"At such a late hour, what brings you here, my lord...."

Nordix quickly stepped forward, pushing Basto and Bale aside.

After bowing to Totlen, he took Tie by the hand, pulled her closer, and spoke with a composed expression:

"Why are you here? Couldn’t you sleep again?"

From Nordix’s side, it was ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) an attempt to smooth things over.

After all, Totlen might find it unpleasant that Agavert had gone out at night, ignoring his order.

Whether Tie understood his intention or not—her eyes darted about.

The child opened her mouth, then closed it again, and reluctantly answered:

"Uu... at night... sleep... couldn’t sleep...."

Nordix smiled as if that was exactly what he had expected.

And immediately led Tie back toward the room.

"If you needed water, you could have asked me or the others. After yesterday, you must still be very weak, so you should return inside as soon as possible."

"The loyalty of your people is impressive, King of the Dead."

But at that moment, Valentis’s voice stopped them.

Nordix hesitated and turned back again.

Totlen did not even look at him—his gaze was fixed solely on Astie.

At the corners of his lips hung a faint smile.

But even that smile, thin as a sheet of paper, was enough to unsettle Nordix.

'He’s smiling? Totlen Luminel?'

As far as Nordix knew, Luminel smiled once every three months—if at all.

He had always been emotionless and silent, but after losing his wife, he had grown even colder.

Because of that, there was even a saying:

'One smile from Totlen is worth a thousand magical beast cores.'

In other words, that was about how many beasts the Holy Knights would have to slay just to make him smile once.

While Nordix hesitated, Valentis stepped closer to Tie.

And in a calm voice, he said:

"If you wish, you may accept my invitation together with your squad."

Silence fell over the corridor.

Basto and Bale quietly exchanged glances, while Nordix froze with an awkward smile.

An invitation?

What invitation was he talking about?

But at that moment, Tie answered:

"......Nooo."

With her head lowered, the child looked strangely dejected, dragging out her words.

Then her gaze dropped further, and she cautiously looked at Valentis.

"Then... let’s go together with the squad? When the full moon comes twice?"

The corners of Valentis’s lips curved slightly again.

"Very well. Then rest."

The next moment, Totlen turned without hesitation.

And, passing by the awkwardly standing Basto and Bale, he went down the stairs.

A few seconds later, from below in the empty corridor, the soft sound of a closing door echoed.

Nordix abruptly turned his head toward Tie and quickly lifted the child into his arms.

Once they returned to the room, the moment the door closed, Nordix immediately asked:

"Astie. What was that? What exactly happened between you and Valentis Luminel? And what is this invitation?"

His voice was hurried.

And it was no wonder—he himself did not understand how to interpret what had just happened.

Tie, shrinking in on herself as she sat on her bed, spoke quietly:

"Tie did something bad to Uncle Luminel... all by herself."

Bad?

The squad members widened their eyes.

Basto stepped closer and gently asked:

"Bad? What do you mean, Tie?"

The child’s eyes filled with tears.

But as if trying to hold them back, Tie rubbed her eyes fiercely and answered:

"Tie made Uncle stupid."

"Made him stupid? What does that even mean?"

Bale also crouched in front of her as he asked, and then Tie weakly raised her wrist.

"With this... Tie... um... tricked him."

On her wrist, the artifact Cleansing of Oblivion was neatly fastened.

Nordix took a deep breath, pushed Bale aside, and sat down in front of Tie himself.

"Tricked him? What kind of trick? What exactly did you do?"

Tie pressed her lips together tightly, then looked at Nordix anxiously.

And, stumbling over her words, began to speak: 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"There is... that... they say there’s a diagram... of the Holy Knights’ organization."

"A diagram?"

"Yeees. And if you see it, you can find Father. The name might be fake, but the face isn’t...."

While the others were left speechless, Tie continued:

"But Uncle Luminel said he wouldn’t show it just like that."

Nordix let out an involuntary sigh.

Of course. It was Valentis Luminel.

There was no way he would reveal the organizational structure so easily.

"He said he would think about it if Tie honestly told him why she was looking for Father and who he is. But if I said that, it would become obvious that Tie isn’t hiding her power, but just a child...."

Tie’s voice grew quieter and quieter.

And in the end, she sniffled again, her eyes full of tears.

"But I really had to see the diagram. So Tie told everything, and then... really, really couldn’t help it...."

Beside her, Basto let out a quiet groan.

Bale, Raul, and Enzo sat there with wide eyes, not even breathing.

"I only got the promise to be shown the diagram... and erased everything from his head. Everything Tie said."

Silence filled the room.

The child’s face, after finishing her confession, became empty and sad.

"Tie is a swindler... a bad person who takes the goods and cancels the payment. A bad consumer... a scammer who receives without paying...."

For a moment, Nordix did not know what to say and only blinked.

Meanwhile, Tie had truly fallen into despair.

'If this were in Korea, Tie would really go to prison....'

For Tie, who had lived as a proper child for four years, there was one thing the grandmother from apartment 107 had strictly taught her.

That was conscience.

'Bad lies! Stealing! You must never do that, Tie. Do you understand?'

But in the end, Tie had both lied to Totlen Luminel and effectively committed theft.

And just as the wave of guilt began to surge again and her lips trembled—

"Squad leader."

For some reason, Raul carefully approached Tie.

"It’s all right. You lied not out of malice, but to protect yourself."

Tie, becoming even more distressed, bit her lip harder.

Now Enzo stepped forward and gently patted her back.

"Yes. In your place, I would have done the same."

Tie flinched and looked up.

But still uncertain, she murmured:

"But...."

"Think about it. If you hadn’t seen that diagram, things would have become very bad, right?"

"Bad...?"

"Of course bad. You could have been exposed. You might not have found your father. That would have been very sad, wouldn’t it?"

Hesitating, Tie nodded.

Raul smiled as if to say see.

"Then let’s look at it from another angle. If Totlen Luminel does not learn your identity—will anything terrible happen?"

Her lips parted slightly.

Thinking it over, Tie realized that, just as Raul said, nothing bad would happen.

She shook her head, and Raul said:

"See? Then it’s fine. Even from a legal standpoint, there’s no problem."

At the words that it was not illegal, Tie’s brows relaxed slightly.

"Really...?"

"Of course. And imagine that I lied to you. If it were in an emergency and there was no other choice—you would forgive me, right?"

"Mhm. Tie is kind and very caring, so she would forgive."

"Totlen Luminel is the same. Even if in a different way, he is someone who has reached the top. And in the end, good people always win."

At last, the child’s face completely relaxed.

Enzo spread his arms wide, and Tie immediately slipped into his embrace.

As he stroked her back, Enzo gently asked:

"By the way... are you sure you erased Totlen Luminel’s memory?"