The priest with a pierced heart collapsed toward Irene, staining her dress with blood. Unfortunately, since the dress was silver, the bright red blood stood out prominently.

Her wide-open golden eyes trembled helplessly. Irene covered her mouth with both hands and stumbled backward.

However, she couldn’t retreat far and had to stop when her back hit something.

“…!”

Irene turned around hastily, even more startled than when she saw the priest’s heart being pierced. The first thing she saw was broad shoulders. Raising her head a bit more, she saw Kalos’s expressionless face.

Could he have heard all the conversation between the priest and me?

Is that why he killed the priest? Because he said he would help me escape…

“What were you doing here with that pigeon?”

Judging by this question, it seems that wasn’t the case. Irene felt deeply relieved while also pondering what to say.

She hesitated to tell the truth, fearing Kalos might misunderstand.

If his surveillance intensified because of this incident, escaping would become impossible, which made her even more reluctant to tell the truth.

“Why are you silent?”

As the silence lengthened, so did the look of suspicion deepen, forcing Irene to reluctantly open her mouth.

“I was on my way back to the bedroom when suddenly this priest appeared… He said he had something to say and asked to talk for a moment.”

So far, she had told the truth.

What should she do next? In the brief moment she took to catch her breath, Irene quickly turned her thoughts and soon made a decision.

“He apologized for what happened earlier… said he never thought I was a witch from the beginning, that he had opposed the witch trial, and repeatedly expressed how sorry he was.”

She decided to tell the truth. Not being good at lying, and unsure what lie would be best, this was her decision.

“As an apology, he said he would help me escape from Your Grace’s grasp.”

However, she didn’t mention that she had agreed with the priest’s offer to escape.

That part seemed absolutely forbidden to speak of, so she didn’t even bring it up.

“But I refused!”

Until now, Irene’s voice had been as small and faint as an ant crawling, but when she said she refused, it was loud and clear.

That way, Kalos wouldn’t misunderstand.

“I said I didn’t need any help, that I was fine, and refused. Really!”

Irene emphasized again, clenching her fists. She looked up at him with pleading eyes, hoping Kalos would believe her words.

“…”

Kalos stood with his arms crossed, looking down at Irene intently. His motionless purple eyes gave no hint of what he was thinking.

Recalling Kalos’s behavior so far and making a guess, Irene became frightened, thinking he seemed angry. Just as she was about to assert her innocence again…

“That’s enough, Master.”

A person she had never seen before appeared behind Kalos.

“You’ve scared the lady quite enough.”

The man was handsome enough to be liked by people of all ages and genders, but to Irene, he was just an unfamiliar stranger.

So even though the man winked at her and showed other friendly gestures, Irene tucked her head in like a turtle and averted her gaze.

“My goodness.”

The man clutched his head and let out a deep sigh, seemingly hurt by Irene’s attitude.

“To think there’s a lady who dislikes my wink. The world is indeed wide, with people of various tastes. Or perhaps she’s too young to understand a man’s charm?”

“Useless talk.”

Kalos coldly dismissed him, then asked Irene:

“Where is Jessie?”

Irene blinked slowly.

“I… don’t know about that.”

Kalos’s expression twisted sharply.

“She didn’t come to get you?”

When Irene shook her head, Kalos let out a mirthless laugh and ran his hand through his hair.

“Did you notice anything strange about this priest?”

Strange?

Irene unconsciously looked down at the priest collapsed on the floor, but startled when she saw the corpse, covered in blood and with eyes not properly closed, she quickly raised her gaze again.

This time, she met the eyes of a cold predator. Unlike when she saw the corpse, Irene couldn’t look away. Her thoughts froze along with her gaze.

“Was there anything strange?”

At the repeated question, her frozen mind started working again. Irene fumbled through her memories. It was strange that the priest suddenly offered to help, but the strangest thing was…

“…His eyes.”

It was just for a moment, and she had forgotten about it in the shock of seeing the priest’s heart pierced right after, but now she remembered.

“The priest’s eyes… they turned purple for a moment.”

At those words, Kalos’s face froze coldly.

Jerdin, who had been smiling somewhat mischievously, also wiped the smile from his face as he realized the gravity of the situation.

“Master, this is…”

Kalos silently signaled him to be quiet with his eyes, then closed his eyes tightly. Instantly, the shadow stretched out at his feet disappeared.

Opening his eyes again, Kalos called for his faithful knight.

“Deuce.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Deuce suddenly emerged from the darkness. Irene was startled by this magical scene, but Kalos and the man remained calm.

Kalos pointed at the priest with his chin.

“Remove him.”

“Yes.”

Deuce slung the fallen priest over his shoulder and disappeared as quietly as he had appeared.

Kalos put his arm around Irene’s shoulders and turned.

“Let’s go.”

