After Seyerd revealed her goals, Priest Emil took a moment to catch his breath.

Despite having only spoken, his face was filled with exhaustion as if he had just sprinted.

After resting sufficiently, the man spoke again.

“After that, the two of them talked a bit more, and I was able to get up from my seat only long after they left.”

He hung his head low, as if embarrassed.

“Pathetically, I couldn’t tell anyone about what happened that day. I was too afraid. Of them… especially Seyerd Hilan, who was even plotting to murder my own brother.”

The priest’s voice trembling through his teeth was relentless.

“I, I felt that if that person found out I had caught on, he would easily dispose of me as well.”

However, he said that in good conscience, he couldn’t just do nothing.

After agonizing day and night for several days, the conclusion he reached was to eliminate one of the conspirators.

“I was fortunate. Covi was careless enough to store the medicine he stole from the pharmacy in his own room. It was a large quantity that couldn’t be justified as being for his own consumption no matter who looked at it.”

It was as if the evidence had appeared right in front of the priests who rushed into Covi’s room upon hearing Emil’s false testimony of witnessing the theft.

Kisa already roughly knew the story that followed, having heard it from Priest Visius before.

Pavela Monastery gave Covi a chance to turn himself in, but he rejected it and fled.

The dissatisfaction with Covi, who was already insincere, reached the sky because of this, and the spark also spread to Seyerd, who was close to Covi.

“I thought that with this, Seyerd Hilan would stay put for a while. He had lost his right-hand man and was surrounded by hostile gazes.”

But unfortunately, Seyerd’s moves surpassed the expectations of this young priest.

One day, he boldly left the monastery without permission.

“…When he returned on his own feet a few days later, everything was over. Because of my foolish judgment, a person lost their life.”

The tone of Emil, who was blaming himself, was indescribably tragic.

“…”

In the midst of her mind becoming hazy, Kisa barely supported herself by grasping the table.

She was still standing next to her spot, and the priest was kneeling on the floor.

Also, Count Theodor, who had gone to the balcony, was nowhere to be seen, and Daniel was sitting on a chair with his long legs crossed, watching Kisa with interest.

The situation wasn’t much different from before Emil’s confession, but Kisa found it hard to shake off the feeling that something had greatly changed.

‘No, get a grip.’

Her consciousness forcibly awakened.

Especially that annoying gaze Daniel was sending urged Kisa’s next action.

“So what?”

Kisa opened her mouth for the first time since Emil had revealed his past.

“Does the person who spoke on behalf of you, Emil, have any evidence to support the confession you just shared?”

“Pardon?”

At that question, the priest merely blinked.

“Or is there anyone besides you who can testify about Seyerd’s criminal acts?”

“Hey, Kisa.”

“You stay out of this.”

Daniel tried to intervene in the middle, but Kisa resolutely blocked his words and looked at the man kneeling.

“I’m asking you.”

After looking at the floor for a moment, he shook his head powerlessly not long after.

“There is nothing, young lady.”

Kisa felt an indescribable sense of relief as she brushed aside the hair tickling her cheek.

“Then I can’t believe your claim either.”

“But I only spoke the truth!”

“I believe in the person I love.”

Daniel made a tongue-clicking sound to express his discomfort, but Kisa continued.

“Moreover, Seyerd has an absence certificate proving that on the day his brother died, he was staying in a different region, not the capital. Count Theodor would know this best of all.”

It was the count who had thoroughly investigated Seyerd’s whereabouts in order to drive him out.

“How do you explain this?”

“Well, about that…”

But then, unable to bear the predicament of the group, Daniel stepped in.

“Father, tell her. The possibility of a third party.”

“As I said, that’s not certain−.”

“Isn’t it your mission to save a person who may be in danger?”

“…I understand.”

Emil looked at Kisa with a determined face.

“In fact, there is a possibility that Seyerd Hilan has another collaborator.”

It was a new story.

“After learning about that terrible plan that day, I always tried to keep a close eye on the two of them. Since it was such a serious matter, they were also being careful, so there was hardly any gain, but… I overheard one suspicious story.”

Unfortunately, since he only heard from the middle, the conversation he was aware of was only a part of it.

