When our eyes met, Mikhail looked directly at me and said coldly.

“Young Lady, you’re not a thief, yet I keep finding you in corners lately. It would be ridiculous if the mansion’s owner caught a cold from sleeping in places like this.”

But lying comfortably in bed like before makes me feel uneasy.

‘Besides, in some ways, I might actually be a thief…’

However, I couldn’t bring myself to answer that way, so I mumbled an apology and stood up.

“Ow, my leg’s asleep.”

“Be careful.”

When I staggered, Mikhail clicked his tongue and firmly grabbed my arm, escorting me to the bedroom as if he were taking me into custody.

“I’m sure you skipped meals again. You’re not a three-year-old; should I just carry food around and spoon-feed you from now on?”

“No. I’ll eat properly. By the way, I need to give you paid leave… When do you want to take it?”

“…Leave? With the Young Lady living like this?”

“I won’t be like this. I’m fine-“

“I’ll bring food from the kitchen, so don’t hide again and stay right here.”

Cutting off my words with a sharp retort, Mikhail left the bedroom.

Collapsing into the office chair, I rubbed my face, feeling completely overwhelmed.

At the edge of my vision, I caught sight of the white envelope with worn corners.

“I should reply…”

Since I have some of Callia’s memories, writing a convincing response wouldn’t be difficult.

The problem is that when I pick up a pen to write, all sorts of thoughts and guilt come flooding in.

“I don’t know. When Mikhail returns, I’ll eat first and think about it later.”

Having postponed writing the reply, I opened the first drawer to store the letter.

Then I found the letter from the blackmailer and sighed.

“Right. I forgot to ask Teaerik about this.”

Originally, I had called him to inquire about this suspicious letter.

“Foolish sister. How could a mere piece of paper like this be an artifact?”

Recalling what he said during our conversation, it seems unlikely that asking would have been much help anyway.

 I sighed and took out the rough brown low-quality paper, carefully setting aside the soft white envelope.

“Come to think of it, this blackmailer also mentioned having siblings.”

Remembering that the youngest sibling was five years old, I felt uncomfortable as I recalled what Richard had told me about human trafficking rings.

After hesitating, I picked up my pen and scribbled on the brown paper.

[The world is dangerous. Even if you don’t know, teach your siblings about stranger danger. Tell them not to follow bad adults, even if they offer delicious food or things they want. Let them know that normal adults never ask children for help]

Even after the writing disappeared from the paper, no reply came. Since we usually corresponded at night, perhaps the other person had stashed the paper in some corner, as I typically do during the day.

I was considering giving another warning tonight when I heard Mikhail knocking outside, and I quickly stuffed the paper back into the drawer.

‘Well, they probably know best how to identify bad adults.’

***

“Callia, the world truly is dangerous.”

On the highest cliff of Eihaz Island.

Kaiman smiled faintly as he watched the writing grow dim.

A bottle of rum for the dead man’s coffin!

Hey, how much time is left?

Another bottle for treasures and demons!

Hey, how much time is left?

Down in the bay, pirates were singing sea shanties as they carried plunder into the massive rock cave known as the “Coffin.”

Kaiman, whistling along with the chorus, muttered.

“Not a single trustworthy soul around…”

The men in dirty attire with dull eyes, handling blood-stained gold coins like toys, all looked every bit the part of pirates.

Kaiman coldly gazed down at one person blending seamlessly among them, then suddenly raised his head.

“Tri.”

The man with curved eyes spoke in a sweet voice as he extended his hand covered in scars and tattoos.

A creature resembling a storm petrel folded its wings and gently perched on his index finger.

“Good job, my sibling.”

Carefully stroking the creature’s head with his other hand, Kaiman removed a tiny cylinder attached to its leg with thread. Then he took out a rolled piece of paper and unfolded it.

“Hmm… How thorough.”

Kaiman smirked as he examined the navy’s sea patrol plans densely written on the small paper.

It even meticulously marked which areas would have increased patrols before the Sea God Festival.

