Several days had passed.

By utilizing informants residing within the Karlua Empire and the Brellof family’s intelligence network, information regarding the Imperial Guard had been relayed.

Since it was an organization about which almost nothing was publicly known, there had been insufficient time to uncover detailed specifics—most of what was gathered consisted of widely circulated rumors.

I skimmed through dozens of pages filled with intelligence, stopping abruptly at the final note.

[The Emperor of Karlua has bestowed a noble title upon the Commander of the Imperial Guard. He is now Count Atreus.]

Count Atreus?

The power wielded by the Imperial Guard Commander alone was not to be underestimated—but to be elevated to the rank of count overnight? That was truly unprecedented.

‘I’d half-dismissed it as baseless rumor, but apparently, the Emperor truly holds the Imperial Guard in high regard.’

Many had assumed the tales surrounding the Imperial Guard were exaggerated, yet Helsion seemed to have greatly commended their accomplishments thus far.

Unconsciously, I found myself staring for a long while at the words written: “Count Atreus.”

Until now, not a single member of the Imperial Guard had ever been publicly named. Unexpectedly, this noble title had revealed—at last—their family name.

It was then.

Bang! The door flew open, and Jerin rushed in, breathless.

Given that someone had recently claimed to witness an unextinguishable flame, I looked at Jerin with hopeful anticipation—perhaps new intelligence had arrived.

“Huff, huff—M-Miss, please take a look at this!”

So out of breath from running, Jerin could barely catch her breath as she handed me a letter.

The seal pressed into the crimson sealing wax bore a crest I had never seen before—not once, despite my years active as an arms dealer.

It was a wolf emblem. The image of the wolf, baring its sharp fangs, felt strangely menacing.

“Who sent this?”

An informant within the Karlua Empire?

Or perhaps someone from the Brellof family’s intelligence network?

Seeing my puzzled expression, Jerin answered in a flustered voice.

“I-I don’t know. Normally, letters come through the Cain Trading Company or via messenger birds—but this was just… stuck in the laboratory’s mailbox.”

“What? The mailbox?”

I stared at Jerin, eyes wide with surprise.

In an ordinary mansion, receiving letters via mailbox posed no issue.

But this was no ordinary mansion—this was a laboratory bristling with countless arcane-engineered weapons at every corner.

There was good reason why countless suitors had turned away without ever setting foot inside.

Whoever it was, leaving a letter in the lab’s mailbox meant they had somehow bypassed all the arcane-engineered security devices I had installed.

True, the mailbox wasn’t located deep within the facility, so there weren’t many life-threatening traps there—but even so, this was the first time such a thing had ever occurred.

‘Did someone really risk their life just to deliver a single letter to me?’

Staring at the white envelope with bewildered eyes, a sudden suspicion crossed my mind, and I cautiously asked Jerin.

“There was only the letter in the mailbox, right? No corpses nearby or anything like that?”

“Actually, I checked just in case—but thankfully, no dead bodies.”

“Good.”

I unconsciously exhaled in relief.

I didn’t know who had sent it or for what purpose, but I was curious about the motive behind risking danger just to deliver this letter.

Without hesitation, I tore open the envelope and read its contents.

[To Lady Brellof.

His Majesty, the Emperor of Karlua, wishes to meet you.

It is regrettable that, despite repeated requests for an audience, you have yet to respond.

In three days, I shall return to personally escort you.]

I read it over several times.

But no matter how many times I reread it, the contents remained unchanged—it was definitely not a misreading.

‘What kind of unilateral notice is this?’

Given that the Emperor of Karlua had recently changed, the person expressing a desire to see me was undoubtedly Helsion.

Until recently, during the civil war, factions loyal to the Karlua imperial throne—and Helsion himself—had secretly contacted me multiple times, seeking to leverage my power.

But I had no desire to involve myself in who became Emperor of Karlua, so I never responded to any of them.

