“Young lady. Do you know the meaning of those purple eyes you possess?”

Light as a feather, my ass.

Nigel’s front teeth roughly bit her lower lip. Soon, the tangy taste of blood was felt on her tongue.

No, her complicated mind had no time to recognize the sensory perception of her taste buds.

This was Nigel’s taboo that must never be revealed, along with being a saint. It was a secret Nigel would do anything to protect.

And yet, that taboo was on the verge of being discovered by a mere back-alley thug.

“You look like you’ve been betrayed? Sorry, young lady~ I was born with a merchant’s instinct, so I never enter a deal where I lose out.”

The leader grinned as if she had seen right through Nigel’s heart. Nigel had been playing within her scheme from the very beginning.

She should have approached cautiously from the start. Both when she heard that the leader was obsessed with the princess, especially her purple eyes, and when she proposed a deal to the leader.

The situation she found herself in was all due to her own careless actions. It was the greed of one who arrogantly thought everything would work out easily.

Nigel knew that as time passed, her position was becoming more disadvantageous. The more she hesitated, the more it seemed like she was affirming that answer.

“Well, if the young lady doesn’t want to make a deal, I can’t help it.”

The ledger in the leader’s grasp was maintained at a precarious distance, almost touching the candlelight.

Faced with this clear gesture of threat, Nigel gave up. There was no way to escape now. Should she be thankful that her companions didn’t come along?

No, it rather felt refreshing. To finally spit out the fact that had been eating away at her for so long.

Nigel steadied her irregular breathing and slowly opened her mouth to confess for the first time.

“…I know.”

She had known from the beginning. It was a sin she couldn’t not know.

That she was born by consuming the life of Princess Abeline, whom everyone loved.

The corners of the leader’s mouth spread wide. Soon after, a joy bordering on madness beyond mere satisfaction spread across her face.

Perfect fulfillment. The leader of Ather was floundering in ecstasy.

She approached Nigel, letting out a sound close to an exclamation.

Then she hugged Nigel tightly and gazed at her own face reflected in Nigel’s purple eyes like someone in love.

The more she revealed and reflected her emotions, the more Nigel’s heart crumbled.

“I knew it! My eyes couldn’t have been wrong! It’s as if… her eyeballs were plucked out and put in!!”

The leader’s excitement only subsided after half an hour had passed.

Moreover, Nigel’s churning nausea only barely regained composure after the leader, grinning, swore by the mark of Ather that she would keep this secret to the end.

As if she hadn’t just had sharp eyes, the leader now looked at Nigel with sweet eyes full of honey.

The leader was purely delighted by the fact that Nigel had inherited Abeline’s eyes, rather than Nigel’s bloodline.

And she babbled on about her story of being saved by Abeline’s eyes, which she wasn’t curious about at all, and gaining the strength to build Ather.

‘Well, perhaps it’s fortunate to be discovered by someone obsessed only with the eyes.’

Nigel thought, letting the leader’s words, except for the story about Abeline, go in one ear and out the other.

“Young lady, now I’ll give you the ledger as promised.”

Finally, as the story came to an end, the leader carefully placed the ledger in Nigel’s hand, as if worried her hand might get cut by the paper.

Belatedly coming to her senses, Nigel hurriedly opened the ledger and read every word in every corner.

As the leader had said, the ledger indeed contained information about Allen’s magic stone and Yeni’s ring. And next to it was written in red letters.

“Special note, sent to Lumen auction house…?”

As she grasped the meaning of the words, blood rushed to Nigel’s eyes.

“Sorry, young lady. If I had known they belonged to your companions, I wouldn’t have sold them, but Count Lumen offered so much that I ended up selling them.”

The leader’s voice, which had become infinitely gentle as if soothing an angry child, was filled with regret.

“You should have come to meet me a little earlier.”

The leader’s attitude, which had changed as easily as flipping a palm, was disgusting, but Nigel had to use even this to her advantage.

“Count Lumen’s auction is……”

“Fortunately, it hasn’t started yet.”

She explained the information she knew even before Nigel could ask.

“That Count Lumen is an aristocratic and nationalist who pretends to be clean on the outside while doing dirty things behind the scenes. You can tell just by how he dares to lay hands on Evans and the royal family’s stolen goods. Ah, please keep it a secret that I knew the identity of the stolen goods, young lady.”

The leader winked one eye and then opened her lips again.

“Anyway, to participate in the secret auction that he holds, you need an invitation. According to rumors, only nobles with the rank of count or higher receive that invitation. Do you need more information?”

