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***

In the darkness, it took Dante a moment to spot the guest who had been waiting for him in his villa. He frowned slightly-this was an important guest, no doubt, but he had never extended an invite. Alicia sat in a dark corner near the bed, reading a book under the light of a candle placed on a small table next to her. She looked up and greeted Dante like she was the proper owner of the villa, not him.

"Not today," he said curtly.

"What's the matter? I've been meaning to reward you, as I have neglected you for so long," Alicia responded, shutting the book softly. Her fingertips drummed on the leather cover for a moment, then she rose from her seat. "Come closer. I cannot see your frown from this distance, Dante."

He knew exactly why she was calling him by his name with such a friendly tone, even though she usually acted like it was an act of blasphemy. Clicking his tongue, he walked closer to the candlelight.

Only half of Alicia's face was illuminated by the small tongue of flame. Although she appeared innocent, her lips curled in a seductive smile. "Did you get rid of your mistress again? I saw that the place is empty."

Dante replied after a brief pause, "Since when have you cared?"

Officially, the villa was meant for Dante's mistress-something that was usually kept tightly under wraps, only to be uncovered when foolish men came together to brag about their collections. In the past, he had engaged in a cycle of hiding a woman at the villa and dropping hints about her at social events, with the sole purpose of covering Alicia's tracks. Now, there was no need to perform such a chore, which was why he had gotten rid of the mistress.

"Which poor woman will fall victim to your whims now, hmm?" she whispered slyly. "Who will be the new owner of this fine villa?"

"As always, it is none of your concern."

"How hurtful..."

As Alicia reached up to slip her shawl off her shoulders, Dante stopped her. "No need. I will not be partaking in anything tonight."

A hint of irritation slipped into her voice. "Ijar... What is the point in trying to act so noble now? You have never turned me down before."

"My apologies, but I do not feel particularly inclined."

"Go and take some vergo, then. Personally, I do feel inclined."

"Barca..." He trailed off with a sigh.

"How dare you? Is it because of the new woman you are going to put in here?" she asked sharply, but he remained unfazed.

"Enough of this masquerade. I know fully well that you are not jealous or bothered."

The irritation melted off her face in a heartbeat-the shift was quite eerie, as if she had become a completely different person. She gave him a bright smile and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You know that I simply need someone to lean on, Dante.

I have nobody else... I must weather my storms all alone."

Although he loathed to admit it, he had allowed her to sway him once upon a time.

Of course, he had labeled their relationship as one built on mutual benefits; he had taken pleasure in defiling the unrequited love of an innocent girl he had seen as a child. He had prided himself on his betrayal of his master-one who treated him like a dog-as he lay with his betrothed behind his back. In the end, however, Dante had simply wanted to own Alicia's pure, young love. If he couldn't have it, he had wanted to taint that emotion before Oscar could get his hands on it. He had regarded Alicia with pity and ignored just how much she had changed, looking into the past even as he saw the present.

Yes... once upon a time, he had adored her.

Now, his gaze was cold as he stared at Alicia.

His desire to escape the shadow of his conservative, controlling father was the only thing that had pushed him closer to Oscar. He would simply have to endure a bit of humiliation and step back into that shadow. Unlike Cárcel, he wasn't bound to Oscar by blood, and he knew plenty of the crown prince's weaknesses. At this point, it was unclear if Oscar would stay alive until he finally became the emperor, and a wise man would abandon his ship before it sank. Dante knew he would be making the same choice even if the crown prince's mind had not been so addled.

After all, Oscar had treated him like vermin despite promising that he would receive all the respect he deserved-he had never perceived Dante as a threat either, so much that he didn't even bother to search for his weaknesses. Oscar was an arrogant and foolish man, always thinking that he would get whatever he wanted.

I should have cut my losses before his condition deteriorated so greatly, Dante thought.

Three months had passed since Oscar began to change, his silent madness taking root around the time the emperor waged war. He had relentlessly pushed for this conflict despite his father's growing suspicions, eager to shove Cárcel into the line of fire. Oscar had insisted that it didn't matter how Cárcel died, and he had been so confident that he could make his life a living hell even if he returned from the war...

"As you know, His Highness is no longer capable of logical thinking," Alicia said. "So... perhaps we could fall back on our original plan."

"What do you mean, exactly?"

"I'm talking about the man you bribed to kill Escalante."

"Ah... Yes," he mused silently.

"We can still go through with it. His Highness may have decided not to kill Cárcel while he is on the battlefield, but that is only a whim."

"Back then, he still stood on dry land. Now, he is in the middle of the ocean."

"Dante..."

"There is no way for me to give orders to a man who is across the ocean, Alicia."

He had been a fool to waste so much time on this woman. Despite her reckless actions after the Formente competition, despite knowing she could have done something far worse, he had stayed by her side. He had almost made the mistake of walking into danger with her-a woman who was urging him toward certain death, even now.

"There is always a way," she said in a low voice.

He smiled at her in response. "Even if there is, I'm not sure I wish to pursue it. You see, my family has already purchased quite a few war bonds."

Her hands slowly fell away from his waist. "Money is the least important thing in this situation, and you know it."

"Things have changed. Cárcel no longer lives in the shadow of Admiral Calderon or the crown prince. His name is widely known, and his presence is celebrated. Just how much risk do you expect me to take?"

She narrowed her eyes. "The war will be lost once he dies, and there will be no heroes then."

"Indeed, but if anyone manages to find the culprit, I will end up being blamed for the empire's defeat as well. My apologies, but I have no intention of sacrificing myself and my family for a fool's folly."

