The room was spacious. A massive window to the left let in the reddish sun’s radiance, casting a golden stream through the stained glass.

At the centre of the room was a round table with a chair at each side, the kind designed for intense interrogation. The noble lady already had her seat occupied when Leomaris entered, but something about her caught his eye.

She held herself with the kind of refinement that came from never having gone without.

Her posture was immaculate, with hands resting softly against her thighs, composed in the way only those unacquainted with genuine hardship ever managed. The chrome scent she carried was merely the finishing touch.

She wore the Laughing End mask, rendering her face unreadable. Not that it was any of Leomaris’s bother.

She had lavender-purple hair that flowed all the way to her waist and skin so pale and silky it caught the golden light like polished stone. The sort of upkeep that didn’t come cheap or happen overnight.

Her attire, though, suggested some internal conflict she hadn’t fully worked out. A fitted gown, floor-length, in shades of black and deep brown. Sleeveless, supported at the neck by a single knot. It was the ensemble of a woman caught between two minds about herself.

The moment she caught wind of Leomaris, she rose to her feet to pay her respects. She was slim and slender overall.

Narrow and well-defined at the waist, her hips were slightly wider and lent her a feminine shape, her shoulders were relatively narrow and delicate, and while her bust was moderately large in proportion to her frame, it wasn’t exaggerated in the least.

"Welcome, Jester of the End. It is a great honor to be in your presence."

Her calm, gentle voice startled Leomaris. Something about it was strange, as if someone were forcing themselves to speak the common tongue, or perhaps someone highly educated in multiple languages.

He couldn’t be bothered to linger on her proportions, truth be told. She was built much the same as Raine, and he’d seen Raine every day without batting an eye, so that particular observation went precisely nowhere.

’This girl is no ordinary noble. Everything about her suggests she belongs to the upper ranks of nobility, perhaps a ducal family or even the royal family itself.’

His expression darkened behind his mask.

’Or worse, she might not even be from this kingdom. She could be from one of the others.’

Not a word left Leomaris, he walked past the noble lady and took his seat, leaving the silence to do the work. Still, the question nagged: why would someone of her pedigree seek out a man with his sort of name?

She sat and yet still managed another bow of the head. "Once again, I am most glad you deigned to grace me with your presence."

He acknowledged her with a nod. The lady’s presence, however, had set something uneasy in him, and he had no intention of drawing this out any longer than necessary.

"Who are you?"

His words came out cold and commanding, and yet not a flicker crossed her. Not even a flinch.

Her hand lifted slowly, and she drew the mask away. That alone was enough to put him further on edge, but beneath the unease was something else entirely.

Something about this woman struck him as familiar, though the memory refused to surface.

She had red eyes, her expression calm and somewhat aloof. Not particularly distant, but unmistakably the expression of someone who wasn’t there to make friends.

"My name is Erloice..."

She paused for a moment, her crimson eyes darting fiercely against Leomaris’s mask, before closing them and tilting her head in respect.

"I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you for now."

Erloice raised her head. "I am not a member yet. I will only share everything once I have become a full-fledged member."

’Erloice, huh? Why does that name sound familiar? And why does her face seem familiar too...? Hmph... Hmm...’

He sifted through his thoughts over and over, but couldn’t place Erloice anywhere. After a moment, he shrugged it off.

"Why are you interested in joining us? I will not accept ’no’ as an answer."

Erloice’s expression didn’t crack.

"When I first heard of the Laughing End, it was through my servants. They spoke at length, though none of it was particularly reassuring. It made me wonder — why would the Jester of the End choose such a name? Did they expect to be laughed at, believe they would be the one laughing at the end, or... already know how it all ends?"

Her expression straightened.

"I came to that conclusion myself. I believe you know how it all ends, and you’ve decided to treat it as nothing but a joke. I may be wrong, and I am aware of that, but that is what I have chosen to believe. I intend to keep that belief, so do not ever tell me what it means."

Leomaris nodded in understanding. He could see the determination in her eyes, and well, there was no reason to change her motives, her beliefs weren’t far from the truth. And even if they were, he had no intentions of telling her that.

"What exactly do you want to achieve by joining me?"

This was when something shifted around her. She didn’t look any different, but her conviction had its way of surfacing.

"I believe your actions against corrupt and incompetent leaders and organisations are exactly what I need. More than that, I believe you are the one I have been searching for all this time. I will prove my worth to you, and with you, I can finally achieve what I seek."

Leomaris scoffed behind his mask. He could tell Erloice wasn’t getting straight to the point; she wanted to prove herself a fully fledged member before saying anything in detail.

He hadn’t the faintest idea what she was on, and frankly, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to waste his time furthering her goals.

The Laughing End might be her heroic path, whatever she’d dressed it up as in her head, but he’d only built the organisation to shore up the Mercy of Death’s reputation and keep himself alive in a world that was dead set on being cruel. Not to play vigilante.

A wicked smirk formed on his lips. ’Well, I can at least use her motivation.’

He cleared his throat as a signal to speak. "You will have a way to prove yourself, and that is about a week away."

"Have you heard of the Seniors’ Jade Hall?"