159 — A Lab Raid?

Just as Ian finished playing in the water with everyone and was about to return inside the villa, he heard the carefully delivered news and could not help but frown.

‘To think something like that was hidden in Trizen, the southern metropolis—this could’ve been a disaster.’

It seemed they had pushed it down with tanks and eliminated it, but what mattered was that such a thing had been secretly stationed inside a city. And Ian could think of only one group that would do something like this.

‘It wouldn’t be the Magnia Empire. They’d have no reason to secretly manufacture a bioweapon inside our territory. Then it has to be those bastards from the secret organization. So they were making something with that “White Crystal,” too?’

That line of thought made him wonder why it had to be a southern metropolis. There was no reason to hide a bioweapon in a place so far from the capital, going to the trouble of establishing a secret site there.

‘Or is it because it’s the capital—making a secret site there has become too difficult, so they set one up covertly in a provincial city?’

That seemed more likely. And if so, there might be more such sites hidden across the provinces. The thought lodged in his throat like a fishbone. Anyone would feel the same—imagine if you discovered someone had secretly stashed tanks inside your city.

‘The moment they go wild, the damage is unavoidable.’

A bioweapon or a tank—it was the same. If something like that ran rampant in an unprepared city, catastrophic harm would follow. He decided they would need to launch a sweeping investigation soon, especially searching around recently constructed buildings.

‘Doesn’t it feel like trouble always happens whenever I go on vacation?’

Last year, and this year too—every time he tried to rest, something happened. The one consolation was that it wasn’t urgent enough to end the vacation immediately and rush back. For now, he needed to control the situation and order cleanup through instructions.

‘And Wizard Kreba asked to observe the investigation into that White Ogre, didn’t he?’

He considered it briefly, then thought a proper investigation might require a wizard’s involvement. Between the White Crystal and everything else, it felt like magic had played a major role.

‘And they said the reason they could track things so quickly this time was largely because of Wizard Kreba’s help, right?’

The traces of a wizard—supposedly nearly impossible to find—had become trackable with the help of magic. And since the unknown wizard tied to earlier drug distribution seemed connected to the secret organization, it meant they also possessed a wizard.

‘A shame. They didn’t manage to find them during the pursuit?’

It was unfortunate—they had confirmed a strong connection, yet still failed to locate the wizard. One thing was clear: someone was hiding inside the mainland and plotting something. Looking at it this way, it felt unfair—an organization with no territory could hide itself so easily.

‘Then again, they can’t possess nation-class power… but it’s still maddeningly difficult to deal with.’

“Um… is there something worrying you?”

At the voice, he turned and saw Adrina looking at him with concern. Ian quickly relaxed his expression and shook his head as if to say it was nothing.

“No. It’s fine. It’s nothing.”

“You look unhappy. Did something bad happen?”

“That’s just how affairs of state are, isn’t it? Even when you think you can relax, something happens. It feels like there’s never a day without worry.”

“I don’t know what it is, but… hang in there. I’m sorry I can only say something like that to you, Your Highness.”

“No. There’s nothing to be sorry about. If anything, I think those words give me even more strength.”

“Really? I’m happy you think so.”

As she spoke with a bright smile, Ian had to resist the urge for his face to flush. Then, to change the subject, he asked what he had been sensing for a while.

“Rather than that, Adrina—are you the one with worries?”

“Me?”

“You feel… a bit distant, somehow. I think everyone has noticed, even if they haven’t said it.”

“Really? Ah… I made everyone worry for nothing. What do I do…?”

“What’s troubling you?”

“It’s just… this whole life feels like it isn’t real, so it’s like a wall keeps forming. It feels like a mirage. Like if I reach out, it’ll vanish.”

Hearing her speak with her head slightly lowered, Ian understood what was weighing on her. Living something that was close to a contract marriage made everything feel fleeting. Perhaps she was beginning to feel doubts about her life itself.

‘That would be natural for her.’

He wanted to reach out and comfort her—stroke her bowed head—but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He understood his own feelings now, yet worried whether expressing them would truly be for her sake.

He knew this hesitation was frustrating, but with Adrina right in front of him, he still lacked the courage to act. His hand lifted and fell, again and again, until he swallowed a sigh and finally spoke.

“I didn’t know you were thinking that. If anything, I’m sorry. Even when you were worrying like this, I didn’t pay you any attention.”

“N-No. Your Highness did nothing wrong. If anything, I’m the terrible one for having thoughts like this.”

“How could you be a terrible person?”

“Because… I finally escaped the shackles of being an imperial princess, and now I’m throwing a fit like this. It makes me feel like I’m pathetic.”

“Don’t blame yourself so much. People are just like that. Everyone has desires—to move toward something better for themselves, don’t they?”

“Desires… to move toward something better?”

Adrina murmured as if to herself, and Ian searched for more words to comfort her. But when she suddenly looked up at him with a radiant smile, he could only stare blankly for a moment.

“Thank you for the kind words. Hearing you, I think… I should be a little greedy after all.”

“What sort of greed?”

“Is there something you want?”

“I’ll tell you later. I don’t think I should say it yet.”

“If you say so, then next time you must tell me.”

“Yes. I will. I promise.”

