The music ended, and the nobles’ applause filled the banquet hall. Shirin bowed gracefully to Yuto.

‘I wish the music had lasted longer...’

The thought surprised her. At a party, a princess was expected to dance with proper decorum, whoever her partner might be. A kingdom’s princess was a flower meant to lend splendor to the occasion, and her position carried distinctly political implications.

It had always been that way. Shirin had danced with countless young nobles and foreign princes at countless parties, yet never once had she wished the music would last longer.

But dancing with this boy had been different. When she let Yuto lead... she felt as comfortable as though she were strolling with someone she had known for years. Their steps fell into place on their own, their breathing naturally matched. It was distinctly different from admiration for a partner’s skill.

‘How strange. This is the first time we’ve met...’

Shirin quietly looked down at the hand she had drawn away from Yuto. His warmth still lingered in her fingertips.

‘Why am I so reluctant to leave?’

It was not the end of the waltz she regretted, but having to leave Yuto’s side. The realization brought a faint flush to her cheeks.

Shirin attributed that warmth to the excitement of the party. She forced herself to. A princess must not harbor such feelings for a boy she had only just met.

“I had a wonderful time, Yuto.”

Forcing a serene smile, Shirin stepped back. Then she approached Levian to thank her. Standing side by side, Shirin and Levian made a dazzlingly beautiful contrast of pure white and crimson, naturally drawing the eyes of the nobles around them.

Yuto took the opportunity to steady his breathing. He forced his faintly trembling hand into a fist. Shirin’s warmth lingered in his hand, too.

“That was a splendid dance, Yuto.”

Shiro’s voice broke through the lingering emotion. He had approached unnoticed and now stopped before Yuto, holding two glasses.

“I have never seen a partner so perfectly in step with Shirin. Would you care for a drink?”

Shiro offered him a glass. Yuto accepted it with a feigned smile.

“Is it alcohol?”

“Haha, aren’t we both still a little young to drink? Festive though this party may be, we must observe propriety. Though it might be another matter if it were just the two of us.”

Shiro laughed as though joking and swirled his glass. Smiling back, Yuto brought his own closer to his nose. Indeed, it held juice rather than alcohol.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Please, call me by my name. You could well be called a benefactor of the Kingdom of Ristal. ‘Your Highness’ feels far too formal.”

Shiro’s smile changed once more. Wearing a bright smile, he moved to Yuto’s side, positioning himself so they could watch Shirin and Levian talking in the middle of the banquet hall together. The distance between them felt as natural as that between old friends standing side by side.

But Yuto knew Shiro had drawn his scalpel again. The scalpel he had put away while Yuto danced with Shirin was out once more—this time gentler, more discreet, and more overt.

“I had heard rumors about you even before arriving in Merchant City.”

Shiro brought his glass toward his lips.

“The first concerned something that happened in this city.”

Shiro’s eyes shifted toward Yuto. His gaze was gentle, but the words flowing from his juice-moistened lips were unmistakably an interrogation.

“The story of how you prevented the poisoning death of Rufus Marigold, the head of the house.”

Yuto’s expression did not change, but alarms began ringing deep within his mind. The attempt to poison Rufus Marigold had been an act of filial depravity committed by his eldest son, Cayenne Marigold.

But the mastermind was Marketer of Eclipse. And Marketer was Shiro’s subordinate. Naturally, Shiro knew every detail of the poisoning from beginning to end. He had raised the subject to probe the person who had thwarted Marketer’s scheme.

“For a son to attempt to poison his own father... What a truly repugnant and horrifying affair.”

Shiro spoke naturally, the very image of a noble prince lamenting a tragic poisoning.

“You give me too much credit. I merely happened to be there.”

Yuto bowed his head modestly.

“To be honest, I did not act out of pure goodwill alone. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that House Marigold rules Merchant City. Saving its head presented an opportunity beyond any monetary value.”

A self-deprecating smile rose to Yuto’s lips. An adventurer from the slums who put money and fame first—that was a clear, plausible motive.

“In the end, my calculations proved correct. The fact that I am standing here now is proof enough.”

Shiro nodded and smiled, but his scalpel-sharp tongue probed beneath Yuto’s answer.

“I see. However, there is something I am curious about.”

His voice lowered slightly, enough to be lost beneath the surrounding nobles’ chatter.

“How did you recognize the poison used on Lord Rufus? From what I have heard, it was a highly unusual poison. Not only Callisto’s renowned physicians, but even Lady Levian, with her extensive knowledge of herbalism, failed to identify it. Surely it was not the sort of poison an ordinary adventurer would encounter.”

