As an Executor rather than an Intelligence Officer, Rick was dressed somewhat flamboyantly. As he was the ‘Sword’ of Argenta, the one who executed traitors as the Argenta, he had to dress ornately to symbolize the prestige of Argenta.

And Rick was very satisfied with his attire. It was a splendidly decorated garment, so splendid that even if blood were to splatter upon it, it would only appear as a gorgeous pattern.

“This is a crucial condition for becoming a Ferro…”

He had come to a conclusion after a long period of contemplation. He looked down at his investigation notebook.

[ Both must have experienced a crisis together. ]

“In an environment where the heads are becoming stronger, it seems that those who have experienced a crisis together are prioritized as Ferro.”

As the informant next to him spoke, Rick nodded. As far as he knew, the current Duke and Duchess of Cartiel had fallen from a great height together. And the previous Duke and Duchess of Argenta had been present at a fire.

“Furthermore, it seems that the greater the crisis, the more the Ferro amplifies the head’s power… This will require further research.”

In any case, he had now obtained all the important information he needed.

“Then, this woman.”

Rick’s gaze turned to Venia.

“….”

The ability suppression necklace around Venia’s neck shook. It looked like an ordinary accessory on the surface, but it was an object with a powerful suppressive force that could not be removed with ordinary strength.

She held it tightly as if she wanted to tear it off, glaring at him with venomous eyes.

‘D*mn it…!’

Rick, the Intelligence Officer before her eyes. The Argenta Intelligence Department, led by this man, was more serious than she had thought about this crazy plan to ‘figure out the rules of Ferro and make anyone they wanted into a Ferro.’

She had thought that if the Argenta Intelligence Department had any sense, they wouldn’t do such a thing with a normal Ferro, but they were all crazy. Especially this man before her was crazier than she had thought. To be precise, he was crazy about the head of Argenta.

‘The lord can do no wrong.’

He had absolute faith in Diello Argenta.

‘If he has made the wrong decision in the current situation, it is their duty, his servants, to make it right.’

And he had a loyalty that bordered on religious devotion.

Rick, who met her gaze, tilted his head.

“So, how did you become a Ferro?”

Venia grimaced.

She had tried to give him false information to interfere with his investigation, but the man before her had figured it out with astonishing accuracy. Rather, he had figured out the information he wanted to obtain through subtle questioning.

It was driving her crazy. She was now getting very nervous about his questions. Every time he asked a question that was both like an interrogation and not, her insides burned. It felt like her life was slowly diminishing with each passing moment.

At first, it was as if the tips of her toes were burning slightly, but now it felt like her entire body was burning up to her neck.

Now, there was only one thing he didn’t know.

…Her ability to manipulate water.

Venia tried not to look at the pearl in her hand, which seemed to captivate her with its strange power.

“Were you in a fire with the lord?”

Rick asked with a smile.

“…When I was young, I guess.”

Venia finally spat out. She knew he would find out eventually, no matter how much she tried to hide it. Now, she fully understood her own situation. Her situation, where all she had to do was hand over her place as a Ferro at the right time.

She burst out laughing. She couldn’t help but let out a real laugh.

Until she came to Argenta, she had believed without a doubt that she would soon become the Duke’s wife as a Ferro and live a glamorous life. But what was this?

Rick glanced at Venia, who was starting to laugh like a maniac.

She didn’t stop laughing, regardless.

If it hadn’t been for ‘that incident’ when she was young, she wouldn’t have suffered such humiliation. Venia recalled the moment when Diello Argenta had awakened—the fire that day. Even though she had been rescued, Diello Argenta had not been rescued until he had gained control of his fire.

She had secretly hoped that he would die there. Since the heir of the main Argenta family were weak at the time, Venia herself, who possessed a strong fire ability, could have become the head. Her father had already realized this and was gathering forces to follow her.

However…

Crackle!

On Diello Argenta’s hand was a brilliant flame. Everything she had thought would be hers went to Diello Argenta. That cunning and rat-like b*stard… and she was supposed to serve such a man as the head? She couldn’t do it even if it meant working with her nemesis, the Alors.

