“Yesterday, we found his body in the rubble of a collapsed building.”

Kallos turned to look at Deuce.

“Was the strange aura lingering on that man’s corpse?”

“Yes. It was all over his body.”

The entire body. That statement was almost like advertising oneself as the culprit.

Kallos squinted his eyes.

Of course, if that guy was truly the culprit, he might have wanted to boast about his actions. But hiding the aura so blatantly felt uncomfortable.

If that were the case, it would have been better to move more discreetly without using a puppet and release more demons.

Then, he could have killed Irene more surely.

“…”

Thinking of Irene, Kallos looked down the opposite corridor.

She had fallen and didn’t seem to have suffered any serious injuries, so he thought she would wake up soon. However, two days had passed, and Irene still hadn’t opened her eyes.

According to Jessie, ‘that woman’ from before seemed to have awakened in just a day. So why couldn’t Irene wake up even after a day had passed?

Was there another problem?

If so, what was it?
Feeling discomfort from the indistinct anxiety, Kallos pinched the skin under his eyes and turned his head away again.

It wasn’t like Irene would wake up just because he worried about her. Right now, the priority was to confirm the identity of the aura lingering on the corpse.

“Where is the man’s body right now?”

“It’s in the northern mortuary. I’ll guide you.”

When Deuce tried to lead the way, Kallos gestured to stop him.

“That’s enough. I’ll go alone; you stay here and guard the castle.”

A shadow crossed Deuce’s face.

“But…”

“It’s fine.”

Kallos knew what Deuce was worried about, and it meant there was a significant problem concerning him.

“I said it’s fine.”

Kallos knew this fact well, but he didn’t back down. It was risky to leave the castle empty, especially if the culprit was indeed ‘that guy.’

“Understood.”

Deuce reluctantly accepted Kallos’s command.

“Please.”

After patting Deuce on the shoulder, Kallos walked down the corridor.

The northern mortuary was filled with the wails of those who lost their loved ones or family members.

As a lord appeared in such a place, all eyes naturally focused on him.

However, people just watched without approaching Kallos.

Most residents in Esper Territory were from the underground, making them hesitant to approach Kallos, not knowing his true identity.

People who didn’t know Kallos’s real identity were afraid of him.

At this time, someone rushed out from inside.

“You’ve come, my lord.”

It was the manager of the northern mortuary.

“I’ve come to check the body of a man named Gilbert.”

“Gilbert? Oh, are you talking about the guide who came in yesterday? Right this way.”

The manager promptly guided Kallos to where Gilbert’s body was.

Upon confirming Gilbert’s body, Kallos’s expression wrinkled.

‘Gone.’

There was no foreign aura detected from the corpse.

There was no way Deuce lied.

Perhaps, the foreign aura that had been on the body had dissipated.

‘This is troublesome.’

If he had identified the nature of the foreign aura, he could have determined the identity of the culprit.

…No, was it even necessary?

There was only one person who could have done such a crazy thing within his territory.

Thinking of ‘that guy,’ memories of the past incident naturally surfaced.

“How… could this happen? How could someone do this to my sister…!”

Although it was an old incident, it felt vivid as if it had happened just yesterday.

“I told you, Kallos. If you touch my sister, I’ll never forgive you.”

Misunderstanding. I never did anything to your sister.

“Don’t lie. If it wasn’t you, who killed my sister? Clear evidence has come out!”

What evidence is he talking about?
Even though I didn’t do anything, there’s no evidence.

“I specifically asked you not to touch my sister. I earnestly pleaded as a friend. But why didn’t you listen to me? Why…”

You’re the one who didn’t listen to me. I’ve said multiple times that I never touched that kid.

But I didn’t think I had no responsibility at all.

When that child begged me with tears to look at them just once, if I had taken that hand, maybe they wouldn’t have died.

“You need to understand. Losing something precious is how terrible it is… You need to experience it too.”

So, when a long-time friend cursed him, he accepted it calmly.

He thought he was too angry at the moment. He had thought that once the anger subsided, he would easily lift the curse.

“This fight won’t end until one of us dies.”

I guess I underestimated it, Dale Barance.

“…”

When Irene’s eyelids trembled after a week of no movement, Jessie, who was sitting by the bed, stood up abruptly.

“Miss, are you awake?”

“…”

“Miss!”

No matter how many times he called, Irene’s eyelids only shook and didn’t open.

In his heart, Jessie wanted to shake Irene’s shoulders vigorously to wake her up.

However, if he did that, Irene’s body might be strained, so Jessie grabbed the hem of the thin blanket and shouted.

“Please, wake up, Miss! It’s been a week already!”

Whether it was because of Jessie’s earnest heart or not, Irene’s eyelids slowly rose.

“Miss!”

Irene, whose golden eyes were blurry, focused on Jessie’s face filled with joy.

“Je… ssie?”

“Yes! It’s me! Are you awake?”

Nodding slightly, Irene looked at the ceiling adorned with elaborate patterns.

This is… Esper Castle.

As her hazy mind gradually cleared, memories of what happened before losing consciousness surfaced one by one.

Starting from going out to see the festival, being attacked by monsters, and being saved by Kallos when in danger.

“Let’s go back together, Irene.”

Everything, from him extending his hand and making a determined decision not to run away and stay by his side, vividly came back.

Perhaps, it was a decision made under the influence of momentary emotions.

In a life-threatening and uneasy situation, grabbing Kallos’s outstretched hand.

She laughed at herself for thinking about such things after regaining peace.