The gathering was full of peacocks. Men and women alike were dressed to the nines—a whole crowd of strong personalities. Yet even among such forceful people, that man and woman stood out.

I breathed in the suffocating atmosphere surrounding the two of them, then exhaled.

“Do we really have to introduce ourselves?”

“Actually, I intended to keep you hidden at first.”

That was the last thing I had expected Yehyeon to say. Blinking, I turned to the men beside me. Neither had relaxed since we left the house. Even my training officer was on edge, so there was no question that some heavyweights were gathering here. I just wasn’t sure exactly what sort.

A crystal chandelier glittered brilliantly overhead. Yehyeon studied my face.

“I can’t keep you hidden forever anyway. So I think it’s better to confront this head-on rather than be evasive.”

“I still don’t understand why these people are so interested in me... But I’ll follow your decision for now.”

“Hilde.”

There was a weight to the way Yehyeon said my name. I gazed silently into my superior’s large eyes. Yun listened quietly, his hands shoved into his pockets.

As I waited for him to continue, Yehyeon said, “If we get through your introductions to the elders safely today, I’ll tell you as much of what I know as you want.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t know everything myself. But once the introductions are safely over, I’ll have no reason to hide anything from you.”

A beautiful smile curved his lips. I knew that smile. I had seen it exactly once before, in the commander-in-chief’s office—the smile he had given me as he left on the day I first heard Jaeyeon’s name. A smile touched with pride, meant for a subordinate who had lived up to his expectations.

“It must have been frustrating. Thank you for bearing with it all this time without letting it show.”

For a moment, I was speechless. Then I barely managed a nod, because I still had no idea what to say. Yun glanced at me and gave a short laugh, apparently amused by my awkward response.

Black suited him so well that I wondered why he didn’t normally wear it. Turning away, he said, “I’m sitting this out. Nothing good can come of getting close to them.”

“Yes. Stay as far away as you can.”

Yehyeon readily agreed, then turned his gaze to the pair.

“They’re not people you want to get involved with.”

We walked over to those people we apparently shouldn’t get involved with.

We approached the woman with silver-gray hair twisted into an updo first. Apparently, that was the proper order. Yehyeon explained that she “outranked” the platinum-blond man. Strictly observing this hierarchy was extremely important, he said, warning me never to get the order wrong.

The illustrious second most powerful elder. Code name: Sukhoi.

The moment we stopped nearby, she turned gracefully amid the people surrounding her. Silver ornaments chimed delicately against a dress so black it seemed to swallow light.

She had a stern look about her, with elegantly pinned silver hair and strongly defined features. Her green eyes were far paler than Riccardo’s. Their gaze seemed to pierce straight through the back of my head. There was not a trace of a smile on her face.

“Yekaterina,” Yehyeon said quietly. “I would like to introduce my subordinate.”

Gazes shot toward me. The people surrounding Yekaterina turned their eyes on me, narrowing them as they examined me. I took their scrutiny and quietly assessed my surroundings.

Some looked wary, others envious, but they were very much in the minority. Most regarded me with the same sentiment: condescension.

Or contempt. Derision at this unfamiliar nobody. Here, fame was power. I couldn’t recognize everyone surrounding Yekaterina, but they were undoubtedly prominent figures in their respective fields.

Even I recognized several of them, which meant they had to be incredibly famous. A movie star. A political party leader. A news anchor from a major network. A famous influencer. People with legions of fans.

How laughable a new Badger recruit who had made the news exactly once must look among them.

I had been invited somewhere I didn’t belong, so this was only to be expected. But I paid no attention to the eyes openly sizing me up and judging me, the plainly audible snickers, or the voices asking who the hell I was and mockingly replying that I was a new Badger recruit.

More precisely, I couldn’t spare them any attention. I couldn’t escape Yekaterina’s gaze. Standing right in front of her, meeting her eyes, I felt her presence bear down on me far more heavily than it had from a distance.

And what was with those sharp gazes boring into the back of my neck? She seemed to have bodyguards hidden all over the place.

