After being lost in thought for a while, Arkle finally spoke.

“I’m sorry. I can’t remember. It feels vaguely familiar, but…..”

“That’s already something. It wouldn’t be bad to investigate by tracing your movements.”

“Then I’ll organize my activities from the past few years and deliver them to my sister.”

“Ah, could you give them to me instead? I’ll review them first and then pass them on to Martha.”

“Understood.”

Arkle agreed readily. He seemed to think I was helping Martha as usual.

Just as I was feeling relieved, he asked.

“By the way, what holy artifact are you looking for? Knowing that might give us more clues.”

“Um….”

‘I can tell him the name, right? As long as he doesn’t know why we’re looking for it.’

“They called it the ‘Chalice of Valera.’ They said it’s a holy grail blessed by gods….”

“A holy grail… Come to think of it, wasn’t the title of the movie you made ‘In Search of the Holy Grail’….”

Arkle, who had been speaking casually, suddenly stopped. Then, after staring into space as if deep in thought, he looked at me.

“My wife, could I see that now?”

“‘In Search of the Holy Grail’? Right now?”

Arkle nodded.

“Yes. I’d like to see it.”

‘What’s this about?’

Though I couldn’t understand his intention, I had a feeling he’d found a clue, so I immediately took out the video stone.

As I was trying to make an improvised screen with the bedsheet, Arkle grabbed my wrist.

“You don’t need to do that. Please play it in the air.”

“Yes. Alright.”

He clearly wasn’t just trying to watch the movie.

As Arkle suggested, I played the video stone in the air.

The words [In Search of the Holy Grail] appeared.

The prologue scene followed, but…..

“Could you show me the part I’m referring to.”

“Which part?”

“The part with the first chase.”

The first chase was the part where the protagonists begin to be seriously pursued by the villagers, filmed in the central square of the village.

‘It was about a third of the way through, right? …Here it is.’

Estimating the time, I immediately skipped ahead and played the first chase scene.

The protagonists were hiding in a fountain, waiting for the villagers to pass by.

The villagers looked around but ultimately passed by without discovering the protagonists, who sighed with relief as if they’d aged ten years, but…..

“Aaaaah!!”

They were spotted by one villager who had returned, and they frantically ran away.

The camera moved quickly, following the protagonists who were running like mad with pale faces….

“Please stop.”

Arkle, who had been watching the video, gestured.

“Could you rewind a little bit.”

I rewound the video as he said, and Arkle gestured again.

“—Stop here.”

I quickly paused the video. It was the scene where the protagonists were discovered by the returning villager.

The protagonists screaming with terrified expressions and the villager with a grotesque smile….

‘The acting really was excellent….’

As I was admiring it anew, Arkle, who had been calmly observing the scene, nodded.

“I think this is it.”

“What is?”

“Please look closely at this part.”

The part Arkle pointed to wasn’t the young protagonists screaming, nor the villager giving his all to a horror performance.

It was the fountain behind them. More precisely, it was the raven statue erected on top of the fountain.

“Do you recognize it?”

“…I’m not sure.”

“Look.”

Arkle held the paper with the drawing next to the raven statue.

“Ah…!”

A small exclamation escaped me without realizing it.

The raven statue with its wings outstretched and the cross-shaped figure… the two shapes matched perfectly.

Arkle pointed to the fan-shaped strands attached to the head part of the drawing.

“And this part is….”

“It must be water. Since that’s a fountain…!”

“That’s right. Water would have flowed from it long ago.”

‘Wait, if that’s the case—’

With a sudden realization, I frantically grabbed Arkle’s sleeve.

“Didn’t you say Kelston was cursed by some mage?! How many years ago was that?”

“A hundred years ago from now.”

‘That’s exactly the same time the Chalice of Valera was stolen….’

Goosebumps rose on my arm.

All the puzzle pieces seemed to fit together.

‘If the person who stole the Chalice of Valera is the same person as the mage who cursed the Kelston villagers… and if the last thing they saw was this raven statue….’

The holy grail is hidden in Kelston.

‘Yes, then everything makes sense. Since entry to Kelston has been strictly prohibited since then, there’s no way anyone could have found the holy grail’s whereabouts.’

“Thank you, Arkle! You’re a genius! How did you think to make this connection~! Oh, I could just kiss you—”

“……?!”

Arkle, who had been obediently listening to me, flinched at my last words.

“Ah, I’m sorry— I was joking.”

“I see.”

I apologized, thinking I might have spoken to him as if he were a child, but Arkle seemed somewhat disappointed.

