Asella’s lighthearted explanation made Charlotte’s expression harden. Perhaps realizing it was time to tread carefully, she bit down on her lip. After shooting a sharp, irritated glance at Stella and Asella, Charlotte abruptly changed her demeanor. Straightening her posture as if the earlier outburst had never happened, she opened her mouth with haughty confidence.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are we really supposed to indulge in baseless old tales, all because of some ridiculous rumor about a Devil roaming about? That’s slander. And how exactly could my brother ever become some kind of monster? What an absurd accusation.”
To deny her own shrieking tantrum with such shamelessness—this was just like the daughter of the Marquess of Saklani. The Marquess, who valued immediate profit and gain over honor, had likely built his current wealth through precisely that mindset. Seiyad gazed down at Charlotte, quietly pinpointing her weakness.
“Everyone here heard you claim that I killed your brother.”
“I think Your Grace must’ve misheard. I don’t recall saying anything like that.”
It took nerve to so boldly dismiss the memory of a room full of people—but that was all it was. Her refusal to acknowledge her wrongs to the very end was sickening.
“It seems Miss Charlotte’s lost her mind. She doesn’t even remember what she said herself, flipping her claims back and forth like that. There must be a reason why His Highness Ressas and His Grace tolerated your nonsense earlier. You know what they say—there’s no use provoking the insane.”
Stella responded with a smile. She had inherited her mother’s sharp tongue, though she’d mellowed with age. Now that she had let herself speak freely again, even Seiyad felt a weight lift slightly from his heart and added his own jab.
“This must be quite a scandal for His Highness Aster. To think his betrothed has lost her wits—grounds enough to consider breaking off the engagement.”
Charlotte, who had already started trembling the moment Stella spoke, lost what little composure she’d managed to recover the instant Seiyad spoke.
“How dare someone like you even mention His Highness!”
Charlotte pointed a trembling finger at Seiyad, her eyes bloodshot as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“I gave everything to His Highness! It was always me who truly loved him! So why—why would he choose someone like you over me?!”
The fury she had long bottled up erupted all at once. As much as Seiyad thought she needed to be subdued for her rudeness and growing danger, something about her anguished scream unsettled him. He had assumed she acted out because she saw him merely as Aster’s Tither, but now he realized her feelings ran deeper than he’d thought.
But ultimately, Charlotte had knowingly cooperated with Aster, fully aware of his power. Seiyad had no reason to feel guilty toward someone like that. It had been her own choice, driven by her own desires.
In the past, he had feared and despised himself because of people like her—but now, seeing her like this, it was clear she had simply always been a pitiful person.
Witnessing that didn’t spark rage—it only left him feeling hollow. He had no desire to humiliate Charlotte any further, not when she was already destroying herself so thoroughly. It was then that Ressas, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
“Shut your mouth.”
Charlotte had been rude to Ressas earlier as well, but something about the icy steel in his voice made her flinch and fall silent. That suffocating presence Seiyad had felt earlier in the fog now briefly emanated from him again, and Charlotte instinctively lowered her head, unable to withstand it.
“I let you speak nonsense for a bit, just to see how far you’d go. But I won’t tolerate your behavior toward His Grace. You are nothing, Charlotte Saklani. You have no title, no ability, and even the future you might have had as Crown Princess is gone.”
The maids’ eyes briefly flicked to Charlotte’s shoulder. Ressas’ words had struck directly at her pride, and Charlotte made a motion to lunge at him—but Stella swiftly caught her by the arm.
Without exerting any visible strength, Stella twisted Charlotte’s arm and murmured, her voice heavy with warning.
“That’s enough. We’ve indulged you long enough. You’re currently being named as the culprit behind dozens of deaths, and not even the esteemed Marquess himself could get you out of this situation.”
Charlotte let out a high-pitched laugh. Twisting her arm to lift her chin, she glared at Stella.
“So what? Just kill them all, and it’s done.”
“That includes us witnesses too. Are you saying you’d kill the Duke, and even the prince himself? That’s a dangerous thing to say. Dangerous enough that we might not be able to leave you be.”
