Selina glared at Sion, who had a blade pressed to her throat, and asked.

“Who ordered you to kill me?”

“There is one despicable bastard.”

She had expected him to brush her off with You don’t need to know, but the fact that he didn’t ignore her outright suggested there was still room to resolve this through conversation.

“You don’t look like the type who’d swear loyalty to someone that vile. No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like some lapdog.”

Sion nodded, as if pleased by what he was hearing.

“Right. We’re different kinds, after all.”

But the momentary ease lasted only an instant.

He tightened his grip on the hand holding the knife and pressed the blade closer to Selina’s skin. A thin cut opened, and a drop of blood slid down her neck.

“Wow.”

Sion murmured as he watched, clearly amused.

“I wondered if a duke’s daughter might bleed differently—but it’s the same color as mine?”

“…Then that means I’m the same kind as you.”

“Oh. That was a nice line—slipping it right into the gap.”

Sion chuckled, though the tension in his hand never eased.

He wasn’t trying to kill her outright, but he also had no intention of letting her live.

The others hesitated, watching him closely as they tried to seize the knife. Seeing how indecisive he was, they judged that acting rashly would only make things worse.

“You insane bastard. Let go of her. Now.”

Unable to stand it any longer, Alter spat the curse at him.

“Why the sudden fuss? You wanted this woman dead too. I saw it all in prison.”

“That was—!”

“Don’t tell me it was revenge. If you dress it up with some noble reason like that, it just makes me look pathetic for killing people over money.”

Shrugging, Sion turned his gaze back to Selina and asked.

“Money is everything when it comes to surviving in this world. Don’t you agree?”

“…You’re not wrong.”

Selina agreed with him.

She thought meeting him halfway would be an effective way of turning the situation around. Even though Sion was still holding a knife to her throat, she felt he didn’t really intend to kill her.

“Hm.”

As if he had read her thoughts, Sion, who had been staring at her intently, let out a short chuckle and asked.

“I saw it earlier. You gave the ferryman a jewel.”

“I did. It was quite valuable.”

“Do you have more like that?”

“Not on me right now. But if I return to my room, there are several jewelry boxes filled with gems.”

“Oh? Then what do we do? I don’t know where your room is.”

Selina smiled softly at him.

“If you spare my life, you’ll find out, won’t you?”

Sion grinned back.

“Ah. So you’re saying you’ll pay the price for your life on credit?”

“If you don’t trust me, I’ll give you a token.”

Before she had finished speaking, Selina pressed her neck more firmly against the knife’s blade.

The knife cut into her delicate skin, causing a heavier drop of blood to spill forth.

Even Sion was taken aback, stumbling back a step. However, Selina paid him no heed. She tore off her sleeve, flattened the cloth, and brought her fingers to the blood flowing down her neck. Then, as though sealing a contract, she pressed her blood-stained fingertip onto the spot where a signature would go.

“When we return, I’ll give you as many precious jewels as you want. This is proof of that promise.”

Sion stared at the bloodstained sleeve, dumbfounded.

“This woman is insane…”

He let out a hollow laugh, clearly incredulous, then finally sheathed his knife.

“You didn’t even need to give me a token. I was looking for a new business partner anyway.”

With that, Sion clicked his tongue, muttering that she was taking a bit of harmless teasing far too seriously.

“Anyway. Since we’ve managed to get that bastard out safely, now’s not the time to be standing around.”

Sion returned to his usual demeanor and began to explain what he knew.

The so-called ‘despicable bastard’ he had mentioned earlier was revealed to be Count Hollein. Sion made it clear why Hollein deserved that name.

It transpired that Hollein had not completely turned his back on Thalia. He had merely been keeping one foot in each camp — Thalia’s and the Empire’s — watching carefully to see which would come out on top.

Recently, sensing Thalia’s impending defeat, he had finally allied himself with the Empire.

“He’s the one who ordered me to kill you. Looks like you really got under his skin.”

He went on to explain why he had targeted Selina in the first place. Now that he had fully chosen a side, laying everything out so plainly felt oddly convenient—clean, even.

“The only way to expose Hollein’s scheme is to go to the grand ducal castle.”

As Selina murmured this, having grasped the full picture, Sion shot her an incredulous look.

“That’s basically saying we should all go die together.”

