* * *

An unprecedented broadcasting disaster.

Those few words summed up what had happened on Music Challenge.

Not only had every contestant withdrawn during its very first live broadcast, but an audience member had nearly been injured in an accident. It was a catastrophe that no player's skill could possibly salvage.

But when it came to people's assessment of Music Challenge itself, a different phrase summed it up.

An unprecedented broadcast.

The reason lay in the composition chosen for the challenge. Its fantastic melody, which made hearts tremble just from listening, was more than enough to cause a sensation on its own. Add the mystery of an instrumental performance that seemed to contain singing, and anyone who heard it even once was bound to take an interest.

As a result, KTB was now in utter chaos. Between dealing with the live broadcast's accidents on one side and inquiries about the challenge composition on the other, Kim Seung-jun was run ragged.

Yet Limon, the very person responsible for putting him in this situation, wasn't giving Music Challenge the slightest thought. He was merely grumbling about what had happened at the studio.

"That happened to you?"

"Yeah. I figured staying would only make things troublesome, so I left right away."

"You must have had a rough time."

"What rough time? I just don't like that something I set in motion nearly caused an unrelated accident."

Limon looked displeased. He had arranged all this merely to screw over Moon Cheon-yeop. If someone had been hurt because of it, it would have left a thoroughly unpleasant aftertaste.

Li Qingyu smiled softly at him.

"At any rate, it's fortunate you happened to be there, Sword Lord, and kept the accident from becoming worse."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"Like you said, it was fortunate. But something doesn't sit right with me."

"Do you think that accident wasn't a coincidence?" Li Qingyu asked seriously.

With anyone else, perhaps she could have dismissed it. But Limon had superhuman senses. If he felt uneasy, it wasn't something to brush aside as a mere feeling.

But Limon shook his head.

"There wasn't anything particularly suspicious. I just feel like I'm missing something."

"True. If it hadn't been an accident, you would have noticed long before now, Sword Lord."

Li Qingyu looked convinced. Unlike her, Limon couldn't quite shake his doubtful expression. It was a perfectly plausible accident, and nothing about the way it had unfolded was particularly strange. Yet something kept bothering him.

Apparently taking this as displeasure over the accident, Li Qingyu calmly reassured him.

"Don't let it bother you so much. You accomplished what you set out to do, didn't you?"

"Well, that's true." Limon nodded.

Although the accident along the way had spoiled his mood, the outcome was close to a success. Music Challenge was a program Moon Cheon-yeop had originally ruined. Simply making it this popular had given Yeon-hwa a bargaining chip with which to put Moon Cheon-yeop, who controlled Claire, in his place. Of course, getting that far would require a somewhat more complicated process.

That was why Yu Na-gyeong cautiously opened her beak.

[Team Leader, there's something I'd like to ask.]

"What is it?"

[This whole thing you planned. Was it perhaps because of Eugene?]

"... Why do you think that?"

[Well, this isn't really like you, Team Leader.]

At heart, Limon was a swordsman. Rather than needlessly complicate things, he preferred to simply cut them down. Yet he had deliberately made this affair so much bigger and given that performance on Music Challenge. Yu Na-gyeong couldn't help thinking of Eugene.

Limon stayed silent for a moment, his mouth closed. Eventually, he nodded.

"That was part of the reason."

[Ah, so I was right?]

Yu Na-gyeong accepted his answer. Li Qingyu, on the other hand, looked surprised as she asked,

"Are you saying you deliberately expanded this affair for that ghost of the Liberation Brigade?"

"Not exactly. I just didn't like some bastard trying to play games with her song."

"... So while she herself didn't matter to you, you wanted to protect her song?"

"Let me be clear. I have no intention of defending her. She was a murderer."

Li Qingyu tilted her head. Limon told her firmly that Eugene had harmed innocent people, and that was an absolutely unforgivable crime. Even if Eugene were still alive, he would make certain to find and kill her.

"But that doesn't mean some total stranger has the right to insult her by claiming she stole someone else's song."

People could curse Eugene as a murderer, hate her, and spit on her grave. That was the truth, and her sins warranted it. But he couldn't tolerate people pinning all manner of false accusations on her and stealing her song for their own use just because she was a murderer.

That wasn't right.

And so, he explained calmly, he had taken this opportunity to ensure no one could steal Eugene's song. Watching him, Yu Na-gyeong muttered with an unreadable expression,

[... You really do make your life complicated, Team Leader.]

"You're just too simple-minded."

Limon dismissed her comment with a snort.

Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he turned to Li Qingyu and asked,

"Princess, come to think of it, what happened to the White Dragon Princess? I thought you said you wanted to show her that program. Hasn't she arrived yet?"

"Hmm... That's a little complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Yes. It seems she's already arrived, but apparently she's wandering around in secret."

"... What's she playing at after accepting your invitation?"

"Who knows? I can't guess what she's thinking."

Li Qingyu smiled softly and added,

"She is of the White Dragon Clan, after all."

Other clans were one thing, but few pursuits were as pointless as trying to guess the White Dragon Clan's intentions. Seeing Li Qingyu state this as though it were only natural, Limon let out a wry chuckle.

