Chapter 1000

“By ‘power’... you mean an Awakener’s power?”

“Could be. Or magic. There are plenty of methods, you know.”

Originally, Kanna hadn’t needed to attend this interrogation. But what had seemed like a minor issue—regarding the forged invitation—was revealed to be anything but. In fact, it turned out to be the most concerning part of all, prompting her presence here. Without Kanna, the stark contradiction between Megdolgen’s memory and the actual facts might have gone unnoticed far longer.

Kachien averted his eyes from Megdolgen, who was now sobbing and sniveling in a pitiful attempt to remember more. Honestly, it didn’t seem like they’d get anything else useful out of him.

“If someone intentionally sent that guy here... why him, of all people? I just don’t get it. What do you think, Kanna?”

“Hmm... maybe you’re overthinking it?”

“Huh?”

Kanna tilted one corner of her lips up into a smile as she answered Kachien’s confused glance.

“Think about it. A forged invitation that’s easy to spot as fake—yet still effective enough to let someone in. And someone did get in. But on a chaotic day like today... do you really think he was the only one who came with a forged invitation?”

“...You mean?”

“I mean, what if there were more fake guests today who just didn’t cause a scene like he did—so no one noticed?”

It was a shift in perspective—but one that made sense.

“People who, like Megdolgen, believed their invitations were real because they’d been handed off or won from someone else...”

“Exactly. And among them, the people who created the forged invitations might have slipped in, too.”

“But why go to such lengths...”

“Well... let’s say we’re counterfeiters.”

Kanna pulled a silver coin from her pocket.

“If you make one fake coin and use it, you’ll probably get caught. But if you make a hundred, and hand most of them out to unsuspecting people while only using one yourself... what happens?”

“...People unknowingly using fake coins cause confusion. And the person who made them gets to slip away in the chaos unnoticed.”

Kachien’s expression turned grim.

“Right. That’s the kind of tactic I think we’re looking at. Inconvenient, yes—but effective in avoiding detection.”

“But if they went through all that, and nothing actually happened at the ceremony...”

“There wasn’t much to read from the invitation itself, so this might just be speculation... but what if the point was just to observe?”

Kanna’s words sharpened Kachien’s gaze.

“...Observe? You mean gather information?”

“Yep. A perfect opportunity to witness the transformation of one of the Empire’s Four Ducal Houses firsthand. And just seeing who attends is useful intel on its own.”

“You’re right... The Cavalry, for one, still isn’t widely known outside. Same with the Kakheop Unit. And General Gino came himself, too...”

“If someone wanted to see all the most famous ability-users in the Empire in one place, today would’ve been their best shot. Especially with the Kakheop Unit making its first official appearance.”

A chill crept up Kachien’s neck.

To produce invitations so perfectly forged that even House Hern’s long-time staff couldn’t tell the difference... and to implant them in false guests with memories so subtly manipulated they didn’t even question their legitimacy—whoever was behind this had power beyond a single individual.

“Who... would dare something like this...”

He did have a few suspicions.

Duke Diarca, long at odds with the imperial family... and the southern tribes whose presence had begun to resurface in recent months.

Before he could voice them, Kanna whispered softly—quiet enough that no one else could hear.

“Keep your thoughts to yourself, Kachien.”

“...”

“No matter how confident we are in what we’ve uncovered, it’s not our place to draw final conclusions. What we need to do now is report this to the Commander and Yuder. That’s our job.”

“...Yeah. You’re right.”

Even if something felt certain, saying it aloud was another matter entirely.

Kachien still remembered vividly how careless assumptions and momentary lapses during the Day of Hail had nearly brought the Cavalry to ruin.

And opposite that memory, there was the deep and unwavering reassurance the names Kishiar and Yuder brought him now.

Kachien blinked, then smiled lightly as usual. He gestured toward the stairs above them.

“Then let’s wrap this up. I doubt we’ll get anything else from Megdolgen.”

“Sure.”

Most of the guests had already left, but the manor was still bustling.

Seeing a group of musicians in the distance laughing while packing their instruments, Kachien suddenly recalled the dance from a few hours earlier.

Or more precisely, he recalled two people who had drawn more eyes than any others.

Yuder... looked so at ease.

Even with the gasps and murmurs from those shocked at seeing two men dance, Yuder’s face had been the most relaxed Kachien had ever seen it. Gone was the tension he usually carried—the wariness he never seemed to shed, the impenetrable stillness that lingered even in life-or-death battles. None of that had been there.

To Kachien, Yuder Aile had always been someone to admire—yet also someone to worry about.

He was awe-inspiring when leading the entire Cavalry with skill and authority far beyond what one expected from a peer. But his social ineptitude sometimes made enemies where none were needed.

There were times Yuder seemed like a child left unattended near a riverbank—ready to leap headfirst into danger without hesitation.

But today... Yuder had felt older. Wiser. Like someone entirely different. And Kachien doubted he was the only one who felt that way.

Maybe... the tension Yuder always carried wasn’t innate after all.

With Kishiar, he had looked like someone who didn’t know how to be tense.

Maybe the real Yuder Aile—the one not tied to the Cavalry—was someone who could simply enjoy the moment. Maybe, he had always been that kind of person.

And Kishiar, too, had looked at Yuder in a way Kachien had never seen before.

Not as an untouchable royal, but... as someone incredibly, disarmingly human.

If Kachien hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he might not have believed it. But standing there, remembering it now, he felt the last of his vague doubts ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) and old concerns finally dissolve.

...I told myself I’d ignore whatever happened between them that day during the hailstorm. I wasn’t sure that was the right decision—but now...

“Kachien? What are you thinking about so hard?”

Kanna’s voice broke through his spiral of thoughts.

“Ah, sorry. Just... spaced out for a second.”

“If you’re gonna think, at least hang onto your stuff. You dropped your gloves.”

“Oh—right!”

His formal gloves, removed earlier during the interrogation, had slipped from his pocket. He bent down to pick them up—just as Kanna did the same.

Their hands brushed.

“...Ah!”

Kanna recoiled with a sharp flinch, as if struck by static.

“Ah—sorry!”

Startled, Kachien apologized reflexively. But Kanna stood there for a long moment, staring at her hand with a shaken expression.

“Kanna...? Are you okay?”

“...No—nothing. I mean... it’s nothing...”

But her face, growing paler by the second, said otherwise.

After a beat, she covered her face with both hands and blurted out:

“I’m sorry, Kachien! I think—I think I just saw something by accident!”

“Huh? Wh-what?”

“You... you knew, didn’t you...?”

“Uh, knew what...?”

“Yuder and the Commander...”

There are moments when no subject, no verb, no clear statement is needed.

Sometimes tone and a look are enough to understand everything.

For Kachien Bollenvalt and Kanna Wand, this was one of those moments.

“...Wait. Kanna, you too...?”

“Ah...”

“...”

“...”

“—What are you two doing, standing there like statues?”

And sometimes, it’s in those very moments that the one person you least want to hear your conversation shows up.

Kachien and Kanna both snapped their heads toward the voice.

Standing there—unexpectedly alone, when he was supposed to have already left with the Cavalry—was none other than Yuder Aile.