Deon’s mouth hung so wide open that someone might mistake it for a cave entrance and walk inside.

He stared at the blackened piece of paper in Vivian’s hand, then at the blue panel hovering in front of them, then back at Vivian again.

"...You figured this out when?"

"When I got bored," she simply shrugged.

"How? Weren’t the doors from the Garden Wing completely locked?"

"You see," she explained. "I knew something like this would happen, so I used [Clone] early and let it wander around. I can share my senses with it so I simply...figured it out?"

"It’s kinda weird," Vivian shuddered. "It’s like multitasking, except there’s lag inbetween so I can’t control both bodies accurately."

That’s...an incredibly strong Card. To both fight in the garden while controlling another body outside— Is this really the true power of [Doppelgänger]...or just Vivian’s talent?

Regardless, all Deon could do was simply sigh. At least it wasn’t all losses.

Jin slowly raised a hand. "So...does that mean we’re not completely screwed?"

Deon nodded. "At least we have something."

Mina sat on the edge of a broken stone bench, one hand still resting near Nami’s shoulder. "But Martin has the other one."

"Yeah."

"And we don’t know where he went."

"Yeah."

"And he might hide it, trade it, break it, or use it to make everyone else turn against us later."

They both simply stared at each other before Mina sighed. "...I was hoping you’d say one of those was impossible."

"Unfortunately, I don’t like lying to children."

"I’m not a child!"

Vivian hummed from the side, twirling the blackened sixth letter between two fingers like it was some cheap playing card. "If it helps, I don’t think the old man will break it."

Hana looked at her. "Why not?"

"Because he’s a coward. And cowards cling onto anything they can get."

That was probably the most accurate thing Vivian had said all day.

"We’ll deal with Martin later," Deon finally decided.

Hana frowned. "Are you sure?"

"No," he answered immediately. "But chasing him now is exactly what he wants."

Jin blinked. "It is?"

"Of course." Deon crossed his arms. "He knows he can’t beat us directly. So the only way he survives is by causing us to make a stupid deal."

"Then what do we do?" Nami asked.

Deon’s gaze moved to the blackened paper in Vivian’s hand. "For now, let’s just work off of what we do have."

Vivian smiled and offered it with a small bow. "My heroic contribution."

"Don’t push it."

The group made their way through the West Corridor before finally arriving at the main hall. The rest stood back while Deon looked at the letter one last time in his hand before approaching the big entrance doors.

From up close, he could easily inspect the socket shape. They were probably unguessable unless you actually had the object in your hand, but regardless, Vivian was right.

On the very left of the door, a socket was etched into the door with small, strange, and even random-looking grooves. But upon holding the piece of paper up to the slot—

"It does fit..."

The moment those words left his mouth, the burnt letter began to sink. Deon’s fingers instinctively loosened as the letter pulled itself free from his grip, disappearing deeper into the socket until not even a corner remained.

Thum....click!

The entire entrance hall trembled. Dust fell from the chandeliers overhead as the massive door groaned. A thin line of pale blue light crawled around the socket, tracing the jagged outline of the burned letter.

Jin stumbled backward. "Woah—!"

Mina grabbed Nami’s shoulder to steady her while Hana’s eyes widened. Deon also braced himself, both feet steady on the floor as he gazed at the light.

But what surprised him the most, was a voice...coming from the door—Marcel’s.

"I wish...I wish I could’ve gone to your birthday..."

The words faded slowly, sinking into the walls as if the mansion itself had been waiting years to say them out loud. But before Deon could fully process it, a blue panel appeared in front of the door.

[Insert Accepted.]

[Marcel’s Secret — Sixth Letter has been placed.]

[Current Door Progress: 1/5]

[Remaining Inserts: 4]

Deon stared at the message for a long second, finally realizing what the inserts were. They weren’t keys, but confessions. Each socket wasn’t looking for some random object hidden in a room. It was tied to a specific regret, hardened into physical shape.

Hana looked at the glowing socket quietly. "His birthday..."

"Yeah," Deon muttered.

There it is again...birthday...

Marcel missed Elliot’s birthday, and Rosaline’s garden was tied to him, too. Does every room revolve around the youngest?

Jin scratched the back of his head. "So...does that mean the next insert belongs to Elliot?"

"Probably."

"Probably?"

Deon pointed at the door. "One for Marcel. One for Rosaline. One likely for Elliot."

Mina frowned. "That’s three."

"There were more family members than that," Deon said, eyes moving across the remaining sockets. "From what we’ve seen so far, Marcel and Rosaline had at least two children."

Hana blinked. "Elliot...and someone else?"

"Yeah, the heir—Leo Velvet."

Nami, still leaning slightly against Mina, looked toward the door. "Then that makes four family members."

"Marcel, Rosaline, Leo, Elliot..." Jin slowly counted with his fingers. "Wait...but weren’t there five sockets?"

Deon narrowed his eyes. He already had the suspicion, but seeing the sockets had confirmed it somewhat.

There’s one member we haven’t seen yet, and looking at the facts...it’s probably the middle child. Maybe they were left out on purpose?

[RandomToastEnjoyer: mansion family drama getting JUICY]

[ClownWithWifi: yikes, maybe that last one was a problem child?]

Deon had forgotten about his chat since so much was happening, but no doubt they enjoyed watching him suffer through the garden.

He tried to ignore them, muttering. "What now? I had hoped this would give us a clue about the next insert, but..."

Though his voice trailed off as his eyes unintentionally caught the chat window once more.

[RandomToastEnjoyer: dead dad literally gave you a keyword my guy]

[ClownWithWifi: "i wish i could’ve gone to his birthday" HELLO???]

Damn...that’s the way forward, isn’t it?