“We finally meet.”

Yekaterina approached me with that weighty greeting.

“His special guest. You’ve been through a great deal.”

Wasn’t that an odd way to greet someone? Not that I could question it. I merely gave her a polite smile and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Her hand was firm. The noise around us quieted a little as we shook hands. The gazes trained on us burned.

They certainly were persistent about watching other people say hello.

The woman continued, her pale eyes piercing me.

“I trust you’ll keep making the right choices, just as you did then.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep doing my best.”

I had a strong instinct that “then” didn’t refer to rescuing Forden, but I let it pass with a smile.

“To make choices I won’t regret when I look back.”

An odd gleam appeared in Yekaterina’s eyes at my reply. It vanished so quickly that I was probably the only one who saw it. I didn’t try to work out what had caused that fleeting flash. Releasing her hand, I edged back, my smile still in place.

Even among people who wielded their fame as naturally as breathing, this woman’s presence was overwhelming. I didn’t want a long conversation with someone who seemed to embody power itself. My nape was still prickling under those sharp gazes. And these weren’t the childish looks of celebrities, but warnings from people brimming with murderous intent.

Let me go home!

Yehyeon gave Yekaterina an exceedingly businesslike smile.

“I hope you’ll look kindly on our new recruit.”

“And I hope he’ll do the same for me.”

Yekaterina answered evenly and turned away. As she returned to the people surrounding her, she added casually, “It’s been a very long time since I was genuinely pleased to meet someone. I’ll be watching with interest.”

Me? Why me? I wanted to ask, but held my tongue.

Yehyeon had promised to tell me everything he knew if we got through this gathering safely. A few more hours, and a lot of things ought to make sense. So instead of blinking in confusion, I smiled.

Yehyeon turned and whispered for us to go. I nodded and followed him. Perhaps it was because of Yekaterina’s parting words, but I saw a few people trying to approach me with curiosity in their eyes. Following my superior left me no choice but to pretend I hadn’t noticed them.

All that varied attention—curiosity, condescension, derision, wariness, murderous intent—fell away. We had left Yekaterina’s territory. The newfound coolness at the back of my neck told me as much as we crossed the spacious hall.

* * *

The second elder was the platinum-blond man. He wore a snow-white three-piece suit magnificently. Even with the marks of age on his face, he was far more strikingly handsome than most people. His hair was neatly swept back, his features smooth. A relaxed smile rested on his lips.

He, too, was surrounded by people, though they had a different air from those around Yekaterina. As we drew closer, he turned elegantly.

Ugh. Those stinging gazes were raining down on the back of my neck again. They were different from those of Yekaterina’s bodyguards. There was murderous intent, certainly, but oddly enough, there seemed to be excitement mixed in too. What kind of people had he hired as bodyguards?

The man held a champagne glass gracefully between his fingers. As we came to a stop, he raised it, beaming at Yehyeon.

“Commander-in-chief!”

What? Why was he so delighted to see Yehyeon?

“We meet again. I’ve been waiting for you. There’s something even more appealing about you lately. Shall we have tea in private after this?”

Yehyeon made no attempt to hide his sigh. I blinked, lost.

Why was the man said to rank third among the elders beaming at Yehyeon and flirting with him? And why was my superior sighing as though he were used to it, not even trying to hide the darkening of his expression?

The commander-in-chief even said gloomily, “I thought I’d been doing a little better these past few days. Enough not to attract your interest, at least.”

“Haha. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look that way.”

The handsome, platinum-blond middle-aged man laughed brightly at Yehyeon’s words.

The people here also looked us over with curiosity, but they didn’t seem as interested in us as the ones around Yekaterina. The gazes landing on me weren’t as blatant. A new face intrigued them, but fundamentally, they were most interested in their own affairs.

As I blinked and took in the clear difference, I heard Yehyeon mutter, “Your fondness for sickly-looking people hasn’t changed.”

“With a little polishing, they shine brighter than anyone.”

The man smiled, his gaze fixed on Yehyeon. He looked as though he had been born with that refinement.

