“The little kitten seems to have found your cover location.”

‘Little Kitten’ was their code name for the cat — Marc’s daughter and their target.

The man who had once been known as Carlos or rather, the man who had pretended to be the kind Carlos turned his head coldly.

His name was Kay.

Or rather, that was the name they used among themselves. He no longer even remembered his real one.

“Surprising, isn’t it? The woman who couldn’t even step outside the village alone?”

The man speaking to him was called El. He had served as the operation’s information officer for two years and was one of those who had kept a close eye on the young Sarah.

Kay’s expression, blank until now, stiffened slightly at El’s deliberately casual tone.

“What are you trying to say?”

A chill swept through his voice. El merely shrugged.

“I just wonder if it’s OK to leave her alone. Maybe we should’ve erased the little kitten’s memories too.”

Kay cut him off, his voice devoid of warmth.

“Anything related to Carlos has already been erased. Even if she tries to dig into it, people will just think she’s gone mad.”

His tone was emotionless and mechanical. El shuddered faintly, as though disgusted.

“So that’s it — she’s a woman who’ll die in a year anyway. Still, for someone you shared a bed with for a year and a half, you sure cut her off cleanly once the mission ended.”

Kay set the papers down and looked at El with glacial eyes.

“Why bring up a completed mission?”

“Because, honestly, it’s pitiful. She’s crippled, her father’s dead, and she’s got only a year left to live.”

Kay’s face froze at that moment.

“So, you feel sorry for her and want to secretly look after her for the year she’s got left?”

“Well…”

“The “little kitten” was a surveillance subject, nothing more. Have you forgotten the rule about no emotional involvement during missions?”

“Yes, it was just a mission.”

They were the Emperor’s Hounds, creatures bred to obey royal orders without question.

Their purpose was simple: To eradicate the first generation of Espers, the former Irregulars.

Those Irregulars had once roamed battlefields as the Emperor’s sword.

However, when the wars ended and peace came, the Emperor began to fear their transcendent power.

Ultimately, he sought to eliminate them.

He gathered young Espers and planted bombs inside their heads.

As a result, their childhood memories were erased and they were raised as the royal hounds, the very ones now known as hunters, including Kay.

Their mission never stopped: to hunt down and destroy any Irregulars that the Crown could not control.

They showed no hesitation or remorse when k*lling their own kind.

He had been raised to be the perfect weapon.

But this mission was different.

Unlike previous missions, where targets were found and executed on sight, this one had a different objective.

Marc Lamont, the former leader of the first Irregulars.

Through him, they were to locate the others.

Then there was Marc Lamont’s daughter, Sarah Lamont. If she showed signs of possessing an ability, they were to eliminate her and her father.

Sarah was the perfect foothold for the operation, the easiest way to bypass Marc’s vigilance.

He had approached her deliberately, exploiting her limp.

All for the sake of completing his mission.

“For a man who claims that, you sure played the doting lover, as if you’d have handed her your heart and soul if she’d asked.”

Kay only gave a detached reply to El’s words.

“It was just acting for the mission.”

“Yeah, yeah, such thorough acting that even I was surprised.”

Kay’s sharp gaze pinned El, who raised both hands in surrender.

“Okay, okay. I’ll drop the mission talk.”

El returned to his seat, glanced at Kay and let out a low remark.

“Still, if the little kitten keeps digging around behind our backs, things could get messy.”

The ability to manipulate memory was not all-powerful.

The more closely the target’s memories were intertwined with someone’s, the more dangerous the manipulation became for the manipulator’s mind.

Erasing Carlos as merely a neighbor from the villagers’ memories was one thing, but erasing his memory of him as a husband was another matter entirely.

There was no need to squander their power on such a risky job.

“In that case, showing her Carlos’s death right before her eyes might do the trick.”

He spoke without hesitation as he sorted the papers; there wasn’t the slightest falter in his movements.

El clicked his tongue at the apparent lack of concern for Sarah’s shock or pain.

“Hard-hearted b*stard.”

