Chapter 1: Prologue. The Start of an Exclusive

“Look over there, it’s the reporters from the Oscar Tribune.”

Someone shouted while pointing at the conference room entrance.

Then, the murmuring among the crowd came to a sudden halt.

What kind of place was the Oscar Tribune?

Relentless, tenacious, the trumpeters of capitalism.

It was a media outlet boasting unrivaled circulation even among lowbrow tabloids.

As much as the Oscar Tribune pursued money rather than government guidelines or journalistic ethics, it had a reputation for best capturing the dirty side of entertainment, sports, and society.

However, on the surface, those aspects did not show at all.

Unlike other reporters dressed in suits, the reporters from the Oscar Tribune were dressed freely.

Polo shirts with spilled coffee, plaid shirts, faded jeans, and so forth, creating an atmosphere better suited for tourists on vacation rather than reporters.

Yet no one could look down on them.

As they moved toward their pre-assigned seats, the reporter sitting at the adjacent table subconsciously turned away toward the opposite side.

Another reporter openly pulled back their body and watched.

It was behavior as if an unwashed hand had entered a sterile room.

What changed that strange standoff situation was a low, raspy voice.

“My, look who made it big.”

The woman who said that was dressed in a suit alone among the reporters of the Oscar Tribune.

A neat pencil skirt, a white blouse, a cleanly cut sharp bob, and thin silver-framed glasses displayed her fastidious nature just as it was.

For a moment, the crowd held their breath.

A woman who was beautiful, but hid a blade beneath her tongue.

A person of interest closely watched by leading prominent families of the Federation and the Special Bureau.

That was none other than Sena Han, counted as the top b*tch even within the famous Oscar Tribune.

However, a rookie who had not yet experienced Sena’s notoriety was trying to get close to her based on her appearance alone.

Rejoicing that even a single topic of conversation had arisen, he asked covertly.

“Sena.

What do you mean made it big?”

“We were invited to the Special Bureau.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Where they were located was the conference hall of the World Bureau of Special Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Special Bureau.

It was a place where numerous media outlets, including the Oscar Tribune, came and went.

It was not a position grand enough to say someone made it big.

Without paying mind to the rookie, Sena was immersed in her own sentiment.

Then, stroking a pillar with one hand, she muttered.

“At least a million Cels of my tax money must have gone into this single pillar.”

“…? You really dislike the Special Bureau.”

At that answer from the rookie, another reporter beside him poked his side.

“You crazy bastard, please shut up.”

“No, what did I do?”

“Don’t you know Sena Han is a former war correspondent?”

“What about it?”

“What about it? WHAT ABOUT IT?”

The senior reporter grabbed him by the collar and glared with wide eyes.

Feeling wronged, the rookie whispered in a hushed voice.

“I know Sena got on the bad side of the higher-ups and ended up at the Oscar Tribune.

So what?”

“Doesn’t it occur to you that those higher-ups might be the Special Bureau?”

“Ah.”

Releasing a faint gasp between his teeth, the rookie looked back at Sena.

As if the series of commotions had nothing to do with her, Sena Han was organizing her notebook and laptop on the table with an elegant demeanor.

The rookie looked at that as if entranced, then shuddered slightly.

Sena had raised her head and was looking in their direction.

Her bluish-gray eyes felt strangely dark even in the bright conference room.

With both eyes shining brilliantly, Sena Han spoke.

“Rookie.”

The rookie almost bit his tongue.

While working at the Oscar Tribune, it was the first time Sena Han had sought him out first.

“Uh, yes?”

“You seem quite interested in me?”

“Well, for my part.

Everyone is quite interested in you, Senior.”

Beyond the rookie shrugging his shoulders, reporters who were observing this place with interest hurriedly turned their gazes away.

Everyone showed signs of minding Sena Han, the maverick of the media world.

Hmph.

Swallowing a sigh, Sena tapped the table with the tip of her ballpoint pen.

“Are you curious about why I got fired?”

Although the rookie thought he shouldn’t answer that question, the answer was already leaving the tip of his tongue.

“Yes.”

He was ruined.

Wasn’t this the exact picture of gossiping behind someone’s back only to get caught red-handed by the party involved?

He blamed himself for his slip of the tongue, but the next moment, he lost his senses.

Sena was smiling, which was rare.

“Because I hate the Special Bureau.”

The rookie flinched instinctively.

Because in the Special Bureau, the voice stating that she hated the Special Bureau was excessively clear.

The Special Bureau was a transnational organization protecting the peace of the Federation.

Its investigators were also called heroes, capturing villains across the entire universe.

As such, they also enjoyed the unanimous popularity of the citizens.

In a word, the Special Bureau currently held the paramount influence.

To flatly say she hated such a place.

And in their front yard, no less.

Unconcerned by the surrounding people who were instinctively watching others’ reactions, Sena gestured toward the entrance with her eyes.

“Speaking of which, he’s coming in right there.”

Before anyone realized, all the reporters had taken their seats in the hall, and a group of people was entering from the wide-open entrance.

Without exception, they were people dressed in pitch-black investigator uniforms.

As the man at the lead brushed past the Oscar Tribune reporter seats located near the aisle, a heavy, cool scent of perfume floated faintly in the air.

Against that background, Sena Han smiled and whispered.

“The reason why I hate the Special Bureau.”

Sena slowly pulled her body away from the rookie.

Her voice lingered in the conference hall and disappeared shortly.

Belatedly craning his neck, the rookie tried to check the face of the person who had brushed past just a moment ago, but he was already standing atop the podium of the conference room.

The man cited as the reason why Sena hated the Special Bureau stood in front of the platform with a somewhat somber face.

