The fairy did not lose sight of Muge even while escaping from the tower.

Just as when it effortlessly lifted the large book, its strength was similar to that of an ant. In the sense that it could lift something much larger than its own body without any difficulty.

Laila and Eustar safely escaped the tower that continued to tremble faintly. The city felt more desolate than before, but on the other hand, there was also a unique resonance like an endlessly rippling water surface.

The ‘well’ was not far from the tower, but Laila and Eustar chose the quietest path possible as they had to move without being noticed by others.

There were too many obstacles and complicated alleys to use the runner, so they had no choice but to hurry their steps. Like wanderers heading towards the only light visible in the distance, the two moved silently and swiftly.

Eustar, who had tied his long hair that fluttered in the wind into a tight ponytail, suddenly said,

“Somehow it feels like we’re walking into an invisible pit, Laila. Don’t you think so?”

Laila, who was walking beside him matching his pace, nodded almost imperceptibly. In fact, she was feeling something more intense and… closer to unpleasant than what Eustar was describing.

It felt like walking step by step into a swamp reeking of foul odor and swarming with insects, or being sucked into darkness where one couldn’t distinguish anything an inch ahead.

After pondering for a while, Laila said,

“The day I first met you, Eustar.”

Eustar looked at her.

“In Rigicus?”

Laila nodded.

“Yes, in Rigicus.”

She shuddered slightly as if the name had suddenly jumped out from a nightmare, then continued.

“That’s when I first saw the sync… You told me ‘not to be drawn to the sync.’ Do you remember?”

Of course, Eustar vividly remembered that moment. However, it was a bit different from Laila’s mechanical, purely objective recollection of ‘that situation’.

As soon as he heard her words, as soon as he mentally pronounced the word ‘Rigicus’, Eustar felt the heavy and cool euphoria, which he had completely forgotten about, returning once again.

It was the euphoria he could feel because he had finally ‘discovered’ Laila.

Watching her resonate so intensely with the sync’s emotions—or temptations, as they could be called—sensing her ability to see non-human entities so clearly without a monocle or other magical tools, Eustar was overwhelmed by a storm of emotions, like someone who had finally obtained what they had desired most in life.

That feeling returned for a moment, then bounced away. It was such a brief moment that Laila didn’t notice how violently Eustar’s emotions and memories had been shaken.

“I remember,”

Eustar answered after a brief silence.

Even to his own ears, his voice sounded strangely cheerful, but it was an appropriate level of cheerfulness for this moment when they were taking one step after another towards the most dangerous thing, piercing through the silence.

“Why suddenly, Laila?”

Laila’s expression showed a moment of contemplation before she spoke.

“Because I feel similar to that time now. Back then… I didn’t even know I was approaching the sync, but later when I looked back on that situation, I realized how dangerous it was. So whenever I recall that feeling of walking towards danger… or darkness on my own, I wonder how I could have done such a thing.”

Eustar’s gaze lingered on Laila. She wasn’t looking at him. She was just walking at a steady pace, looking ahead.

Laila said,

“I feel the same way now, Eustar. I feel like I’m constantly approaching a place that’s very dark and inescapable. Like I’m walking into the most treacherous part of this city… on my own feet. I feel foolish. Do you understand?”

When she finished speaking, Laila flinched as she felt Eustar’s hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, she realized how extremely agitated she had become and came to her senses.

Eustar slowly pressed his thumb against the back of Laila’s neck, which had become stiff with tension, to relax it. And as her pace slowed a bit, he caressed her ear and cheek, letting out a thin, soft sigh.

“I understand, Laila. Because I’m feeling the same thing. But we’ll be alright.”

Red eyes shook violently. Laila’s expression as she looked up at him seemed anxious.

It wasn’t anxiety that showed because of Laila’s own safety. Eustar knew the only reason her fear could swell. It was Eustar, himself.

“You don’t have to be afraid of losing me. I told you, didn’t I? I’m not going anywhere. Nowhere at all. Not without you.”

Laila barely managed to lick her parched lips and nodded slightly.

Although it felt like a grating sound of a rough, rusty saw cutting through a diseased tree kept echoing in her head, if Eustar was trying to reassure her, she wanted to show him that she was reassured.

But one thing. Laila thought. There was one more thing she needed to tell him.

