Would Lyman really hand that evidence to the First Prince?
That was one of the questions Ivan kept thinking about as he walked toward the room on the second floor.
The other question was even more important.
Could Corea truly be trusted?
Ivan quickly replayed the entire meeting with Corea in his mind.
At the same time, he carefully analyzed the information Corea had given him.
Was it really possible that Lyman had entrusted the investigation materials to Prince Benjamin?
Between the lines, Corea seemed to imply that both he and Lyman had graduated from Kakin's First Military Academy. Because of that connection, Prince Benjamin—who served as the Deputy Chief Military Advisor of Kakin—would trust them and help them.
But the problem was obvious.
The contents of that evidence would almost certainly involve the Fourth Prince, Tserriednich.
Even though Lyman had supposedly discovered a new lead that pointed toward the Third Affiliated Hospital, Ivan's instincts—and his professional judgment—told him that the Fourth Prince's hotel could not be avoided.
Because that hotel was very likely the original crime scene.
And the person responsible for the crime…
Might very well be the Fourth Prince himself.
If that were the case, then unless the First Prince was willing to take action against the Fourth Prince, handing the evidence over to him would only turn it into a Sword of Damocles.
It would hang above someone's head…
But it would never fall.
Was Corea working for the First Prince?
Or had Lyman discovered the hostility between the First and Fourth Princes and tried to exploit that conflict?
But then…
Ivan suddenly stopped walking.
Another possibility had just occurred to him.
What if—from the beginning until now—Corea only knew that Lyman possessed important evidence?
What if he didn't actually know where that evidence was?
What if everything he said had simply been a test?
A test to see whether Ivan knew where the evidence was hidden.
Ivan compared the situation with the memories he had inherited.
He noticed a crucial detail.
When he resumed walking toward the room, cold sweat had already formed on his back.
Prince Benjamin and Prince Tserriednich shared the same mother.
That fact wasn't a secret within Kakin.
But their deep hostility toward each other—the fact that they wanted to kill one another—
Even many members of the royal family might not know about that.
So if Lyman couldn't be certain that someone served the First Prince…
How could he assume that giving the evidence to Benjamin would guarantee action against the Fourth Prince?
As for the idea that Benjamin would help them simply because they all graduated from the same military academy—
That was laughable.
The First Military Academy produced countless graduates every year.
Their backgrounds and loyalties were extremely diverse.
There was no way Benjamin would take special care of every single graduate.
Ivan forced a bitter smile.
At this point, two possibilities remained.
The first was that his guess was correct.
Corea had merely been testing him.
And that test had already produced a result the moment Ivan followed Corea's instructions and returned to his room.
That result was simple:
Ivan knew about Lyman's evidence.
And from that evidence, he understood that the First Prince would inevitably attack the Fourth Prince.
Only under those circumstances would Ivan show no resistance when Corea proposed introducing him to Prince Benjamin.
He would even accept it gladly.
The second possibility was the opposite.
Corea might genuinely want to help him.
If that were true, then Lyman had probably already pledged loyalty to the First Prince.
And he had truly delivered the evidence to Benjamin.
But that would also mean something else.
It would mean that Corea had already taken sides with the First Prince.
But was that possible?
Ivan tightened his grip on the tennis ball in his hand.
The Chief Justice of Kakin answered directly to King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou.
Until the next king was decided, the Chief Justice had to remain strictly neutral.
Lyman had told him that himself.
He had never explained exactly how the Chief Justice maintained neutrality.
But he had made one thing very clear.
The Chief Justice served the royal family.
And anything considered harmful to the royal family would receive only one judgment.
The royal family is justice.
Having once served as a royal guard—even if not in Kakin—Ivan understood that responsibility perfectly.
Ivan's ears twitched slightly.
He heard something unusual.
The sound was coming from outside the villa.
Without turning on the lights, he walked quickly to the window and looked outside.
But nothing seemed out of place.
At that moment—
Someone knocked on the door.
Ivan kept the tennis ball tightly in his hand and moved his left arm behind his back as he approached the door.
Once again, he felt that same sensation he had experienced earlier when Corea first returned home.
The feeling of being scanned by En.
Ivan's heart sank.
Because he understood exactly what that meant.
It confirmed his first suspicion.
Corea had been probing him the entire time, trying to extract the location of the evidence.
When Ivan opened the door, he saw Corea standing about three meters away.
It was a safe distance.
Far enough that even if Ivan suddenly attacked, Corea would have plenty of time to react.
"Is something wrong?" Ivan asked casually.
His expression showed no sign of tension.
There was even a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Ivan," Corea said coldly.
"I know you're a smart man."
He didn't bother pretending anymore.
Ivan's expression also cooled.
"I thought you would help me."
At that moment, the sound of glass shattering echoed from downstairs.
Someone had begun breaking into the villa.
Corea sighed.
"I gave you a chance."
"To go to Yorknew?" Ivan almost laughed.
At this point, there was nothing left he didn't understand.
"You know me well. And you saw the death-Nen on my body."
"You already knew I wouldn't choose that option."
"Chief Justice Corea."
There was disappointment in Ivan's eyes.
After all, Corea had been one of the most trusted figures in the original Ivan's memories.
To be tested—and betrayed—by someone like that would naturally hurt.
Ivan felt that sadness for the Ivan who had died in this world.
But at the same time, he understood that Corea's decision wasn't wrong.
At least—
Not from the perspective of the Chief Justice of Kakin.
"I warned Lyman," Corea said.
"I advised him. I even threatened him."
"But he wouldn't listen."
"He only believed in his own idea of justice."
"And that kind of justice doesn't belong in Kakin."
The footsteps downstairs grew louder.
Many of them.
Chaotic.
"So tell me," Corea said quietly.
"Before he died, Lyman must have left you a clue."
"Where is the evidence?"
"If I really knew where it was," Ivan replied calmly, "I would have resisted the moment you hinted at it."
Corea shook his head.
"Stop struggling."
"Your actions already gave you away."
"Tell me where the rest of the evidence is."
"If you do, I can still save your life."
"But if you're identified as someone who has seen that evidence…"
"No one will be able to protect you."
"It involves certain core secrets of Kakin."
"No," Ivan said.
"I still have one path left."
Corea seemed to understand something.
He sighed.
"You can't escape."
"And she won't be able to protect you."
"We'll see," Ivan said with a smile.
At that moment—
The owner of the approaching footsteps finally appeared at the corner of the hallway.
It was a Velociraptor.