A glint of murderous intent flashed across Stella’s teal eyes. The atmosphere turned grim in an instant, sending fear rippling through the maids. Charlotte, now clearly startled, stammered.
She hadn’t expected them to lead her this far only to turn on her now.
“Y-You think you can actually pull that off? Do you know how many witnesses are in this room…!”
“According to your logic, it doesn’t matter. Just kill them all, right?”
Silence fell over the room. Charlotte’s green eyes widened in fear at the sense that no one here would stop Stella.
She twisted her body wildly to escape, but there was no way a noblewoman with no combat training could overpower a Tither.
Seiyad met Charlotte’s gaze coldly, feigning agreement with her earlier threats. Even the maids stayed still, unwilling to move for her sake. Sensing she had no allies left, Charlotte pulled out her last card.
“You think you’ll be safe if you kill me? His Highness will slaughter you all! He swore to cleanse the surface world of all its trash—everyone except us!”
As if waiting for those words, Ressas let out a low laugh. His violet eyes were as cold as a frozen night, and only the corners of his lips lifted in a smile. Seiyad turned to glance at him, startled.
“To think you still believe in that promise… I can’t decide whether to call you naïve or just foolish.”
Chuckling lightly, Ressas walked forward. He stopped in front of Charlotte, who was still held fast by Stella, and slowly bent down until their eyes met.
“Let’s see now. Did my brother ever actually keep the promises he made while twisting the young Lord of Saklani into what he is now?”
It was a question only Charlotte could understand. While the rest looked on in confusion, her lips trembled. The poison in her green eyes shattered instantly.
“Charlotte, tell me even one reason why my brother would keep your family alive. If the world collapses as he claims it will, only one being will rule its ruins. What use would he have for the House of Saklani? He could just kill you all—no reason to spare anyone.”
Seiyad felt a familiar sense of dissonance he hadn’t experienced in a while. When Ressas dealt with people other than Seiyad, he sometimes revealed this kind of cold, detached side. Contrary to Seiyad’s belief that Ressas was warm-hearted and kind to everyone, in this life he had come to sense that something essential was missing in him. And now was one of those moments. Ressas spoke of death without the slightest hesitation—just as he had once treated his own life with the same indifference.
“Where in the world does a Devil ever keep a promise?”
While Seiyad watched Ressas with unease, an inescapable truth finally sank into Charlotte. After all her frenzied screaming and denials, her lips moved soundlessly as if even she couldn’t argue against this one thing.
“The father who used to protect you, the house that upheld your honor—all of it will vanish if you continue to follow the one you serve. They’re illusions, soon to disappear. So if you want to survive, tell me where my brother is.”
After saying this, Ressas gave a signal to Stella. Reluctantly, she let go of Charlotte as instructed. Once freed, Charlotte immediately covered her mouth with her hands and began to sob. Ressas watched her twisted expression with cool detachment and added one final remark.
“If you really want to fall that low for someone who doesn’t love you, I won’t stop you. If that’s your idea of noble love.”
Charlotte’s hands trembled so violently it was painful to watch. The Marquess’s youngest daughter—who had likely never endured real hardship—could no longer bear the crushing pressure. She covered her face.
For a while, her ragged breathing was the only sound in the room. Her lips, faintly visible between her fingers, parted as if to speak, only to close again. Then, suddenly, she began digging into her eyelids with her fingers. Seiyad moved instinctively, disturbed by her bizarre behavior, but Ressas spoke first.
“If you have something to say, write it down.”
It was a strange command, but Charlotte obeyed it without question. Lowering her hands, she stumbled over to the table. Dipping a quill into ink, she began to scrawl something across the paper—writing with her eyes closed like a lunatic. Ressas was the only one who watched her without flinching.
When she finally set the quill down, Charlotte curled up on herself. With a face full of terror, she pleaded to Ressas.
“I don’t know anything. Do what you want.”
Smiling faintly without parting his lips, Ressas gave a small nod to Asella, signaling him to collect the paper. Asella, who had been watching everything with great interest, quickly obeyed. Without a second glance, Ressas turned away. Before leaving, he instructed the maids to keep an eye on Charlotte.
Once they had gained enough distance in the corridor, Ressas turned to Stella.
