[A/N- I know I said the novel will be light hearted, but I couldn't skip this one. Although it isn't anything dark, but it's also not light hearted.]

While Aegon was returning to Cali's home, another spectacle was taking place in other part of Dusk City.

In the western borough of Dusk City stood a tall tower of twenty stories. It was one of the tallest towers in the city, as most buildings were kept shorter to fit better within the city's protective barrier.

This alone signified the status of the tower's owners.

[Tudor Express]

Everyone in Dusk City knew this name, and the plaque hung proudly at the top of the twenty-story building, marking it as one of the biggest distribution companies in the entire Empire.

From mundane goods to magical artifacts, they had their hands in every industry and shared an influential status, even in a large and bustling city like Dusk City.

The building served as their headquarters, and currently, all the heads of the company had gathered on the top floor. It was a spacious room with a pristine white interior that dominated the atmosphere, reflecting elegance and cold authority.

At the center, a total of twenty-one people, men and women of middle age, sat around a long oval table, their heads lowered and their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

A single sprout of a flower was growing on each of their heads, and even the slightest movement of that sprout made their trembling worse. They didn't dare to move, yet their bodies wouldn't obey them.

Even so, not one of them dared to look at the woman seated at the head of the table.

An elegant woman with flowing snow-white hair sat in the main seat. Her exquisite face could topple kingdoms with its beauty alone, yet it was completely devoid of emotion.

Even her crimson-red eyes, which slowly scanned every single person in the room, held no trace of feeling whatsoever. Anyone who tried to peer deep into those eyes would see nothing but endless blankness.

She was the very source of their terror.

The woman twirled the wine glass in her hand and asked in a flat, emotionless voice, "Tell me honestly, who was the one who proposed this idea?"

"I-I… W-We were forced!" One of the men mustered up some courage and spoke. "He could have killed us all otherwise!"

"And yet I'm about to do the same," the woman said languidly, shifting her gaze toward him. "And I did ask you to be honest, didn't I?"

They all flinched at her words. Her tone wasn't threatening in the slightest, it carried no emotion at all yet it sent chills down their spines.

It felt as if they were standing before the Goddess of Death herself, receiving her judgment, and all they could do was wait for the inevitable.

They had sworn to cover for each other even in the worst of situations, but now their resolve was crumbling like sand beneath her blank, merciless gaze.

A woman who appeared to be the youngest among them collapsed to her knees. The sprout on her head grew faster as she did, but she still lowered her head and pleaded, her voice trembling with fear.

"I-It was their greed, Lady Liliana! I did my best to persuade them not to take the deal, but they ignored me because I'm the youngest. Please spare me! I only recently joined and don't know anything. I'm an idiot!"

She didn't feel even a shred of shame in calling herself such things. At this moment, all she wanted was to survive. She could feel her life slipping away with every passing second, and the sheer terror was overwhelming.

She knew the woman before her well enough to understand that Liliana wouldn't think twice before taking their lives. So she would do anything, even say anything, to stay alive.

"Y-You! Don't throw us into the pit just to save yourself! Lady Liliana, don't listen to her! She's the one who brought the Bandaged Man to us and proposed the idea!"

"Yes! Yes! It's all her fault!"

Once the secret was out, no one hesitated to turn on each other. They betrayed their comrades without pause, all in a desperate attempt to buy even a fleeting chance at survival or at least, a painless death as some of them were already sure of their death.

Liliana continued to stare at them for a while before muttering softly, "How troublesome. Did you even know who he was targeting? Did you have any idea that you were helping him go after my son?"

The instant her words fell, everyone felt their blood turn cold. For a moment, not one of them could even breathe as the truth settled in.

They had wondered why Liliana was targeting them with such intensity, assuming it was because she held some old grudge against the Bandaged Man.

Who could have known they were actually digging their own graves by targeting her son?

The Bandaged Man had only told them that he was after a small noble's son, so they didn't ask questions. The benefits were too enticing to ignore.

If any of them had known that his true target was Liliana's son, not even in their wildest dreams would they have dared to assist him.

Unfortunately for them, they had already crossed the bridge, and now there was no turning back.

"L-Lady Liliana, we really had no clue!"

Their desperate pleas fell flat like cold water spilling from an overturned bucket, for there wasn't a single change in Liliana's expression. Her face remained as blank as ever.

"Last question…" She paused for a moment before taking a sip of her wine. "Actually, never mind. I shall take the answers myself. Since you've already chosen your future, I'll help you reach it."

"L-Lady Liliana! Please, have mercy!"

By then, Liliana had already stood up from her seat and walked toward the window, completely ignoring the chaos behind her.

A figure suddenly morphed out of thin air and stood silently behind Liliana, head lowered in shame.

"You failed." Her flat tone made the figure shiver violently. "I gave you a single task, and you couldn't even accomplish that."

The figure dropped to their knees, and a soft feminine voice rang out, trembling, "I will accept any punishment."

"Why?"

That was Liliana's only question, yet the figure immediately understood.

"The War Empress was with the Young Master the entire time," the woman explained. "If I had gotten any closer, she might have detected me. I kept my distance to avoid exposing myself, and that's why this happened. Please… punish me for my negligence, Mistress."

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