for me to handle it, Your Majesty, as it requires careful investigation."

Seunet offered to investigate again, but Ratil still disagreed.

"It's fine."

Seunet already had many responsibilities. He led the royal guard, had various duties as the heir of his family, and had received a secret order from Ratil to investigate the letter thief. On top of that, he had to guard the emperor closely, so even if he had three bodies, it wouldn't be enough. Giving him another secret mission was out of the question.

"I want to do it. Isn't it important to maintain confidentiality in such matters, Your Majesty?"

"Seunet, you're already too busy."

"It's fine."

"It's not fine. Honestly, I don't even know if you're getting enough sleep."

Ratil's firm words made Seunet step back.

"I'm not doubting your abilities, but I'm worried because you're working too much."

Ratil reassured him and, after a moment's thought, continued,

"I will... give this task to Tahir."

Both Seunet and the chief steward were surprised and looked at Ratil. Seunet, in particular, looked as if he thought it was a bad idea. He stared at Ratil for a moment and then asked slowly,

"Do you trust him?"

Ratil shrugged.

'Soon, I'll find out.'

* * *

Ratil instructed to bring Tahir to his room and asked a maid to bring coffee and snacks. After taking off his tight uniform jacket and pants, he sat on the sofa in a long blouse and waited for Tahir, eating the snacks the maid brought. Tahir arrived about thirty minutes later.

"Your Majesty, Tahir is here."

"Let him in."

Ratil called out with a mouth full of snacks. As soon as Tahir entered the room and saw Ratil sitting on the sofa with his long legs stretched out, he rubbed his forehead.

"Coffee?"

"Since you're here, I don't think you're here to give me a favor. Is this a test of patience?"

Ratil pointed to the opposite sofa, and Tahir hesitated before sitting down and letting out a small sigh.

"Is this torture?"

"What?"

"If I sit in front of you in just a shirt, how do you think I feel?"

"Good, I guess."

"..."

Tahir's expression was ambiguous, making it hard to tell if he was smiling or frowning. Ratil chuckled and handed him the document he had been reading before Tahir arrived.

"Here, check it out."

Tahir skimmed through the document.

"It's almost empty?"

"Fill it out."

Tahir looked up at Ratil.

"Surely, you didn't call me here as 'Concubine Tahir' but as the 'Leader of the Black Forest'?"

"What's the difference? Both are mine."

"!"

"Did you know the emperor's assassin confessed?"

"Yes."

"Did you hear that he died?"

"I heard."

"The other concubines don't know about it."

Tahir smiled faintly.

"I'm not sure about that. How many concubines have good information networks?"

"Did you know the emperor's assassin mentioned Prince Tella before dying?"

Tahir raised an eyebrow, seemingly unaware.

"Really?"

Of course, there was a possibility he was acting. However, instead of deeply considering whether he knew, Ratil immediately gave instructions.

"Find out if those who supported Prince Tella were playing tricks with the late emperor's death or if they were truly involved."

After finishing his sentence, Ratil picked up a snack and started munching. His expression suggested he expected Tahir to follow his orders. However, instead of answering easily, Tahir alternated his gaze between the document and Ratil, deep in thought. Was he reluctant? Ratil stopped eating and looked at him. Eventually, a sultry smile appeared on Tahir's lips, the same one he had when he first met Ratil and muttered something about knowing his true identity. Tahir lightly placed the document back on the table and leaned back on the sofa.

"Do you know how to train a dog?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Ratil repeated, "A dog?"

"Sometimes you have to be strict, but when they behave well, you should give them a piece of meat as a reward. Along with praise."

"?"

"When I behave well, what reward will you give me?"

Surprised by the unexpected proposal, Ratil raised an eyebrow. Tahir leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, and smiled slyly.

"If I do a good job, hold me in your arms."