The bulky man was—

“…Hopper?”

It was Hopper, the aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Yes, the very same Hopper whom Jerome suspected.

The mysterious letter sent under Dale Bliven’s name that had ended up in Kargen and was returned unopened.

Jerome said Hopper had acted suspiciously on the day that letter was returned.

Why was Hopper, who should have been at the royal palace, here?

He received something from someone hidden behind the corner.

At that moment, Ian caught a glimpse of the hand that had briefly appeared and disappeared.

…

A swallow-shaped tattoo.

It was blurry from a distance, but the tattoo on the wrist was unmistakably a swallow.

“Let’s follow him.”

As Hopper started to move, Diana spoke urgently.

The three of them secretly followed Hopper.

“He’s heading to the factory.”

Medenta said.

Hopper kept glancing around as he made his way to the Lepri Pharmaceutical Factory.

Once there, he lingered near the back door.

Soon, as if someone had been waiting for him, the back door opened—and the person who opened it was none other than—

“That’s the factory manager, isn’t it?”

Colonel Medenta said.

No doubt about it.

The man whose photo they’d seen dozens of times all day.

He was the manager of the Lepri Pharmaceutical Company.

“Just as I thought. He was inside the factory.”

Diana’s prediction was correct.

There was no way the manager would leave the factory for such a long time.

And the fact that the villagers hadn’t been able to find any trace of him meant—

He had never left the factory in the first place.

“When he does go out, someone must be helping him hide.”

Diana said.

“Let’s wait and see if anyone else comes out.”

But even after a long time, nobody came out of the factory.

“Have we been found out, Your Highness?”

“…Maybe.”

“I’ll keep watch until morning.”

“But you shouldn’t be alone…”

“No, it’s late, so you two should go back. Make up with each other on your way.”

Diana and Ian were practically pushed by Medenta to return to the inn.

The walk back was filled with awkward silence.

From time to time their eyes met, but each time, just like in the morning, they would huff and turn their heads away.

Once at the inn, Ian went straight to his room, but Diana stopped by Grinelda’s room before returning to her own.

“Grin?”

The door was slightly ajar, so Diana peeked inside.

“Your Highness!”

Grinelda spotted Diana and greeted her warmly.

“It’s already night. I was wondering when you’d come back. Did you find the factory manager?”

“We did, but an unexpected person showed up and made things a bit complicated.”

Diana said as she took off her coat.

“It gets chilly at night in the south. You can really feel that winter is coming.”

She hung her coat over her arm and asked,

“How’s Riri, Grin?”

“She’s sleeping in the next room. Her cough has calmed down a lot. Thanks to that, Theo seemed in a good mood today.”

“That’s a relief. It’s thanks to you and Lord Dale for looking after the children. I’m grateful to you both.”

“No, I’m just glad I could help in some way.”

Grinelda smiled as she replied, but there was a hint of worry in her expression.

“…Is something wrong, Grin?”

“No, I’m just a bit tired. Your Highness should get some sleep too!”

“Wait, just a moment—!”

Diana couldn’t resolve her curiosity and ended up being gently pushed out of the room.

“Good night, Your Highness.”

Grinelda said with a giggle.

Diana was still concerned, but sensed Grinelda didn’t want to talk, so she didn’t press further.

“Alright. Good night to you too, Grin.”

After exchanging farewells, Diana headed back to her room, but glanced back at Grinelda’s firmly closed door.

“No matter how I look at it, something must have happened…”

Diana tilted her head, puzzled.

***

At that moment, Ian still couldn’t sleep.

He felt uneasy.

The assassin who had attacked him during the day, the mysterious man who had handed something to Hopper—

“A swallow…”

The swallow tattoo. What was it?

“I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere.”

Ian tossed and turned, glancing at Theo, who was sleeping soundly in the next bed.

Then he heard Diana returning to her room through the wall beyond Theo’s.

The inn was old, so if you listened closely, you could hear what was happening in the next room.

