Volume 29: The Distant Pointing of Sword Qi, Chapter 7: Entanglement

As soon as Komer boarded the ship sailing from Lake Nissai to Bruce Fortress, he fell into deep thought. The sudden appearance of Katya gave him an uneasy premonition; he felt he had been too neglectful of his allies' feelings.

In fact, Komer was aware that the relationship between himself and his allies was superficial at best. Whether it was Katya or Hoffman, their value to him was diminishing, and their interests were increasingly diverging from his own intentions. It was not surprising, as he had never really intended for either Katya or Hoffman to ascend to the throne of the Kingdom of Nicosia. To be precise, maintaining a situation where Katya and Hoffman were mutually hostile and restraining each other suited his interests best, but clearly, this situation could not last forever.