“That’s enough.”

Nigel said, engraving all the information in her mind without missing anything.

“Good. Since there’s that Beselion brat in your group, you should be able to get in easily.”

The leader said nonchalantly as she tucked Nigel’s hair behind her ear. It was actually Nigel who was taken aback by her words.

“Then sadly, it’s time for the last question. Have you ever met the person who gave you those pretty eyes?”

“No. ……Not even once.”

At that painful murmur, the leader’s playful attitude instantly became calm.

“……That’s unfortunate. I don’t know what circumstances you’re in, but if that person had met you, they would have been happier than I was excited today, no, happier than anyone else. I can guarantee that, having met her in person.”

The leader whispered warmly into Nigel’s ear and then lightly hugged her.

“Well, then it’s time to part.”

She gently took Nigel’s hand, her face now relieved.

Outside the building, she had returned to her cold and mischievous face.

“Nigel!”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Nigel’s companions opened their mouths eagerly upon discovering her.

At that moment, the leader’s voice was heard in Nigel’s ear.

“I’d like to escort you back, but I need rules to govern the fools under me. Sadly, you’ll have to find your own way out of this maze-like alley, young lady. Next time we meet, please allow me to treat you properly as royalty.”

Nigel’s face crumpled at the words that felt like a curse to her, causing the leader to giggle, unable to hold back her laughter.

“Let me give you one last piece of advice. Beware of the shining rose.”

“What does that…!”

Just as Nigel was about to ask, the leader turned her back without hesitation and left her behind.

At the same time, worried faces approached Nigel in one step.

Before the three mouths that were about to open could speak, Nigel spoke first.

“There’s a more urgent matter. Your stolen goods have been sent to a secret auction house. We need to escape this place quickly somehow to participate in the auction.”

“That’s an interesting thing to say. But what can we do? Your teacher Shanti has been locked in solitary confinement for bringing in outsiders without permission.”

At that moment, a reply came from an unexpected person. It was none other than the guard.

“Well, if the young lady asks sincerely, I might guide you, how about it?”

Just then, Noah quickly approached and swatted away the guard’s hand that was about to touch Nigel’s body.

For a moment, Nigel and Noah’s eyes met, and they quickly turned their heads away.

Nigel cleared her throat once and opened her mouth.

“…It’s okay. Everyone’s fine, so just trust me and follow.”

Unlike Yeni, who showed trust easily, Allen and Noah had uncertain faces.

“But…!”

“Nigel, you have a terrible sense of direction.”

Allen said what Noah couldn’t bring himself to say.

Nigel pretended to be hurt for a moment, then quickly composed her expression.

“I might get it wrong if I look with my eyes, but I’m confident in memorizing things bluntly. If you don’t want to see your things fall into someone else’s hands, just follow me without saying anything.”

Convinced by her words, Allen and Noah shrugged and followed behind Nigel.

Nigel suddenly took out the cloth that had covered her eyes on the way here and tied it tightly around her head.

Giggles of mockery were heard around at this incomprehensible action. It was then that Nigel opened her mouth.

“…130 steps.”

Nigel said something incomprehensible and then fearlessly began to walk even though she couldn’t see in front of her. Nigel’s mouth was constantly counting numbers.

The group followed Nigel with half-belief.

“Stop. And 287 steps to the left.”

The eyes of the children, who belatedly understood Nigel’s intention, were filled with surprise.

The group linked arms with Nigel to prevent her from losing direction and obediently followed behind the blindfolded Nigel.

“…Stop. We’ve arrived now.”

After a while, Nigel calmly said as she removed her blindfold.

They had arrived at the very alley where the pickpocket Shanti had distributed cloths to the group.

“I got confused in one or two places, but fortunately the count matched.”

Nigel squinted her eyes, blinded by the sky that had turned fiery red.

The group was staring at Nigel in awe, as if they had met a god.

“Why are you all standing there dazed? We’re in a hurry, let’s go quickly.”

“…You, you’re talking about this amazing thing as if it’s nothing!”

Allen lightly shook Nigel’s shoulders.

“That’s because it’s nothing special. I heard they don’t let outsiders find Ather, so I thought they might send Shanti away and make us find our own way back. So I thought it might be necessary later and counted the steps. It’s something anyone could remember if they just focused a little.”

Nigel’s words were met with even more silence.

Then Allen’s voice broke the silence.

“…Let’s watch what we say in front of Nigel from now on.”

Nod. Noah and Yeni nodded their heads simultaneously.