The embers in the fireplace had completely died out, and only Sirha’s sniffling echoed in the cool room. After crying for quite a while, Sirha wiped her tears with her sleeve. Ir stood quietly beside her, just patting her shoulder as she cried.

Sirha had just come of age. It was admirable enough that she had endured this situation when she was just a child who, until recently, had dreamed of the future under the protection of a reliable guardian.

“I’m… sorry. I was out of sorts… But you are the person I met in Vativira, right? How do you know my name and how did you come here…”

Having finally come to her senses, Sirha looked at Ir with puzzlement.

Seeing Sirha becoming guarded again, Ir gave a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. My name is Ishtar. I’m… Shulat’s friend.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Broadly speaking, a superior officer could be considered a friend too. If Shulat had heard this, he would have probably sassed back asking who gave her permission to call herself his friend, but that wasn’t her concern.

At those words, Sirha shook her head as if that couldn’t be possible.

“That can’t be. If my brother had a friend like you, he wouldn’t have been able to stop bragging about it.”

Ir burst out laughing at Sirha’s words. Shulat really would have been like that. But Sirha’s expression remained serious. She still seemed unable to believe that Ir had really known him.

“But I’ve heard a lot about you, Sirha. That you never lost the top spot at the academy? When Shulat was injured, you know? When he got shot by an arrow here under his arm. We had to use some strong medicine for treatment, and even in his half-conscious state, he wouldn’t stop bragging about his siblings…”

As she spoke, Ir shared memories of Shulat. Among them were stories that only Sirha and Shulat had known about.

Ir could feel Sirha’s guard dropping as she shared these memories. Finally, seeing Sirha’s eyes welling up with tears again, probably missing Shulat, Ir pulled her into an embrace and patted her shoulder.

“I… have a lot of circumstances that I can’t fully explain. Please understand.”

“Actually, saying it that way makes me trust you more.”

If she were trying to deceive, she would have come prepared with a perfectly crafted story. But seeing her awkwardly asking for understanding because of complicated circumstances, Sirha finally dropped her guard completely.

“But why did you come here? And I’m sure you were with Prince Nergal in Vativira… I should mention this just in case, but my brother is currently wanted. The Imperial court claims that the 9th Knight Order, including my brother, died while trying to steal the Holy Sword, but they haven’t found the bodies yet.”

Ir’s heart ached seeing Sirha’s cautious expression as she spoke. Her eyes showed worry that perhaps Ir had come without knowing Shulat had been branded a traitor, and that she might leave immediately upon learning this.

“I know. Actually, I heard the news quite late. I was in a very distant place. I only came to the capital recently. But… we, no, Shulat, the 9th Knight Order would never have done such a thing. Even if they were mistreated in the palace, the 9th Knight Order had pride in working for the empire.”

Hearing Ir’s voice filled with conviction, Sirha remembered her brother.

“Anyway, we’re the empire’s talents who got in through our abilities. Do you know how proud I was when we caught that spy the other day? If those documents he tried to steal had reached enemy hands… ugh, don’t even mention it. Anyway, your brother returned today after serving the country again. And our vice-captain was so cool too. Without any hesitation, he put his blade to that guy’s throat and said, ‘In the name of the great and just Anu, you shall fall to the bottom of Kur (the underworld).’ Just like that, ah… it was really cool.”

Shulat particularly praised Ir, who was the vice-captain.

At first, he had been put off by her burn scars, but soon he would say that she was the strongest and most skilled swordsperson he had ever met, and would often imitate her mannerisms.

Remembering those times, Sirha nodded.

“Yes, I know. Even if my brother had found the Holy Sword, he would have presented it to the Imperial family first. The other members of the 9th Knight Order would have done the same. That’s why when I heard the news, I said it couldn’t possibly be true, but… no one would listen.”

Sirha shuddered.

“Everyone came here demanding to know what my brother had been plotting… They searched the entire house. They even tore up the floors, saying the 9th Knight Order might be alive and hiding here.”