“And so would you, Yehyeon. I promise we won’t discuss complicated business. Are you sure you won’t join me for tea afterward?”

“I came to introduce my subordinate.”

Yehyeon coldly cut off the invitation.

He shifted slightly to make way for me. Looking awkward, I stepped past him and approached the man. The elegant elder didn’t seem very pleased to have his conversation with Yehyeon interrupted. But what say did I have in it?

I bowed my head and greeted him first.

“This is my subordinate, Hildebert Taleb.”

“Ah...”

The man drew out the sound as though something had come to mind, studying me. I met his pale gray eyes and waited for his next reaction.

“The one I’ve heard so much about.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Hildebert Taleb.”

“Prometheus.”

What?

“Today’s special guest, aren’t you? As I expected, you’re not really the sort of person who interests me.”

“My apologies. As you can see, I’m only an unremarkable new recruit.”

“You don’t interest me personally, that’s all. Given the circumstances, I can hardly ignore you.”

Like Yekaterina, the man spoke in riddles. Seeing me blink, he grinned. His crooked smile was sly and confident in a way different from Riccardo’s or Yun’s. It held the refinement and self-assurance of someone who had been set apart from others since birth.

He held out his hand.

“Eric Earhart. I look forward to knowing you.”

Code name: Spitfire.

I shook his hand in silence. Once the formal pleasantries were over, Yehyeon quickly took his leave, abandoning Earhart as he urged him to seriously consider the invitation to tea.

Yehyeon turned sharply and strode across the hall. As I followed, the gazes clinging to my nape disappeared. Just feel how cool the back of my neck was now.

All we had done was introduce ourselves, and I was this drained. Now I understood why Yun wanted nothing to do with them. I gave a shudder, then returned with Yehyeon to my training officer.

* * *

A stir ran through the hall about thirty minutes after I started eating with my seniors. I was eating green grapes between Yehyeon, whose mood had improved because Eric showed no interest in me, and my training officer, who had enjoyed watching me awkwardly exchange introductions with the elders.

I was listening in disbelief to the explanation that Eric was a pervert who loved unhappy people and took pleasure in saving them. Apparently, staying off his radar was one sign that your life was going well.

What a fucking lunatic.

That was what I was thinking when the hall froze. It truly froze. Sudden silence settled over the noisy room—a cold stillness taut with tension.

Sensing the abrupt change in the atmosphere, I looked up. Everyone was staring in the same direction.

Yun and Yehyeon were no exception. The two men, who had been in their best moods since we left home, set their cutlery on the table and silently stared at a single spot. Every gaze in the hall was fixed there.

The entrance to the annex. The beautifully decorated door with its golden border. Closed until now, it opened, and someone came in.

“Falcon is here,” someone at the next table whispered in a hushed voice. “The rumors that he was coming were true.”

Code name: Falcon. First among the elders. First in power. A man who had never once relinquished that throne.

I watched the man walk slowly into the frozen crowd. Impeccably dressed in a dark suit, he entered the hall accompanied by one tall, handsome man.

He was an older gentleman with neatly swept-back, graying hair. There wasn’t a single flaw to be found. He carried an air of such aristocracy that he looked as though he would bleed blue if stabbed. Smooth leather gloves covered his hands, and his pocket-watch chain caught the chandelier’s light.

His features were finely ordered. He was somewhere between middle and old age, but time had clearly not been unkind to him. The years etched around his eyes and mouth seemed to lend him gravitas and a quiet elegance.

He had unquestionably been handsome in his youth. With vivid blue eyes and sleek blond hair. His cold air had made him unapproachable, but his distinctive charisma and keen intellect had gathered followers around him. Cruel, but clever enough to hide that nature.

Ah.

“Colton.”

Yehyeon and Yun whipped their heads toward me at my whisper. But I had no attention to spare for their reactions. I was half-dazed by the memories flooding in, by the shock of meeting someone I had known in this world for the first time.

The past sharpened into focus. Memories came rushing back, dizzying me.

“Colton Wiseman.”

So you were an elder.