### Chapter 188: The Setup
Rebecca had gotten the scoop on where Martin’s stepmother was hosting her birthday bash through the Empire’s local bounty hunter black market.
This little tidbit cost Rebecca half a month’s salary, which she insisted on charging to Leon’s account after the whole thing blew over.
Leon smirked, “Sure, if you can withdraw from a dead man’s account.”
With a triumphant grin, Rebecca retorted, “If you’re broke, I’ll just snag it from Old Man’s pension! I’m not doing this for free, you know!”
Old Man scratched his nearly pristine wallet, wondering if he should sell a donkey just to help Rebecca out…
Two days later, in the afternoon, with six hours left until the party kicked off, Leon and Rebecca blended in with hotel staff, busily setting the stage for the grand event.
Taige was stationed outside Victor’s bar, keeping a watchful eye on him.
Inside the hotel lobby, staff members in matching uniforms scurried about, making sure not a single detail was overlooked. After all, this was the birthday bash for a royal minister’s wife—one lapse could cost them their jobs!
Especially since they’d heard that this minister’s wife had a reputation for being quite the tyrant, as evidenced by the young man in charge of the party preparations, who had the expression of someone who just stepped on a rake.
This unfortunate soul was Martin, the minister’s youngest son.
In reality, he shouldn’t even be responsible for this task, but since his stepmother had a personal vendetta against him, she dumped this headache on him just to mess with him.
Martin had a somewhat timid personality. He didn’t have the guts to confront his stepmother, so he just had to tough it out and get the job done. Not that it mattered; he knew she’d find a way to nitpick no matter how well he performed.
But what could he do?
After the incident three years ago, Martin had bailed on the Dragon Slayer Army, becoming increasingly withdrawn and timid.
Those three years had him constantly thinking, each time he faced exclusion or cold stares from his stepmother or others: If only the captain hadn’t sacrificed himself three years ago and their team hadn’t disbanded, maybe he could’ve stood up against the unfair treatment he was suffering now.
But alas, reality has no “what ifs.”
After the disastrous Silver Dragon campaign, they branded the captain a traitor, the cause of countless comrades’ deaths.
How could Martin believe that?
He had wanted to leverage his father’s power within the royal court to clear the captain’s name, but his father flatly refused.
Then he thought about proving the captain’s innocence on his own merit, but by then, Rebecca had reached out to him, warning him to give up on the idea of clearing the captain’s name.
Rebecca was already wearing the patrol team’s uniform at that point.
Since then, there had been nothing left in the Dragon Slayer Army worth Martin’s time.
He chose to quit, retreating back home to be the little lord, occasionally reminiscing about the days he spent with the captain and Rebecca, the time he’d started to find his own courage.
As his thoughts drifted, Martin shook his head and continued directing the staff as they arranged the banquet hall.
Suddenly, he felt something solid and cold prodding into his waist.
He glanced down, but the girl next to him in a work uniform warned, “Stay cool, Little Martin! Don’t get nervous. If you do, I’ll get nervous too—and this g*n might just go off!”
Martin immediately recognized the voice, “R-Rebecca?! What are you doing here…?”
“It’s your stepmother’s birthday. We thought we’d crash the party,” Rebecca replied nonchalantly.
“‘We’? Who else is here? Victor?”
“Nope, the big star is busy. I’m talking about… another person.”
“Another person… is—”
Before Martin could finish his question, an arm slung casually over his shoulder, like a bro from school.
Martin didn’t dare turn to see who it was, not with Rebecca’s g*n still digging into his side.
He could only peek sideways at the hand resting on his shoulder.
It was large and rough, the back covered in scars.
“Long time no see, Martin.”
At the sound, a jolt surged through Martin’s spine, electrifying his entire body.
His eyes widened in shock, hardly believing that after three years, he could still hear that voice.
He’d never forget the owner of that voice.
It was the person who once taught him to be brave, to discover the true meaning of courage, to face his real self.
Without him, Martin would never have mustered the resolve to join the Dragon Slaying Academy.
Though after he ‘died,’ Martin’s courage had slowly faded away.
But hearing that voice again rekindled a spark of courage deep inside him, struggling to relight itself.
“C-Captain…!”
“Shh~ There’s no captain here. Just two hotel staff members, friends of yours, here for a little chat,” Leon whispered.
Martin forced himself to suppress his shock and a myriad of questions, taking a solid ten seconds to calm down.
His hand gripping the railing trembled slightly as he swallowed hard.
Seeing Martin settle down, Leon succinctly repeated his purpose for returning to the Empire.
“I’ve said the same thing three times in the last two days. Feels like I’m reciting a menu.”
And with that, Leon threw in a sarcastic remark to lighten the tense atmosphere.
Martin tried to process what Leon just said before asking, “So, Captain, how should I assist your investigation of the traitor? Just tell me what you need.”
“Hmm? I thought you’d be the first one to try to distance yourself,” Leon replied.
Because that’s just what Victor would do.
Martin mustered a somewhat strained smile and sighed, “Captain, you’re not the type to ‘rather k*ll the wrong person than let the right one off the hook.’ I trust you’ll make the right call in the end. So I don’t need to argue for myself; just ask, and I’ll answer.”
It was just like back in the day when they were fighting—Martin trusted Leon unconditionally and obeyed orders.
This kid had idolized Leon so much that he was determined to join the Dragon Slaying Army, and after graduating with flying colors from the Academy, he was assigned to Leon’s squad.
He was a successful fanboy!
Leon patted Martin on the shoulder, “Then let’s get to it. I want to know—today really is your stepmother’s birthday, right?”
Martin nodded, “Yep.”
Oh, so it’s not a trap, just a coincidence.
But that didn’t mean Leon would let his guard down.
He had already devised a plan for the evening to ensure that he, the Master, and Rebecca could safely escape if the traitor didn’t show up.
“Also, how’s your relationship with your stepmother?”
“Uh…” Martin hesitated.
“Oh, if it’s personal, I won’t push you,” Leon said.
Martin scratched the back of his head, looking a bit uncomfortable. “It’s not really personal. My relationship with my stepmother… isn’t great.”
“Well, has she ever given you a gift?”
“A gift? Come on, Captain! I’d be grateful if she just let me leave the house!”
Well, it sounded like their relationship really was rocky.
Leon’s interest piqued, “Have you ever given her a gift? Like… clothes, a bag… or jewelry, maybe?”
“Absolutely not,” Martin replied, without a second thought.
Leon pondered this for a moment, nodding thoughtfully, “Good, then… I have no further questions. Just need your cooperation on one last thing.”
“Captain, you’ve got it.”
“For tonight’s party, Rebecca will stick with you the entire time. Having old teammates wander around together at the banquet shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
“Wait, are you saying you want Rebecca to monitor me…?” Martin’s sharp mind caught on.
“No, no, no, Little Martin.” Rebecca nudged Martin’s back with her g*n. “This is way more exciting than just monitoring.”
Martin nodded slightly, looking a little tense, sweating like crazy.
But Leon understood.
This wasn’t about whether or not Martin was the traitor; being threatened with a g*n by a lunatic was enough to make anyone sweat buckets.
Now, everything was set. If nothing unexpected happened, tonight… it would all come to an end.
