30.

Dante gazed at the letter in his hand with a peculiar expression.

On the luxurious letterhead wafting a faint rose scent, Elze’s distinctive, round handwriting adorned only a single sentence.

<Victor is colluding with external forces.>

“Hmm.”

Dante stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes.

His aide, standing nearby, cautiously inquired, “Is there any issue at the boarding school, perhaps?”

“No, nothing like that.”

Casually folding the letter and slipping it into the envelope, Dante shrugged.

“It seems Elze caught Victor.”

“Victor?”

The astonished aide widened his eyes.

Victor.

The thorn in the side of the hostile organization that Dante had been diligently suppressing.

He had set a trap to eliminate both Victor and the remnants of the hostile organization.

And the inept Elze had caught Victor?

“Yes. Of course, our Elze seems to have no idea who Victor exactly is.”

Dante, momentarily clouding the end of his words, smirked sardonically.

His satisfied smile was captivating enough to seize anyone’s attention in an instant.

“How amusing.”

“…”

But the aide felt a shiver down his spine.

It was understandable, considering Dante’s smile always meant someone was about to meet their end.

“I used to find our Elze’s empty-headed charm appealing, you know?”

Dante tapped his temple with his index finger as he spoke.

The sharp ruby eyes, filled with curiosity, sparkled as they fixedly gazed.

“But surprisingly, Elze seems to have his moments. So…”

Unable to contain himself, Dante abruptly stood up, slapping his palms together like an excited child.

“I’m going to meet Elze.”

“What?”

The aide reflexively checked the time.

Seven forty-seven in the evening.

Isn’t it too late to decide suddenly and leave in a hurry, especially with a mountain of tasks to handle?

He was utterly flabbergasted, but Dante paid no attention to his subordinate’s concerns.

Dante briskly left the room with cheerful strides.

“Lo, Lord? Lord!”

The aide hurriedly followed Dante.

Yet, Dante’s eccentric behavior showed no signs of stopping.

Throughout the carriage ride to Rose Cross Boarding School, his complaints persisted.

“Why is this so slow?”

“The carriage is already running at its maximum speed.”

The aide, suppressing the urge to vomit from motion sickness, replied politely.

As evidence, the carriage continued to rattle without a break.

“Hmm.”

Dante, with a chubby expression, leaned back against the carriage seat, clenching his fist.

Then, he narrowed his eyes and pressed his subordinate.

“But you can still go faster, right? Hmm?”

Anticipation brimmed over his graceful face.

As if waiting for a surprise gift, like a child.

* * *

Under Dante’s endless prodding, the carriage astonishingly covered a distance that usually took an hour in just 20 minutes.

The aide felt a sense of dizziness due to the unsettling atmosphere, and he wished he could just sit down immediately. Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford such luxury because Dante, who had just leaped out of the carriage, was heading straight for the underground prison of the boarding school.

The bewildered aide called out to Dante, “Uh, Lord.”

What now?

Almost as if expecting such a question, Dante turned around briefly.

“Arent you going to meet Elze yet?”

“Why would I?”

Dante tilted his head as if genuinely puzzled, as if he had no idea about the reason.

“Didn’t Elze catch Victor for me?”

“Well, yes… but…”

Logically, wouldn’t it be appropriate to see a lover who has been apart for a long time?

The aide, who had harbored such doubts, quickly understood. After all, expecting anything conventional from this beautiful lunatic in front of him was absurd.

“Well then, considering Elze’s gesture, shouldn’t we start by tearing Victor apart?”

Dante asked, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The aide chose to simply nod in agreement.

“Yes.”

Dante, who usually seemed carefree, now exuded a vibrant energy.

In such a state, any words addressed to him were likely to fall on deaf ears.

“Well then, I’ll take care of my business, alright?”

“I’ll handle it.”

“Good.”

Dante chuckled briefly, seeming delighted.

Then, almost as if leaping, he descended the stairs leading to the underground prison.

Watching his retreating figure, the aide had a foreboding sense of the gruesome fate awaiting Victor.

“That little rat is in for a nasty end.”

Tutting, he turned to fulfill his master’s orders.

A short while later, faint screams of agony began to emerge from the underground prison.

* * *

“You didn’t want to see me?”

A voice tinged with laughter echoed.

I snapped out of my momentary freeze.

‘Get a hold of yourself.’

I mercilessly chewed on the soft flesh inside my mouth.

Among the three male protagonists, Dante was the most dangerous and unpredictable.

I couldn’t afford to foolishly lose my wits in front of Dante.

I lowered my eyes gracefully.

“Of course, I missed you, Lord.”

Lord.

Dante’s eyebrows twitched at those words.

He seemed quite displeased with something…

‘Why is he reacting like that?’

I cautiously observed Dante’s expression.

Up until now, Elze in the original work had casually called him ‘Dante’ as if showing off.

And as described in the original work, Dante found Elze’s behavior somewhat unpleasant.

<That woman, without even knowing her place, called me Dante.>

<The only one who can call my name is you.>

He clearly said that to the original female protagonist.

So this time, I called him Lord without hesitation. What on earth is the problem?

“Were you out for a walk? You seem cheerful.”

Dante asked in a prickly tone, plucking the rose pinned in my hair.

Then, with a casual motion, he tossed it to the ground.

Crunch!

He mercilessly stomped on it.

I instinctively glanced at Lucian with a sidelong gaze.

‘Oh no.’

His blue eyes were cold and unyielding.

It seemed like his anger had reached the top of his head.

But Dante seemed determined to scratch beneath the surface of Lucian’s emotions.

With a touch.

With lips pressed against my forehead, Dante sweetly whispered, “There are so many things I want to ask you.”

The twisted voice resonated, resembling venom-soaked rose petals.

Sweet yet deadly.

Simultaneously, an alarm rang in my head as if gone mad.

Because the ‘original Dante’ I knew wasn’t like this.

All I wanted was for Dante to have a slight curiosity about me.

Not completely bored with me,

‘It’s better to get rid of that woman from my life.’

…that was the only judgment I wanted.

But treating me like a lover, stepping on the rose Lucian had pinned in my hair, and provocatively challenging Lucian…

‘Something is strange.’

Just as Dante, who had just pulled his lips away from my forehead, tightly embraced my waist and looked at Lucian.

“Well, first we have to get rid of the obstacles, right?”

As soon as he said that, guards rushed in from all sides.

Seeing that they were all unfamiliar faces, it seemed that Dante was personally accompanied by guards.

“Take him.”

The order was given.

The guards surrounded Lucian.

“Let go of me.”

Lucian slapped away the hand reaching for him.

Then he growled fiercely.

“I can go on my own.”

With eyes as cold as ice, Lucian glanced at me for the last time.

His piercing gaze touched my pale face and the strands of my hair with the rose.

A deep groove was carved into the smooth marble of his icy-blue eyes.

After that,

Lucian straightened his back, gracefully walked away with the dignified stride typical of nobles.

…It must be quite embarrassing.

For someone so prideful, receiving such a humiliating order.

At the same time, Dante looked down at me.

“Elze manages Duke Kalleid especially, right?”

His eyes, shining blood-red like twilight, seemed to pierce through me.

“So, was the sweet walk you just had part of that special management?”

And I tensed up.

Usually, Dante would undoubtedly be the first to question the orders I gave as the manager.

Like expelling Victor just now.

But why now…

…Is he asking about Lucian?