“What? He’s here?”

It was an answer Kisa never expected.

She was prepared for the worst case scenario – that Priest Bisius had also been killed by Seyerd’s hands. But out of the blue, he was here.

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you say he left for Bonsmoss a few days ago?”

“Yes, I did. But judging from your reaction, it seems you don’t believe my words.”

“…Isn’t it natural not to believe it? He disappeared in an instant as if he evaporated.”

After Priest Bisius went missing, she asked the servants managing the guest rooms, but no one properly witnessed him leaving.

The gatekeepers also only saw off a carriage that was presumed to have carried the young priest, but they didn’t actually see the face of the person inside.

It was only natural for Kisa’s suspicion to deepen with such suspicious circumstances.

In the end, it was due to Priest Bisius’s sudden departure that she resorted to the last measure of opening the secret room.

“I understand your feelings, but Priest Bisius really left urgently after receiving a call at that time. I don’t see why I would have any reason to harm him in the first place.”

Kisa opened her mouth, trying to gauge the hidden intentions beneath his calm demeanor.

“Since you heard the story about Priest Emil from Count Seyerd, you should know. About the possibility of your brother having a second collaborator.”

“Yes, I heard. I see. You suspect that person is Bisius, don’t you?”

“That’s right. Am I wrong?”

“Certainly… I heard from the abbot that he was quite close with my brother. Moreover, he was absent from Pavela Monastery when Seyerd came to the abbey to kill me.”

It was new information for Kisa.

“Then doesn’t that almost confirm he’s an accomplice? Your brother has an alibi for being somewhere else at that time. If it’s Priest Bisius, although he’s a bit short, he has a physique quite similar to yours……”

“He can deceive people’s eyes. That’s what you mean, right?”

Seyerd completed Kisa’s unconsciously trailing words and tilted his glass of water.

“To be honest, it’s not that I haven’t reached that thought myself. But it’s unreasonable to conclude Bisius is an accomplice based on that alone.”

According to him, there were two or three more people who left the monastery at that time due to various circumstances.

“Besides, the accomplice doesn’t necessarily have to be someone from inside the monastery. Seyerd also spent a lot of time outside, frequenting gambling dens and such. There’s plenty of possibility he lured someone he met there.”

He went on to explain that the person who played the fake Seyerd could have been a simple errand boy.

“It’s not like keeping watch near the murder scene like Coby, but simply staying at a designated place for a few days. For that level of task, they can recruit a suitable person without revealing the full extent of the plan.”

“……….”

Listening quietly, it made quite reasonable sense.

As she listened to his calm voice, Kisa realized that until recently, she had been quite cornered psychologically.

‘Come to think of it, the only basis for Priest Bisius being the second accomplice was my gut feeling.’

Because he disappeared so abruptly, suspicion turned into conviction.

‘But still……’

Even so, she couldn’t take this man’s words at face value either.

“If Priest Bisius is really here, let me meet him right now.”

At those words, Seyerd’s eyes widened.

“Right now, you say? But the meal isn’t finished yet—.”

“Then you can finish eating and come. I have no intention of eating more, so I’ll get up first. Where is he now?”

As Kisa pulled back her chair and got up, he spoke with a little helplessness.

“It seems your trust in me has fallen a lot because of this incident. It’s an inevitable result, but I can’t help but find it bitter.”

“…….”

“If it’s Priest Bisius, he should be in the guest room he was staying in before. I told him to rest because he arrived exhausted early this morning.”

Seyerd, who elegantly rose from his seat, extended one arm towards Kisa.

“I’ll accompany you as well. Shall we go?”

Kisa gazed at that arm for a moment, then took a step back, distancing herself from him by a step or two.

“It’s fine. You can lead the way.”

“…….”

Seyerd didn’t particularly comment on Kisa’s refusal of his escort.

He simply retracted his extended arm and then strode ahead towards the door, just as she ordered.

A few minutes later, arriving at the guest room assigned to Priest Bisius, Kisa couldn’t help but shut her mouth.

