["...!"]

Yu Na-gyeong froze. She couldn't understand those words. At the same time, her thoughts ground to a halt because she did understand them—and didn't dislike what she'd heard.

Unlike Na-gyeong, Bellows had no reason to be shocked. Yet his face went rigid as he spoke. "I've crushed more than ten warriors here today."

"Yes. Sixteen in all."

Li Qingyu corrected the number without a moment's hesitation, though even Bellows, who had killed them, couldn't remember it exactly. As a fresh shiver ran through Na-gyeong, the chill in Bellows's eyes deepened.

"And you did nothing but follow me?"

"More or less."

"When you could have ambushed me at any time?"

"Not at any time. I only had a hundred and five or six opportunities, at most."

She said it with perfect nonchalance: she had had over a hundred chances to attack him while he remained utterly unaware of her presence. Bellows finally swore. "You really are a cunning bitch."

"You're too kind."

Qingyu smiled as though she'd been complimented. Bellows regarded her with cold, murderous intent, while Na-gyeong asked uneasily, ["Um... Princess? I'm a little confused."]

"About what?"

["From what you just said, you've been secretly following this lunatic for a while now, right?"]

"That's right."

["And while you were following him, you stood by and watched the warriors die... Ahaha, no, that can't be right. I must have misunderstood something?"]

"No, you understood correctly."

["... What?"]

Na-gyeong had been so sure Qingyu would deny it that she'd already prepared to laugh off her mistake. Instead, Qingyu kindly elaborated for the stunned bird. "I mean I stood behind that ghost of the Liberation Brigade and watched him kill thirteen of our clan's warriors."

Her voice was as calm as ever. Her eyes were serene, her beautiful face smiling. She looked exactly as she did whenever Na-gyeong visited and she welcomed her with tea and snacks—yet she was describing something horrifying. After a moment frozen in place, Na-gyeong worked her beak a few times before she managed to ask, ["Why?"]

Why had she done such a thing? Qingyu's answer was clear. "If I hadn't, I wouldn't have learned that the Liberation Brigade was after this violin."

["Y-you just watched the warriors die for that?"]

"It was necessary," Qingyu answered calmly. The Black Dragon Clan had been thrown into disarray by a mere three attackers largely because they hadn't known what the attackers wanted. To prepare for another possible Liberation Brigade attack, they had needed to find out its objective by any means—even at the cost of several warriors' lives.

"Better to accept a few sacrifices for the good of the entire clan than save those few and leave ourselves vulnerable later."

["But..."] Na-gyeong fell silent. She could understand. Choosing to sacrifice the few for the many was both a leader's virtue and a leader's duty. And as the princess who ruled the Black Dragon Clan, Qingyu had simply made the choice that benefited her clan as a whole.

But understanding was all Na-gyeong could manage. Seeing that she still couldn't accept it, Qingyu added playfully, "Besides, I had no reason to look after people who'd forgotten which clan they belonged to."

["... What do you mean?"]

"Didn't you find it strange how empty Leviathan was today?"

["Well, the subsidiaries were under attack, so..."]

"Yes, we sent reinforcements. More than we needed to."

Na-gyeong paused. Leviathan's defenses had felt far too thin, even for an emergency. Until now, she'd assumed its personnel had been sent out to protect the subsidiaries. But what if that wasn't the whole reason? What if Qingyu had sent so many warriors away not to protect the subsidiaries, but to protect the warriors because she'd anticipated an attack on Leviathan?

Then what about the warriors who hadn't been sent? What if Qingyu hadn't simply failed to send them away? What if she'd deliberately left them behind...?

"Everyone except the traitors who'd been won over by other clans and were leaking information about Leviathan."

["...!"]

Na-gyeong's beak fell wide open. Bellows answered in her place with a disbelieving laugh. "Ha. You're saying you used me to purge your clan's traitors?"

"I'd call it taking advantage of an opportunity, rather than using you. Though I did benefit in several ways." Qingyu smiled.

A large-scale purge of traitors would have been politically costly. Internal turmoil aside, the Black Dragon Clan had planted spies in other clans, too. But Bellows had bloodied his hands for her, allowing Qingyu to dispose of the traitors without bearing any of the burden. And it had led him to reveal his objective without the slightest suspicion. She had gained two things at once.

"It's fortunate for the 'thirty-three' warriors who died today, too. Instead of being dealt with as traitors to the clan, they get to be honored as fallen warriors."

It was fortunate there had been so many traitors, she said. That had allowed her to finish the purge without making it too obvious. Bellows's expression grew colder as she spoke with a bright smile. He had always been the one manipulating and using others. Having his scheme seen through, being used in turn, and even having the blame pinned on him was humiliating.