That was how she became a traitor to Argenta and was being pursued, and that was when the mark of Ferro appeared.

[ Diello Argenta. ]

Venia felt a thrill when she saw his name engraved on her body. What if she couldn’t have Argenta? The head would kneel before her!

Her days of being hunted were over!

The tables had turned.

“Why does it have to be you?”

She had been waiting for an opportunity to bully him, but when she finally got it, he turned out to be crazier than she thought. Even those who followed him were all crazy. They had even found out the conditions to become a Ferro, and if those conditions were met, she would be dead.

Even though she was a Ferro…!

Venia clenched her fists so tightly that blood seeped from her hands.

“Diello Argenta…”

She bit her lip and muttered his name.

There was only one way now. At the thought, she looked down at the bracelet that was supposed to have a jewel but was empty.

The pearl she had taken off beforehand was in her hand.

Even if this was Argenta’s intelligence department, there was no way they would know the true nature of this pearl, which didn’t give off any power.

Ordinary power crystals were shaped like crystals.

However, objects specially treated with the head’s blood were different. Moreover, there was no way they could recognize the pearl-shaped crystal that had turned opaque white over time. If she was going to die anyway, she couldn’t die alone.

She recalled the time when the previous Duke and Duchess of Argenta had died long ago.

“Use the power given to you by His Excellency!”

“For the sake of Alors!”

When the previous Duke and Duchess of Argenta, who saw her family as an eyesore, went out.

It was Venia herself who shared their location with Duke Alors and his assassins.

“This is a power crystal infused with my power. If you mix it with your blood, you can use strong water control for a while. Use this ability to bury the Duke and Duchess.”

She had received the power crystal with the assassins.

This was that power crystal.

It was suspicious to have such a strong ability, so she hadn’t used it, though it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

‘….!’

Those who had wounded themselves and infused Duke Alors’ power crystal certainly used strong water control. However, it was true that the head of Argenta had been weakened due to various conditions that had taken a long time to develop.

‘Crash!’

Alors’ elites had managed to defeat the head of Argenta.

However…

‘Crack!’

The Duke and Duchess weren’t the only ones who died.

Venia rubbed her arms as she thought about that time. At that time, the power Duke Alors had given her was too strong… so strong that it melted even the person who possessed it.

‘Caw!’

After the previous Duke and Duchess died, it was Alors’ assassins who collapsed on the spot. From the beginning, Duke Alors had intended to silence them. After that, Venia had considered throwing away the power crystal, but she had left it alone.

Just in case.

…And the opportunity to use it had come here.

Unlike other power crystals, this strange object shared its power just by being near it.

‘Alors is behind me. Will you still hurt me?’

That was why she was able to act as if Duke Alors was sharing his power with her. Every time that power came in, she felt a sense of ecstasy, an unknown emotion, but what did it matter?

She had the power to destroy this place!

“This is the end.”

Long, sharp claws dug into her flesh.

Diello Argenta wouldn’t get what he wanted. Finishing her thought, she reached for the discolored power crystal, trying to force the crystal into her wound just like Alors’ elites had done when they killed the head of Argenta a dozen years ago.

“It was a doomed family anyway, the Argentas.”

There was no way a den of madmen like this could function properly.

She felt Rick glance at her.

“To think that you would accept a fake Ferro as your master, even though you have the real thing.”

No one was surprised when she pointed out that Krua was a fake Ferro. It seemed they accepted that the woman was a fake Ferro. Anyway, they wouldn’t understand her words, and they didn’t intend to spare her life, above all else.

“Report to the head.”

Rick handed the paper to the informant without paying any attention to her.

Before that paper, those conditions, could reach Diello Argenta… she had to kill them all!

―Thud!

“….!”

Rick, who had been indifferent to Venia as if she were no longer needed, was momentarily surprised and looked back at her.

In the instant that the informants turned into battle-ready stances.

She chuckled as she felt Alors’ power starting to wrap around her body.

It was amazing. She felt a power that was incomparable to the fire control she had possessed as Venia Karta. Even though she didn’t realize that she was using all of her blood to draw out the power of the source, she smiled.

Crash!

The necklace that suppressed her power around her neck shattered with an ominous sound.

—