Slowly, Alicia pressed her lips together, and her eyes flared with a hatred that burned like wildfire.

Ignoring this, Dante continued, "Let him be. Even if you do not send an assassin after him, a battlefield is full of danger. The same applies to the order to turn the war into a failure... Surely, His Highness is not the only one who is shocked to see that Cárcel is performing so well in this war instead of proving that his gossip outshines him. Nobody expected him to prevail instead of perishing as he was meant to, nor that Inés would end up taking advantage of the praise that they showered on him in order to blame him for the empire's loss. Truly, there is no reason to be disappointed in your husband for his mistakes."

Although his words were comforting, they were laced with mockery.

She gritted her teeth, then forced a calm smile on her face. "It is but a stroke of luck. He will eventually fall, as a dead tree tumbles from a cliff."

"That is true, but I have no reason to push the empire's hero off that cliff. Now that His Majesty has decided to favor him, any action taken against Cárcel will be an act of treason. If I were to give you some advice-"

Alicia cut him off coldly. "His Highness will recover as soon as Escalante dies in war."

"Is that what you truly want, Alicia? You are the one who put him in that state, after all." He chuckled and brushed his fingers over her cheek.

She slapped his hand away and glared at him, bristling as if she had been betrayed by her faithful dog. "What of the loyalty that you pledged to His Highness?" There was genuine anger in her voice, as if she had forgotten about the thing that she had been feeding her dear husband on a daily basis.

Instead of pointing out her hypocrisy, he responded coolly, "Think of what happened in Admiral Calderon's hunting grounds. Your husband arranged an assassination attempt like an impulsive child, then made it look like my father had been behind it all. I'm sure it would make for a perfect story if House Ijar sent a spy to the battlefield as well... but I don't see any reason why I should play along."

"Ijar!" she snapped.

"Personally, I think my loyalty has stood the test of time. I am still by his side after all those betrayals."

Alicia slipped on a pitiful mask again, as if she had finally realized that he had made up his mind. "We have come so far, Dante. Do you not want a reward for your efforts?"

"There is no need to be so concerned about your husband. I'm sure he won't be needing me anymore."

"I'm the one who needs you still, not Oscar." She grabbed his forearms and hugged him again. Her body was so small and frail that he hesitated to forcibly push her away. During that brief moment, she managed to kiss the tip of his chin, saying, "You said you remember the Formente competition... Well, it was his love for Inés that doomed Oscar. Such a trivial, foolish thing, love That is the thing that broke me as well. He didn't stop at simply desiring that filthy, vile woman. He also wants his child to come from her wretched womb. He said he only put me in her place for her sake!" Her voice rose angrily.

"Alicia..."

"Oscar is the one who broke the rules. He tossed me aside like some worthless toy he got bored of... and now he's lost his mind-all because she actually loves Cárcel. He shattered the moment she spat out a few words, as if he didn't already know what she was going to say!"

Dante paused before pushing her away. Her eyes sent a chill down his spine-they were completely devoid of reason. Still, he thought there might be something else worth hearing. But the only words that fell from her lips were unintelligible rambling.

"You have no idea what he mutters at night when his sanity slips away from him," she continued. "He clings to some dark-haired harlot and whispers that she is going against her own destiny... that she never loved Cárcel. He mutters about how absurd it is, and how she cannot possibly die for that man after everything he's done to save her... That she already tangled up that string of fate, and that she never truly loved him..." She gritted her teeth. "Fate, love... Bile rises in my throat when I hear those words. Can you imagine Oscar mumbling and weeping like a fool?"

"No... I truly cannot."

"Then he will spend the entirety of the following night cursing Cárcel, hoping that he will die." Alicia's eyes were completely blank, as if a piece of Oscar's spirit had possessed her, as she repeated the words she had heard. "I wish to kill that damned dog, Cárcel. I want to rip him into shreds so Inés doesn't have a body to bury or a grave to visit... so that nothing remains of him in this world. I want to kill him. I want to kill him... God cannot allow him to ruin my destiny, Inés's destiny... I must kill him. I must, I must..." She paused for a moment, then chuckled as if she had uttered some funny joke. "Yet when he awakens, he frantically checks if Cárcel is still alive, saying that he must not die despite how much he hates him..."

Dante stayed silent.

"Listening to that rambling all night long, sometimes... sometimes I find myself wanting to kill Oscar. He grows worse every day, Dante..."

She had never expressed this desire before, even though what she was doing to Oscar should have killed him a long time ago. In all fairness, she had simply ignored the fact that Oscar could die as a result of her actions-after all, looking for a light of reason within a madman would be a foolish venture.

Suddenly, Dante realized Oscar's poisoning had progressed further than he had thought. He had assumed that it was affecting the crown prince very slowly, but in reality, the substance was simply following a course that deviated from the norm.

It had already been more than six months since Oscar overdosed on vergo during the Formente competition, and Alicia had met her new supplier right after Dante refused to give her any more of the drug upon hearing about what happened. He had no way of knowing what Oscar had been ingesting from that point on. Although Alicia became quite ruthless once she had her mind set on something, she didn't know much about underground drugs, and the sellers of such drugs were skilled at deceiving aristocrats.

The excessive use of vergo had been gradually clouding Oscar's mind without his knowledge.

Around the time of the ceremony, he had been so distraught by the "loss" of his love that all of his suspicions and caution fell away. Dante was certain that Alicia had taken that opportunity to slip another drug into his system, which had effectively turned his mind to dust. Now, he would never be able to return to his previous state of clarity, filled with doubt and paranoia.

His cruelty grew worse day by day, which only served to indicate that the new drug was taking its hold.