Finding Jasper wasn’t difficult. Red hair was already rare to begin with and stood out easily in a crowd, so it wasn’t long before the patrol stationed at the entrance of Ressas’s palace pointed him out. Jasper was with another knight Seiyad recognized—Mona, the one who had been with Vine the day they dealt with the wolves.
He approached deliberately, letting his presence be noticed, and Mona reacted first. Turning her head with a surprised expression, she quickly offered Seiyad a formal palace bow.
“Duke Axid, sir. Greetings.”
At Mona’s words, the redheaded knight flinched and turned his gaze. The youthful face dusted with freckles confirmed he was the one Seiyad had been searching for. The moment Jasper spotted him, his eyes filled with both fear and hostility.
Strange. Definitely.
That kind of look was something Seiyad was long used to. The fear sparked by his mysterious abilities and the animosity born from his notorious reputation were ever-constant companions. But for someone under Ressas’s command to react so intensely—there had to be a personal reason behind it.
“…Greetings.”
Jasper finally echoed Mona’s greeting. Whether his half-hearted show of courtesy was due to boldness or a death wish was hard to tell.
“I’ll be taking him for a while. I’ll take full responsibility for his temporary absence.”
Seiyad stated his purpose plainly to Mona. At the sudden declaration, Mona’s eyes widened, and Jasper’s turned sharply to fear.
“Understood. I’ll resume patrol elsewhere.”
But Mona was quick to read the room. She obediently complied with the superior’s order and left the area. Seiyad scanned their surroundings. No one seemed to be watching or listening in. Still, what was to come was far too sensitive, so he ordered Jasper directly:
“Follow me.”
“D-Did you get the Lord’s permission?”
Jasper didn’t seem eager to go quietly.
“Do I look like someone who needs that?”
Seiyad let his killing intent slip. The moment his restrained, razor-sharp aura swept out alongside his presence, Jasper’s complexion went white. He faltered, head bowed in submission, and reluctantly began to move. Watching this, Seiyad sought out a secluded location. Though he’d been familiarizing himself with the layout of the central palace since the banquet, it still wasn’t second nature to him, so he turned toward the southern palace Ressas had once used. No one went there anymore—except him.
Well, Zion Shildras had once been there, too.
“I heard you’re from Shildras. Sirkan Shildras took you in himself, didn’t he?”
Once they were far from any signs of life and walking along the path to the southern palace, Seiyad finally spoke. Jasper, who had been walking with his eyes fixed on the ground, flinched to a stop. He replied with eyes brimming with fury.
“Please show respect for the former Duke.”
“Just answer the question.”
“Yes, I was taken in by the great and just former Duke of Shildras! He saw worth in a wandering orphan like me and accepted me himself!”
Jasper’s voice rose with righteous pride, placing extra emphasis on the honorifics that usually accompanied the name Shildras. Ignoring the blatant hostility, Seiyad continued.
“When was that?”
“When I was fourteen.”
Five years ago. The timing matched up a little too neatly.
“Then… that would’ve been spring, yes?”
Seiyad said it with partial certainty. Jasper reacted with surprising honesty—his widened eyes visibly shook.
“For someone of your level, talent like yours is a dime a dozen in this land. There’s no way Sirkan Shildras went out of his way to take in someone like you without a separate motive. From where I stand, it looks like something else is going on.”
Jasper’s gaze darted away, and he shook his head with forceful denial.
“That’s not true. The Duke told me himself!”
“Where did he find you?”
At that moment, Jasper’s shoulders trembled. In a way unbefitting of a knight, he appeared deeply shaken and began to back away in fear of Seiyad.
“Th-That… That’s…”
Glancing up nervously, Jasper looked at Seiyad with the same terror he’d shown in the forest that day, and whispered with a pale face:
“I can’t speak to the Devil of Solias. The devil… wields power over demons…”
Just moments ago, he’d been lucid, but now he was muttering like a man unhinged. He might’ve been foolishly brave enough to risk death, but his reasoning had been intact—until now. On closer inspection, there was no focus in his eyes.
“You…”
As Seiyad stepped closer, Jasper completely forgot the dignity and decorum of a knight. He gasped, staggered backward, and fell flat. He pushed himself along the ground with trembling hands, trying to escape. His eyes weren’t on Seiyad but on something invisible between them as he trembled violently.
“The Devil of Solias…! The devil… kills, kills people…!”
That was exactly what he’d looked like in the forest. Back then, Seiyad had assumed it was just a reaction to Nir’a’s fear-inducing influence. But now, it felt more like something had directly tampered with his mind. The closer Seiyad got, the more violent the spasms became. Soon, Jasper was clutching his head and curling into himself. A dark wetness trickled down between his legs—he had wet himself.
