Michalis wore a mischievous smile as he leaned in close.

“Doesn’t something smell fishy? I picked this up near the very spot where the maid’s book was found. He was even loitering around there as if he was looking for it.”

“It, it must be a coincidence.” 

I denied Michalis’ words.

Although Iscallion was somewhat ignorant and often violent, he was a good boy who listened well. There was no way he would do such a thing behind my back.

“Whether you believe it or not, that’s up to you.”

“I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes.”

I denied Michalis’ words and jumped up from my seat.

Yes, there must have been some misunderstanding. Maybe the vampires were trying to drive a wedge between him and me.

I heard from my previous life how wicked these creatures were.

Even though the world had changed, it was no different here. It was more reasonable to trust Iscallion over the vampires.

I ran as fast as I could to find Iscallion, but what greeted me was an empty bedroom.

I felt momentarily deflated, but then I ran again.

This time, I sought out the fake Grand Duke Pontos.

“Lady Dronay?”

The fake Grand Duke dismissed his entourage and approached me. He seemed somewhat surprised by my disheveled appearance.

“Where is Leon?”

In my haste, I didn’t realize I had skipped the greetings and went straight to the point.

“His Highness the Grand Duke has been away for a while.”

“Really?”

I felt utterly deflated.

“He’s quite elusive, so we don’t know his exact whereabouts either. I’ll let him know you were looking for him as soon as he returns.”

“……Thank you.”

As I turned away weakly, the fake Grand Duke lowered his voice and asked,

“Is something the matter with His Highness?”

Judging by his tone, he too seemed to know nothing.

“No. I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy.”

A cold wind brushed past my drooping shoulders. Only then did I realize I wasn’t wearing a coat.

‘Get a grip.’

This was no time to be dazed. Seren’s safety was at stake. It was right to be suspicious of anyone who seemed dubious.

The last place I headed was Gined’s bedroom.

Visiting a priest’s bedroom at night wasn’t morally right, but that didn’t matter now.

Fortunately, he hadn’t gone to sleep yet, as I saw a light flickering through the window.

After hesitating for a while, I carefully knocked, and the door quietly opened immediately.

“I have something to say.”

Perhaps sensing that something was wrong from my sweat-drenched appearance on this cold night, Gined let me in without asking for a reason.

Unfortunately, Gined’s room was unheated and cold. My body had cooled down so much that my teeth chattered. Gined draped a cloak over my trembling shoulders.

“Please sit down. I’ll make some tea.”

I watched as Gined revived the dying embers in the fireplace and put on some water.

His calm, unhurried movements gradually soothed my mind. I placed the cufflinks I had been clutching onto the table.

Gined noticed them and asked,

“What is this?”

“It’s something I gave to Leon as a gift. It was found where Seren’s book was discovered.”

Maybe it was because of the cold, but my voice trembled so much that I had to take a deep breath in the middle.

“Are you suspecting Count Philip?”

“He’s not Count Philip. His real name is… Iscallion Pontos. He’s the lord of Pontos.”

Gined was silent for a while, seemingly shocked. But soon he nodded calmly.

“One of the lady’s men was the Grand Duke of Pontos.”

He seemed to have guessed why I had hidden Iscallion’s true identity and didn’t ask further.

In the meantime, the water boiled, and steaming tea was placed in front of me.

Only then did I realize how dry my lips were.

I lifted the teacup with trembling hands and wet my lips.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes?”

“Weren’t you quite close to Count Philip, no, the Grand Duke of Pontos?”

I couldn’t answer. I still believed he had fallen into some trap.

“There’s no evidence yet that he’s the culprit.”

My voice sounded weak even to me.

I set down the half-empty teacup and stood up.

“Please inform His Highness the Crown Prince. I don’t want to visit him separately at this late hour. I’ll be going now.”

After returning to my bedroom, guilt washed over me.

Even though I didn’t love Iscallion romantically, I certainly cared for him. Since I don’t have any siblings, Iscallion was as dear to me as a younger brother.

