The little girls who were sweeping the snow glanced curiously into the window.

“What do you mean, she’s not here? She said she was staying here….”

A young woman who introduced herself as ‘Jenna’ was clearly flustered, likely due to the sudden appearance of a man and a woman who seemed to be of high status. She nervously twisted and untwisted the ends of her hair.

“Well… last evening, she said she had to step out for a while, and she hasn’t come back since.”

“Last evening?”

Rohana frowned, and Kaiden sharply scanned the surroundings through the window.

It was a relatively quiet area, a small village where no particular dangers seemed to lurk. However, there were quite a few people who occasionally cast suspicious glances at him.

“What did she say when she left?”

The woman averted her gaze from Kaiden, whom she had been unconsciously staring at.

“She said she had to leave urgently. She’s never been one to stay out overnight, so it seemed strange. Some of the others have already gone out to look for her.”

The house, shared by several women, was old but well-kept. They said they hadn’t heard anything about Jody.

“Did Emily ever mention her family? A lover, perhaps… or any friends she’s talked about recently?”

The woman shook her head with a somber expression. For her to suddenly disappear without a word was troubling.

It was a bad sign. Rohana, frustrated, pressed her hands to her forehead and lowered her head.

Think.

At that moment, Kaiden lightly placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s look around.”

Rohana nodded. The afternoon sun was warm, and the snow outside was melting. Kaiden pointed to the western side of the village.

“If someone kidnapped Emily, they would have moved in that direction. The problem is, it snowed continuously last night, and as you can see, the snow has now melted.”

Rohana nodded. The path was cluttered with footprints and carriage tracks. Just then, something caught her eye on the thawed road.

“Jenna?”

Jenna, who had come outside after putting on her coat, hurried over to Rohana. Her expression was growing increasingly uneasy.

“Do you recognize this, by any chance?”

It was a broken bracelet. The knot of the bracelet, woven with various colored threads, was loose, as if someone had grabbed her wrist and pulled.

Jenna’s face froze. There was no need for an answer. Rohana looked up at Kaiden, and he seemed to have the same thought.

“Jenna, please gather Emily’s belongings. As quickly as possible. Actually, I’ll do it myself.”

Rohana rushed to the front door and flung it open.

“Where is Emily’s room?”

One of the children who had been peeking in from outside pointed upstairs with wide eyes. Running up the stairs, Rohana spotted a door adorned with Emily’s name.

The first step to finding a missing person was to check their belongings. Kaiden quickly followed her with long strides.

“What happened to Emily?”

Jenna’s trembling voice echoed from behind.

As Kaiden’s voice flowed into her ears, Rohana realized that she couldn’t afford to lose control, and she slammed the drawer shut.

“Something has definitely happened.”

Rohana whispered, and Kaiden gave a short nod.

“In your current state, you can’t ride a horse through the snow on your own.”

As she tried to insist on going, the grip on her arm tightened slightly. Looking up, she met Kaiden’s calm, dark eyes.

“I’ll send a messenger bird. They’ll send a search party right away. For now, I’ll escort you to the Duke’s estate.”

Rohana’s large eyes blinked slowly. Kaiden released his grip as she gave a subtle nod of agreement.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

Her voice trembled with tension.

***

A knock was heard. Heath looked up to see Iz standing at the door.

“They say the situation near the capital has improved?”

“The mysterious ‘White Bird’ hasn’t appeared since the Emperor and Empress moved to Nopthal.”

“As expected, this isn’t R.D.’s doing.”

“Yes, it seems….”

“There was no proof that the dropped item was a bomb, either.”

Heath muttered as he tapped his pen against the desk. It seemed that Lazar’s words weren’t an exaggeration after all. Kaiden’s concerns hadn’t been unfounded.

The monsters were on the move.

The problem was that no one knew what they wanted or why they were moving.

“I’ll keep searching through the archives. Damn that first Emperor for destroying so many of the records….”

Iz muttered, uncharacteristically letting her disdain show.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from afar. Anyone could tell from the noise that something serious was happening. Soon, loud banging followed. Someone was running toward them.

Iz, slightly tense, moved her hand to her sword.

As the door burst open, Galad’s panicked face came into view.

“What is it? Why this commotion?”

Iz was about to scold him when she noticed that Galad’s expression was grim.

“A… a serious incident has occurred. The criminal… Jody…”

Heath furrowed his brow.

Knock, knock, knock.

Urgent knocks resounded, drawing everyone’s attention toward the door. With the imposing aura of the Imperial Guard, it was already clear who would enter.

The Emperor smiled, intrigued.

“It looks like it’s going to be a busy day.”

His blue eyes gleamed in contrast to his reddish-brown hair.

Biting his lip, Heath hastily excused himself and rushed to the underground prison.

***

The air was tense. As Rohana dismounted from her horse, she instinctively knew that something was wrong.

The murmurs of the crowd, the uneasy faces of the people, and the hostile eyes that scanned Rohana up and down.

She saw Heath running toward the underground prison.

No way.

It couldn’t be.