At Shiro’s question, Yuto brought the glass to his mouth to buy himself a moment. One sip. In that brief instant, he assembled his answer.

“An adventurer’s work is far dirtier than Your Highness imagines.”

Yuto lowered his glass and spoke calmly. Shiro had given him permission to use his name, but Yuto continued to insist on “Your Highness.” It was a form of address that rejected the closeness Shiro was trying to establish.

“We often handle poisons in the course of commissions. Harvesting an Evomon’s venom sac, for instance, or tracking down criminals who use poison. When there is no time to obtain an antidote, survival depends on identifying the poison’s components yourself and administering first aid.”

Yuto held out his open hand. It was far more callused than a fourteen-year-old’s hand should have been.

“When I heard about Lord Rufus’s symptoms, they resembled those caused by Black Hydra venom, which I had handled before. Of course, they were not exactly the same, but the basic principles of neutralizing the poison were similar, so I thought I could adapt the treatment.”

“A similar reaction.”

Shiro repeated the words. His smile remained, but behind it his eyes gleamed sharply.

The poison used on Rufus had been specially formulated by Marketer for the sole purpose of poisoning him. It was not simply Black Hydra venom, but a blend incorporating various poisonous herbs. Its composition differed from every poison available on the market. It was absolutely not something an adventurer could encounter during a commission.

The “similar reaction” Yuto described could not exist. There was no other poison like it in the world.

‘He’s lying.’

Shiro was certain of it, but he could not point it out.

To prove Yuto’s answer false, he would have to reveal that the poison used on Rufus had been custom-made. Knowing that would imply detailed knowledge of the mastermind behind the poisoning as well. For a prince of Ristal to know the intimate details of a plot to poison the head of a powerful house in Merchant City—that would amount to confessing his own involvement.

Shiro realized he had reached a stalemate. He knew Yuto was lying, but the blade that could expose that lie was pointed at his own throat.

‘Is this a coincidence?’

Shiro stared at Yuto.

‘He has experience with poisons from working as an adventurer. He saw a similar reaction and adapted his treatment. A clear, plausible answer. An ordinary person would nod and let it pass.’

Yuto’s eyes were calm. Neither concealing anything nor issuing a challenge. They were simply the eyes of a boy honestly recounting his experiences.

‘I know your answer is a lie. And I know I cannot call you out on it. But do you... know that?’

He did not know. He could not judge whether Yuto was answering that way because he knew the poison’s true origins, or whether he really had relied on experience. Shiro’s scalpel had reached Yuto’s mask, yet what lay beneath it remained unseen.

Perhaps, just perhaps.

Shiro might be overthinking it. The poison made for Rufus had, after all, used Black Hydra venom as its main ingredient. If Yuto understood that core component, he might have been able to adapt an antidote. Perhaps Marketer’s work had simply lacked finesse. Was that not why Shiro had executed the dull-witted pig?

“Remarkable.”

In the end, Shiro accepted Yuto’s answer. No, he pretended to accept it.

“I had not realized an adventurer’s work was so harsh. Your experience saved Lord Rufus’s life, then. What a truly wondrous turn of fate.”

Admiration colored Shiro’s smile. Though Yuto knew it was an act, he bowed his head modestly.

“To call it fate is too grand. I was merely lucky.”

A brief silence passed between them. Shiro gently swirled his glass and broached a new subject.

“It seems that luck followed you to Belkain as well.”

His gaze changed almost imperceptibly. The transition from the poisoning to Belkain was natural, but the edge of his scalpel had grown sharper still.

“As you know, Yuto, Ristal and Belkain have shared a bond for many years. My royal father’s grave illness may have prevented us from tending to Belkain’s lands of late, but that does not erase our ties.”

“...”

“Since you dispelled Belkain’s darkness on behalf of our royal family, I became personally curious and made some inquiries about you. Strangely enough... the place where your name had circulated was Oltea, a frontier city in Valistera.”

Shiro’s gaze was sharp as he watched Yuto. He had already learned of a past Yuto had not volunteered.

Yuto had expected as much. At the Oltea colosseum, Crimson Ringmistress had killed only the gladiators, the Evomon, Evil, and the jailers. Everyone present in the colosseum that day had died, but the spectators who usually frequented it had not.

Yuto had fought in Evil’s colosseum for only a week, but during that week, he had firmly etched his name into the honored guests’ memories as a promising newcomer. A thorough investigation would naturally uncover it.