“Well, I’m sorry about this. I left without properly saying goodbye due to personal circumstances, and now I’ve returned in the middle of it all.”

Because the person who had disappeared like magic a few days ago was really there.

She didn’t think Seyerd would tell a lie that would be quickly exposed, but even considering that, the presence of the perfectly fine priest was surprising.

“Well, on the way to Bonsmoss, I received a message that the problem was somehow resolved without me.”

Priest Bisius sipped his black tea and sighed, complaining.

“Really, the abbot. The moment a little problem arises, he doesn’t even think to solve it himself and just calls for his subordinates.”

“…Ah, I see.”

“Anyway, I’m glad to be back here again. This time, I’ll definitely stay until the wedding. It’s none other than Priest Hilan’s wedding, so I should be by his side to congratulate him.”

Seyerd, sitting next to Kisa, simply responded with a smile to the priest’s words.

When the teacup was almost empty, he left the guest room, saying he had work to take care of.

Since there didn’t seem to be anything more to hear from Bisius, Kisa followed him out.

“Are you satisfied now?”

He casually asked in the corridor where only the two of them were.

Kisa answered his question with a question.

“You hardly spoke when you were with Priest Bisius before. Was it because of this? Were you afraid that if you had a deep conversation, the fact that you’re not the real Seyerd would be exposed?”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

She then stopped in place, and Seyerd also halted his steps and turned to look at Kisa.

“As you said, Priest Bisius is here in perfect condition. I feel like a fool for suspecting him for nothing.”

“Kisa.”

He called her name and approached, but Kisa avoided his gaze and stared at her toes.

“Well, fine. Being safe is better than something being wrong. Then let’s move on to the next thing.”

“Next?”

“There’s an answer I asked you about yesterday but didn’t get to hear. The reason why you’re pretending to be your brother.”

At that moment, Kisa thought she heard the sound of the man standing close to her taking in a small breath.

“Tell me. Why did you become Seyerd?”

As she slowly raised her head while asking that, his face came into view.

That face wearing a beautiful smile as if truly pleased.

“Finally getting to the main point, I see.”

The man, speaking in a voice full of emotion, brushed aside Kisa’s side hair with his right hand.

Entranced by the smile of unknown meaning, Kisa couldn’t even think to avoid his touch.

“Why… Why are you smiling like that?”

“Because I can fully reveal my love for you now.”

“Love, you say?”

Love. Considering they were talking about murder until just before, it was a truly foreign word.

He nodded his head once, then took Kisa’s hand and led her.

It was because it would be better to move somewhere quiet, as someone else might come.

Before long, they arrived at a study filled with thick books.

It was a place Kisa frequented quite often, as it was relatively close to the guest room she was staying in.

In that place, which exuded an atmosphere similar to the Royal Library where Kisa and Seyerd first… no, second met about a year ago, the two faced each other.

“There are two reasons why I became Seyerd Hilan instead of Bisherk Hilan.”

Leaning against the door, Kisa waited for his next words.

“The first was to break free from the engagement with Princess Arta. That engagement was made between Bisherk and the princess, so if I became Seyerd, I could easily abandon it.”

Was marrying the princess such an unpleasant thing for him?

In fact, considering that the princess had a partner named Gabriel, it was more than enough to hurt the pride of Bisherk, her fiancé.

‘If not that, could it be….’

Feeling the word ‘love’ he uttered a moment ago ringing in her ears, Kisa spoke.

“Then what’s the second reason?”

The man didn’t answer that question right away and quietly gazed at Kisa’s face for a while.

Just as Kisa was about to urge him to answer, he whispered as if sighing.

“Because it couldn’t be as Bisherk.”

“What?”

“You instinctively rejected the name Bisherk.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“When I was still Bisherk Hilan, you avoided me whenever you saw me. You walked far away as if I was terrifying. How much did you hate me that even if you forgot everything else, you remembered my name?”

Kisa blankly stared at the man, not understanding his words well.

“So I needed to become someone else.”