“I have a bad feeling. No, actually I’ve been feeling it for a while. But I was hesitating whether it would be better to tell you or keep it a secret. Eustar, I have a bad feeling.”

After unconsciously repeating the same words, Laila’s fingertips trembled slightly.

Eustar asked,

“Is it because you think it might be dangerous?”

Laila’s shoulders shook again. This time, even Eustar’s embrace couldn’t help. She began to shake violently, wrapping her arms around herself like someone thrown into a heavy snowfall.

Laila shook her head.

“No.”

She blinked hard and let out a sharp breath.

“No, Eustar. I’m not talking about us.”

“Then what?” Eustar asked. Now his voice was also trembling slightly with doubt and foreboding.

Laila’s lips moved slowly after a moment of silence.

“Your brother, Eustar. Ord Hyanmorik. Something seems to have gone wrong. I don’t know why, but I have that feeling. Very strongly.”

Sierow Palace was more engulfed in an uneasy atmosphere than ever before.

Fear is the most contagious emotion.

Right after someone first whispered that all the former branch heads of Tentinella had been summoned to the royal palace, ominous stories that something serious must have happened near the capital or the palace spread uncontrollably like wildfire through dry fields.

Ladies who had been enjoying gentle music and tea scattered to find their husbands or children.

Officials, too, focused on chattering in small groups instead of quietly working, but their topics lacked coherence and, if you listened carefully, they were just saying whatever they wanted rather than having actual conversations.

They simply found the only way to relieve their anxiety in non-stop chatter.

There was also a more cautious group. These were the ones centered around Count Tommen and Marquis Poet, who once aligned with Marchioness Himierd.

They sensed that something serious had happened to the palace, or to Sierow as a whole, but they were the type to observe the situation without rashly speaking out.

“I hear rumors are spreading that a sync has appeared nearby.”

When Marquis Poet spoke in a careful voice, several people let out uncomfortable groans. Count Tommen nervously fiddled with his graying sideburns before sighing.

“To think His Royal Highness the King’s brother is absent at a time like this.”

“According to one of the palace monks, His Majesty is conscious. But given the lack of special instructions… it might be nothing special after all.”

A young official with a weak impression murmured. However, everyone present knew that this was not true.

Nothing special, it was a blessing to be able to have such a foolish expectation. Something major had already happened. But no one knows the truth…

“Have they still not found Baso?”

When Count Tommen threw out the question to no one in particular, Marquis Poet was the first to answer.

“They say no one knows his whereabouts.”

“What a bizarre situation. For decades, I’ve never seen him leave the palace, let alone stray far from His Majesty’s chambers.”

Marquis Poet spoke again.

“The fact that no one knows his whereabouts is somehow unsettling. If something bad has happened…”

Her voice cracked at the end, and an eerie silence fell. It felt like a cold wind was blowing over the table…

“Something terrible has happened!”

The people who were already on edge either jumped up or bit their lips in terror at the sudden shout.

They looked like rabbits that had suddenly caught the scent of a wolf while grazing. Even the usually calm Marquis Poet hastily stood up, knocking over her chair.

A pale-faced servant looked around at them, gasping for breath. He had an expression that seemed to scream, ‘What on earth are you all doing here? Damn it!’

“What’s all this commotion? What terrible thing?”

Count Tommen, who was the first to regain his senses, asked in a tone of stern rebuke. The servant, still panting, looked around at them—his eyes were so wide they seemed about to pop out—and suddenly began to stutter, his lower jaw trembling.

“Hi, Himierd Marchioness, she’s now, His Majesty, as, as a hostage. She’s holding a knife.”

The servant’s words were incoherent and his voice fluctuated wildly in pitch. That strange tone cut through the tense atmosphere like a knife.

It was as if someone had pressed a very sharp piece of glass against a tightly stretched string. Someone let out a nervous laugh and scream simultaneously…

Marquis Poet’s knees gave way and she slumped down. In contrast, this time Count Tommen stood up, slamming the table.

“What did you just say?”

The servant’s entire body trembled. Everyone present was shaking. A chill came over them as if someone had suddenly slipped an ice cube inside their shirt.

The servant spoke. Tears suddenly burst from his eyes and flowed down.

“Please… Please, someone go quickly. Marchioness Himierd is trying to as, assassinate His Majesty… Please.”