Even now, after the civil war had ended, I couldn’t fathom why he still wished to see me—but it was certainly connected to my arcane-engineered weapons.

Yet he wasn’t merely inviting me to the Karlua Empire—he was declaring he would come to fetch me regardless of my consent. That was tantamount to saying he’d drag me there by force.

Ten years ago, the Lazent Empire had schemed behind the scenes—but now, to brazenly announce his intentions like a declaration of war, to haul me off to Karlua? It was utterly outrageous.

It felt like a thief announcing their heist in advance before stealing the goods.

“Hah. I’d really love to see the face of whoever wrote this letter.”

“Why? Miss, what’s going on?”

Jerin looked curious about the letter’s contents, but I shook my head firmly and crumpled the letter into the trash bin.

Much had changed with the passage of time.

I was no longer the Brellof family’s ugly duckling. Many now sought to meet me, to cultivate ties with me.

Ironically, it was I who insisted on keeping my distance from others, choosing to live quietly within my laboratory.

Perhaps, if I ever set out for the Karlua Empire to search for Ascan, things might be different—but having just grasped a faint lead, I had no intention of leaving my post.

“It’s nothing. Just some lunatic’s letter.”

“But who on earth would send a letter like this to the laboratory?”

“No idea. But one thing’s certain—they won’t get their way.”

Somehow, I felt provoked by this unknown sender. My attitude became: Fine, try me if you dare.

There was no one in the world who could forcibly drag me out of this laboratory—not from anywhere else, let alone here.

Only I could create and wield magic stones—no one else.

Though countless weapons lay dormant throughout the lab, making intrusion difficult, forcibly extracting me from within? That was simply impossible.

Instead, I found myself growing intrigued as I glanced at the date written in the letter.

‘I’m curious how they plan to “escort” me. If they’re skilled enough to approach the laboratory, I might at least get a glimpse of their face.’

It was interesting—but only that. I dismissed it casually, pushing it from my mind.

And so, the date specified in the letter arrived.

I’d half-wondered if an entire army would march up to my doorstep—but only a few dozen people gathered outside the laboratory, which was frankly disappointing.

I was the one who resolved disputes between nations, who settled wars that others could not.

For a mere few dozen individuals to attempt storming my fully prepared laboratory and dragging me away? That was utterly impossible.

‘I was slightly hopeful, but this is underwhelming.’

I glanced out the window toward the laboratory entrance, then turned away.

The distance from the window to the entrance was considerable. I could barely make out human silhouettes—but even at a glance, their numbers extinguished any lingering interest.

It was then, as I sat organizing intelligence regarding the Imperial Guard within my room—

BOOOOOOM!

A tremendous explosion suddenly shattered the silence around the laboratory.

The problem? It wasn’t a one-time blast—the sound kept repeating.

At first, I dismissed it—but then instinctively realized.

‘My devices are being destroyed.’

Like someone entranced, I hurried back to the window and peered outside.

The garden—meticulously landscaped by experts—was being torn apart. The earth was cratered from massive explosions.

I’d taken such care with the landscaping, and now some stranger had invaded and wrecked it. Something inside me began to boil furiously.

‘Fine. Let’s do this, then.’

The arcane-engineered machines surrounding the laboratory activated varying numbers of weapons depending on the security level I had preset.

Level 0: All weapons deactivated.

Level 1: Entrance guarded with deterrents; increasingly dangerous weapons activated as intruders approached the laboratory.

Level 2: Reinforced internal and external security to repel intruders and thieves.

Level 3: Lethal weaponry activated to eliminate all within the laboratory.

Currently, security was set to Level 1.

I immediately went to the control console and upgraded the security level to Level 2.

Even though Level 1 was the most basic setting, for intruders to have destroyed my devices to this extent meant their capabilities were considerable.

But I had no intention of standing by any longer.

‘Just you wait. You’ll pay dearly for destroying my garden.’