Befitting the mascot of the Special Bureau, his sandy blonde hair with a grayish tint was perfectly styled, and military service medals, including the Silver Star, hung row upon row across his chest.

Perhaps because he stood before the cameras, his handsome face with light makeup was stiffened.

“Hello.”

The next moment, as he uttered his first words, every person among the crowd became immersed in him.

It was an attractive voice, a smooth medium-low tone that sounded slightly raspy.

It was also a voice that somehow made the back of one’s neck feel chilly.

He was the Federation’s greatest war weapon.

“The staff of the people, your hero.

Special Bureau.”

It was Adrian Blake.

His gaze lingered briefly on Sena, who was seated in the Oscar Tribune reporter section, before returning.

Sena let out a bitter laugh as she watched the people becoming absorbed in Adrian Blake the moment he appeared.

It seemed everyone had forgotten that he was a murderer who had killed thousands, tens of thousands of people.

Her colleagues who had fiercely debated the survival or demise of the Special Bureau with her during her days as a reporter following investigators, as well as the rookie who had seemed thoughtless, all focused on him shining atop the podium.

Fostering a faint smile, Adrian floated the presentation visuals onto a giant projection crystal.

“From now on, I will announce the current status and countermeasures regarding the subjugation of cultists in Gray County.”

The Special Bureau’s investigation briefing proceeded just as Sena had expected.

“Thanks to the cooperation of the government, we were able to easily defeat the enemy on the front lines…”

A little praise for the Federation government and the Special Bureau, a lot of exaggerating achievements.

Perhaps reading the prepared presentation materials was embarrassing even for him, as Adrian’s face turned slightly red.

As a result, Adrian Blake getting flustered while receiving a barrage of questions from reporters was out of Sena’s scope of interest.

“Are you saying that regarding anti-villain sanctions, the Special Bureau’s policy of severe punishment remains unchanged?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“You were chosen as the hero with the top performance in the first half of the year, how do you feel?”

“I feel sorry for Ximena, who came in second, but I feel quite good.”

Saying so with a broad grin, Adrian was worthy of being the war hero and the hero enjoying the peak popularity in the Federation.

Not overly stiff, appropriately sly.

He was precisely the best hero the media wanted.

If a romantic rumor broke out on top of that, it would be a huge hit.

Reporters would swarm around thickly like ants flocking to sugar water.

Sena listlessly watched Adrian trading questions and answers with reporters.

“There are reports that you are cohabiting with someone, what is the story behind that?”

“Currently, there is no one cohabiting with me.

It seems to have been misrepresented.”

Now, the press conference was turning not into a boast of the Special Bureau’s second-quarter performance, but into Adrian and his fans.

It wouldn’t be strange even if the name were changed to a fan signing event.

“Haaam.”

Glancing at Adrian surrounded by reporters and cameras, Sena yawned languidly.

Due to conducting stakeout reporting for several days straight, fatigue had accumulated.

That coverage site was none other than the villa owned by Adrian Blake right before her eyes.

However, Sena felt no such thing as guilt.

When the families that man had destroyed numbered over hundreds and thousands, guilt my foot.

Besides, Sena being the reporter exclusively covering Adrian Blake was up until last week.

It had already been a long time since she submitted her resignation letter.

Having finished handing off her duties to the rookie, she intended to leave this dreadful industry.

She had no questions prepared in advance, nor anything she was personally curious about.

Her keeping this seat was out of loyalty to the editor-in-chief and personal sentiments.

Because of Adrian Blake and no one else, she had become a reporter.

She had devoted her youth in her twenties to chasing after Adrian.

She was attending the press conference as a final courtesy regarding such a coverage subject.

Even if it was a fact that Adrian did not know.

She had saved face enough with this.

Her hand, which was slowly packing up her belongings, came to a halt.

“…There is someone I love.”

Was it because it was so utterly unexpected?

Those words struck her ears clearly.

Without realizing it, Sena ended up staring at his face.

A fresh young man with sandy blonde hair was smiling brightly.

Someone he loves.

Sena suddenly felt nauseous and covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

The love uttered by the butcher of the Federation was quite disgusting.

And his subtly flushed face was all the more disgusting.

“She is a very precious person.

I prepared a lot for her, but I couldn’t even propose properly out of fear that she might hate it and run away.

However, I don’t think I can delay it any longer.”

It was a confession made by the top investigator of the Special Bureau.

As his low voice paused, the eyes of the Special Bureau staff guarding the conference room widened in shock.

A guy who had never once had a romantic rumor until now, suddenly making a confession?

“Uh, well, would there be a woman in the Federation who would say she dislikes Lord Blake?”

The reporter who had thrown a question earlier babbled such nonsense with a dazed face.

Adrian laughed out loud with a flushed face.

“There was.”

It was an exclusive.

Excited reporters raised their hands high like baby birds looking for a mother bird and clamored.

“Then, does saying this right now mean your feelings have aligned with that person?”

“How far are you thinking with that person? Is it marriage as expected?”

“In the last interview, you said you were a purist…”

Without exception, reporters began to shout.

No one observed the order of interviews, but the Special Bureau staff who had fallen into shock failed to point that out.

They had a tough time holding back the Deputy Director of the Special Bureau who was charging toward the podium like a water buffalo.

Soon, the questions of the reporters converged into one.

“Who is it?”

Amidst this chaos, Sena felt an ominous foreboding.

It was a certain intuition that could not be explained in words.

It was just like animals escaping their spots before an earthquake occurs, or a light flashing before lightning strikes.

To slip out of the conference room, she quietly abandoned her luggage and stood up from her reporter seat.

However, it was already too late.

With a face fallen in love, Adrian Blake spoke.

“It’s Selena Han.”

On that day, the Federation was turned upside down.

Of course, Sena’s life was turned upside down right along with it.

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