The ‘quiet place’ that Mr. Damian mentioned turned out to be the office of the head of the 17th Branch.
Mr. Damian let us use the couch as if it were his own, so my dad, Theon, and I sat side by side.
As Mr. Damian busied himself with clinking teacups in one corner of the office, my dad asked.
“Where’s the owner of this office?”
“On vacation.”
“You’re the one who looks like you need a vacation. You must be overworked—your face says it all.”
“Yeah, well, that’s true. His Majesty the Emperor is furious over that newspaper article.”
Cough.
“Berry, are you okay?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just swallowed wrong.”
It was understandable that I’d choke—after all, there was only one article recently that could have made the Emperor that angry.
The Daily Sunrise…
It had violated an imperial decree and touched on issues regarding other races.
Because of that, the newspaper hit its highest sales record of the year.
With such a massive scoop, other newspapers couldn’t just sit by. They all followed up with additional reports, leaving Mr. Damian with a major headache.
‘That’s probably why the punishment came down so quickly—it only took a month.’
Marquess Ash was demoted in rank and had his vineyard estate confiscated. Meanwhile, Viscount Roslin lost his entire territory.
Throughout the whole ordeal, my dad’s name was never once mentioned.
That was thanks to Grandma Marshall silencing the reporters and Baron Voltman keeping the villagers quiet.
“I read about Marquess Ash’s land development project in the newspaper.”
“Yeah. That’s why His Majesty—”
Damian suddenly trailed off and fixed his gaze on one spot.
“…….….”
He was staring at the seat next to me.
His eyes were locked onto Theon, as if scrutinizing him carefully.
No way…
Mr. Damian had seen the Emperor up close many times before.
After all, he was a Grand Master and the head of the Investigation Branch of the Central Bureau’s 1st Branch.
Theon resembled Baron Voltman in many ways, but his black hair and black eyes were identical to His Majesty the Emperor’s.
Though black hair and black eyes weren’t particularly rare, there were certain features that stood out—the striking clarity of Theon’s eyes and the smooth, glossy texture of his hair. Just one glance, and he looked undeniably noble.
Not yet.
I had to wait until the Emperor grew desperate enough to seek out a child of his own.
The Emperor had deep insecurities about his inability to produce an heir, which made him obsess over bloodlines. That was evident in the fact that his empress and concubines were, at minimum, of royal descent.
A son born to the daughter of a poor Baron during his reckless youth as crown prince… To the current Emperor, Theon’s existence would only deepen his inferiority complex.
And in the imperial palace, where power dictated everything, who would welcome Theon? That place was no different from Travel.
I’ll make Theon shine.
I would send him to the imperial palace as a refined diamond—so dazzling that no one could trample on him, no matter how alone he stood.
That way, no one would dare look down on him.
I won’t let anyone take Theon from me.
With that thought, I quietly linked my arm with Theon’s.
***
‘No… it couldn’t be.’
Damian dismissed the suspicion forming in his mind.
Reytan’s disciple was only ten years old.
Yes, even if the boy was born during the Emperor’s reckless youth as crown prince, but that meant nothing.
‘After all, His Majesty is sterile.’
It was a secret for now, but it was practically confirmed. The Emperor could not have children.
So, even if the boy resembled him, there was no way he was his son.
“Hm, Reytan. Your daughter seems to be wary of me.”
“Berry? …Oh, you’re right. Berry, did Damian do something to you?”
While Damian had been lost in thought, the atmosphere had taken an odd turn.
Reytan’s daughter, Berry, was eyeing him like he was some kind of kidnapper.
Beside her, the boy—his so-called disciple—had linked arms with her and was frozen stiff.
Berry’s round, green eyes were filled with suspicion.
“Mr. Damian was looking at Theon like he was about to take him away.”
“That’s a problem. Damian, just because you don’t have a disciple doesn’t mean you can set your sights on my one and only student. Isn’t that a bit much?”
“…I’m not a bad person.”
