The bright yellow candles in the basement of the textile shop flickered slightly as a faint turbid wind blew down from the stairway. The captain of the Regional Secret Bureau branch, known as Valric Thane—or Chief Thane—held the tiny crumpled piece of paper in his hand, the crooked words written in an unknown script shimmering faintly in the unsteady candlelight.
Chief Thane read the contents of the paper and furrowed his brows, his expression growing more serious with every passing second.
Deputy Halt, the man who had shown clear dissatisfaction toward the young man who had arrived earlier—Arryn—stepped forward and asked, "What does it say?"
"It seems…" Chief Thane began slowly, carefully folding the paper slip before placing it into an envelope. "The High Priest was contacted by Sancta Verum."
He sealed the envelope with a special wax coating and then looked everyone dead in the eye, his tone turning heavy.
"Contact was made through a ritual."
Everyone immediately stood straighter in their spots—everyone except the young man wearing the hat. They looked at each other with apprehension and doubt, clearly concerned.
Arryn adjusted his hat and narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What's the big deal? Ain't it natural that the High Priest would be contacted by the Divine Order?"
Deputy Halt shook his head and cast him a dismissive glance. "The Divine Order can contact its Churches and Cathedrals from Sancta Verum, bypassing the constraints of distance."
Before he could continue, Arryn clapped loudly in realization. "Ah! I see, I see! Hmm… it must be for emergencies only then, right?"
Deputy Halt scoffed and looked away. "The ritual requires a lot of resources. It can't be done casually. It's used very rarely."
Everyone present already knew this. They nodded grimly. It was a sensitive time in the Empire, so what could be so urgent that it warranted a ritual message sent directly from the Divine Order?
One of the agents couldn't help but ask cautiously, "Chief… what could be the reason for this?"
Chief Thane spread his hands helplessly and chuckled dryly. "Who knows? It's not our job. We only need to pass the information to headquarters. The big shots will naturally know what to do."
The tension in the room lessened slightly as everyone's nerves settled.
The Chief was right. It wasn't any of their business. All they had to do was gather sensitive intelligence and pass it along, then wait for orders. Knowing this, everyone pushed away their thoughts and focused on the tasks at hand—because there were many.
Chief Thane glanced at the various reports on the table. His gaze paused on one particular document—information obtained from a maid, a Secret Bureau spy working inside Helsby Castle.
"The Count and the Bastard Prince…" he muttered. "When are they returning? And what about the Count's heir? Do we have more information?"
One of the agents stepped forward confidently. "They should return before the Spring Festival ends." A frown appeared on his face as he continued, "As for the Count's eldest son, we don't have much information—only that he's investigating the bandits along the trade route."
He hesitated, glancing toward the west, where the sea lay beyond the city walls. His expression darkened.
"We have also confirmed that the mutated sea beast truly is there… and it seems to be approaching closer."
Everyone's mood soured once again.
In reality, intelligence regarding the Sea Beast Akh'Thal had already been sent to the Capital on an urgent basis. However, there had been no response. Not even an acknowledgment.
Instead, the unit had been ordered to pay close attention to the 'other' matter.
It was strange.
Chief Thane and the others fell into awkward silence. There seemed to be an imminent attack by a powerful sea beast upon imperial territory, yet the Capital was not responding… as if it did not even know about the threat.
But that was impossible. The intelligence had been sent days ago through the fastest channels available.
Chief Thane sighed in resignation and looked at his colleagues, faint embarrassment in his eyes.
"Well… let's hope the Count returns with a solution."
Everyone lowered their heads, unsure of what to say.
In truth, they all had a vague idea of what might be going on—but none of them dared to speak it aloud.
Everyone knew that the massive machine known as the Solmarch Empire had a bit of rust here and there on its gears. But no one had imagined it could be this bad—to the point where ordinary lives were now at serious risk.
They had many words of indignation stuck in their throats. So instead, they cursed silently in their minds.
Just as the silence grew heavy, Arryn sat there with a mocking smile.
Deputy Halt's brows twitched uncontrollably. Just looking at that smug face made him want to punch him.
Chief Thane coughed, breaking the tension.
"More importantly," he said, turning to one of the agents, "do we have eyes on the 'vulture'?"
The agent known by the alias Richard immediately straightened. "Yes. Three targets have slipped into the city. My men are being careful. They're monitoring them from a distance."
"Good. Let them be. We are not ordered to intervene anyway…" Chief Thane said calmly, his steady, cold gaze sweeping across everyone.