Seiyad stepped closer and bent down, slapping Jasper across the cheek. Despite the sharp blow, Jasper didn’t snap out of it. His eyes were half-rolled back, mumbling the same phrase over and over. Seiyad studied his face closely. It was something he’d never witnessed in person, but it triggered a memory from his studies of Tither’s history.
“When a civilian is affected by mental indoctrination, triggering the catalyst may result in madness. Handling such a power requires extreme delicacy. Side effects may include sudden loss of rationality, repetitive speech related to restricted memories, excessive rejection responses, and intense fear.”
Since Tither’s powers could not be predicted before their awakening, every Tither was educated using written records of past manifestations, many of which reappeared across generations. Documenting examples and methods of usage was considered a compulsory duty.
The symptoms Seiyad saw now aligned perfectly with what he’d read. Of course, Jasper’s sudden fit could have stemmed from countless other causes, but the words spilling from his mouth strongly suggested a link to the very matter Seiyad was investigating.
If he pushed any further now, he risked losing the clue he’d just uncovered.
Deciding against torture or intimidation—which clearly wouldn’t work in this state—Seiyad instead focused on calming Jasper down. The young man had started foaming at the mouth, so another approach was needed.
“You’ll have to sit this out for a while.”
He likely wouldn’t remember anything, but Seiyad spoke nonetheless as he reached out. His large hand clamped down firmly around the youth’s neck. Applying steady pressure to a specific spot where blood flowed, Jasper gave a violent shudder and promptly lost consciousness. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the ground. Seiyad gazed down at him with a hardened expression.
Mental indoctrination wasn’t a power currently known to exist. The previous Duke of Shildras’s ability had nothing to do with it either—his power gave form to invisible energy.
Things were unfolding in far stranger ways than he’d anticipated. But at the same time, the once elusive truths surrounding his mother were beginning to stir, hinting at their shape. The ominous weight pressing against Seiyad’s chest made his skin crawl.
***
Seiyad brought Jasper to his residence outside the palace. He never imagined he’d revisit the Brosius family’s city estate like this—after it had remained sealed off and unused for years. Half-repossessed by the royal family, the estate officially belonged to them now, but hadn’t been returned to Seiyad in any proper way. The iron chains wrapped tightly around the firmly shut gate told the whole story.
The neglected mansion felt desolate, its dead garden trees casting a bleak, cold atmosphere. Dust and cobwebs clung to every surface. Stepping inside, childhood memories rose unbidden. There had been a time when they stayed here during trips to the capital, when the family still laughed together. He’d assumed the place had vanished along with his parents, but it had simply waited, unchanged.
‘Not a single day goes by without crossing paths with Ressas.’
He had been asking around about Jasper, so word would surely reach Ressas by nightfall. And since he’d openly taken Jasper, a message from Ressas was inevitable. Seiyad had briefly considered returning Jasper to the knights, but at this point, letting him go was too risky. Now that someone had shown interest in Jasper, there was a real chance someone might try to smuggle him away.
An unseen enemy clearly existed.
The most likely suspect was Zion Shildras. This all started with Shildras, so it made sense. Whether the queen was involved or if there were other players at work—those were questions he intended to answer through Jasper.
“You found him faster than expected, Your Grace.”
A voice came from behind—Tiaki. Seiyad had sent a signal to meet here, and thankfully, he’d confirmed it quickly. When Seiyad turned, standing beside Tiaki was a member of Desertus—the one Seiyad had specifically requested. The one who had helped locate Jasper. The one who could read memories.
“This is Kurthu. She’s the one you owe, Your Grace.”
Kurthu was a small-framed woman. With tangled, dry black hair hanging loose and a disheveled appearance, she looked like any street vagrant. But the odd glint in her dark eyes as she locked onto Seiyad marked her as something very different. Kurthu stared at him without a hint of fear.
“You said you can read the memories of objects. Does that mean you can read people’s memories too?”
“…If I do… it hurts.”
Kurthu whispered, barely audible.
“I’ve already… used too much power. I can’t even focus properly…”
Tiaki stepped in to explain.
“I told you—we’re all half-broken. We can’t just use our powers however we want.”
So she could read them, then. Seiyad furrowed his brow in thought. Tiaki’s earlier offer resurfaced in his mind, and his interest shifted in that direction. No one knew better than Seiyad what kind of pain a power’s cost could demand. Pushing Kurthu in her weakened state would be wasteful and cruel.
“Then if she receives Purification, will it be possible?”
He didn’t like the idea at all, but Seiyad asked the question anyway.