The way she emphasized “promise” made Ian all the more curious what she meant by that “greed.” But since she said she would tell him later, he decided to wait.

“Ah—now that I think about it, I’ve been away too long. I’ll go back down right away.”

She turned and left the room, and Ian, watching her from behind, decided to focus on the vacation again.

June 25.

With only about a day left of the vacation, Ian was reviewing documents that had arrived in the form of a report. The cover bore the words “Top Secret,” demanding the highest confidentiality.

Ian’s eyes focused on the photographs. They showed the White Ogre that had attacked the southern metropolis, Trizen.

‘An ogre with four arms…’

Though the photo was black-and-white, he had heard the creature’s skin was white, so its image formed clearly in his mind. Comparing its size with the surrounding buildings, he could only feel how dangerous it would be if something like that ran rampant inside a city.

‘It strongly resisted ordinary bullets, but it was pierced by a 50mm tank cannon, was it? And its bones were so hard they couldn’t be broken?’

The report stated that its bone strength could withstand even an aura-infused blade—based on what Camyu had discovered in combat. Even tank shells couldn’t shatter the bones. Even after the creature lost its shape, while its flesh was blown away, the bones still held their form intact.

‘Its resistance to heat and fire is weak after explosions? Its regeneration drops sharply. But that doesn’t mean its regeneration disappears entirely.’

They had secretly moved the White Ogre’s torso to a laboratory, and even now it was writhing, trying to regenerate and restore its form. Because of that, they transferred it to a more secure containment zone, and they were periodically using flamethrowers to prevent it from properly rebuilding its body.

‘We don’t know how long it will keep regenerating, but it could become excellent research material.’

If studied properly, it could become valuable material for them. They were already making good profits by producing and exporting high-value products from goblins. If this thing could play a similar role, it would be extremely useful.

‘It’s a shame there was only one.’

The secret organization likely possessed more White Ogres like it. In that case, they might have discovered its usefulness the same way Ian had.

‘We might even be able to infer their funding routes through this.’

They had already tracked the group that possessed a submarine and found the trail leading toward the Doicheun Empire. It seemed they had secretly diverted a submarine from there—probably because so many were being produced that siphoning one off was possible.

‘The Magnia Empire must know this too. When the war ends, they’ll dig through the Doicheun Empire from the inside and hunt them down, won’t they?’

Ian intended to simply watch, since the Magnia Empire would pursue them without Polia having to step in. And if they could identify derived substances from the White Ogre and trace them, they might uncover even more about the secret organization’s funding—so a thorough investigation was necessary.

‘If that’s the case, are they panicking right now?’

The incident in Trizen likely wasn’t something they expected to be discovered. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be unveiled yet. He wondered if they might be trying to track the White Ogre’s whereabouts. Of course, even if they learned where it was, they wouldn’t be able to retrieve it easily.

‘Could they really infiltrate a lab protected by an army?’

In some ways, research facilities had heavier security than the royal palace—permanent troops stationed at all times. The troop numbers alone might make them abandon any thought of infiltration.

‘Or not? They were bold enough to infiltrate the palace itself, so maybe they will attempt it.’

He thought they might already be planning an infiltration even now. He immediately lifted the telephone installed in the room. The call went straight to the palace—specifically, a direct line to the secret police bureau.

It connected quickly. Normally it would require an operator transfer, but with a direct line, it didn’t. Viscount Rubingston’s voice came through his ear.

[Yes, Your Highness. I’ve answered.]

“Reinforce the forces at the research facility. Especially—deploy more tanks.”

[Understood. I will execute it immediately.]

Seeing him comply without a single question, Ian nodded. It made him feel a little more at ease. Then the next day came, and with the vacation finally over, they were preparing to return to the capital.

Everyone gathered on the first floor to get ready to board the ship—when someone arrived in a rush. Their urgency made Ian ask at once what had happened.

“What is it?”

The messenger hesitated, stammering. No matter how urgent, they couldn’t report in front of everyone. Seeing this, his mother stepped in, guiding everyone out as if telling them to leave—and they promptly cleared the area.

Ian bowed his head toward his mother in thanks, then received the report from the person who had rushed in.

“Your Highness, we’ve received word that the Mitor Research Institute was attacked.”

“What!? The Mitor Research Institute was attacked?”

The Mitor Research Institute was a research facility in the south. They had already built three research facilities—Zaila Research Institute on the outskirts of the capital, Otri Research Institute in the central region, and Mitor in the south, which was now under attack.

‘That’s where the White Ogre was being stored. I had a bad feeling—and they actually dared to raid it.’

“What was the outcome? Don’t tell me they breached the facility.”

“Only part of the wall protecting the institute was damaged. There were some casualties, and several tanks were destroyed, but we successfully repelled the attackers.”

“Hm. That’s a relief, at least.”

The fact they had repelled the attackers gave him a grim satisfaction—those enemies had failed to achieve their goal. But the anger at the damage done still surged up. Their audacity made his teeth grind.

‘They’re truly reckless.’

It might be proof they were desperate. At the same time, it showed that the White Ogre was valuable to them as well—which suggested they might not have many of them yet.

‘That just gives me one more reason to rush back to the capital.’

The vacation was ending anyway, but this made the need to return even more urgent. And with that, Ian headed out of the villa at once.