“Father, are you going to the Grand Temple today as well?”

To Biare’s clear question, he responded with a warm smile as if it were obvious.

“Of course. It’s the closest place to hear the voice of God.”

As it was a situation where he might say, ‘If you’d like, why don’t you join me?’, Gaizen quickly spoke up.

“I’m busy today as I have to handle Father’s work as well. Elder sister, aren’t you busy too?”

“Yes, I have many books to read, so I’ll be in my room.”

At those words, their father clicked his tongue as if disappointed, reluctantly nodding his head.

“I plan to leave late in the afternoon, so you two have dinner by yourselves.”

“Yes, Father.”

After breakfast ended, Biare went up to her room and examined the bed frame.

It was to find the note that the maid she had previously asked for help would have secretly placed.

She had moved tirelessly to bring satisfactory results to the master she served, and finally returned with the desired information.

They had agreed beforehand that while Biare was away having breakfast, she would secretly hide it in the bedroom pretending to clean.

Since she said she would put it deep in the bed where no one could see, it took some trouble to find and retrieve it.

Finally, Biare pulled out a piece of paper that came to hand and unfolded the note to examine its contents.

It stated that around 10 PM, a private carriage would be parked in the direction of Weber Forest, and going to Bernaud Street 34 in the underworld would provide the desired information.

Biare hesitated with a bit of reluctance, as she had not been to Weber Forest since Dension’s death.

However, as Weber Forest was the only way to go unnoticed by people’s eyes, she waited for nightfall.

In the corridor of the ducal residence after sunset, only a quiet stillness flowed without a trace of human presence.

The servants, except for the knights guarding the main gate, would have returned early to their quarters.

Gaizen, who had returned from his merchant work, also sent word that he would be training late into the night with Sir Reardon, saying he hadn’t been able to practice swordsmanship for a while due to work.

Checking the time, Biare took out a robe she had put in the closet, put it on, and carefully went down the stairs.

Seeing several patrolling knights, she concealed her presence as much as possible and headed in the opposite direction from them.

The place Biare headed was a secluded spot near the large tree visible from her room.

Upon reaching a place where untouched vines grew thickly, a small hole could be seen.

It was a small space that could only be discovered after pushing through the densely tangled bushes.

It was a hole she and Gaizen had found while wandering around the ducal residence as children, but he seemed to have forgotten about it.

Biare crawled through the hole, hunching down as much as possible, and after surveying her surroundings, hurried towards Weber Forest.

Upon reaching the forest, a private carriage was parked as the maid had said.

The coachman, having already been paid, took Biare aboard without asking anything.

The carriage chose roads untouched by people, so it was bumpier than expected, and time was gradually being delayed.

‘I need to arrive before it’s too late…’

Growing anxious, Biare opened the sliding window inside the carriage and asked the coachman.

“How much longer?”

“We’ve nearly arrived. But do you really have to go?”

Having been uneasy all along, he hesitated before asking her, unable to hold back.

“Is there some problem?”

“This is not a place for a young lady to go alone. It would be better if you took a mercenary with you on the way…”

“It’s fine. I won’t be staying long.”

Having already heard enough warnings about the underworld from the maid earlier, she was already aware of the precautions to take.

Unable to forcibly bend the will of such an esteemed person, the coachman swallowed a sigh and said he would wait nearby before stopping the carriage.

Nodding, Biare alighted, covered her face as much as possible with her robe, and stepped boldly into the underworld.

As she had heard, the place reeked of filth and decay, with mold left unchecked, creating a damp atmosphere.

There were people on the verge of death in the streets, but no one paid them any attention and went about their way.

Shocked by the miserable sight that had become so commonplace to them, Biare firmly closed her gaping mouth.

No matter how much paltry sympathy she felt for them, she was already overwhelmed just thinking about Dension.

‘Surely if I follow this road…’

It should be the path to Bernaud Street 34.

As she neared her destination, her heart began to race with anxiety, and just as she was catching her breath for a moment.

When a ball the children were playing with in the alley went up onto an awning, a man in a robe raised his arm and retrieved it for them.