The cold air chilled her chest with every breath. Rohana quickened her pace. It felt as if her legs were moving on their own. She saw Kaiden running ahead of her.

It felt as though her legs were moving sluggishly. Despite her hurry, the stairs seemed endless.

Finally, the eerie sound of the iron door to the underground prison creaked in her ears.

“My Lady.”

Heath urgently approached through the crowd once again. Beside him, Kaiden stood with a cold expression, his gaze fixed on one spot.

“Perhaps it’s best if you wait a moment….”

Rohana raised her hand to stop Heath mid-sentence. As she tried to move further inside, Heath blocked her path.

“You can’t go in.”

“Move.”

Her voice was cold and low, so chilling that everyone turned to look at her. She had never spoken like this before. Even Heath, taken aback by her tone and gaze, stepped aside.

As she passed everyone, the sight before her came into view.

It was surreal.

Jody looked as though she was simply asleep. So peaceful and quiet, it really did seem like she was just resting.

If this weren’t the underground prison, it could’ve been mistaken for her sleeping in her own bed.

Rohana quietly sat beside her. Seeing it with her own eyes made it real. She cautiously placed her hand on Jody’s face.

As she sat there with her eyes closed, she sensed people approaching carefully. One of them was Marie, her face a mess of tears.

“My Lady… you need to stop….”

Suddenly, Rohana sprang to her feet and began walking briskly.

“Rohana!”

Heath called after her in desperation, but she kept running, her shoes loudly echoing on the stone floor.

“My Lady.”

Servants quickly bowed their heads and moved out of the way. Her cloak billowed in the wind.

Rohana’s stride was swift and resolute.

She stopped in front of the annex, which had now become more luxurious than the main building. Before her was the new, opulent glass garden, and there she was.

Looking as peaceful as ever.

“Oh my.”

The voice sounded surprised. Seeing her face confirmed everything. The missing Emily, the dead Jody, the words left unsaid, and now, Aurelia standing there, perfectly at ease.

“What brings you here?”

With each step, Rohana slowly walked forward, crushing the occasional patches of frost underfoot.

“My Lady!”

The voices of the servants calling Rohana could be heard from a distance. She walked straight through the garden.

Aurelia let out a small, mocking laugh as she watched Rohana walk across the dead grass instead of the paved stone path.

“It’s cold… You must have come on horseback?”

The Empress scanned Rohana’s attire from head to toe with a clear, lilting voice. She chuckled again and waved the people away as she watched Rohana’s silent figure.

“Won’t you come inside? It’s cold out.”

The door opened, and then quietly closed. Inside, the glasshouse was filled with red tulips in full bloom, even in the dead of winter. It was eerily quiet, with the outside sounds completely shut off. Something felt unsettling.

“You’ve been running so hard, but it’s unfortunate, isn’t it?”

Aurelia shivered slightly, her eyebrows forming a sad expression. Her voice trembled with mock fear, but her golden eyes gleamed brighter than ever.

Her delicate hand casually reached for a freshly bloomed tulip. Something snapped inside Rohana at the sound of her voice.

“You….”

Rohana Hanover had lived her life conforming to this world, fitting in as much as possible. She had always lived that way. In the past, in the present, and even just a moment ago.

“What?”

Aurelia looked up at her as Rohana took a firm step forward. It seemed like they might collide, but neither of them showed any intention of backing down.

“I’ve seen people like you far too often.”

“Did you just address me as ‘you’…?”

Catching Aurelia’s slightly startled tone, Rohana continued.

“Listen carefully.”

Rohana bent slightly, lowering herself to Aurelia’s eye level.

“People like you have always made me shudder in disgust, then and now.”

Aurelia appeared slightly surprised at the whispered words but quickly regained her composure, as if she had expected this. Rohana was about to speak when Aurelia stopped her.

“Disgust? What grand life have you lived that you dare to say such things in front of me?”

Her voice remained calm, but the contorted look on her face betrayed her true feelings.

“Why are you making such a fuss? A mere maid died, that’s all. Isn’t that something beneath the concern of you Arin folk?”

Aurelia’s voice was laced with mockery and scorn, her expression openly derisive as she emphasized the word “mere.” One side of her lips curled into a sneer.

“Why don’t you act like a proper Hanover? Don’t you get tired of pretending to be so righteous all the time?”

Rohana let out a quiet laugh, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, veins standing out beneath her skin.

“Not Hanover….”

Rohana’s voice was soft.

“Delcliff.”

Smack. The sound rang out as Rohana’s head snapped to the side.

“Your manners are disgraceful.”

Rohana calmly turned her head back as if nothing had happened.

“You seem emotional.”

Even though she lacked strength, Rohana didn’t stop.

“For someone with such low standards, you sure went to great lengths to pull this off.”

For the first time, real emotion flashed in Aurelia’s golden eyes as she bit her lip.

“Enjoy yourself while you can.”

Rohana leaned in slowly and whispered in her ear.

“Because things are about to get very uncomfortable.”

TL NOTE: Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories