A heavy silence fell over the tent at the shocking news.

Lowell was the first to recover and spoke slowly.

“A body has been found?”

“Yes, sir.”

He looked at Kylance, who remained frozen in place, before asking cautiously.

“Are you sure it’s Lady Blante?”

“Well… we think it might be her, but we need His Grace’s confirmation to be sure.”

Lowell’s brow furrowed deeply.

“If it’s just a hunch, then there’s a chance it’s not her… I’ll go and confirm it myself.”

He said, his eyes flickering towards Kylance, who still hadn’t moved. 

“It seems the identification isn’t certain, so I’ll go and confirm it myself. Please wait here. It’s probably not her,” Lowell added, genuinely hoping that was the case.

But before he could act, the knight, looking uncomfortable, spoke hesitantly.

“I’m sorry, advisor, but I’m afraid you can’t confirm that for yourself.”

“What do you mean I can’t confirm it?”

The knight lowered his eyes before explaining.

“The red hair on the body is very similar to Lady Blante’s, but the face is too badly damaged to be recognisable. Also, the dress seems to have been removed by the waves, leaving only the petticoat. Identification will have to be made by distinctive marks on the body”.

Distinctive marks. 

In other words, identifying Lady Blante would require looking for features such as moles or scars on her body. 

And such physical characteristics weren’t something anyone could know. Even for a noblewoman, it would be difficult for her family to confirm them – after all, she had maids specifically assigned to dress her.

If not her maid, the only people who might know would be her lover or husband.

Lowell hesitated, unable to hide his unease. The state of the body was shocking enough, but the realisation that Kylance would have to be the one to confirm it made the situation even worse.

With the dress gone and the face so damaged as to be unrecognisable… if the body was indeed that of Lady Blante, would his master be able to bear it?

Even if Lady Blante’s body were intact, the mere fact of her death would be devastating to Kylance.

But if her body was also in such a broken state… he might lose himself completely.

How would he deal with that?

It was a situation where confirming the body was as unbearable as leaving it unidentified. 

It was then that a thought occurred to Lowell – there was another person who could confirm whether the body belonged to Lady Blante: a maid from the Blante household.

Yes, calling the maid would be the better option. While news of the discovery of a body might shock the Blante family to their core, Lowell reasoned that as a member of the Seyerd family, this was the more prudent course of action.

Suppressing his guilt, Lowell turned to the knight and said, “Then send someone to the Blante estate and bring the maid who took care of Lady Blante.

“No, that won’t do.”

It wasn’t the knight who objected. It was Kylance, who had been silent until now. 

Lowell turned to Kylance in surprise. 

“Your Grace… are you sure you’re okay with this?”

At Lowell’s cautious question, Kylance loosened the rigid expression on his face. 

With a determined look, Kylance replied firmly. 

“I’m fine. It won’t be Ariel anyway.” 

Lowell hesitated, taken aback. 

Kylance seemed completely convinced that the body couldn’t possibly be Ariel’s, denying outright that it might be. 

If the body turned out to be Lady Blante’s, the worst-case scenario Lowell had feared would undoubtedly come to pass. 

Desperate to intervene, Lowell spoke quickly. 

“Your Grace, perhaps it would be better for the Blante household to handle the identification…” 

But before Lowell could finish, Kylance gave a direct order. 

“Take me to the body.” 

Without giving Lowell a chance to stop him, Kylance left the tent and walked out. 

* * * 

A single body lay on a long wooden cart.

It was completely wrapped in a blanket, hiding it from view. However, the curly red hair that spilled out from under the blanket was strikingly vivid and immediately drew the attention of those nearby.

Anyone who had seen Lady Blante even once found it impossible to look away from the hair.

It was unmistakably hers.

“Do you think it’s really Lady Blante?”

“It has to be. That shade of red isn’t common, and her hair was famously vibrant.”

“And considering the body was found in the waters near the cliff…”

As the knights murmured in low voices, the mages quietly stepped aside.

The Tower Master had arrived, his presence prompted by the discovery. His eyes rested briefly on the blanket-covered body before he turned to a nearby mage and asked. 

“Who discovered the body?”

“That would be me,” a mage with deep purple hair replied, raising her hand slightly.

