Splash! All that could be seen was pitch darkness. It happened in an instant.

Gemvil tried to jump into the river to save his sister Rayleigh, but the adults held him back.

“Come to your senses! Are you trying to die too?! There’s nothing we can do! You’ll be swept away too!”

“Let me go! Let go! I have to save Rayleigh…! Rayleigh!”

Gemvil lost consciousness then, and when he woke up, they had crossed the border into Ulria.

His sister could not be found.

After losing his sister, Gemvil lived like he was barely alive even in Ulria.

Consumed by guilt for not saving his sister, he even tried jumping into rivers himself.

When the adults were asleep, he would sneak out to search for his sister, only to be caught and brought back.

But the adults who had restrained him and helped him cross the border would save him each time.

Saying they couldn’t let anything happen to him too.

That his sister and parents wouldn’t want anything to happen to him.

Begging him to survive here no matter what anyone said.

That his sister would be the saddest if anything happened to him.

After that, Gemvil focused solely on surviving here in Ulria.

Keeping his sister, whom he might never find again, in his heart forever.

***

Looking at the large wall clock as soon as he opened his eyes, Gemvil clicked his tongue.

“Damn it.”

He had finally gotten some time off after years and wanted to sleep in, but he automatically woke up at his usual time.

He had never been able to take a leisurely nap since joining Cheiles.

Was it because the house he bought was uncomfortable since he never used it?

Or was it because of the nightmare he had last night?

In truth, he hadn’t been able to sleep deeply since that time.

He tried to go back to sleep by closing his eyes, but his body felt stiff and he got up groaning before even 30 minutes had passed.

“Can’t even rest properly when I’m supposed to be resting.”

This won’t do.

Deciding it would be better to clean instead, Gemvil got completely out of bed.

This was a house he had arranged separately outside after Cheiles had just settled in.

But because he rarely came here due to being busy with work, this was his first time back home in three months.

Though now it would be his permanent residence going forward.

The house was quite large, and because he didn’t employ any staff, it was completely unmanaged with dust settled on the window frames and everywhere else.

Only this room was clean enough just to sleep in since he occasionally came to stay.

He hadn’t cleaned anywhere except this bedroom for about a year, so he was planning to do a major cleaning.

When Gemvil pulled back the curtains and opened the windows, strong rays of light poured in.

Squinting involuntarily, Gemvil finished opening the windows and took a deep breath while placing both hands on the window frame.

Then he stayed in that position for a while, as if staring at something in the distance.

Honestly, quitting Cheiles had been almost impulsive.

Just seeing that small kid made him think of Rayleigh.

Because even though she would be an adult now if she had safely crossed over with them back then, in Gemvil’s mind, Rayleigh remained forever eight years old.

Perhaps that’s why, even though it was impulsive, he had no regrets.

“Hah.”

Maybe it’s because the weather is so damn nice today.

“Should I go on a trip?”

That seemed like a good idea too.

Since there’s no ocean near the capital, it might be nice to plan a longer trip to somewhere with a sea.

He hadn’t been able to go near the ocean since leaving Cortea, trying not to think about his homeland, but today he desperately missed his hometown.

Here. This land. This place.

It had been 15 years since he put down roots in the Empire of Ulria.

This was his first freedom since he had never rested once, determined to survive here for his sister’s sake too.

“Shall I get started?”

***

After a few more days passed, the guild members who used to gather in groups and stare whenever Rodi passed by seemed to lose interest and were now chatting among themselves.

The guild members who had been restricted from external activities were excited about the ban being lifted tomorrow.

Perhaps because of that, the dining hall was particularly noisy today.

“…She didn’t get fired?”

However, when someone spotted Rodi appearing in the dining hall, they started whispering again.

Starting with whether she wasn’t fired, to speculation that she must have been cut loose since she was alone in the dining hall instead of being in the main building.

Among them were guild members who looked at her with pity, saying it must have been too hard for a kid to handle this place.

It seemed they had somehow decided among themselves that she had come for her last meal before being kicked out.

Though Rodi was a bit hesitant, she casually went to an empty table and waited for food.

Other employees familiarly placed their orders at the counter and returned to their tables with number tags.

The dining hall staff were busily delivering food to tables matching the numbers.

Since everyone seemed to know the situation, no one came close, leaving Rodi’s table completely empty.

A man who had been watching with interest, the corners of his mouth turned up, approached Rodi.

Everyone’s attention briefly focused on them, but upon seeing the familiar face, they resumed their conversations.

A man at the table next to Rodi’s nudged Terik’s arm as he passed by.

“Hey, Terik. Better not go over there if you can help it.”

“Why?”

“Why? Don’t you know?”

“I know. But she’s just a kid.”

Terik smiled brightly. Then, with a friendly smile, he stood in front of Rodi.

“You need to order for the food to come out. You haven’t done this before, right?”

Terik asked Rodi while leaning on the table with both hands, still smiling.

Rodi looked around briefly and nodded.

“This is my first time in the dining hall, so I didn’t know.”

Though he didn’t like her immediate informal speech as a newcomer, Terik didn’t mind much.

Because.

‘Can’t let a golden opportunity slip by.’

The moment he saw Rodi, he only thought about how to use her.

His name was Terik Rogerd.

Originally, Terik should have made Gemvil completely succumb to the poison that day.

That was his mission.

‘Damn, it was going so well.’

But because attention got focused on that kid getting involved with the person he was planning to frame, the preparation time was cut short and he failed.

The poison was already prepared.

Having no choice but to escape, he passed it to Rodi to create an incident.

He had planned to take the antidote and leave while attention was on the kid, but the executives detained all staff in the banquet hall instead of questioning Rodi, so that failed too.

Fortunately, the detoxification finished before the search, and he managed to destroy all evidence without being discovered.

“Everyone move to the east wing.”

However, with their movements restricted, all operations were suspended.

The other colleagues involved in the plan needed to escape at least by today to report back.

Then suddenly Rodi, who had taken all the attention away from him, appeared in the dining hall.

It couldn’t be a better opportunity.

“What would you like to eat? The menu’s over there.”

Terik pointed to the large menu board.

“Meat! And… lemon juice.”

“Meat and lemon juice?”

Glancing at the menu board, fortunately, those items were available.

Despite concerned looks from his colleagues, Terik kindly helped Rodi with her order.

“Since it seems to be your first time, I’ll help. There’s a lot to get used to, right? Just wait a bit.”

“Thank you!”

While Terik went to place the order, Rodi once again had to endure everyone’s stares.

Soon, the ordered food was served on the table.

After the staff set down the food for Rodi, Terik naturally sat in the seat right next to her and picked up a spoon.

“Is it okay if I eat here too?”

“Yes.”

“How do you like it here?”

Nod nod.

Terik asked warmly while putting food in his mouth with the spoon.

While pretending to be deeply concerned about Rodi, he waited for the perfect moment.

Since all the banquet hall personnel were still watching, the only way to escape this situation was to cause another commotion.

All he had to do was make her the undeniable culprit.

“…?”

However, after calmly taking two more bites while waiting for his chance, Terik felt something wrong with his body.

“Ugh? Cough cough…!”

Terik suddenly grabbed his throat, started coughing, and then collapsed face-first into his food.