‘Does he really want it?’

I thought someone like him wouldn’t enjoy such childish skinship….

“Anyway, thank you, Arkle. This is your reward.”

I rose on my tiptoes and patted his hair.

Arkle looked down at me and smiled proudly.

“I’m glad I could help….”

When I lightly pressed my lips to his cheek and pulled away, Arkle’s calm voice stopped.

“Is this enough?”

Although I called it a reward, I wasn’t sure if something like this could really be considered compensation.

“…It’s more than enough.”

A gentle but uninhibited touch approached. Arkle brushed my bangs aside and softly pressed his lips to my forehead.

His quiet breath tickled my forehead.

When his breath gradually began to make unrefined sounds, his lips pulled away.

“…Haa.”

“……”

Arkle’s face, looking down at me, was flushed red.

It was an expression of barely holding something back.

This was the first time I’d seen his face so flushed.

‘…He’s beautiful.’

He was truly beautiful enough to make me cry. It was certainly an expression I would never forget for the rest of my life.

❖ ❖ ❖

Inside the interrogation room.

“Kelston, you say.”

Martha received Lize’s message from an employee.

The Chalice of Valera is hidden in Kelston.

She had been prepared for it to take a long time to track down the location, so she was pleased to discover it so quickly.

“…We had a productive conversation too. Didn’t we?”

Martha, raising the corner of her mouth in satisfaction, looked at Baron.

Martha’s appearance—half her body in shadow, her violet eyes gleaming clearly as she smiled—was incredibly threatening.

“…In Cayenne, it seems threatening and clever wordplay are considered conversation.”

Baron glared at Martha and muttered each word as if spitting them out.

“Seeing how well you understand, you’ve nearly become a person of Cayenne yourself.”

Martha laughed heartily and approached him with clicking footsteps.

Humor was originally far from her nature, but seeing her opponent cornered put her in a good mood.

Martha suddenly thought that this sadistic aspect of her might resemble her youngest brother, Naran.

‘Siblings will be siblings.’

Martha smirked and grabbed Baron’s golden hair. Then she pulled his face close.

“……!”

Baron frowned.

“Thank you for being so obedient. Thanks to you, I think I’ve heard everything I needed. Things necessary to punish you.”

“……”

“What feelings you harbor for Lize… how much you hate Cayenne. This should be enough evidence.”

“…I….”

“But it’s unfortunate. The Lize you love is Lize ‘Cayenne’.”

Baron glared at Martha with fierce intensity. Martha met his gaze with equal intensity, without the slightest hint of wavering.

“Whether you bear a grudge against Cayenne or not, I couldn’t care less about that.”

“……”

“But if you can’t manage your personal feelings and touch my family, you become my top priority. I’ll only think about how to pay you back double.”

Martha’s gaze was sincere.

Baron, who had been looking at her for a moment, turned his gaze away. He smirked and muttered.

“To think that the head of the Cayenne family would think of me that way… I’m honored. So, how do you plan to retaliate? Are you going to kill me?”

“Rest assured. I’m not that obsessed with you yet.”

Martha casually brushed her bangs aside.

“I’ve been thinking… I might be able to use you a bit more. So I won’t deal with you right away.”

“That’s disappointing. I would never help Cayenne even if I died.”

“No, you will.”

Martha, standing with her back straight, raised the corners of her mouth.

“I hear that holy knights have the authority to access imperial records.”

“So what?”

“I found this in your outer garment.”

Martha pulled out a small cloth pouch. From it, she took out a small silver seal.

“……!”

“This is your seal, right? As it happens, I need some crucial information, and I intend to access that information using your name. Until then, I won’t reveal the truth about you to the public. You’ll stay here.”

Baron gritted his teeth. Martha added distinctly, as if she had forgotten something.

“By the way, this is Lize ‘Cayenne’s’ idea. That child is an invaluable member of Cayenne.”

“…Let me see her. That woman, Lize….”

Martha raised one eyebrow.

“Now you’re just casually calling the lady of the house by her name?”

“Let me see Lize… Ugh!!”

Baron’s head snapped to the side. Martha had punched him in the cheek.

“You’d better watch your mouth. Think carefully and realize… who gives the orders here.”

Martha, who had been glaring at Baron with a chilling gaze, turned around.

“Lize…!”

Bang—

The sound of the iron door closing forcefully cut off Baron’s cry.

“D*mn it—!!”

Looking at the firmly closed iron door, Baron bit his lip until it bled.