"I may not know what is happening, but I believe it is tied to their organisation, Souls of Cinder. They have begun a mission in Sunday Town, an isolated settlement between Chatenham and Bronzeville’s border. That may very well be the origin of her troubles."

Leomaris had taken Hazel to the place she loved most, a toy store. The brightness and overwhelming cuteness of it always overwhelmed him, but the sparkle in Hazel’s eyes as she clung tightly to a teddy bear nearly her size was what truly kept him there.

Hazel’s attention pivoted instantly from Raine to the teddy bear in hand, as though the conversation had vanished from her mind entirely.

She indicated the eyes and nose, her finger gliding along the smile across the bear’s face.

"It looks exactly like you when you smile, Young Master. That’s exactly why I chose it... no, wait, what was I saying? I was talking about something important, wasn’t I?"

Hazel’s contractual cost with her entity had been immediate, stripping her of her focus entirely. Her attention span was gossamer-thin; it was a wonder she hadn’t forgotten walking was even necessary. Hell, were she ever mindful of her own breathing, there might come a day she’d simply cease and perish.

Whenever this happened, Leomaris held his tongue. He preferred to let her proceed at her own pace, unencumbered by constant reminders.

"I remember Ren mentioning something, but the possibility that the person overseeing the organisation they were after was Dunvol, the War God... Dunvol was Raine’s hero, so she had been a little too blinded by that fact to see it clearly."

Leomaris remained in his seat, sipping his dark chocolate drink with a stupefied look. The bitterness of the chocolate was hardly the issue, as he was, in fact, relishing it. What displeased him considerably was the mention of Dunvol, the War God.

’Is he a ghost or something? Why does it feel like he’s haunting me?’

From personal experience, he knew it was always inauspicious when the very person he’d tried so much to avoid kept showing up.

A few days prior, a third-year cadet named Cassius had approached him, furnished him with intelligence on the person after his sister, and gone on to present the most outrageous offer he’d ever encountered. Cassius wanted him to assassinate Dunvol.

If he could readily tap into a threat of that calibre, he wouldn’t be this consumed with stress over getting stronger.

The gilded, armoured cavalryman was no mere knight, but one of the Seven Royal Knights. Leomaris might not have known exactly how powerful Dunvol was, given his lack of intelligence on the royal family, but he recognised a fight when he saw one, and he recognised a suicide mission when he saw one too. This was undeniably a suicide mission.

"Why did you ask me, though? You could have asked her yourself, right? As her leader, I am sure she will tell you whatever it is."

Leomaris’s golden eyes settled on her glittering blue ones, but her attention was already gravitating toward the teddy bear in hand.

A few hours ago, Leomaris had waved at Raine after she’d invoked his name to get off campus, his thinly veiled threats notwithstanding. She hadn’t seemed to mind, nor had she so much as acknowledged it.

If Leomaris had to place it, Raine’s reaction toward him outweighed the greeting altogether. Something settled across her face: cold, indifference, and disdainful. It was enough to leave him with a feeling stranger than any he’d ever experienced.

Through the chaos, something stirred and resurfaced in his mind, giving form to this peculiar sensation.

’It has to be him... She reminds me of the Arcane Mercenary, Lucius. That bastard is supposed to be dead. So why does it feel like he’s still casting a shadow over everything?’

For Raine to take on such a cold and ruthless radiance was disconcerting. The stronger she became, the more advantageous for him, but turning into a killing machine wasn’t an outcome he desired. Moreover, Dunvol was not a man to be trifled with.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Dunvol was Lady Raine’s role model when she was younger, so I suppose there’s more to this than duty alone, it’s personal." She said it as if she hadn’t just moments ago.

Hazel rose to her feet and, with a bow that seemed more dutiful than sincere, said:

"Would it be possible for us to take a photograph together, Young Master? It is a new invention here, and they say it captures the soul upon a telegram."

Leomaris had plenty to say, but he held his tongue, following instead the child whose cuteness and innocence were indistinguishable from a doll’s, deeper into the toy store. At the far end of the store stood a photobooth, and before it, a staff member promptly guided the pair inside.

The massive flash that illuminated the booth, making the photo possible, was potent enough to leave a man blind.

"Sorry about the flash. This is a new gadget from the Naver Kingdom."

The staff member handed both Leomaris and Hazel a souvenir as compensation for nearly blinding them. Hazel couldn’t mask her contentment, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the black-and-white photo in her hand.

Leomaris managed an unnerved smile. The souvenir turned out to be a small sculpture of the Firstlight Goddess, scarcely something someone like him should be holding, and the smile the staff member wore rendered the irony all the more conspicuous.

With what Hazel had said concerning Raine still lingering in his mind, his attention wasn’t fully on the staff member’s actions, which soon helped to mitigate his uneasiness.

Whatever Raine’s decisions and actions turned out to be, he had no intention of letting her meddle in Dunvol’s affairs. Nothing good could come of that, certainly not for him in the long run.

"Are you tired, Young Master? You don’t seem quite yourself."

Leomaris’s attention snapped in Hazel’s direction. Seeing her smile gradually dissolve made him realise his sullen mood would eventually encroach on her enjoyment if he persisted. He just had to shelve it for now and pick it up later.

"You wanted to try the ice cream, didn’t you? Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go have some."

He truly was a doting master, or perhaps an older brother. But the truth was, he was skint, barely possessing three crownmarks to his name, though he loved spoiling people, Hazel above all. Not enough for him to admit it, and definitely not enough to deter him.

"Now, let’s get some dessert. Your young master’s pockets are deeper than you think."

What he really should have said was that it was his older sister who had a deep pocket.

Seeing that cheerful smile on Hazel’s face, he thought to himself.

’See? Worth it... Completely worth it. What am I supposed to do, take her somewhere cheap?’

He wore a justifying smile.

’She’s one of the most important people in my life. If that means Rosay’s account balance suffers minor structural damage, then sacrifices must be made.’

He shrugged his shoulders with pride.