“Since the Eastern region is under Duke Vetria’s jurisdiction, handle it however you see fit. To negotiate with the Marquess of Saklani, you’ll need both the witnesses secured and the monster’s corpse. Get it done before the Marquess arrives.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Come to me when the Marquess gets here.”
After giving his instructions, Ressas gave Seiyad his habitual glance—but the moment their eyes met, he broke into a half-hearted smile and turned away. Ever since the confrontation in the forest, Ressas had been clearly avoiding him.
Seiyad felt a rising urgency not to leave him alone. It didn’t seem like his earlier words had done enough to ease the burden eating away at Ressas’s soul. He needed to follow him, now, and talk to him again.
Just as he was about to do so, Asella called out.
“Your Grace, wait!”
He rushed over and pressed the paper into Seiyad’s hand.
“I believe you’re the right person to deliver this to His Highness.”
“…Thank you.”
Before stepping away, Seiyad took a moment to ask the one thing that had bothered him during Asella’s earlier explanation.
“You said the current form of Nir’a was something new. Do you know why it changed?”
“Ah! I’m thrilled that Your Grace is curious about that! After all, a thirst for knowledge is what elevates us to positions like yours. Yes indeed. Now, all mythologies surrounding Nir’a are divided into pre- and post-founding periods. A very significant event happened between those times.”
Excited, Asella looked ready to ramble again, so Seiyad cut him off.
“Spare me the buildup. Just tell me the key point.”
“Well, opinions differ among scholars, but I firmly believe in this theory. In all the founding myths of various regions, the Moon descended alongside the Star to save the Sun. But after Solias was established, not a single tale ever mentioned the Moon again. Only the Star and the Sun remained. I’m convinced the Moon sacrificed itself to seal the Devil. The depictions of Nir’a also changed after the forest emerged.”
Then, smiling as though he genuinely found it fascinating, Asella asked:
“Your Grace, have you ever considered that Nir’a might actually be protecting humanity from something trapped inside the forest?”
What utter nonsense.
That statement undermined the centuries-long duty of the Tithers, who had survived by killing Nir’a. Knowing this wasn’t something to say lightly, Seiyad furrowed his brow as a warning. His dark eyebrows tensed, and a chill swept across his face. Startled by the lethal shift in atmosphere, Asella took a step back—but didn’t back down from his belief.
“Just think about it, Your Grace. I’ve dedicated my entire life to this research. I’ll see you later.”
After stirring Seiyad’s thoughts into chaos, Asella turned away as if nothing had happened, quickly disappearing with Stella. It felt too petty to stop him just to scold him, so Seiyad simply frowned and looked down at the paper in his hand. The hastily scrawled message read:
“His Highness can see and hear everything I do. The seed planted in my soul has become his eyes and ears. Even after I die, my soul will still belong to him. So negotiate with my father. If you show him this, I’m sure he’ll respond.”
Seed.
A word that had kept surfacing around Seiyad lately. Staring at the word, dazed, Seiyad suddenly remembered what Ressas had once told him.
“Purification touches the soul. The only one who can reach a Tither’s soul is a Guide—and if the Guide itself is corrupted, it can influence the Tither. But it can’t take full control. The Devil simply plants a seed in the soul—a seed that becomes its eyes.”
Seiyad slowly lifted his hand, the thought echoing in his mind. His pale fingers, marred with scars, hovered over the center of his chest—where his ribs met. That was the first place he had touched when he came back to life—the exact place where Ressas’s sword had passed through.
It had shattered his ribs, pierced his heart—and only then did Seiyad feel the most intense regret he had ever known. That was also the moment when his numb, emotionless soul had begun to throb again for the first time.
A torrent of thoughts and suspicions surged through his mind, making him feel as if his head would burst. Bile rose in his throat. Fighting back the nausea, he snapped his head up. His throat tightened, and his heart hurt so badly it felt like he might die right then and there. If he didn’t see Ressas immediately, he was sure something inside him would collapse.
Seiyad turned toward the direction Ressas had gone.
His legs trembled at first—but then they steadied, and he began to run, recklessly, like a man possessed.