‘Though perhaps you heard it directly from Crimson Ringmistress.’

With that thought, Yuto changed his expression, filling it with unease and fear.

“So you knew after all.”

“Please do not take this question as an accusation. I simply found it curious.”

“It is true that I come from the slums of Ristal. I was an orphan with no parents. Are you aware, Your Highness, that impoverished orphans with no one to turn to are the easiest targets for slave traders?”

Yuto let out a long sigh and continued.

“I was lying on the street begging, as usual, when someone approached me. They told me to follow them, saying they would give me as much food as I wanted, until I was full. So I followed... I lost consciousness along the way, and when I woke, I was in an underground prison somewhere I did not recognize.”

“...”

“I did not even know what region I was in. The owner of that place told me only one thing: fight if I wanted to live.”

Yuto deftly mingled truth and lies.

“If I fought before the spectators and won, I received better treatment. Whenever the cheers grew louder and the noble guests enjoyed themselves, the room I was given and the meals I ate improved.”

“Valistera has many private colosseums. Many of its nobles enjoy gladiatorial combat as entertainment. But Yuto, how did you escape?”

“If you investigated me, surely you already know, Your Highness...”

As he spoke, Yuto stared straight at Shiro’s face.

“Crimson Ringmistress of Eclipse.”

Shiro’s expression did not change at the mention of that name.

“I do not know exactly why, but that monster visited the colosseum. Then... she ordered its owner, the jailers, and the gladiators to fight one another in a free-for-all.”

“...”

“I struggled desperately to survive... and Crimson Ringmistress killed everyone except me.”

Yuto let his voice tremble. That tremor required no particular acting. The people who had died in the colosseum that day. The names he remembered.

“I do not know why that monster spared me. But she... gave me an invitation, telling me to come to her colosseum someday.”

“My...”

“It is a past I would rather neither remember nor discuss. My time there was short, but every day was a desperate struggle. And the massacre Crimson Ringmistress carried out... The sight of human beings turning into pools of blood in an instant was like a nightmare.”

“I understand.”

Shiro nodded slowly. Shirin, standing beside him, also looked at Yuto with sympathy. Yuto gave them a bitter smile and continued.

“What I learned as I struggled to survive that hell was that I had a talent for fighting. Becoming an adventurer was the ideal way to earn a living with that talent.”

There were no inconsistencies in Yuto’s story. Crimson Ringmistress had described “Yuto” in the same way. She had said that although he was still young, she had spared him because she looked forward to his future.

‘You registered as an adventurer in a border city of Ristal. Your identity was clear, which allowed you to register. There is no doubt that you come from Ristal’s slums.’

With that thought, Shiro spoke.

“What took you to Belkain?”

Yuto raised his glass to his lips as he faced Shiro’s question.

It was not a question born of simple curiosity. The Kingdom of Belkain was a place the Kingdom of Ristal had declared itself protector of, and one that could have politically sensitive uses for Ristal.

At the same time, it was a place where countless schemes of Shiro’s intertwined. Belkain had fallen under the constellations’ curse. Yuto recalled the wraith’s diary he had seen there. The one who had further inflamed the wraith’s madness was none other than Belkain’s guardian constellation, the Shattered Star.

In his previous life, the Shattered Star had brought Yuto immense despair as well. It was that very constellation that had betrayed him alongside Shiro at the most devastating moment.

‘You must have hastened the Kingdom of Belkain’s downfall in this world, too.’

Only an instant passed, but it felt long within Yuto’s mind.

‘Dark Star’s Black Mages were using Belkain’s restless spirits to produce corrupted aether. They had even brought orc warriors hostile to humans.’

In the world before his regression, Dark Star had been utterly eradicated. It was Shiro Ristal who had captured and executed its leader, who had never before shown himself. But in this world, Dark Star existed, and its evil Black Mages had been plotting in Belkain.

‘I do not know what ties you had to Dark Star in my previous life. You probably had some. But in that world, you disposed of them.’

This world was different. Shiro saw value in Dark Star and was using it. And once again, he was trying to interrogate Yuto, who had ruined his scheme.

What Yuto had done in Belkain. What he had seen. What he had learned.

Shiro would try to extract all of it from this conversation. Yuto slowly lowered the glass from his lips.

“There was no great reason.”

Belkain was a sensitive subject for Yuto, too. Merely thinking of it sent his emotions surging. Simply standing before Shiro made it difficult to keep them under control, and now he had to speak of Belkain as well.

Yuto kept his mask in place.

“It was for the bounty.”

He answered without betraying any emotion about Belkain.