Though there was no detailed explanation of where they were going, Irene followed him without a word.

*

In a space shrouded in deep darkness.

The thread tied to a wooden board suddenly broke, causing the wooden doll hanging from it to go limp.

“Oh my, another failure.”

It seemed like it would succeed with just a little more…

Anyway, she’s unnecessarily lucky.

The man clicked his tongue and threw the wooden board and doll into the trash.

Though it was disappointing that the ambitious puppet show had failed, it didn’t matter. He had already enjoyed it enough.

And he could prepare another puppet show. There were still plenty of materials to use for puppet shows, so preparation wasn’t difficult.

The problem was…

“That woman.”

He thought she would definitely accept the offer, but to think she would refuse.

It seems she’s already given her heart to that guy.

“Well, this has become troublesome.”

Now he’ll have no choice but to kill her.

Scratching his head, the man pondered deeply what kind of puppet show he should do to kill her, and soon his lips stretched into a long smile as he thought of a good idea.

“Let’s do that.”

That way, he could not only kill that woman but also deal a great blow to that guy.

Fortunately, he had all the necessary materials, so it wouldn’t be difficult to put on the next puppet show.

“This will be fun.”

Just thinking about that scene made him so happy that the man turned around, giggling.

In the darkness, purple eyes flashed dangerously.

*

The place Kalos took Irene was his bedroom.

This was the second time she had come to his bedroom.

Although Irene believed that Kalos wouldn’t do anything strange to her, she still stood awkwardly, feeling uneasy about entering a man’s bedroom.

“It’s alright. Sit comfortably.”

Seemingly uncomfortable with Irene’s appearance, Jerdin smiled kindly and offered her a seat.

Then Kalos, who was already seated on the sofa, spoke as if it was absurd:

“Anyone would think you’re the master of this place.”

“They say master and disciple are one, so your room is my room, Master.”

Kalos chuckled at the glib response and waved his hand dismissively. It meant do as you please.

“Come on, sit down.”

Caught off guard, Irene sat down next to Kalos as Jerdin led her and watched Kalos cautiously.

Having lived watching her father’s moods for a long time, she thought she was good at figuring out other people’s feelings and thoughts, but she couldn’t tell at all what Kalos was thinking or feeling.

When Kalos rang a bell, a servant waiting outside entered.

“Call Jessie.”

After the servant who received his order left, it wasn’t long before there was a knock. It was Jessie.

“You called… Oh my, young lady!”

Seeing the bloodstains on the dress, Jessie was startled and ran to her.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”

“It’s not that…”

“How badly are you hurt for so much blood to stain you like this? What about a doctor? Since there’s no resident doctor in the castle, we’ll have to call one from outside. But first, we should change your clothes…”

Jessie spoke rapidly, not giving Irene a chance to speak.

“It would be better to wash before changing clothes, right? Oh, maybe the wound is too deep to wash. Then let’s apply medicine first…”

“Enough.”

Only when Kalos intervened did Jessie’s rampage finally stop, but only for a moment.

“What do you mean, enough? Master, you’re too much.”

Jessie pouted and spoke to Kalos.

“The young lady is badly hurt, but you left her like this without calling a doctor immediately. If something happens to the young lady…”

“It’s not her blood.”

“…Pardon?”

Not her blood? Jessie blinked her eyes wide and looked at Irene.

Irene nodded and said what she hadn’t been able to say before.

“This isn’t my blood, but someone else’s.”

“Someone else’s… whose?”

“A pigeon’s.”

Kalos answered instead. He didn’t say specifically what had happened, but Jessie, sensing that something bad had occurred, didn’t ask for details.

“Then we can wash and change clothes right away.”

Jessie spoke to Irene while seeking permission from Kalos with her eyes.

Kalos nodded and added:

“Don’t go outside. Wash and change here.”

There might be more guys like that priest out there. It would probably be fine with Jessie by her side, but you never know. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

“Then, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll borrow your bathroom and dressing room for a moment, Master.”

“Go ahead.”

“Come, young lady.”

Jessie took Irene into the bathroom.

Right after, Jerdin, who had been as quiet as an invisible man, spoke to Kalos.

“Purple eyes… right?”

Though the question was vague, Kalos understood what he wanted to ask and nodded silently.

“Huh, unbelievable.”

Jerdin continued in a tone of utter disbelief.

“This is your land, Master. How could that person be running rampant here?”

“…I let my guard down.”

Kalos had been so focused on dealing with the pigeons and clearing Irene’s false accusation of being a witch that he failed to notice the impure energy entering the castle.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. It wasn’t even the main reason.

“Is that… really all?”

Jerdin, sensing there was another reason, carefully asked.

To this, Kalos said nothing and just closed his eyes tightly.

He could never admit, even if his mouth was torn, that it was because his power had significantly weakened due to the long passage of time.