“Then what should we do, Covi asked worriedly, and Seyerd Hilan answered that it was fine. He said he could ask someone else to do it instead of you.”

Kisa paused for a moment before asking.

“Is that all?”

“Yes, but the fact that he has someone else to give orders to besides Covi means another collaborator−.”

“Even if that’s the case, Seyerd has an absence certificate. Honestly, I don’t see what the words you just said have to do with this.”

“Why is it unrelated?”

This time, the annoying Daniel Lowens intervened again.

“I’ve heard about that measly absence certificate too. But what is it? Think about it carefully, Kisa. With just a collaborator, something like that can be fabricated as much as one wants.”

“What nonsense are you saying?”

“In the end, the only thing proving that Seyerd Hilan was in another region is the testimony of the people at the inn where he stayed, right?”

He stood up from his seat and approached Kisa step by step.

“Such a cheap inn wouldn’t bother to check each guest’s appearance, and it’s possible to disguise oneself as someone else by roughly covering the face with something like a hat. You just need some props.”

The man’s lips curved into a sneer.

“For example, a red wig. Red hair is uncommon. If someone with a physique similar to his enters and exits the building wearing a red wig, it’s undoubtedly Seyerd Hilan.”

Daniel added with a confident expression.

“See? It’s not a big deal? Well, actually, if we assume that Covi didn’t just disappear at that time but was pretending to run away while waiting for Seyerd’s orders, a third person isn’t even necessary.”

“It’s just your speculation.”

“Well, who knows. According to Count Theodor, there was no one at the inn who looked at Seyerd for a long time. He said he was holed up in his room and only came out once or twice a day? And even that was just passing by them.”

Kisa sighed and shook her head.

“Anyway, it’s all a pointless argument. In the first place, no evidence of a crime was found at the scene where Bishop Hilan died. That’s why the authorities didn’t formally investigate either.”

However, Daniel persistently put forth his argument.

“You heard it. Your husband had a duplicate key that he swiped from his brother. The former duke died at the villa, right? What does that mean? That key was the key to the villa, and he secretly entered with it and committed murder.”

He made a gesture of slitting his own throat with his thumb.

“So there were no traces of forced entry, and it was unanimously viewed as an accident.”

Kisa lacked the material to refute those words.

She wasn’t an investigator and hadn’t heard about the details of his brother’s accident from Seyerd to that extent either.

But that didn’t mean she had to be overwhelmed by Daniel’s momentum.

“Enough. Anyway, your claims are all based on that person’s confession and are nothing but fantasies without evidence. This is an unwavering fact.”

At that moment, Daniel’s eyes narrowed.

“Then you find the evidence.”

“What?”

“You said you’d believe it if there was evidence? If you insist, you should find it.”

“…Are you in your right mind?”

“I’m perfectly sane. I think there’s a high possibility that there is evidence left around Seyerd Hilan that he hasn’t managed to dispose of or isn’t even aware of himself.”

“On what basis?”

“A perfect crime is usually hard to exist in this world.”

He pointed at Kisa with his hand.

“The person closest to him. Kisa, you are the perfect one to find the hidden evidence. Even the great Duke Hilan would let his guard down if it’s you, right?”

Who is this bastard ordering around like this?

“I don’t feel it’s worth dealing with you anymore.”

With the thought of leaving now, Kisa headed towards the door.

“Wait, young lady!”

But the desperate voice of the priest heard from behind stopped her steps.

“What’s important is not the evidence, but your life. There’s no time to delay. Quickly leave his side. Since ancient times, the ones who have been sacrificed the most by demonic men are their lovers or wives. If you don’t escape from Seyerd Hilan’s grasp, you too will−.”

“No.”

Kisa finally cut off his words and looked back.

“I trust Seyerd.”

Leaving those last words behind, she turned her back on that place.

She got out of the tea shop, boarded the carriage prepared nearby, and told the coachman the destination.

Soon, the carriage departed, and only the clattering sound of horse hooves filled the inside.

From some point, the white hands placed on her lap were trembling slightly.

“What should I do, what should I do…”

To be honest, unlike the resolute attitude she had shown at the tea shop until just now, Kisa’s mind was in utter confusion.

The anxiety that had subsided reared its head again.