‘Sir Reardon…?’

As it was a man with the same scar on his arm as he who went around with a long scar on his arm, Biare doubted her eyes for a moment.

At first, she thought it might not be Reardon, but the more she observed the scar on his arm, the more certain she became.

He was the one who used to laugh and say it was a scar of honor he got while training in swordsmanship with her father when he was young.

‘Why is he here?’

He should be training in swordsmanship with her brother in the training grounds right now.

Usually, Gaizen would grumble that his swordsmanship teacher was excessively punctual about time.

That’s why it seemed all the more strange that Sir Reardon was here now.

‘Surely nothing has happened to Gaizen?’

The man who handed over the ball patted the children’s heads once and then moved his steps busily.

Biare felt as if she was being controlled by someone, compelled to follow Reardon.

Bernaud Street 34 was approaching, but she couldn’t stop her steps.

She thought she would just quickly check why he was here, and then head back to her original destination.

Biare followed him stealthily, and after confirming he had entered an abandoned building, she quickly hid herself.

She was about to enter the building when she realized someone else was already waiting for him.

She wanted to see clearly what was happening inside, but the windows were high, so she could barely watch through the cracks.

The person next to Reardon was also wearing a deeply pulled-down robe, so she couldn’t properly see their face.

As she raised her head on tiptoes again because their conversation wasn’t clearly audible, she collapsed right there.

Because blood was seeping into the floor, enough to splash onto the window.

As that sight overlapped with Dension’s corpse she had seen before, Biare couldn’t breathe properly.

Reardon spoke quietly enough for only the person next to him to hear.

“Someone was following me.”

As he said this, he nodded towards the back, and the person standing next to him spoke in an indifferent voice.

“Just leave it be. I’ll handle it.”

Reardon gave a light bow and left his position, and Biare tried to get up to go outside, but her legs wouldn’t move.

As Biare trembled with a pale face, someone’s footsteps gradually approached where she was hiding.

She started punching her legs that wouldn’t move, as if they were broken.

‘Damn it. How did I come this far!’

Anticipating a futile death due to her misjudgment, she closed her eyes slowly, shedding endless tears.

The footsteps were no longer audible. Because they had already approached her.

“Ha― Just get up, elder sister.”

That familiar voice was so clear that Biare opened her closed eyes and raised her head.

For a moment relieved that the person standing before her was Gaizen, she couldn’t understand why he was here.

Without time to wipe away her flowing tears, she felt like her mind would crumble at the unbelievable fact that Gaizen was the protagonist of this whole situation.

“Why… are you here?”

“…”

“You had no choice because the knight told you to. Right?”

Surely her innocent brother had just moved according to his master’s words. That’s all she hoped for.

“…”

“Please say something, Gaizen!”

“…Then who else would do it if not me?”

Biare was at a loss for words at his voice tinged with resentment.

“Why don’t you understand? You shouldn’t do this to me, elder sister!”

He exploded with anger he had been holding back all along, as his emotions intensified.

Not even knowing why she was here in the first place, he must have been furious at himself for even this situation being discovered.

Gaizen had endured all this alone, desperately holding on just to protect his sister.

Biare had never doubted that she had been taking good care of Gaizen under her protection until now.

But by the time she realized that she had actually been under his protection, it was already too late.

Following the wind of the heavily settled night air, Gaizen’s deep sigh scattered.

After barely putting Biare in the carriage and sending her back to the ducal residence, he remained alone in the underworld, sorting out the situation.

His own anguish didn’t matter at all.

He only wished that at least his sister could live without knowing darkness, pain, and despair.

As always, he thought he could handle all the dirty work himself.

She just needed to stay as she was now. That was all that mattered.

But everything had become a mess. How could he make his sister understand him?

Yet he couldn’t pretend his already blood-stained hands were clean.

Gaizen, still unaccustomed to the stench of blood emanating from himself, looked up at the night sky with blurry eyes.

A night devoured by darkness, without even a single brilliant star visible.

Gaizen with his burden, Biare with hers, each returned to their own places carrying their heavy loads.