Chapter 150 : The Betrayer Wears My Face
✦ Chapter 150 ✦
“A House of Shadows and Secrets”
“Isaac is in critical condition.”
Johannes advanced with slow, deliberate steps toward the bed, his gaze falling upon the lifeless frame of Isaac Prim—stretched out like a withered shadow of the man he once was.
“Is he completely unconscious?”
“Yes. He hasn’t woken for nearly ten days.”
“Ten days?”
Giltheon’s words rang true. Isaac’s features were hollowed, ghostlike—his body a fragile shell of the person Johannes remembered.
‘What on earth happened during all this time…?’
A deep crease formed between Johannes’ brows. Isaac didn’t look like he would awaken any time soon. When Johannes glanced back at Giltheon, he saw guilt etched deeply into the man’s downcast expression.
“You didn’t call a doctor?”
Johannes had seen countless souls fall unconscious on the battlefield. If they didn’t wake within ten days under such brutal conditions, the prognosis was rarely hopeful.
‘It’s already too late.’
He exhaled slowly, silently. Perhaps this was his fault—for not locating Isaac Prim sooner.
And if Edith were to learn the truth later… would she resent him for this?
But no—he did not regret the decision he had made. Even if time were rewound, there was no certainty he would’ve found Isaac any faster.
Finding someone without a trace, without a name or place in society, was no simple matter. They had to mobilize more people than expected—all while ensuring Edward remained unaware.
After all, Edward’s web of spies sprawled across every corner, feeding him whispers of every movement.
It had been a perilous mission. A single misstep could have exposed someone dear—perhaps even endangered Edith more than she already was.
Still, Johannes hadn’t imagined that such meticulous caution would yield such bitter consequences.
“Ten days…”
He blinked slowly, his brows furrowing deeper.
If ten days had passed without a flicker of consciousness… it was likely he would never awaken.
Edith had clung so desperately to hope—for Isaac’s survival. And yet now, all he could do was brace for her grief.
Staring in silence at the unmoving form, Johannes finally spoke—his voice cold, carved from ice.
“Are you still not going to answer why you didn’t summon a doctor?”
Giltheon flinched as Johannes’ sharp eyes bore into him. He stammered in response,
“Because… because I don’t officially exist. I couldn’t access a hospital. You know how Mussen reacts to anything illegal…”
“So you left him here to rot? Is that something to be proud of? Don’t insult me with that excuse. There were ways—ways to reach me.”
Giltheon faltered as Johannes’ gaze deepened, its weight unbearable.
“I did ask for help. A loose-tongued doctor visits daily. But there’s been no change… no improvement…”
“What exactly put him in this state? There’s no sign of an attack.”
“It’s the aftermath of the poison Edward injected. The dosage was… substantial.”
Giltheon’s voice broke. “Honestly, it’s a miracle he’s still alive.”
Johannes’ expression darkened instantly. With Edith missing and Isaac in this condition, there was no time to waste—not when Isaac might hold crucial answers.
He sighed, weariness clinging to his words.
“…So, why did you summon me?”
“I believed you needed to know.”
“You mean this situation?”
Johannes scoffed under his breath, a cold laugh escaping his lips.
“Do you even realize that Edith was nearly dragged to Barberine Castle?”
“That…”
“You didn’t summon me expecting Sergeant Prim would miraculously awaken, did you?”
“No. I didn’t call you just for this.”
Giltheon’s eyes briefly flicked to the unconscious man.
Then, with a solemn breath, he guided Johannes to another space—away from the sleeping Isaac.
“This isn’t something I can say in front of him.”
Drawing a curtain between the bed and the sitting area, he motioned for Johannes to sit. With a look of grim resolve, Giltheon spoke the words that would shatter every expectation.
“There are four Giltheons. And among us… there are traitors.”
“…What?”
“Exactly as I said. We’re quadruplets.”
“Quadruplets?” Johannes echoed, astonished.
The idea seemed ludicrous—even with the leaps of modern medicine, quadruplets surviving together into adulthood was exceedingly rare.
And yet—
“It’ll be easier to show you.”
With two sharp knocks on the table, a hidden door creaked open. From within, two men emerged… and they were identical to Giltheon.
Utterly indistinguishable.
Not a freckle out of place. Not a strand of hair misaligned.
For a moment, Johannes wondered if his vision had betrayed him. The confusion only deepened when they spoke in unison:
“Pleasure to meet you, Duke Schultz.”
He was stunned. Even their voices were identical.
Of course, he’d sensed it before—slight changes in gait, posture, mannerisms. Things he had brushed aside.
Now it all made sense.
How Giltheon had managed to traverse impossible distances…
How he had juggled so many tasks at once…
“When one of us is injured, the others bear a mark in the same place. Dots, scars—we crafted them artificially. We trained to match voices, gestures, even minor habits.”
Though they weren’t perfect, the deception had been enough.
Johannes’ voice sharpened.
“You said four. Where is the last one?”
Giltheon hesitated.
“That… is the mistake I need to confess.”
“Mistake?”
“The youngest… betrayed us.”
Johannes’ face turned to stone. A betrayal meant one thing—that the fourth had aligned himself with Edward Windsor.
He burned with anger, but not at the Giltheons—for what had passed could not be undone.
What mattered now was a solution.
Where had Edward gotten his information?
“We were blindsided. We believed twins—or quadruplets—shared bonds stronger than blood. I never imagined betrayal.”
“The youngest always hungered for power and wealth.”
“But none of us thought he’d stab us in the back.”
“Even with Isaac’s knowledge of us, we trusted he’d never expose the truth. But the youngest saw things differently.”
“Especially since Isaac frequently lost consciousness…”
One of the other Giltheons continued, turning to Johannes.
“This wasn’t the first time. He’d black out before, but usually woke within a day…”
“I sensed this day would come. The youngest lost faith in our cause and switched allegiances.”
As Johannes listened, something in their words unsettled him.
If judged coldly… the youngest’s betrayal was the most logical move. Isaac could die at any moment.
The youngest had merely chosen what seemed most profitable.
Giltheon… measured everything by cost and gain.
Johannes narrowed his eyes.
“Then why did you stay with Sergeant Prim instead of Edward?”
“A long time ago… Isaac discovered the truth. That we were quadruplets. He used that secret to bind us—for decades.”
“He didn’t just conceal our identities. He saved a man who arrived broken and dying. Hid him from Edward Windsor.”
Another added softly, “Though Edward knows everything now.”
Their voices overlapped, yet their story came through clearly.
“I’m certain Edward knows it all—about the Duchess’s origins… and likely, Isaac’s survival.”
Collock.
As the final words fell into silence… a harsh, gurgling cough rang out beyond the curtain.
A sound heavy with life.
A whisper clawing its way back from the brink of death.
A presence… awakening.
