TSSAH 21

Chapter 21

Killian set down the glass he had been holding on the office desk.

“The crow.”

The golden eyes fixed on me were sharp as a whetted blade.

I couldn’t falter here.

I clasped my hands behind my back and tensed the muscles along my spine.

“Explain properly.”

“To be precise, it’s the ‘Crow Tower.'”

“Is there something wrong with how Knox exchanges correspondence?”

Killian asked as he poured liquor into the half-empty glass.

He looked relaxed.

And the fact that the bastard had regained his composure was not a good sign for me.

But I had come this far—there was no retreat.

“There’s nothing wrong. Except for that candle sitting right there.”

The decisive clue that had instantly pieced together the scattered fragments into a single picture.

It was the candle placed in the Crow Tower.

“Candles that produce a milky white flame around the wick are mainly used by lower-class commoners. They’re cheap and burn for a long time. Upon checking, I found that not only the messenger tower but all candles distributed throughout Knox were of the same type. And those low-grade candles have one useful characteristic.”

I looked at the candle burning quietly on Killian Knox’s desk.

The flame was a pure, vivid red without any white stains, flickering softly.

“Once they cool and harden, the wax peels off easily. For the lower classes, it’s convenient because they can collect the spilled wax to make new candles. And for Knox’s real intelligence division—the one that opens and checks the contents of all correspondence passing through the messenger service—it’s convenient because it leaves no trace that the envelope was opened.”

The moment I mentioned the “real intelligence division,” a blue vein writhed on the back of Killian Knox’s hand as he set down the bottle.

Surprised, are you?

Still, I landed a hit.

“Of course, since Knox’s people seem to think it’s simply for cost-cutting, you don’t need to replace all the candles. Nor the time it takes for the messenger service—which buys time for the real intelligence division to open sealed letters and compile their contents.”

It was a piece of advice given with some sincerity.

They were only small clues that even I had almost missed.

But Killian Knox seemed rather displeased.

“You keep saying strange things. A real intelligence division.”

A scoffing laugh was cold.

Even the liquor glass gripped in his large hand looked like a threatening weapon.

It was fortunate that I had already taken a parade-rest stance.

At least my trembling hands wouldn’t be visible to him.

“That is the darkest secret of Knox that I uncovered. Not the outwardly revealed intelligence division led by Greer Knox, but a real intelligence division that exists somewhere within Knox.”

“According to you, even though Knox has a perfectly functioning intelligence division, they’re nothing but scarecrows?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Because I had dealt with Greer Knox’s intelligence division firsthand.

Hundreds of letters passed through the Crow Tower every single day.

They simply didn’t have the capability to handle such vast and raw information.

High-grade information, or useful information, never appears with a red flag already planted on it.

Just as I had almost been swept down a side path by the secret affair of the former ducal couple, refining randomly received information and connecting it to other leads is not something just anyone can do.

*’If Knox’s intelligence division had that kind of ability, they would have been much harder to deal with.’*

Standing before Killian Knox, my mouth tasted bitter as I chose my words.

So that’s why they had crumbled so easily.

Neutralizing Knox’s intelligence division had been one of my proudest achievements—but the real one was elsewhere.

“I’m truly sorry to say this to Your Grace, but the evaluation that Knox’s intelligence division is incompetent is no secret. It’s even reached the ears of a mere low-ranking member like myself. Not only Greer Knox, but even the loyal retainer who devoted his entire life to the ducal house…”

“Enough nonsense.”

“Ahem, anyway, I believe the one leading the real intelligence division must be someone far more capable than Greer Knox. Someone like Your Grace’s closest aide, Duke DuPont Clanshire.”

At that moment, something resembling a smile flickered across Killian Knox’s eyes.

“Did you get that information by sneaking into Deacon Gold’s office?”

“Th-that’s. Not exactly…”

“Lying won’t do.”

The tone was like coaxing a child, but it was clearly a chilling warning.

“…I confirmed that a substantial budget is allocated annually under the name of DuPont Clanshire.”

“It seems Deacon didn’t secure his doors properly.”

Actually, it wasn’t Deacon Gold but his aide who was the problem.

I didn’t have enough loyalty to defend Deacon Gold in front of Killian Knox.

But then, realizing something, a chill ran down my spine.

I had definitely moved after shaking off my tail—so how?

“H-how did you know I went to Deacon Gold’s office…?”

“I believe I told you I can know wherever you go.”

Killian Knox answered flatly.

But to me, it was no different from a death sentence.

He had said things about being a dragon’s kin or whatever, but I had taken that to be like a compass that showed direction.

Like a long leash tied to keep me from running far.

But he could even detect my movements within Knox Castle?

As my face filled with despair, Killian Knox seemed to be in a good mood.

“Not bad.”

Seeing him offer this kind of quasi-praise…

As irritating as it was, my current position was no different from a dog raised by Killian Knox. A stupid dog that frantically scrambles after a bone tossed its way.

“Then…”

It seemed that a very small light was entering my heart, which had been crushed to the floor by a much stronger leash than I had anticipated.

Had I guessed correctly?

Was he not going to kill me?

Could I live?

But Killian Knox trampled the sprout of hope that had barely begun to grow.

“Your imagination is decent. But it wasn’t worth waiting five days.”

The bastard shook his head in disappointment.

“I praised you for being quick-witted, and this is all you came back with?”

“Imagination…!”

Fine. So you’re going to play dumb?

A fighting spirit I had long forgotten flared up inside me.

“Your Grace has been neglecting the incompetent intelligence division.”

I looked straight at Killian Knox’s annoyingly flawless face and spoke.

“One wall of Knox’s iron fortress is collapsing, yet you do nothing—not even attempt to rebuild it.”

“So you’re saying there must be a real intelligence division? As an argument to support your claim, that’s extremely weak…”

“No.”

I deliberately cut off Killian Knox mid-sentence.

“With all due respect, I’m not saying this just by observing Your Grace’s attitude. The evidence is the Knox ducal house itself.”

“The Knox ducal house itself?”

One of Killian Knox’s eyebrows rose.

“The Knox ducal house is still standing strong, having lost none of its power. If the real intelligence division didn’t exist, Knox would have long since collapsed—at the hands of formidable rivals, even if none are quite Knox’s equal.”

“If there are any men bold enough to challenge my power.”

“There are. The Margrave of Constance in the south, the Viscount of Limburg in the west, and the Earl of Wickers in the north. If just two of them join forces, Knox would need to be on guard.”

Killian Knox tilted his head slightly. His face remained as cold as an ice sculpture, but somehow I could tell.

That the bastard was extremely displeased right now.

“If what you say is true, then I am a duke neglecting my duties. Not even making an effort to rebuild the collapsed intelligence division.”

“How does that follow?”

There was no way he hadn’t understood everything I had been saying so painfully, yet his attitude of twisting and tangling my words irritated me as well.

“You’re deliberately leaving it as it is, aren’t you? Because it’s Knox’s weak point.”

It was interesting.

“So is that why, during the spy incident last time, you had Greer Knox kneel before everyone and still spared his life?”

The little one was acting as if he had read his inner thoughts.

Even though Killian himself couldn’t see even a little bit into that round head.

“Hmm.”

As if the eclipse that had already passed had returned, a sudden impulse rose unbidden in Killian’s mind.

“If.”

Killian willingly indulged that urge.

“If you were me, how would you revive the collapsed intelligence division?