The sound of her hanging up her coat, drawing the curtains, walking to the bed.

The sound of her tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Only when everything went quiet did Ian finally manage to fall asleep.

It was only after he drifted off that he remembered what he’d wanted to know about the swallow tattoo.

It was a memory from long ago.

From before he and his mother had crossed the Karsan Mountains.

It was one of the many memories he’d lost.

***

“Get out, you ungrateful wretches!”

The man who had shoved young Ian and his mother Lea was still furious, throwing things around.

“I heard the same plague hit the last village too! You’re obviously spreading the disease! Get out, you satanic monsters!”

His shouting brought the villagers out of their homes, whispering among themselves.

“It’s not our fault!”

Young Ian yelled in frustration, but no one helped.

“Darling!”

As things were thrown, Lea rushed to shield Ian.

“Ah!”

A hard object struck Lea’s head, making her stagger.

It was a stone.

Ian glared at the person who’d thrown it.

It was the same man who had been stirring up the villagers, calling Ian and Lea the source of the plague.

He grinned after hitting Lea.

Even as a child, Ian could tell.

He didn’t know the reason, but that man was the cause of all this.

Before Ian and Lea arrived, the villagers had already been sick, as if poisoned.

From what people said, the medicine they used no longer worked.

If things continued, the small village could disappear without a trace.

The sick had no interest in the wandering mother and child.

But that man, full of energy, tormented Ian and Lea relentlessly.

Someone had done the same in the previous village, and the one before that.

No matter how far north they fled, there was always a ringleader in every village.

They all blamed the mother and child, as if following orders.

“Get out, you devil!”

“I’m not a devil!”

Young Ian screamed, charging at the man.

And at that moment, he saw it clearly.

The swallow-shaped tattoo on the man’s forearm.

***

Ian jolted awake, startled by the memory.

He breathed heavily and wiped his face.

“A dream…”

No, it wasn’t just a dream.

It was definitely a memory.

A memory from long ago.

Even older than the one from the Karsan Mountains he remembered.

That meant he had already experienced this strange plague spreading from the south, long ago.

“Ugh.”

The sudden memory gave Ian a headache.

“Why do I keep… seeing the past these days?”

It was as if the shape of his dreams had changed—he wandered the past, not the future, more and more often.

Not wanting to wake Theo, sleeping soundly, Ian quietly left the room.

“The cold air helps a bit.”

Outside the inn, he felt his headache slowly fade.

The moonlight cast a blue glow over the night.

Whenever Ian saw that desolate blue light, he felt strange.

As if, on a night like this, he had committed an unforgivable sin.

He felt a desperate need to beg someone for forgiveness.

“Ha. My head’s a mess for no reason.”

Grabbing his aching head, he decided to walk around to clear his mind.

“…?”

Then, Ian spotted a shifting shadow near the inn.

He quieted his footsteps and crept closer.

Hiding behind the corner of the building, he listened to the voices.

“Wh-why did you come all the way here? The princess’s party is staying inside!”

“You should’ve reported on time. Before I had to come find you myself.”

There were two people.

Matching the number of shadows.

“I—I was busy! The princess, the navy colonel, and that b*stard are so persistent, you have no idea!”

There was no doubt who the stammerer was.

‘Hopper.’

Ian recalled Hopper’s habit of stammering when agitated, and his servile voice that couldn’t be hidden even in hushed tones.

“Just shut up and report on time from now on. Don’t forget that the money going into your back pocket comes from Duke Leheits. He hates people who break appointments.”

“O-okay… I—I really couldn’t help it this time. I’ll never be late again, so don’t worry. Please tell him I said so.”

As Ian eavesdropped, his face grew tense.

The word “Leheits” spoken by the men stuck in his ears.

Soon, the footsteps of the mysterious man scolding Hopper faded away.

Ian risked it and tried to see the man’s face.

But his upper body had already disappeared around the corner.

Still, it wasn’t a total loss.

The man had a tail at his ankle.

A swallow’s tail.