'When did he manage to obtain these?'

They had not left the mansion for more than a few hours. The heating stones were expensive, and the duration they could maintain warmth was disappointingly short for their price. Kishiar had no concern about money, of course, but the thought that he had ordered these for Yuder even when he was insanely busy naturally led to a sigh.

'There's no need for this.'

Everyone was paying so much attention to him, even though they knew he would leave as soon as the investigation was over tomorrow, if nothing else came up. In the past, he had been a bit confused about how to respond whenever things happened that had never happened before, as if they were natural.

"Robel."

Yuder put the heating stones that Kishiar had sent into his pocket and handed them to Robel through the window bars. Since he was not injured, it seemed better for the injured to use them.

"Apply them to your face sparingly to avoid arousing suspicion, and use the rest on your body."

"Such a valuable thing... Isn't it something you secretly brought from the Cavalry? I can't use it."

"You never know what might happen, and if there's an injured person next to me, it will be hard on both of us."

"But still..."

Despite his explanation, Robel hesitated several times under Yuder's gaze, but eventually, he carefully used the holy water. His face was covered in wounds, but the parts hidden by his clothing were so messy that it made Yuder involuntarily frown.

"Did they beat you to make you confess?"

"Well... at least I wasn't tortured. When I think about Marty and the others who were trapped here longer and suffered more, this is nothing. If I think about Marty, I... even if I die, I have no complaints."

Thanks to the effective holy water, Robel's body became visibly clean before long. He thanked Yuder formally and then hesitated several times as if he wanted to say something but turned his gaze away each time.

"If you have something to say, say it."

"It's just... now that I know Marty is alive, I'm so curious... I heard she regained her memory; is she doing well? How's her health? Is she eating well... Can I hear even just a little?"

Yuder had suspected it, but Robel indeed seemed curious about his lover's wellbeing. Despite his best efforts to suppress it, the desperate look in his eyes made Yuder feel a strange sense of dj vu.

A certain desperate gaze filled with bitterness.

That sometimes gaze upon me

"...it's probably difficult, isn't it? I apologize."

Yuder suddenly came to his senses from his absent-minded reverie.

'...What was that?'

"No, she was... doing well. But there's something I want to tell you; it seems like she's misunderstanding something about you."

"Misunderstanding?"

Yuder told Robel the story he heard from Marty. Marty seemed to resent and suspect that Robel and the other moderate Awakeners had betrayed and abandoned her. Upon hearing this, Robel covered his face in shock, silent for a moment, but then he calmed down and spoke.

"It's understandable that she would think that way. Even if something happened to me, she wouldn't know... Now that I think about it, it wouldn't be strange if she felt disillusioned with all the Awakeners after going through that... I was just happy to know we found her."

"She was friendly with us, and her hatred for Nahan's side seemed greater, so it probably won't be that bad. Talk to her when you meet."

"...Yes."

Robel said that he had coincidentally left their temporary residence with a few colleagues on an urgent mission before the event that drove the non-Awakeners away. Perhaps the other side had plotted it.

Yuder recalled the words that Kishiar had spoken before. Nahan would not feel anything for those who were originally friendly to the Awakeners and even committed such merciless acts against them. What was it that he desired at the end of his hatred? Was it to complete a world filled only with Awakeners, after all revenge was exacted?

I remember what Enon said. He said that among the ancient mages, there were those who acted in such a way.

A plant that kills the roots of other plants as it grows will not die just by being left alone. The easiest way to kill it was to pluck it out while the sprout was still small.

Certainly... Seeing the increasingly reckless actions day by day, I cannot leave it to grow any larger.

Yuder decided to hope that, as Kishiar wished, he could pluck both the Tain Duke and Nahan through this matter.

As night deepened, a sound like a beast howling came from not far away. It was an eerie sound, as if the wind was blowing fiercely, and yet not.

"Ugh, it's that annoying noise again. It sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it."

"It's been nearly a thousand years since the prison was built, so the wind leaking through and making that noise can't be helped."

"But it's gotten worse lately, hasn't it? It wasn't that bad before. We need to find where it's leaking from, but we're short of people..."

As the grumbling soldiers passed by and disappeared into the distance, Yuder and Robel kept silent, their lips sealed.

'Come to think of it, we're on the third underground floor, and there are no windows. Are there many places where the wind can leak in?'

