‘What is happening?’

‘His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen…’

‘That suspicious group finally made their move…’

‘They say the nobles were involved too. The Kon Marquis family…’

After the day when the royal couple of Sierou failed in their attempt to summon a demon using Prince Eustar, who was just an infant, as a sacrifice, the Kon family fell into a hellish silence.

Not only the royal couple, but also the cultists who had deceived them, and several nobles who had participated in that horrific and grandiose ritual, were all drowned in a sea of blood, their bodies never to be found.

Among those missing bodies were those of Jimius’s parents, the Marquis and Marchioness of Kon.

Jimius’s elder brother, who had always been weak in body and mind, could not accept the fact that their parents had been involved in such an absurd cult and had aided in deceiving the royal couple.

In reality, even though it was explained that his parents too had merely been deceived by the cultists’ words, he shuddered with shame and refused to leave his bed.

—Jimi, I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t go on living like this.

He lost his mind less than a month after refusing to eat, and died three days later.

The cheerful and good-natured second brother, who had been proud to be the second son of the Kon Marquis family, ran away from home as soon as he heard the news and was never seen again.

Ord Hyanmorik, who ascended to the throne without a proper coronation ceremony to prevent chaos, did not take any revenge against the Kon Marquis family or the noble families involved in that nightmarish incident.

For some people, that seemed to be an even greater burden, as news of those who took their own lives continued for a while.

Left alone in the empty mansion after even the servants had quietly fled one by one, Jimius wanted to take her own life to atone for what her parents had done. The only reason she couldn’t was because of her younger sister, Elbrin.

Elbrin, who was only eleven years old at the time, fell into shock and remained unconscious for a week after learning the truth.

When she regained consciousness, her younger sister was no longer the lively and cheerful girl Jimius had known. She had lost both her speech and her mind at once. She could do nothing but breathe and blink without someone’s help.

So Jimius Kon couldn’t die. To save Elbrin.

—I know I am a sinner.

When the syncs began to occur and strange, inexplicable phenomena started happening all over Sierou, Ord Hyanmorik established Tentinella as if he had been expecting it.

When she heard the news, Jimius left the mansion for the first time in four years. Although the sunlight nearly blinded her and her eyesight had deteriorated significantly, she didn’t mind.

—I beg you to send me to the most dangerous place. I will offer all the loyalty Your Majesty needs. Let me spend the rest of my life in Your Majesty’s service. Please do not take away from me the only path to atonement.

Ord Hyanmorik, who was eighteen at the time, remembered the past loyalty of the Kon Marquis family to the royal family.

He accepted Jimius’s request and, as an exception, allowed her to bring her younger sister, Elbrin, to the branch and take care of her.

Since then, until now, Jimius Kon had not left the 3rd Branch, where the most dangerous battles took place, for even a single day. The nights of endless sleeplessness and nightmares were like a struggle, but she never complained.

“Elbrin, it’s cold. Move away from the window.”

Saying so, Jimius embraced her sister’s body and moved her far from the window. Elbrin showed no reaction no matter what anyone did to her.

Occasionally, when she was in a very bad mood, she would make faint sounds like a whining child, but even that was very faint.

“Branch Director.”

Her adjutant, Konseyeri, opened the door and entered. When Jimius was in the room, she was the only one who could freely come and go without making a sound.

“About that mansion. I’ve found information about the people who last lived there… and those who lived there before.”

Jimius asked, pouring another spoonful of the now almost cold soup into Elbrin’s mouth.

“Is there anything unusual?”

“The people who lived there before… aren’t that serious. Of course, there are issues, but relatively not serious, I mean. The problem is the people who lived there last. The family of the Undil household and their employees lived there… Branch Director, you need to see this yourself.”

Jimius finally put down the spoon and took the documents Konseyeri handed her. While she read them, Konseyeri carefully wiped Elbrin’s mouth and cleared away the bowl.

Konseyeri was not only skilled and excellent in handling work as an adjutant, but she was also very attentive to Elbrin, which made her a very trusted subordinate for Jimius.

“Is this true?”

Jimius asked in a serious voice, almost mumbling.

Konseyeri sighed briefly and then nodded.

“It’s true, Branch Director.”

Blood vessels appeared faintly in Jimius’s eyes as she looked down at the documents. The tips of her fingers holding the paper were trembling.

“Contact His Royal Highness the Prince immediately and organize a support team.”

“Understood. I’m worried about how the two of them will be.”

A shaky breath escaped between Jimius’s lips as she swallowed dryly.

