As soon as the door closed, I opened my eyes wide at the rustling sound in the darkness that came to me. Unlike me, who was blinking until my eyes adapted to the darkness, Cheshire skillfully found a match and lit a fire.

“We have to go down the stairs for a moment, and it’s a bit dark. Be careful not to trip.”

As Cheshire turned, a faint shadow of fire wavered above his face. His purple hair, which was like his symbol, was not visible because he was wearing a wig, but his yellow pupils were still clearly visible.

“Or, should I carry you, or… rather… hold my hand, or… this also seems a bit… ”

The lantern swung rapidly, squeaking.

I deliberately ignored the stuttering voice and took off my hat. When the hat blocking my view disappeared, I could see around a bit better than before.

“It’s not completely invisible, it shouldn’t be a problem if I go down carefully.”

“Ah, yes… but still, if it’s hard, please let me know immediately.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“It’s not that I had any other intentions, it’s just that you’re not used to places like this. I’m just worried. I’m worried.”

“It’s really okay now, you can stop moving.”

“Ah, yes!”

As soon as my words ended, Cheshire quickly turned his body. Maybe it was because of the lantern, but his white cheeks looked more flushed than usual.

When we had gone down about ten steps, Cheshire stopped walking and looked back at me.

“Are you really okay?”

“It’s okay, just go.”

As I firmly shook my head, Cheshire couldn’t continue speaking and hurried his steps again. Cheshire’s broad shoulders were a little lower than before.

Even though much time had passed, I remained a precious daughter of the sponsor to him. Even though I had lost my relatives and felt the children who came to the orphanage later as family, we couldn’t become a real family perhaps because of that.

Of course, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was one of the few evidences that my father was a good person. I still remembered the boy who came to repay his debt.

And, starting with Cheshire like that, among the orphanage children who started to gather one by one, there was Rose.

I took a short breath. The story of Rose was a sensitive issue for us and it was difficult to open our mouths easily.

“……Rose still hasn’t been found, has she?”

“We are trying our best to find her. Rose is a genius in hiding, so if she hides on purpose, even I have a hard time finding her.”

Cheshire spoke brightly, but his somewhat late response told me he was thinking similarly. There must be a reason why she, who disappeared, hasn’t returned until now.

The short conversation ended and there was a brief silence. And not long after, Cheshire opened his mouth again.

“Do you really think Rose was involved in killing Maryell?”

“……”

“Please tell me honestly.”

I swallowed for a moment. The answer was decided, but it was not easy to utter.

Many members of the Cat Mercenary Corps were from the same orphanage. They were not mixed with blood, but they were like a family. Perhaps Cheshire felt more special about Rose than I did.

I kept licking my lips and barely squeezed out my voice.

“…I’m not sure.”

Yes, that would be the most honest answer.

I swallowed for a moment.

When the surroundings became quiet, the sound of oil burning crackling became clearer in my ears.

“The Rose I knew wasn’t the real Rose. It was fake.”

Bake didn’t manipulate Rose’s identity. She was not really Rose Hamilton. She had been hiding her identity and staying by our side with a strange name.

“……But I think the appearance of Rose I’ve seen so far was not a lie.”

“What appears is not everything.”

It’s fortunate that Cheshire is turning his back and I can’t see his face now. I bit my lips hard, watching the stone rolling down, hitting my toes.

I want to believe too. But I can’t. The mistrust inside me has grown too much to simply trust someone.

I slowly closed my eyes.

Bake found the emperor as I expected. I didn’t hear their conversation directly, but just by looking at Bake’s distorted face when he came back, I could confirm who the deal between them was advantageous for.