Damian suddenly found himself needing to defend his character. Inwardly, he felt a bit dejected. In truth, he had been hoping to grow closer to Berry.
But even after his explanation, Berry’s wary gaze didn’t soften.
At times like this, the best move was to create some distance.
In the end, he had no choice but to try another approach.
He took out some cookies that the branch head had been saving and called over a passing staff member near the office.
“Can you keep an eye on the kids for a bit? And give them these as snacks.”
“Yes, yes! Of course!”
“Is that okay, Reytan?”
Normally, Reytan would have refused outright, but this time, he nodded.
“Do as you like.”
With Reytan’s permission, Damian handed the cookies to Berry and made one last attempt to defend himself.
“I’m really not a bad person.”
“I know. But you still can’t have Theon.”
Even as the door closed, Berry continued to eye him warily.
In the end, Damian failed to befriend either his friend’s daughter or his disciple.
Reytan smirked at Damian’s defeated posture.
“Kids don’t hold back, do they?”
“Maybe it’s just because she’s your daughter. She’s grown into quite the sharp one.”
“Not just sharp—she’s also adorable.”
“Brown would have loved to see her.”
At those words, Reytan’s hand, which had been idly playing with a pen on the table, froze.
Both Damian and Reytan were Grand Masters, but before that, they were connected through Brown.
Brown had been Damian’s dearest friend.
“With how gentle he was, he wouldn’t have just watched from the sidelines. You wouldn’t have been raising her alone either.”
“…….”
Reytan remained silent for a moment.
Then, instead of continuing the conversation about Brown, he changed the subject.
“So, what exactly is this important discussion we needed a quiet place for? You haven’t even given me the tea you promised.”
Since the children had been sent out, it was clear that this was a conversation they shouldn’t hear. That was why Reytan had remained silent when Berry and Theon were asked to leave.
Damian’s gaze turned cold. The gentle, flustered demeanor he had shown in front of the children vanished completely.
This was how he always looked when he was in investigator mode.
“Reytan, do you have any acquaintances in Goldport?”
“No. I came to invest in the Blue Trading Company.”
“…The Blue Trading Company?”
“I heard it has great potential for growth.”
“Good. Then there’s something you can dig up from the company leader.”
“Dig up? Are you asking me to play investigator? That’s your job—or your subordinates’.”
Damian was the Chief of Investigations for the First Branch, second only to the Director of the Central Investigation Bureau. Although there were several chiefs, Damian’s status as a Grand Master gave him a special position—he essentially operated as the Emperor’s direct investigator.
If he was asking for help in extracting information, it had to be something serious.
Just thinking about it was already annoying to Reytan. He had enough on his plate just keeping his promise to Berry about investing.
“I’m not doing it.”
“No. You have to.”
Despite Reytan’s refusal, Damian pressed on. His expression made it clear that he wasn’t backing down.
“…We have intel that he was at Brown’s accident site.”
Clack.
Reytan snapped the cap onto his pen. A heavy, chilling silence filled the air.
He turned his gaze toward Damian.
***
‘What are they talking about?’
I stared at the office through the glass door.
Aqum was sleeping in my pocket, and Jeffrey was probably busy working under Anne’s orders at the Stone House.
There’s no way to eavesdrop.
The office was too far away for me to listen in myself.
Right now, we were in the meeting room. The staff member had stepped out to fetch drinks, leaving Theon and me alone.
“Theon, Theon.”
If I couldn’t listen in, I had to focus on my own task.
Theon admired Grand Masters. If Mr. Damian really did want to take him as a disciple, just like Dad had joked, then he might be tempted.
I didn’t think my Theon would ever abandon us, but nothing in this world was 100 percent certain.
Theon had been staring at the edge of the table for a while now.
“Hm?”
I rested my head against the desk and looked up at him.
Our eyes met suddenly, and Theon, startled, quickly turned his head away.
“Look at me.”
“…I can’t.”
Gasp.
Theon was avoiding my gaze—like someone who had something to hide.