At Sirha’s words, Ir’s eyes flashed.

“Who came here?”

Ir’s mouth went dry as she asked.

The attackers had said they couldn’t find their own bodies, nor those of the 9th Knight Order.

‘So they must have been uneasy.’

Then there was a high possibility that among those who came looking for traces of the 9th Knight Order, some were connected to the attackers.

“It doesn’t matter who you remember. Do you perhaps remember who came first?”

At Ir’s question, Sirha thought for a moment before answering.

“Ah, the first person to come was… Captain Rihar of the 9th Knight Order. He seemed very distressed and told us he was truly sorry, saying he would do his best to help however he could, and to contact him if we had any difficulties.”

“Ah…”

Ir’s expression darkened at the mention of Rihar’s name.

‘Big brother must have been the most shocked.’

Due to other matters, he had remained in the capital with a few subordinates. How many times had he told Ir not to overexert herself on the long journey? He had even worried, saying he didn’t care about the Holy Sword, just to hand it over quickly if found and return soon. He had packed lots of snacks for the journey. Thanks to that, Shulat hadn’t pestered her about food the whole way to Lagash.

And then the knights he had sent off all died or went missing, branded as traitors. Inside the palace, they were attacking him as an accomplice and making a fuss about completely dissolving the 9th Knight Order.

Ir swallowed back a curse that almost escaped and continued asking.

“Who came next?”

“The 3rd Knight Order. Kilim’s order – they were the ones who tore up the floors. They were making a huge fuss about having to find the Holy Sword. And there was another carriage outside at that time. Strangely, whoever was in it never came out even though they came here.”

“……”

Sirha’s words reminded Ir of the Third Prince who had gone to Lagash with them. Usually cautious around the First Prince and Second Princess, he had been unusually cocky then.

It was strange. Considering his usual personality, he should have been making a fuss about sending his knight order first from the beginning, but at that time he had calmly agreed with the other royals to let the 9th Knight Order search first.

‘That little raccoon was acting weird then…’

A suspicion flashed through Ir’s mind that the Third Prince might have known something. Just as Ir was about to ask Sirha for more details about the visitors, she heard rough footsteps.

“Shh.”

Ir immediately put a finger to her lips and grabbed Sirha. Sirha nodded and held her breath along with Ir.

The rough footsteps grew closer. Then with a ‘BANG!’ the front door shook.

“Hey! Open up!”

Both Ir and Sirha’s faces hardened at the rough voice that followed. It was Kilim’s voice. As the two remained still, the wooden door rattled and shook more violently.

“Sirha! Open up right now!”

When her name was called, Sirha bit her lip. Kilim seemed to be drunk.

BANG! BANG!

While the two women remained frozen, Kilim continued kicking the door. Looking at how it shook, the door seemed about to break.

Even with such a commotion, people nearby should have come out to look, but Shulat’s house was in a somewhat remote location, and the wind had gotten stronger, so it seemed no one had heard. Or perhaps they realized that getting involved in what was happening would bring them nothing good.

Sirha looked back and forth between the breaking door and Ir before grabbing Ir’s hand.

“This way!”

She pulled Ir to a corner and opened the door to a room used as a storage.

“Stay here. You absolutely must not come out.”

Sirha’s voice trembled as she spoke. It wasn’t hard to guess what would happen when Kilim entered after breaking down the door. He would take out his pent-up frustrations. And very violently at that.

“Please promise me you won’t come out no matter what sounds you hear. Please… If he discovers you’re here, you’ll be in a lot of trouble too.”

If Kilim found out that a woman who met with royalty had come to a traitor’s house, he would surely try to use that information as well.

“Sirha!”

When Kilim’s voice rang out again, Sirha pushed Ir inside and closed the door.

Whenever Kilim saw this house, he would sneer and call it a rat hole. So once he finished what he came to do, he wouldn’t bother looking around the house further. So if she could just endure for a little while…

Thinking this, Sirha opened the door that was about to break.

The moment she opened the door, Kilim’s hand grabbed her by the hair.