The real problem was the rumor about the crown prince. I hoped it wouldn’t blow up into something catastrophic.

"Commander, aren’t we pursuing the noble who escaped?"

"He’s left a trail. We can take our time tracking him."

I had the Searcher Scouter.

In fact, if his instincts had driven him back to a secret hideout, I might be able to round up his accomplices in one sweep. Viscount Dumarck’s escape was nothing more than bait.

Bang! 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The front door was nearly torn off its hinges as the knights stormed in.

There had been a major battle outside as well, leaving a sea of blood and corpses scattered everywhere. Viktor was just as drenched in blood as I was—proof that he’d fought at the front.

"The resistance was fiercer than expected. They gave us trouble for a moment."

"Well done. What’s the damage to the unit?"

"Five wounded, and... one dead."

I see. How wonderful it would be if only the enemy died and our side came through untouched. But reality isn’t that forgiving. Looking toward the front entrance, I saw Fiel kneeling and praying before the body of his fallen subordinate.

"The fallen man was one of Vice Commander Steinhof’s."

"He’s a man with a tender heart. He’ll grieve over his subordinate’s death."

"It’s the fate of anyone who takes up arms. Anyone can die. Don’t dwell on it."

"..."

Custom dictated that a fallen man’s gear be reclaimed by the order. But I never touched a fallen man’s gear and had reformed the system to send it to the bereaved family along with a condolence payment. The old practice struck me as cruel.

As a result, the unit’s loyalty and morale rose dramatically. Viktor and Fiel had even praised me, saying they’d never seen a commander who cared for his subordinates so deeply. All I had done was practice the most basic decency.

Clap, clap, clap!

In the middle of all this chaos, with blood pooled across the floor, Lady Mühe hadn’t so much as flinched. Apparently the whole thing had been good entertainment for her. The eyes of our knights all turned to her.

"A magnificent display, Sir Streit."

"What are you playing at? You’re in league with this lot, aren’t you?"

"I merely provided the salon. I am not in league with them."

Not in league with them?

In most situations like this you’d assume she was lying, but astonishingly, it was the truth. She was not in league with these nobles. What was going on? Sensing my puzzled gaze, Mühe covered her mouth with her fan.

Then, smiling with a hint of cunning, she shifted her gaze to Bodo, who had come in late. The moment their eyes met, Bodo recoiled, complaining that the widow spider was eyeing him for prey. He quickly ducked behind Anton.

The knights, unsure how to handle her, waited for my orders.

"Leave her be. Tie up the nobles first."

"Sir Streit is truly kind to women. That only makes me want you all the more."

I tried to read her thoughts through the Manager Scouter, but all I got was that she was observing me. Her intentions were impossible to read. So I sat down across from Mühe.

She drank her wine with both elegance and venom, throwing me glances and smiles as though trying to seduce me. And all the while, dangerous thorns bristled beneath the surface. It was like looking at a beautiful, poisonous flower.

This woman bore the worst disposition of all: Lust (Evil).

I didn’t know who’d coined it, but the nickname "widow spider" suited her impeccably.

"Lady Mühe, you’d be wise to mind yourself in front of me."

"What lured you to my salon was the bait I tossed to that adorable little boy. A salon servant drowning in gambling debt makes for the perfect bait, wouldn’t you say?"

So the servant had been bait after all. I’d confirmed through the Scouter that the servant wasn’t trying to deceive us. But I hadn’t found a single trace of falsehood in him.

That meant the servant himself didn’t even know he was being used as bait. No wonder I hadn’t seen any other staff working alongside him.

She had foreseen everything that would unfold.

"Why did you lure us here? Because those men insulted the crown prince?"

I phrased the sensitive matter carefully.

Mühe didn’t seem to have any particular opinion on the claim that the crown prince was a bastard.

"It doesn’t matter to me what the crown prince’s status is. I did this simply because someone asked me to."

"Someone? Who do you mean?"

"Bring me Viscount Dumarck. When you do, I’ll tell you, Sir Streit."

I still couldn’t fathom how Cavalry Commander Pensler had ever taken a woman like this as his mistress.

Did he just fancy any widow at all? Even one called the widow spider?

Lady Mühe waved her fan and disappeared up to the second floor. With the salon in ruins around her, she was extraordinarily composed.

Truly a woman whose nature you couldn’t pin down. Bodo, who had been hiding behind Anton, was furious.

"My type isn’t some old hag like you!"

"You’re shouting at her after she’s gone?"

"That look in her eyes was so creepy I couldn’t say it to her face."

Bodo shuddered, saying it had felt as if a snake had wrapped itself around his body.

For now, I ordered Fiel to finish securing the interior and to keep the salon under watch for the time being. Then I took Viktor and his squad and went after the viscount.

I easily found the footprints he’d left rushing across the rooftop after escaping through a second-floor window. This was the great strength of the Searcher Scouter. It had its weaknesses: it couldn’t track the dead or those it had no information on.

Viscount Dumarck’s trail led toward an alleyway lined with shops. Following it, I came across merchants cleaning up overturned carts and vegetables scattered across the street.

They testified that some noble had come crashing through, running as if something were chasing him. After following his trail for a while, I finally arrived at an ordinary commoner’s house. When I knocked, a gaunt man came to the door.

"Wh-what is it, my lord?"

"Did a noble come into this house?"

"I-I don’t know nothing, my lord."

I didn’t even need the Scouter to tell this man was lying. With a glance from me, Viktor dragged the man outside while the knights pushed inside. The commoner’s family screamed.

"Commander! Over here!"

I stepped further into the living quarters.

What looked like a bedroom lay beyond, and the scene inside was something to behold.

A woman was huddled on the bed with a blanket wrapped around her, trembling and weeping bitterly. Was this the viscount’s doing? Reading the ferocity in my eyes, the knights fiercely denied involvement.

"Commander, these clothes here—they look like a noble’s."

"While running for his life, he stopped here to do that?"

"...Surely not. A viscount, of all people."

Crack!

I smashed open the wardrobe and dragged Viscount Dumarck out from where he’d been hiding.

Viscount Dumarck thrashed about, naked.

"You sons of bitches! You have no authority to arrest a noble of my standing!"

"If you were going to hide in a commoner’s home, you might’ve kept still. But on the run, you couldn’t resist assaulting a commoner’s daughter? And you have the gall to speak of honor as a noble?"

"You bastard! Prince Louis will never forgive you for this!"

Now that the whole truth had come out, the prince would certainly rush to protect his man.

If I were Prince Louis, I’d be desperately insisting I had no connection to these men.

He’d have to choose: persuade the Grand Duke, or flee. One or the other.

I beat the thrashing Viscount Dumarck unconscious and carried his limp body back to the salon. Naked, he became a spectacle for the commoners.

He was probably happier passed out.

"Just as I’d heard, Sir Streit’s tracking is exquisite."

Seeing me bring back the fleeing Viscount Dumarck so easily, Mühe seemed genuinely impressed. All the while, she didn’t spare a glance for the still-naked viscount.

"I’ll take you to her now."

Mühe led me to a hidden chamber tucked away behind her room. The space inside was surprisingly spacious. Waiting for me on the sofa was a middle-aged woman. I had no idea who she was.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Streit. I am Clara."

"...Who are you, and what is this place?"

It didn’t look like an ordinary space.

And I had absolutely no idea who this woman was.

"My husband caused you considerable trouble."

"Husband? Whose wife are you?"

"Günter von Klugen. I was his wife."

I never imagined that name would come up here.