The answer came faster than she had antic.i.p.ated.

"Why..." Hyde did not reply immediately. "Just because you're a witch..."

There was no reaction of the magic string, which indicated that Hyde was telling the truth. In a second, Nightingale seemed to understand many things. The notion that witches were Devil's minions and the representation of the Fallen was so permeated among the public that people no longer viewed a person as a human being once she turned into a witch. The dehumanization process had thus further given rise to an alienation between the brother and sister. The so-called betrayal was simply an automatic self-protection mechanism. Perhaps, Hyde still believed he had done the right thing, and that was why he could blurt out his response so naturally.

Afterwards, Hyde said something else. He reproached himself for his ignorance and claimed that he had not known the rumor about witches was a fabrication created by the church. He also said he had truly repented for his sin and hoped that Nightingale could forgive him. Nightingale, however, could not really register his words, for she was still absorbed in her own thoughts.

So she shouldn't blame Hyde because everyone would have made the same decision under the same circ.u.mstances?

For Hyde, he was not betraying his own sister but a demon who would sooner or later lose all her attachments to humanity. Since he thought she was a demon, there was no trust between them whatsoever.

But... is it really true for everyone?

Nightingale thought of another person, although she was currently confronting Hyde.

That person was also a n.o.ble. If exposing a witch was a matter of course, he should have sent Anna, a witch to whom he was not related and had never met before, to the gallows a long time ago.

He did not fear witches, nor did he hate them, but was simply curious. His eyes were always so clear that she could always easily see through his mind. He had remained open to her even when she had held a knife to his throat.

All the memories came flooding back. Nightingale then remembered that snowy day.

It was the first winter after their encounter.

"... I don't think she'll die during the Months of Demons."

"Why?"

"She said she wouldn't lose to the Demonic Torture, and I believe her."

"You even believe a witch. We're cursed by demons."

"Really? I believe you, too."

The pictures in her head faded away.

Nightingale took a deep breath and pulled herself back to the reality. "Wait here. If anybody comes to look for you, do what you normally do like I've never shown up."

"Hold, hold on... Where are you going?"

She put the dagger back to her waist and stepped into the Mist. "To do what I should do."

Nightingale knew Hyde was right. She could easily invade Viscount Dott Somi's bedroom and threaten him to spit out all the truth with a dagger. Most n.o.bles would lose their minds at the sight of a sharp blade and automatically disclose everything without further coercion. Some stubborn ones, however, might insist on their silence for a while, but would eventually pour their hearts out after she denailed their ten fingers. This was a theory she had developed after years of a.s.sa.s.sination experience.

If the death of her parents did have something to do with the viscount, she would definitely make him pay with his life.

Yet Nightingale did not want a brutal revenge at this moment.

Especially after she confronted Hyde.

She was now no longer alone.

She had a person she could trust her life with and a person who equally trusted her.

Compared to the traditional method employed by her as a Shadow Killer, Nightingale intended to solve the problem in an alternative way. She believed if it were Roland, he would definitely not want to see her cause so much bloodshed.

Nightingale walked out of the Mist and entered Dott's study. Several pitch-dark black holes, which resembled inky spheres, appeared in the black and white world. Ignoring the dozing guards at the door, she rested her eyes on the domain of G.o.d's Stone next to the bookshelf.

Nightingale slowly walked to the wall, and the wall soon twisted and distorted. The outline of the wall curled up like dry, tangled hair, revealing what was hidden beneath.

Through the distortion, Nightingale could perceive the details that eyes of ordinary people could not penetrate. She saw a metal rod hidden in the wall, one end connecting to the bookshelf and the other attached to a "black ball".

It was a very common trap.

Nightingale broke the bell hung below the trap effortlessly. She then picked an ordinary-looking book and pushed it. Without a sound, the trap door was open.

The secret vault was embedded with G.o.d's Stones of Retaliation, but that did not pose an issue to her. Before she had entered her adulthood, old Gilen had hired a Rat leader to teach her all the skills that should be possessed by an experienced, cunning thief. After years of training, she had learned every deft trick of burglary, including how to open various lock catches with a copper needle.

After breaking open three or four iron vaults, Nightingale found what she wanted.

It was a recent ledger that kept a record of all the Dreamland Water transactions, including the order number, the name of the purchaser, and the quant.i.ty of the stocks for each transaction. As she had expected, n.o.bles tended to hide important stuff somewhere they believed was most secure.

Both the ledger and the stocks in the mansion would provide solid evidence of the viscount's crimes.

Nightingale returned to the bas.e.m.e.nt and reported everything to Roland.

The following day when it was scarcely past dawn, the First Army who had received instructions surrounded the whole mansion.

Three days later, when Hyde was just released from the prison, Nightingale came to him again. His frame was emaciated and his countenance expressed a deeper despondence. Wan and lost, he looked like a walking dead. It was the presence of Nightingale that finally brought some color to his cheeks.

There was a tinge of anger and hatred in his eyes.

"Viscount Somi is going to be hanged. His family members were sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. The two domains of his were subject to civil forfeiture. This is what you want me to have?" After they entered an empty alley, Hyde could not contain himself anymore. He growled at Nightingale, "You s.n.a.t.c.hed everything from me and left me nothing!"

"You should feel fortunate that you haven't been treated as a member of the Somi Family." Nightingale said placidly, "Compared to the viscount, you're at least alive."

"That's because you want to see me continue to suffer, to live as laughingstock! You ruined my life eight years ago, and you did it again now... Do you know what life I had after you killed old Gilen? I finally got a chance to obtain the Somis' lands, and you ruined it! I was a fool to believe you would help me!" Hyde clenched his fist. "Now, I've no t.i.tle, no land. Are you happy now? You've never forgiven me, Veronica! You're such a liar... you just want revenge! I should have known it long before!"

His hysterical hollering, in the end, yielded to a suppressed sob. He curled up his body and started to weep. "I've got nothing... nothing..."

Nightingale was silent for a while before she spoke, "You're right. I've never forgiven you, and I never will. A betrayal from a sibling is more intolerable than one from a stranger." She paused for a moment and then continued, "But you do have something. At least, I've given you freedom."

Hyde looked up, his face covered with dirt and snot.

"n.o.body, neither old Gilen nor the Somis, can manipulate you now. Whatever path you choose in the future, whatever you're doing, they'll be solely on your own decision. You'll no longer live like a puppet as you did in the past. Whether you think it's a punishment or a torture, I don't care. That's your own choice — we're officially done as of today."

With these words, Nightingale turned around and headed to the end of the alley before she disappeared from Hyde's sight a minute later.