A chill ran down their spines.
The Emperor was indeed a cruel monarch. There was no place for something as trivial as love or kindness within the Imperial Family.
After all, everyone here was well accustomed to the coldness of the Secret Bureau. What monstrous things had they not seen? This was nothing in comparison.
"Just keep an eye on their activities constantly. Don't let them lose us for even a moment. Understood?" Chief Thane said sharply.
"Yes, Chief!" Richard nodded firmly.
"Remember," Deputy Halt added solemnly, "our goal is not to stop them from achieving their objective. Our goal is to catch them alive after they succeed and attempt to leave the city."
He pressed on, emphasizing every word.
"This is a direct task from the Director himself. Don't mess it up."
The moment the word "Director" was spoken, everyone visibly stiffened. Fear and apprehension flickered across their faces. Richard, especially, felt sweat soak through his clothes.
He glanced at Arryn, who was lounging casually in his chair without a single worry on his face, that nonchalant smile still hanging there.
Richard felt a surge of jealousy. The young man had a special identity—one that made it impossible to openly vent frustration at him. It felt like choking on sand.
"What a surprise," Richard scoffed. "'His Highness' hasn't scurried off to some brothel today?"
All eyes shifted.
A vein on Chief Thane's forehead twitched violently, as if it might burst at any moment. It was indeed strange that the eccentric young man hadn't left already.
Arryn smiled and stood up lazily. He walked closer to the Chief and lowered his voice slightly.
"I've been using my Divine Blessing around the city recently," he said mysteriously. "You know what I found?"
Chief Thane's temple throbbed.
With an angry scowl, he gave Arryn's hat a horizontal smack.
"What have I told you about not using your Divine Blessing to sneak around unnecessarily?!" he barked.
Arryn stuck out his tongue mischievously, completely unbothered.
"Well?" Chief Thane sighed heavily. "What is it?"
Arryn's expression finally turned serious—a rare sight. The smile faded.
"I noticed a few suspicious fellows on the outskirts of the city. They seem to have entered with the Festival crowd."
The others exchanged confused looks.
"What are you trying to say?" Deputy Halt asked incredulously. Judging from his expression, everyone could guess what he was thinking.
This eccentric newcomer from the Capital—what nonsense was he stirring now?
"I'm not sure…" Arryn admitted. "They were moving in a group. Doing some strange things. I didn't want to risk exposure, so I didn't get too close. But… I got a strange, eerie feeling from them."
Chief Thane frowned. "It's natural that some unsavory elements enter the city during festivals. Criminals take advantage of crowds."
The agents nodded. It was perfectly reasonable. Brinescar was not particularly significant in the grand scheme of the Empire. At most, it was a regional economic hub. Apart from that, the only notable figure here was the Bastard Prince.
Arryn hesitated slightly. "I don't know… I could be wrong. But my intuition has never been wrong before."
Chief Thane knew Arryn had some ability. But he was new—and eccentric. More importantly, the unit was short on manpower, and the current mission was far more critical than chasing vague suspicions.
After thinking for a long moment, Chief Thane shook his head.
"We can't afford to muddy the waters over possible street criminals. The City Watch can handle that. It's not our business."
Arryn wanted to protest. He trusted his intuition deeply. But he also understood the Chief's stubbornness. Once a decision was made, it was final.
Besides… he wasn't entirely certain himself.
Maybe it was just some gang activity. That wasn't uncommon in a port city like Brinescar. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have paid attention at all—if not for that strange feeling.
Alas, he could do nothing further.
He was just a small fry. A curious small fry—but still a small fry.
"I think… we should at least keep an eye on them," Deputy Halt said unexpectedly. "Just in case."
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
Who didn't know that the Deputy and Arryn were like oil and water? Why the sudden change of heart?
Even Arryn blinked in surprise.
Chief Thane shook his head again. "We don't have the manpower. We can't risk spreading ourselves too thin."
"Then… how about I handle it alone?" Arryn said quickly, his eyes lighting up.
He wanted to prove himself. If his instincts were right, this could be his chance to climb the ladder. He was ambitious—very ambitious.
Chief Thane considered this for a long while.
Arryn was indeed the most suitable person for such reconnaissance. Gathering intelligence carried limited risk—if done properly. And even his Deputy had voiced concern.
Finally, the Chief made his decision.
"Fine."
His gaze hardened.
"But be careful. Don't punch above your weight. Just observe."
His tone turned stern.
"Do not act unless absolutely necessary."