Mr. Pantalone has no crazy plans today.

'This is part of the plan.'

This made him think about the meaning of that man's words ever since.

He vaguely sensed that something crucial was missing from his reasoning, and after that, he pondered that sentence for a long time.

But how could a mere mortal like him possibly fathom the mysteries of the plans devised by the great man who controls the Northern Bank and manipulates the economic lifelines of the seven kingdoms?

Even knowing this, he did not give up, but continued to try to find the puzzle piece he had not yet found.

He pondered for a long time after that but could not come up with an answer.

Everything seemed to have been revealed, but he could sense that there was still an unknown fog surrounding him, just when he thought that he was incapable of uncovering the master's plan.

He glimpsed a corner of the man's plan from his actions, which gave him a spark of inspiration. He felt he had found the final piece of the puzzle.

However, he still couldn't be sure about that crazy plan or idea.

Because the absurdity of this matter far surpassed that of all the plans devised by that lord, he did not reveal his suspicions as he would with other plans.

After all, all of this was just a possibility that I deduced from the clues in all the plans.

Such a conclusion, drawn purely from speculation, is ultimately untenable as testimony against that official.

Even he himself couldn't be sure if his guess was true, so he could only try to see that person again to confirm it with him.

Even if it means he ends up in prison, or even if it means he disappears from the face of the earth, completely erasing his traces from this world, he still wants an answer.

However, he also knew that as a prisoner, his chances of seeing that person were slim.

After all, the main reason he was able to visit that person without any hindrance last time was that he hadn't completely resigned from his post at that time.

He is currently just a detainee with no legal status.

But at least this identity makes it easier for him to see that person compared to ordinary people in winter.

He himself didn't actually have much hope for this method.

But we should at least give it a try, shouldn't we?

The lock on the solitary confinement cell was opened, accompanied by the moment the main door was pushed open.

As that figure appeared before him, his previously anxious heart relaxed, and he didn't forget to respectfully greet the person he admired.

"It is a great honor to see you again. I hope you still remember me, Your Excellency Pantalone."

"I'm quite surprised that you chose to see me this way. You don't look very well."

Pantalone, having entered the room, looked at the man sitting in the restraint chair before him and replied.

The man before him was the former sergeant who had visited him not long ago and revealed his true plan, calling himself Ilya and serving directly under Arecino.

To be honest, he was initially surprised when he heard that the other party had voluntarily been detained and imprisoned by his men.

He really didn't expect the other party to meet him in this way.

Compared to the other party's confident and high-spirited demeanor last time.

He was in a rather dejected and disheveled state. His original Fools' Army uniform had been mixed with prison clothes. His dejected and sunken, cloudy eyes, coupled with his poor spirit after being imprisoned for a long time and his unshaven face, made him look quite pathetic.

It's clear that his time in prison was a period of significant mental and physical torment for him.

This stark contrast creates a huge disparity, much like a confident entrepreneur who plunges headlong into the financial market, only to fail and lose all his capital, accumulating massive debts and ending up homeless, forced to sleep under bridges and compete for food with other vagrants.

This rapid transformation left onlookers feeling as if they had been transported to another world.

But in reality, less than a few months had passed since Pantalone last saw him. The events that had occurred in those few months left Pantalone puzzled as to what had caused him to become like this.

But in fact, he did not become like this because of the torture and abuse he suffered in prison; he was an officer under the command of the executive officer "Servant" Arecino.

His willpower is not that weak, which is why he appears so tired and dejected.

The main reason, in the final analysis, is that he was tormenting himself day and night by his obsession with the truth of the other purpose hidden by Pantalone.

"For me, who has become a commoner, this is probably the only way to see you, since I can no longer go back to Lady Arecino's place."

The man in the restraint chair shook his head with a wry smile.

"Compared to this, in fact, ever since we parted at your residence, I have longed to see you again and ask you for an answer that I have been yearning for and seeking during this time."

“I had already heard about this before I came. Now, tell me, what do you want to say to me?”

Pantalone pulled out the chair in front of the restraint chair, then sat down and looked the man in the eye as an equal, indicating that he could now explain why he wanted to see him.

"Thank you for your compassion and tolerance."

After receiving Pantalone's permission, he first adjusted his own condition.

"After you allowed me to leave, I have been thinking about what parts of your plan I haven't figured out. There are still some parts of your plan that I don't understand."

“That’s what you really want to hide. I’ve been thinking about what that part of the plan you’ve never shown to anyone is, and after a long period of thought, I think I’ve finally come to the answer.”

"But I still can't be sure about this, which is why I want to personally explain to you my unfinished interpretation of your plan. I want to complete it, which is why I chose to meet you in this way."

He thought the other person meant to say that he wanted to come and seek refuge with him.

Pantalone was stunned once again upon hearing his reply.

What's going on here?