Thirty-six hours. If I faced the marquis one-on-one, he'd effortlessly crush me. Yet here he was, exposed to my gaze. He was utterly helpless, unable to sense or strike at me in any way.0

A strange exhilaration welled up inside. Merely watching the marquis stirred something deep in my chest. A swelling, sticky pleasure. What other weaknesses would he reveal next? I almost found myself looking forward to it.1

Still, unlike the earlier twelve hours, the marquis no longer moved about actively. He merely sat and methodically reviewed documents one by one. Many had nothing to do with the stolen diamond, yet he sifted through them with ruthless focus, as though killing them with his hands.0

Calculations had likely been whirring ceaselessly in his mind. No doubt, he was deciding on his every move with precision. The marquis's judgment was always exact. After all, he did find the stolen diamond in the end. He'd singlehandedly crushed the Thieves' Guild and recovered the Imperial treasure. Then, he persuaded the guild's young prodigy—Rayleigh—to join the Blue Lion Knights.0

Perhaps due to his background, Rayleigh's instincts were sharper...0