Hearing Henwell’s words, Pajaje’s face stiffens, forcing a smile. “Sir, you must have the wrong person! I don’t know any Scar Tiger. I’m Pajaje, a member of the Hodith family. Born and raised in the Lumir Duchy. I’ve never been to Peace Haven!”

  Henwell calmly fixes his gaze on him.

  Sweat soon beads across Pajaje’s forehead. Henwell says, “Scar Tiger! Forgotten already? I’m quite skilled at disguise. You were locked in my dungeon for a long time. Are you really certain I didn’t notice your previous appearance was just a disguise?”

  He circles the stiff Pajaje. “Tsk tsk tsk! Not bad craftsmanship! You really changed your face. Anyone unaware might think you had pstic surgery! I bet you used some special potions to alter your appearance again.”

  Pajaje grits his teeth. “I don’t understand what the lord of Blood Hill is talking about! I told you, you’re mistaken. I’m Pajaje, and many can vouch for me.”

  Henwell turns his back and leans on the balcony railing, gazing at the early summer night scene.

  “You’re not Pajaje. Your real name is Walker, a knight’s attendant to Pajaje. During the War of the Six Kings, you abandoned your lord to escape alone, causing his death. To avoid being exposed, you changed your name to Yorkel and became a horse bandit near Peace Haven. When you discovered Pajaje was decred missing instead of dead, you had an idea.”

  “You started focusing on the Hodith family in Lumir, which was still a knightly family then. The War of the Six Kings devastated them; nearly all the men died, leaving only women to maintain the family’s dignity.”

  “You took this chance to find your old lover—Pajaje’s wife. Together, you plotted to switch pces. Under your manipution, those who knew Pajaje ‘accidentally’ died one by one. Pajaje’s wife began publicly ciming he was out training and would return.”

  “Originally, you pnned to seize the Hodith family’s wealth and then disappear. But since the Hodith family was honored as loyal heroes after the war and elevated to baronial status a few years ter, your pn hit a snag. It became hard to empty their estate quickly.”

  “To keep the Duchy of Lumir’s nobles from coveting the baronial family, you risked returning a few times to prove Pajaje was still alive. Then you got unlucky and ran into me while suppressing bandits. Since then, you’ve been under my command.”

  “The presence of Wind Raider boosted your strength, and you even took on side jobs to solidify your other identity. You were greedy. You could have returned safely as a fake baron, but you wanted my army too. You tried to bring Wind Raider along to secure your position here.”

  “But once again, you got unlucky. When I went on an expedition, you tried to betray me and run. Your time in the dungeon taught you that you had to come back and be a noble. So you betrayed me again and chose to return as the baron!”

  Pajaje stares hard at Henwell’s back. “How do you know all this?”

  Henwell replies, “Like I said, if I want to know something, I can uncover a lot of secrets. And your little secrets? They’re not so little to me. Ever since I pced Senra by your side, I’ve been slowly piecing together your secrets.”

  Pajaje scoffs, “It’s all just your guesswork. No one here would believe the word of the lord of Peace Haven. This is the Lumir Duchy.”

  Henwell gnces back at him. “Whether they believe it or not doesn’t matter, as long as I do. Also, I should remind you: when you silenced your old lover, the Baroness of Hodith, you should’ve been more careful. Why didn’t you do it yourself? Why use someone else’s hand? Afraid to get your own hands dirty? That’s a bit hypocritical, isn’t it?”

  Pajaje steps forward, voice low and hoarse, “She’s still alive?”

  Henwell’s long hair flutters in the night breeze. “Whether she’s alive or not isn’t important. What matters is that I’m not bluffing you. Scar Tiger, why do you never believe me? If you’d just admit the truth of your retionship, I could have arranged things better for you. Didn’t I warn you? Back in the dungeon, when I told you to become a noble. You didn’t realize I already knew so much, did you?”

  Pajaje’s face turns pale. He takes a few steps back, gasping for breath.

  With a twisted expression and hoarse voice, Pajaje asks, “What exactly do you want from me?”

  Henwell turns back and pats his shoulder. “I told you, I’m gd you’re doing well. I don’t want anything from you. Besides, your current position isn’t enough to help me with anything. I’ve always known where you are.”

  ”Honestly, I didn’t want to disturb your life. But tely, you’ve been scking off, just coasting, not striving. That won’t do! You need to pull yourself together and climb up desperately. Aim for viscount, aim for earl, reach for higher ground!”

  Pajaje’s voice grows manic. “Why won’t you let me go? I’ve done enough for you already. Please! I beg you, just leave me be! I only want a peaceful life. I promise I won’t oppose you anymore!”

  Watching Pajaje’s tears stream down his face, Henwell sneers. “Heh… Scar Tiger, your acting needs work! I remember you as ambitious. This is the perfect age to fight hard. You have to put in the effort.”

  ”If you just lie down and give up, won’t you be wasting my expectations? Don’t worry. I won’t meddle in your affairs, but you have to push yourself upward, as far as you can. If you don’t push yourself, then I will, and I’m sure you won’t like that.”

  “Also, don’t say your old boss doesn’t take care of you. I know starting out is tough, so I won’t just stand by. In Ika territory, I’ve put 100,000 gold coins into your three treasure spots. In five years, I want you to be a viscount, a viscount with real power.”

  ”Of course, if you can become an earl, I’ll look at you with new respect. Work hard! When your territory expands, your contributions will be remembered. I won’t forget what you’ve done.”

  Pajaje wipes away his tears and gres fiercely at Henwell. “What if I refuse?”

  Henwell sighs. “Sigh~ Scar Tiger, we’re all adults. Why say such childish things? You don’t have the right to refuse. You’re a pawn. What, you want to be a pawn that gets thrown away? I remember your survival instinct is pretty strong.”

  With that, Henwell pats his shoulder again. “Work hard! I saw early on that you’re a bad guy. Trust your own cunning and cruelty. You’ll swim smoothly in noble circles for sure.”