** ❋❋❋ ❋❋❋**

Edwin stepped into the now-empty cabin and sat at the table, looking bewildered.

“So you’re saying that everyone in the village except me doesn’t remember my husband?”

“Yes.”

Even the city office where Carlos used to work said there was no such person.

“That’s right. You’re the first person to remember him, Mr Edwin.”

Because of that, Edwin had no one else to tell this absurd story to.

It was humiliating to confide in a neighbor he only occasionally greeted, but he had nowhere else to turn, he clung onto anything he could.

Edwin pressed his hand to his forehead and muttered to himself.

“Why can’t anyone else remember your husband?”

“I wish I knew…”

Carlos’ disappearance, and the fact that everyone had forgotten him, had both occurred after her father’s m*rder.

It suddenly occurred to her that the two events might be connected.

Although she had no proof, the fact that Edwin still remembered Carlos gave her a glimmer of hope.

Hope that she might one day find the man who had killed her father and her missing husband.

Perhaps Carlos had been taken by the same people who had murdered her father.

If they’d installed some sort of special device afterwards, then…

“Maybe the people who killed my father kidnapped my husband and tampered with everyone’s memories?”

“Memory manipulation?”

She had heard of individuals with such strange abilities, however rarely they existed.

Of course, such stories were far removed from her own life.

“I don’t know how they did it, but nothing else makes sense.”

“Hmm…”

She didn’t think they would go so far as to kill Carlos, too.

If they had, his body would have been found in the cabin beside her father’s.

Given the circumstances, the only plausible explanation was that he had been taken.

Then Edwin hesitated before speaking.

“Are you sure your husband was kidnapped by the same people who killed Mr. Marc?”

There was something in his question that made her frown.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, maybe he ran away.”

She herself had considered that possibility, that perhaps he had fled to escape the killers.

But if that were the case, how could she explain why everyone but Edwin had forgotten him?

As she waited, Edwin, still hesitant, added quietly.

“If not that, then…”

His unfinished words caused her to frown, and she urged him to continue.

“Have you ever considered the possibility that your husband might have killed Mr. Marc?”

I was taken aback by how absurd it was.

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

Seeing how shocked I was, Edwin let out a quiet sigh.

“I’m only suggesting it because we can’t rule out other possibilities.”

I felt a wave of anger wash over me.

“That’s impossible! Why would he ever kill my father?”

My voice was sharp and almost frantic. Edwin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I don’t know how much you trust him, but from a third person’s perspective, that actually seems the most plausible.”

“Never! That’s ridiculous!”

What could he possibly have gained from k*lling my father?

I swear on my life that the emotions he showed me during the year and a half we lived together were genuine.

Even my wary father had eventually accepted him because of that sincerity.

I was so furious that the room spun. The mere thought of such an accusation made me feel sick and churned my stomach.

Unable to contain myself, I clamped a hand over my mouth and ran out of the room.

Edwin hurried after me, startled, as I stumbled outside and retched.

“Ms Sarah, are you all right? I shouldn’t have said that.”

I tried to push away his hand as he patted my back, but my head spun again.

It must have been exhaustion. I had barely eaten or slept in the last few days.

Then everything went white and I collapsed.

** ❋❋❋ ❋❋❋**

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying in my own bed.

Edwin was leaning against the window, staring at the floor with a sombre expression.

“Did I faint?”

Startled by my voice, Edwin rushed over.

“You’re awake! How are you feeling?”

Hearing the concern in his voice made me feel guilty.

Despite how ridiculous his theory had sounded, he had only spoken out of concern.

“I’m fine. I guess I just overworked myself after so many sleepless nights.”

Edwin hesitated for a moment, as if considering whether to speak.

When I looked at him questioningly, he finally said,

“Actually, while you were unconscious, I called a doctor because I was worried.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to go to such lengths, but thank you anyway.”

I started to sit up, but Edwin gently caught my wrist and stopped me.

I was puzzled by this until I saw the hesitation in his eyes.

“The doctor said, that it seems you’re pregnant, Ms Sarah.”