But he didn't give in to anger. Instead, he pointed out sharply, "You'd better not assume the honored dead will stop at thirty-three. My comrades may be fools, but they're no pushovers." Sending the warriors away to the subsidiaries had not been wise, he said with a cold smile. With Ryu Gang-cheol and Eugene on a rampage, bloodshed was inevitable, whatever precautions she'd taken.

"I'm sure. That's why I consider it fortunate."

Rather than dispute his point, Qingyu showed neither indignation nor anxiety. She readily nodded, then added with a smile, "To be honest, I'm a little grateful, too."

"... You're thanking us for slaughtering members of your clan?"

"Yes."

"..."

Bellows fell silent. Even as a ghost of the Liberation Brigade, accustomed to every kind of madman, he had never expected to be thanked under these circumstances.

["Why would you be grateful for that?"] Unable to contain her curiosity, Na-gyeong asked blankly, her beak still hanging open. Qingyu smiled at her.

"Because their rampage has given the Sword Lord a chance to save our clan."

["... You mean our Team Leader?"]

"Yes. My future husband."

She corrected the title as though it mattered greatly, but Na-gyeong was too dazed even to notice. ["Uh... Is that really something to be grateful for?"]

"Of course," Qingyu answered at once, then continued calmly.

"The Sword Lord scoffs at accomplishments and is wary of glory. He dislikes showing off, and he draws his sword only when necessary."

["He dislikes showing off? The Team Leader is great at causing a scene!"]

"That's because nothing he's done until now has called for the Sword Lord's full strength," Qingyu said. A giant causes an earthquake with every step. People call him violent because they don't realize he's walking as carefully as he can. But those who have seen a giant truly enraged and rampaging may offer him awe and fear; they can no longer dare to dismiss him.

"Thanks to these people, we have a chance to show our clan the Sword Lord's power without deliberately putting it on display. How could I not be grateful?"

["... Even if it could mean a lot of casualties?"]

"That will only make them feel more deeply indebted to the Sword Lord for protecting the clan."

The subsidiaries enrolled in the Guardian System were already being protected with the Infinity Guild's help. That meant any losses would be confined to subsidiaries that had refused contracts with Guardian—and that strongly resented both Limon and Qingyu. If he saved them, Limon would gain the credit. If he failed, the opposition would be weakened. Either way, neither she nor Limon stood to lose.

Qingyu explained this with a soft chuckle. Finally, she turned to face Bellows directly. "And, of course, there's the credit for capturing the Liberation Brigade ghost responsible for all this."

["..."]

Na-gyeong was speechless. It wasn't just Qingyu's cunning in toying with a world-infamous Liberation Brigade ghost as though he were in the palm of her hand. It was her audacity in using the entire crisis to purge spies and strengthen her power. The way she seemed to regard even lives as mere tools. Above all, her untroubled smile. Together, they sent a chill through Na-gyeong and made her realize one thing.

'... So this is a princess of the Seven Dragons Society.'

The Society's clans still ruled crime across the world, even after reinventing themselves as the corporate giant Seven Dragon Group. The thousand-year-old organization had tried countless times to overturn the world and had once been called the Demon Cult for its power and ruthlessness. Qingyu was one of its seven rulers.

'Team Leader, what gave you the nerve to get engaged to her...?'

As Na-gyeong trembled, applause rang out.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

"I see. I'll admit it."

"Admit what?"

"That I underestimated the Seven Dragons Society. And that you didn't merely get the better of me—you played me completely."

As though the cold, murderous expression he'd worn moments ago had been a lie, Bellows regained his composure and continued quietly.

"But you sly vixen of the Seven Dragons Society, do you realize you've forgotten one important thing?"

"The reward I owe you all?"

"Of course not."

If they wanted a reward, Qingyu offered, she could promise them a painless death. Even if they hadn't intended to help her, it was the best way she could repay them for serving her purposes so diligently. Bellows flatly rejected the offer she made with a cheerful smile. Instead, he continued in a cold, subdued voice. "There's no one here to protect a cunning vixen like you."

Qingyu's plan would succeed only if she escaped. If he killed her here, recovered the box, and got away, he would be the winner in the end. Bellows said it with murderous intent in his voice. Qingyu blinked at him.

"Why would that be a problem?"

"If you think you can escape me with no one to protect you, I'll show you how arrogant you are."

A ghost of the Liberation Brigade. One of the most horrifying murderers and criminals. And more than that, a level 97 player who had killed the Court Archduke and possessed the overpowered skill 『Rule of Law』.

Yet Qingyu showed no fear at Bellows's murderous account. She only tilted her head. "Hmm... I don't understand. Why would I need to run from you?"

She regarded Bellows with a puzzled expression, as though he'd said something strange, then continued in her usual calm voice. "You're the one who's going to die by my hand."