Curious to see how long they’d last, I returned to the window, arms crossed, watching leisurely—when something felt off.

I’d assumed the dozens gathered at the entrance had all charged in together—but only one person was advancing toward me.

Moreover, their face was concealed behind a black mask, making identification impossible.

‘What? Did they really breach this far alone?’

I was inwardly startled—they seemed even more capable than I’d anticipated.

PAPAPAPAPAPAPAK! PAPAPAPAPAPAPAK!

My machine guns spewed crimson flames without pause—but the intruder moved faster, darting beyond their effective range.

But my arcane-engineered weapons were no pushovers.

Instantly, machine guns from another direction reappeared, re-aiming squarely at the intruder.

PAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAK!

Thanks to the machine gun appearing from an entirely unexpected location, the intruder failed to dodge a burst of flame aimed directly at their face.

WHOOSH—

They swiftly crossed their arms in an X-shape to block the flames—but fire caught their clothing, visibly burning away the fabric around their arms.

Suddenly, something seemed strange.

The intruder’s black clothing burned away—but the bare skin revealed beneath showed no signs of burns whatsoever. It looked perfectly unharmed.

‘…What?’

For a moment, I wondered if I’d misseen.

Unconsciously, I pressed close to the window, scrutinizing the intruder intently.

Apparently judging it difficult to contend with the ever-appearing arcane-engineered weapons, the intruder began summoning flames around them.

‘Fire?’

Ascan suddenly came to mind—but I quickly shook my head.

Even without being Ascan, others could possess fire-related abilities. Summoning flames wasn’t his exclusive domain, so at first, I dismissed it as unremarkable.

But then, my arcane-engineered weapons—attacking from all directions—began catching fire, one by one.

And the number of summoned flames kept increasing.

One, two, three… seven.

Only then did I realize.

Something was wrong.

While fire-wielders might exist, few could summon and freely manipulate so many flames simultaneously.

Moreover, fire typically waxed or waned depending on environmental conditions—but the flames summoned by this intruder showed no sign of extinguishing, even as time passed.

I recalled the urgent letter sent days earlier by an informant within the Karlua Empire.

[Urgent: A witness claims to have seen Helsion Emperor’s Imperial Guard wielding unextinguishable flames.]

If the intelligence was accurate, the intruder in my laboratory was Helsion’s Imperial Guard—but right now, that detail felt utterly insignificant.

It wasn’t a lie.

Thud. Without realizing, I pressed my palm against the glass window, straining to scrutinize the masked intruder more closely.

Again and again, the intruder’s silhouette overlapped in my mind with the image of someone I deeply missed.

All I could confirm was their raven-black hair. Their face—from nose to chin—remained entirely concealed beneath the black mask.

My heart raced impatiently.

Once the faintest suspicion took root, I couldn’t suppress it.

I had to go outside immediately—to somehow, by any means, remove the mask concealing the intruder’s face.

It was at that moment.

Slip—

As if by magic, the mask slid swiftly from the intruder’s face.

Apparently, when they’d blocked the flames aimed at their face earlier, the fire had affected not only their clothing but also the mask they wore.

The moment I saw their face, my heart reacted first.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The first thing I noticed was their sharp, sculpted eyes—as if carved with meticulous care by a master artisan.

I remembered Ascan, staring indifferently at me when we first met. Then, the gradual transformation—his gaze softening, filling with affection—as if replayed in panoramic flashes through my mind.

The straight forehead, the high, straight nose—every feature flawless, perfectly formed. It was a face I knew.

—When weighing Lady’s life against my own, the answer was already decided.

His words from long ago echoed once more in my ears.

—I told you. No one—not a single soul—will lay a finger on even a strand of your hair. I will protect you.

The last image imprinted in my eyes: his serene expression. And in his gaze, overflowing affection directed solely at me.

—Don’t worry. I won’t die and leave you behind.

The boy I’d buried deep within my memories, ten years ago.

“No way….”

It was Ascan.