“Let’s hope they’ll be alright.”

After Eustar went upstairs, Laila realized that the structure of the house, while seemingly simple, was strangely twisted.

‘It’s like a poorly made maze,’ Laila thought.

Due to the curved structure, the corridors couldn’t be arranged in straight lines, so the angles at which they branched out were a mess.

It would have been better if they had arranged the interior to match the exterior shape, but it seemed that the problem arose from trying to maintain a standard square internal structure while ignoring the curves.

The ‘ordinary’ impression that Laila and Eustar had when they first entered the second floor was almost like bait.

If one were to step in carelessly thinking like that, they would easily lose their sense of direction and wander… just like Laila was doing now.

‘I can feel traces everywhere.’

Laila placed her hand on the damp wall, then quickly removed it, biting the inside of her cheek. Traces of ghosts, things that hadn’t completely disappeared, remained in surprisingly large numbers.

Her senses, heightened to a degree she couldn’t understand herself, had become as sharp as a freshly honed blade, allowing her to perceive even the faintest and oldest traces as vividly as if they were newly made.

Laila gently pushed open a dust-covered door. She thought it would be locked, but unexpectedly, it opened weakly as if it were broken.

The air inside was even more stuffy and dusty. Laila saw a mobile toy hanging from the ceiling and an empty baby crib beneath it.

—Creaaak…

As Laila’s gaze fell upon it, the crib rocked slightly back and forth. At that moment, her vision flickered, and the image of an old rocking chair flashed by. It was her mother’s chair.

‘Don’t think about it.’

She chanted strongly in her mind.

‘Don’t think about it. About mother… don’t think about it. There’s no need to think…’

It was at that moment. She felt a faint presence behind her. It must be Eustar.

Laila turned around.

“Eustar, here…”

There was a thud. It was the sound of Laila’s body hitting the empty baby crib.

At that moment, she heard the last breath of a newborn who had met death wrapped in swaddling clothes, and felt cold fingers like extinguished matchsticks wrapping around her shoulder.

But that didn’t frighten her. The one standing before her eyes, that person was the very cause of Laila’s terror.

Badin was standing there.

Laila took a few more steps back, breathing heavily. A toy ball at her feet rolled slowly, making a rusty bell sound.

Her lips trembling, she spoke.

“What are you doing here?”

She didn’t want to reveal that she was afraid, but it was useless. Laila knew her own voice was trembling miserably, and she knew it would become a weakness.

Badin’s head tilted slightly to the side. His lips, slightly drooping downwards, were red, and his black hair that reached his shoulders flowed down silently like fine sand.

“What are you doing here yourself?”

For a moment, Laila was dumbfounded and could only stare at him blankly. His bright red eyes, exactly like her own and therefore more painful to look at, gazed at her intently.

“Are you curious about this house?”

Laila straightened her body, putting strength into her trembling knees.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Well, I don’t think so. Because this house is my property.”

Badin’s tone was so indifferent and nonchalant that it seemed completely unrealistic. Laila had to chew over the simple words ‘my property’ about five times in her head before she could finally ask:

“What do you mean?”

Badin answered.

“It means exactly what I said, my daughter. The humans who lived in this house summoned one of my kind to fulfill their wish. Whether that was truly their wish is beside the point. However, they chose the wrong one to summon. They called forth the most cruel and destructive one, interested in nothing but slaughter and carnage. I sent it back to the deepest part of hell. Thus, the ownership of this house was transferred to me.”

Badin’s words, which had been flowing calmly, paused for a moment. Laila understood everything he said, yet at the same time, she couldn’t understand. She was just realizing how stupid a person can become when hearing such unexpected things.

After pondering something, Badin continued.

“So… in other words, you have trespassed on my private property. I could turn a blind eye to you since you are my daughter, but there’s no need to extend such mercy to the human upstairs. Don’t you think?”

Laila’s eyes widened. Eustar! Why hadn’t she called for him as soon as she saw Badin?

No, she couldn’t have. Someone’s voice whispered mockingly in Laila’s ear. You couldn’t say anything to him. And you won’t be able to in the future either.

‘Not in this situation.’

Laila bit her lip hard and quietly put strength into her heels before lunging towards Badin’s side. Just as her hand was about to touch the wide-open doorknob, the door slammed shut with a bang!

“Eustar!”

Laila, with clenched fists, pounded on the door violently.

“Eustar, can you hear me? Eustar!”

Badin, who had been staring intently at Laila, let out a small sigh and said,

“It will be of no use.”