I needed to gather more evidence. Evidence that he wasn’t the culprit. At least, I needed to be sure it wasn’t his intention.

I slipped Shahar into my pocket and sneaked into Iscallion’s bedroom. Then I started searching every suspicious-looking spot.

The first drawer I opened was filled with crumpled papers.

In a hurry, I unfolded them, wondering if they contained part of a plan.

But my guess was completely wrong.

『I miss you, Sister. I want to marry you. The greatest, strongest, most noble, coolest, cutest, loveliest, most virtuous sister in the world.』

Contents like that were densely written on each piece of paper.

I noticed a few misspelled words here and there.

It was both astonishing and touching to realize he still couldn’t distinguish between ‘captain’ and ‘choice.’¹선장(captain) and  선택(choice). Similar characters

As expected, this naive Iscallion couldn’t have committed such a grand scheme.

I carefully placed the letters back into the drawer.

I searched every nook and cranny but found nothing unusual.

Was it really just a baseless suspicion?

While feeling relieved, I discovered something strange in a corner.

“This is… a rosary?”

Given his background, Iscallion had not an ounce of faith.

Finding a rosary in his room was quite suspicious. Moreover, the rosary showed signs of long use, making it even more suspicious.

I stuffed it into my pocket and was about to turn around when,

“What are you doing here, Sister?”

I was so startled that I almost collapsed when I heard his voice without any prior indication of his presence.

“I, I, I haven’t seen you around lately, so I was waiting for you. You always barged into my room unannounced. Can’t I do the same?”

“Of course, you can. I was just surprised because you’ve never visited me like this before.”

“I’ll come more often from now on.”

Even while making up excuses, I instinctively checked his shirt sleeves. And I gasped. The cufflinks were missing.

‘It, it, it must be a coincidence…’

Contrary to my thoughts, my feet were already inching away from him.

With a single step, Iscallion closed the distance I had barely managed to create.

“So, what’s this?”

Without warning, he reached into my pocket and pulled out the rosary.

“Why would this be in your pocket, Sister?”

“Hmm. It looked nice, so I was going to ask for it when you got back. Sorry if it was something precious. I’ll be going now.”

“I don’t mind, but that’s not mine.”

“Then whose is it?”

“I think it was Emmanuel?”

Iscallion tilted his head.

I was screwed.

That was all I could think about.

I hurriedly tried to push him away and escape. But he wrapped his arms around my waist, making it impossible to move. It felt like being stuck to a giant dog. And the fact that this giant dog had rabies made me despair.

“What are you doing!”

“I’m sorry, Sister. I had no choice. If I didn’t do this, you would leave me.”

I quickly pulled out Shahar and swung him at Iscallion.

But he lightly twisted my wrist, causing me to drop Shahar. Instead of falling to the floor, Shahar naturally turned and aimed behind him.

Shahar’s attack succeeded. Iscallion staggered heavily as he was struck hard on the shoulder. I took that moment to distance myself from him.

“Got you!”

Just as I was about to cheer, a man appeared out of nowhere.

He opened his mouth unbelievably wide and swallowed Shahar whole.

Even in the midst of this surreal scene, I felt a strange familiarity with the man’s black eyes.

“Huh?”

At the same time, I felt a strong impact on the back of my neck.

Everything crumbled away.

* * *

“Take care of the aftermath.”

Iscallion spoke coldly without even glancing at the snake. His attention was entirely on Lou.

Despite having knocked her out himself, he held her very tenderly, which the snake found quite hypocritical.

[Of course.]

Iscallion left with Lou, showing no further interest.

Left alone, the snake burst into laughter like a madman.

The King of the Underworld, what a perfect sacrifice compared to a foolish youngster.

Even though the petrified King of the Underworld couldn’t use even a fraction of his usual power, his inherent strength made him an ideal sacrifice.

The snake hurried to the underground prison, shedding its human guise and coiling up in front of the summoning circle. It was so ecstatic that it didn’t notice its body gradually becoming translucent.

The snake quickly chanted in ancient language, causing the summoning circle to glow.