In the end, the White Dragon Princess came to Leviathan four days after that conversation.

* * *

"It's been a while, Ainsha."

"It has. A long while. I would have preferred longer."

"That's rather hurtful. I wanted to see you more often, Ainsha."

"That is a lie. I do not trust Li Qingyu."

Li Qingyu, the black-haired girl in an Eastern-style dress, smiled softly.

"Then shouldn't we meet more often, if only so you can find out whether I'm lying?"

Ainsha, the white-haired girl in flowing clothes, answered expressionlessly.

"No verification is necessary. Even the founders know Li Qingyu is a liar. Proof complete."

That was a little too rude for someone who had come as an invited guest. But Li Qingyu wasn't particularly angry. She merely spoke as though impressed.

"You've really grown a great deal."

"Of course. I have changed. Li Qingyu will no longer deceive me."

"How unfortunate to hear. I've never deceived you, Ainsha."

"You did. You openly squeezed money out of me. I was scolded terribly."

"'Squeezed money out of you' is rather an unpleasant way to put it. I merely accepted a donation for something that would benefit the entire Seven Dragons Society."

"You said the Sword Lord would come after us if I did not pay. That is fraud."

Ainsha trembled. The last time she had met Li Qingyu, she had fallen for her eloquence and been fleeced of an enormous sum, becoming a laughingstock throughout the Seven Dragons Society.

But Li Qingyu rebutted her with a serious expression.

"No, it wasn't fraud. Without your help, Ainsha, that really would have happened."

"... I want to know if that is true."

"Of course it is. You made the donation because you knew that too, didn't you?"

"Correct."

"I've always admired what you did then. It was truly worthy of the White Dragon Clan's princess, who always makes the wisest choice."

"There is nothing to admire. It was only natural."

Ainsha puffed herself up without changing her expression. As Li Qingyu smiled softly at the sight—

"Ahem, ahem!"

Someone conspicuously cleared her throat. Startled, Ainsha looked behind her and flinched at Tata's narrowed eyes. Then she stiffly turned back to Li Qingyu and spoke bluntly.

"Flattery is useless. I will not be deceived. Please get to the point."

"What point do you mean?"

"Your reason for summoning me."

"Would you not believe me if I said I simply wanted to see your face after so long?"

"Of course not. The Black Dragon Clan does nothing without a purpose."

"It's unfortunate that you seem prejudiced against our clan... But yes, at least in this case, you're right."

Li Qingyu readily nodded, then calmly explained why she had invited her.

"You know our clan was recently attacked by the Liberation Brigade, don't you?"

"I know. It is well known."

"I'd like your help with that."

"Understood."

Ainsha nodded. From the moment Li Qingyu had invited her at a time like this, she had known that precognition was what she wanted. Such requests were familiar to her.

Whether as a princess of the Seven Dragons Society or a priestess of the Holy Alliance, she was the greatest prophet of her age, and people were always seeking to borrow her power.

Of course, that didn't mean she offered her precognition to just anyone. But as the Black Dragon Princess, Li Qingyu was more than entitled to make such a request.

Provided she hadn't become betrothed to Limon, that is.

By becoming engaged to the clans' sworn enemy, the Black Dragon Clan had placed itself in a delicate position within the Seven Dragons Society. Helping them required considerable political deliberation, since one wrong move could leave the White Dragon Clan ostracized as well.

"Very well. I will help."

Nevertheless, Ainsha answered immediately. Even Tata, who would ordinarily have cleared her throat again, remained silent this time. Li Qingyu likewise accepted it as only natural. Had Ainsha been unwilling to cooperate, she would never have accepted the invitation in the first place. Above all, Li Qingyu had a hidden card that she was certain would persuade Ainsha.

"I will provide funding if you wish. I will send combat units too. But I have a condition."

"Please, tell me."

"I want to meet the man in this video. Please help."

"You must want to hear him perform in person?"

Li Qingyu smiled softly. As expected, Ainsha—the eccentric who traveled the world to sing despite being a princess of the Seven Dragons Society—had taken an interest in that performance.

That was also why she had spent such an enormous sum helping prepare Music Challenge. She had thought that the more appetizing the bait, the easier it would be to secure the White Dragon Clan's cooperation. In the end, she hadn't managed to show her Music Challenge, but with cooperation promised, that hardly mattered.

Yet a moment later, Li Qingyu could only tilt her head.

"Correct. Incorrect."

"What does that mean?"

"I want to hear him perform too. But that is a bonus. I have another important matter."

"An important matter?"

As Li Qingyu puzzled over this somewhat unexpected answer, Ainsha declared,

"I will meet this man and propose to him."

"Pardon?"

"He is my destined partner. I have chosen him as my consort. So please cooperate."

"..."

Help her marry this man, and she would lend the White Dragon Clan's strength without reservation. As Ainsha said this, pointing to the black-haired Limon captured at one side of the tablet Li Qingyu herself had given her, Li Qingyu wore a rare expression of speechlessness.

Then, without realizing it, she murmured blankly,

"... I didn't see this coming."

Only belatedly did she realize that she had overdone the bait.