Needless to say, travelling to the Grand Ducal Castle would endanger them all. Even if they left immediately, there was no guarantee that they would reach Calix in time to deliver the truth. Although Holchester Prison was close to the castle, it would still take over an hour to reach.

‘But there’s no other choice.’

Selina remembered why she had come to Holchester Prison in the first place and why she had fought so hard to survive there. At the root of all her frantic, desperate actions was Calix.

If he were to die, all her reasons for fighting so hard to stay alive until now would vanish with him.

“I won’t ask everyone to come.”

Selina said, turning to the group with a resolute expression.

“But if you want to help others, come with me. The more allies we have, the better.”

No one spoke.

It was only natural—few people would willingly choose to step into mortal danger.

Just as Selina began to wonder if she would have to go alone after all—

“I’ll go.”

Alter shot his hand into the air. Moments earlier, he had seemed drained of energy, but now a sharp light had returned to his eyes, making it seem as though he had suddenly been infused with strength.

“Really. If the Grand Duke is truly still alive, I can’t afford to be standing around here. I have to go help him!”

“I—I’ll go as well. I’ve already resolved to give my life to rebuild Thalia.”

“Then… I will too.”

Ultimately, the rest of the group decided to visit the Grand Ducal Castle as well.

Selina had expected to go alone. When more people than she had anticipated chose to accompany her, she felt a tight swell rise in her chest.

“Alright. Then—”

At last, Selina turned to look at Sion.

“And how much more compensation are you asking for?”

“Exactly double whatever number you’re imagining.”

“…And how much do you think I’m capable of imagining?”

Grumbling under his breath, Sion nonetheless moved his feet, clearly intending to come along.

‘Someone as skilled as Sion will be a huge help.’

Just as the whole group was about to set off for the Grand Ducal Castle, Sion suddenly stopped and pointed towards it. He had almost fallen into the mud with them.

“If we’re going anyway, wouldn’t it be better to have greater numbers?”

***

“D*mn it. A mistake. I should’ve kept a bastard like Hollein alive longer and crushed him slowly.”

It was Sion who had thrown the dagger.

True to his reputation as a marksman, he killed Hollein with a single blow.

When Karen screamed at the sight of her father collapsing, Sion clapped his hands over his ears as if the sound had offended him.

“You people are—”

Waldemar stared at the group that had just arrived, led by Sion.

They had not entered through a hidden passageway or snuck in secretly. They had come straight through the front gate, boldly and openly.

And there were dozens of them.

They were all Thalians who had been imprisoned in Holchester Prison.

Bound by a shared desire to protect Thalia, Sion had freed them to bolster their numbers.

At the center of them all stood Selina, straight and unyielding.

“I never expected you to betray me.”

Waldemar muttered in disbelief.

“Betray you? We were never on the same side to begin with.”

At the sound of that familiar voice, Calix turned around instinctively.

The moment he caught sight of Selina, he froze.

Sensing his gaze, Selina slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.

Having removed the ring and reverted to his true, sun-like form, Calix was as radiant as ever. Yet not a single part of him appeared untouched. Although his wounds would heal in time, Selina knew that he still felt pain like anyone else.

‘…You shouldn’t have been hurt.’

At the sight of his battered face, tears threatened to spill over, and she bit down hard on her lip.

But Selina was not the only one overwhelmed by emotion.

‘How did she end up with a wound on her neck?’

Calix’s gaze locked onto Selina’s slender throat. A strip of cloth had been hastily pressed against the wound to staunch the flow of blood, but dark red stains had already seeped through.

Why her neck of all places?

Had she narrowly escaped death?

If she had been in danger there, why would she throw herself into this hell again?

For a moment, he felt relieved to see her alive. But that feeling vanished just as quickly. She had merely moved from one place of death to another. This realization made his insides burn as if they were being scorched alive.

“Why… you fool…”

Forgetting that he was in the middle of a battle, Calix unconsciously moved towards Selina.

The distance between them was great.

Calix was standing in the garden below, while Selina was standing near the entrance at the opposite end, by the statue.

Nevertheless, he reached out towards her as if she were just within arm’s reach.

In that instant, the color drained from Selina’s face.

“Calix!”

Waldemar vaulted over the railing.

His eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he lunged forward, poised to drive his blade straight into Calix’s heart.