The place where they had rescued the memory-lost individuals was on the first underground floor, but Yuder and Robel had been confined to the third floor, considering the importance of the matter. It was good that it was very quiet, perhaps because there were almost no others confined on the same floor, but it was a bit inconvenient that there were no windows to gauge the passage of time. Even so, Yuder thought it wasn't much different from his own room, as the body was comfortable and there was no one to disturb him.

'There was a part in the book that Prince Pruelle gave me that mentioned rumors of a fourth underground floor here. Could that be true?'

Pruelle had noted the security management team's prison as a place to hide 'items' related to the Tain Duke's secret trade. If the existence of the fourth floor were true, now might be the time to verify it.

'I hardly see any soldiers around here... It probably won't be a big problem if I slip out for a moment and then return.'

The bars he casually tested were very solid, but they were only iron. Although his power had diminished, he could still easily get out if he wanted to.

Yuder, after a moment's thought, decided to sneak out and visit the fourth floor once things had quietened down a bit more. Robel, unaware of what Yuder was thinking, repeatedly nodded off and woke up, worn out by the cold and sleepiness. He looked as if he could not sleep because the other person was awake. Seeing the obvious sign, Yuder sighed and suggested that he sleep.

"If you're tired, just lie down and sleep."

"Oh... Are you not tired, sir?"

"I'm comfortable like this."

"You're truly amazing..."

Robel looked at Yuder as if he were not the same human being. He tried to hold out a little longer but soon leaned against the wall and began to snore quietly. Yuder, not yet asleep, closed his eyes and checked the movements of the patrolling soldiers from afar. When he thought that they had almost disappeared and it was time to move, he felt the sound of someone coming down the stairs toward the second floor.

"The soldiers patrolling should not have returned yet. What's going on?"

Yuder continued to keep his eyes closed without reacting. The sound of approaching footsteps, coming directly toward where he was, stopped momentarily in front of him.

Huff.

The moment a very soft breath from the other person reached his ears, a tingling shiver ran down his spine from the back of his neck. The cold blood that had been chilling his entire body surged hotly, as if being pumped in reverse.

Yuder's eyes flashed open, and he saw Kishiar holding a small lamp.

"..."

He opened his mouth, but he couldn't figure out what to say. He couldn't immediately discern whether Kishiar being there was a dream or reality. The man, who had been looking down at Yuder, gracefully knelt and placed the lamp beside him. Only after the unique fragrance spread and their eyes met at the same level did Yuder finally become convinced that this was not a dream.

"... How on earth did you get here?"

With a very soft voice, his lips, which had been mindlessly straight, finally lifted slightly.

"I paid the appropriate price."

"I will be out tomorrow, why..."

"Uh... Stop saying such harsh words. Can't you come this way? I can't see your face well."

Yuder bit his lip lightly and released it. Slowly approaching the window bars, Kishiar reached out towards him. The warmth that caressed his cheek felt hot, as if it would scald.

'No. Is it that I have become cold?'

"Where is the heating stone I gave you?"

Kishiar seemed to have the same thought and asked. When Yuder took out the heating stone he had kept in his pocket, Kishiar slightly gripped it. The red light flowed, and the warmth felt even stronger.

"Did you infuse it with magic?"

"It's no problem to this extent."

A man who seemed to know what Yuder wanted to say returned the stone. There were not many words exchanged, nor changes in expression, but each small expression or touch felt piercing to the skin.

Only when the cheek that had absorbed the warmth became a little warmer did Kishiar finally release his hand from Yuder's face and deeply exhale.

"...You're too cold. I should have at least changed your clothes."

"I am fine."

"Have you eaten anything? You barely touched the food at the Baron's wedding anniversary dinner."

Had he been watching all that time? Yuder was not particularly hungry, but the soldiers had given him water and bread in between. Kishiar, hearing the answer, seemed somewhat relieved and took something out of his pocket. It was a small folded cloak.

"Wear this. It has a magic spell to retain warmth."

"The soldiers will notice it tomorrow."

"It will become invisible to those paid eyes, so don't worry."

"..."

Seeing that there was no intention to listen even if he refused, Yuder silently took the cloak handed over through the window bars and wrapped it over his shoulders.

"But... Did you come alone?"