[Present Time]
"How about, before you start your coup, you all get down on your knees and beg for a better way to die?"
Before anyone could react, the sliding door from the adjoining room suddenly opened. Everyone turned instinctively toward the sharp sound.
There, seated just beside the room where the meeting was unfolding, was Lucian.
He sat calmly on a tatami chair, quietly eating at a low rectangular table.
As usual, his expression remained unchanged. There was no trace of anger, shock, or anything one would normally expect. If anything, he looked perfectly composed as he elegantly used his chopsticks to pick up small portions of food.
"Ma— Master!" Dante blurted out in shock, his complexion already turning pale.
Everyone's eyes widened as their mouths opened and closed like fish out of water. Beads of sweat instantly formed along their backs, and their shoulders stiffened.
Yet aside from that, none of them managed to utter another word.