Greedy vermin exist everywhere. Not even the navy or nobility are exceptions.

“They say a wolf leaves its hide, but trash only leaves more trash behind-“

The list of corrupt naval officers received from the late Colonel Harman had proven quite useful.

Thanks to it, he quickly learned that information about the human trafficking ring had been passed to the Navy.

Kaiman raised his hand to meet the gaze of the tiny creature and said.

“Tri, it seems Richard trusts Callia more than I expected.”

He had known the man to be impervious to feminine wiles due to his fastidious nature, but was the ‘Saint’ somehow different?

Whatever the reason, it was an interesting fact.

[Teach your siblings about stranger danger. Tell them not to follow bad adults even if they offer delicious food or things they want. Let them know that normal adults never ask children for help.]

Recalling Callia’s admonishing words, Kaiman giggled. Would this noble young lady ever imagine a situation where someone might have to beg bad adults for scraps barely fit for consumption?

“I can’t wait to meet Callia. Don’t you feel the same, Tri?”

The creature, which had moved to Kaiman’s shoulder, pecked his cheek with its beak.

“Eek, that tickles.”

When Kaiman only laughed despite the creature pecking with all its might, it seemed to give up and fluttered away. Ignoring the wings flapping in apparent protest, Kaiman confirmed the presence of his other siblings scattered around the island.

“Come to think of it, none of you has been to the Sea God Festival since coming here.”

While the Sea God Festival was the South’s greatest ceremony and celebration, pirates typically lay low during that time due to the heightened naval security. But…

…Another bottle for treasures and demons! Hey, how much time is left?

 Kaiman listened quietly to the melody of the sea shanty from the bay and laughed with delight. His red eyes, like cursed jewels, scanned the naval patrol routes in his hand again, memorizing them completely.

How much time is left…

 With a flick of his fingers, black flames rose and burned the small note.

Watching the remains fall as ash down the cliff, Kaiman said affectionately.

“My dear siblings. Remember? That day will be crowded with humans. There will be plenty of bad adults, too.”

Sensing his siblings approaching to listen to his words, Kaiman smiled as if finding them adorable and added:

“The world is truly dangerous.”

 His red eyes gazed calmly at the horizon where land might exist, as fragments of old memories flitted through his mind.

“…That’s how the Sea God Festival begins, with colorful fireworks.”

 To explain what ‘colorful’ and ‘fireworks’ meant, someone had arranged flower petals and seashells of various colors on the beach, creating free-flowing curves.

“Huge carriages departing from each territory in the south carry bands that play exciting marching music as they gather at the harbor.”

As if regretting not being able to let them hear the music right away, someone had eagerly drawn carriages with bands in the sand while the siblings squatted and watched with mouths agape.

“When the sun sets and it gets dark, people who have honed their skills perform on a large stage… and a giant divine beast appears…”

 The memory of someone stumbling through reading for younger siblings who couldn’t read.

“So let’s leave this place and all go see the Sea God Festival together.”

Who was it that choked up while making such a promise?

 Whose gentle breeze had caressed that boy’s hair?

“……”

 It had been nearly 15 years since then.

 Yet Kaiman’s imagined vision of the Sea God Festival remained exactly as it had been described in those clumsy explanations from back then.

“…Let’s all go to the Sea God Festival together.”

Kaiman murmured dryly as he looked around.

He could sense his siblings gathering at the cliff, wavering between excitement and anxiety.

Besides them, there was no trace of anyone else.

 Therefore, the person who first promised to take them to see the Sea God Festival was nowhere to be found.

 Though they had long grown accustomed to this absence, today it felt particularly regrettable.

‘It would be so nice if you were here too.’

In his darkly submerged red eyes, futile longing coexisted with murderous intent.

“Let’s go to the mainland and enjoy a Sea God Festival we’ve never experienced before… one we’ll never forget.”

Speaking to his siblings, Kaiman stretched his lips into a long smile.

He would shatter old memories with the screams of ugly humans and erase his resentful longing with abundant blood. The thought made his heart pound with excitement.