Aster gestured for her to approach, a subtle flick of his fingers signalling her forward. The other mages quickly stepped back, wary of his dark expression and the possibility of being caught in his wrath.

As the violet-haired mage approached, Aster addressed her by name.

“Carmela.”

“Yes?”

“You found the body near the cliff, in the deeper water?”

“Yes.”

“Right. It must have been a difficult task for you. Good work.”

“Pardon?” 

Carmela blinked in disbelief. *Good work?* Surely she’d misheard. The Tower Master was not known for his compliments.

Her eyes flickered with discomfort, but Aster didn’t meet her gaze. His attention remained fixed on the body lying on the wooden cart.

Feeling uneasy, Carmela stepped back quietly. Pressing the matter further wouldn’t bring a favourable outcome and she knew better than to risk it.

At that moment, the murmuring knights suddenly fell silent.

Their leader, Grand Duke Seyerd, had arrived.

Kylance’s decisive steps carried him to the cart, where he paused. His sombre eyes rested on the body, focusing intently on the bright red hair that spilled from beneath the blanket.

The sight of that deep crimson caused his previously steady gaze to waver, trembling slightly with emotion. 

He’d been so sure it couldn’t be her.

But that red hair – it wasn’t just like Ariel’s. It was identical, the same vivid crimson he knew so well.

“The face is badly damaged… the dress, probably swept away by the waves, leaving only a petticoat…”

The knight’s words echoed in his mind.

A death so cruel, so merciless.

Ariel could never have met such a tragic end. No, she couldn’t be dead. She was out there somewhere, alive but unable to find her way back. He had clung to that belief.

But now, faced with hair so similar to hers, that certainty began to falter.

His hands trembled visibly.

Kylance turned to the people gathered around the cart and spoke. 

“Everyone, step back at least ten paces.”

Kylance ordered firmly.

His eyes met the Tower Master’s for a moment and he added in a calm, measured tone. “I ask you and the mages to step back as well so that I can inspect the body.”

“Understood,” the tower master replied.

Without delay, he and the mages retreated to the required distance, leaving Kylance alone in front of the cart.

He approached, his movements steady and deliberate. There was no need for hesitation or doubt – he knew every detail about Ariel, every feature by heart.

The most telling of all: the star-shaped red mark on her chest. 

“Isn’t it fascinating? My mother had the same birthmark, but in a different place.”

“People say red moles are bad luck, but I like it. It feels like a link with my mother. I’d never want to remove it.”

Those were Ariel’s words, spoken softly as she lay in his arms.

Kylance clenched his trembling fingers, forcing them to steady as he reached for the blanket that covered the body.

The time it took for his hand to touch the fabric was brief, but in those fleeting moments, countless memories flooded his mind.

Memories of Ariel, of the time they had spent together.

‘Please, please..’

‘Don’t let it be her.’

As he clutched the blanket, his heart thundered in his chest, threatening to burst. Deep inside, he was consumed by an overwhelming urge to flee, to avoid exposing the truth beneath. 

He didn’t want to look.

The fear that it might really be Ariel was crippling.

Even in moments when his life had been threatened, he had never felt such terror.

The simple act of lifting a single blanket was unbearably frightening and made his whole body shake.

But he had no choice. This fear, this agony – it was part of the punishment he had to endure.

Slowly, Kylance lowered the blanket, past the face, so disfigured it was unrecognisable, and down to the chest.

Finally, a gentle curve came into view. Kylance’s eyes scanned the area intently, without so much as a blink.

But no matter how carefully he looked, the red mark was nowhere to be found.

It should have been there.

There was no red mark – not even a single dark spot.

Which could only mean…

“It’s not Ariel.”

Kylance murmured, letting out a heavy breath as he lowered his head. Relief finally washed over him, calming his chest, which had felt like it might explode.

He steadied his breathing, which had been ragged with fear moments before, and carefully replaced the blanket over his body.

He looked at the onlookers waiting for his answer and spoke with determination.

“This body is not Lady Blante. Continue the search.”

The knights began to move the cart, and the search party prepared to continue their efforts.

All except one.

The Tower Master, Aster Magicos, stood motionless.