The mana inside of my body drained.

Staring at the reflection in the mirror, I didn't know what to make out of the sight that greeted me. In particular, those purple eyes of mine.

'What sort of...?'

I closed my eyes to feel my Concept.

However, I was shocked when I realized that I wasn't using it.

Instead, there was something else within my mind.

Something more...

Sinister.

"Ukh."

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my chest. Though it wasn't intense, it left me slightly breathless, and I noticed my body felt unusually weak.

The muscles in my arms and legs trembled subtly as my vision felt slightly blurry. "This."

I frowned, trying to understand what had happened.

Thud.

At that moment, Pebble appeared, landing softly on the ground and glancing around with curious eyes.

"Looks like you got into a fight with someone."

"...A fight?"

It was then that I noticed as I raised my head.

One of the walls bore a large crack, and faint traces of blood stained the floor beneath it. Not far from it was a small paper that read; [The Rise of the Twin Stars of the Evenus Family]

'Don't tell me it was Leon?'

"No, if it was Leon, then he would've incapacitated me. It's someone else."

But who exactly could it be?

I scanned the room for any clues that might explain what had happened. It didn't take long before my eyes landed on a letter, neatly placed atop the wooden desk.

"This is...?"

I picked up the letter, turning it over a few times in my hands. It was pristine, untouched, which meant it had likely just arrived. As I flipped it again, my eyes landed on the insignia stamped on the seal.

"Ah."

"The Evenus Household.'

A possibility ran through my mind.

"...Julien's younger brother?"

Or at least, someone related to the Evenus Household. The contents were especially important given how the Baron had directly written a letter instead of using a communication device.

One wouldn't use a letter unless they wanted the information to be hidden.

Communication devices could be spied upon with the right relic.

"Hmm."

I frowned, gripping the letter tightly. After a quick glance around the room, I sat down, broke the seal, and carefully opened the letter. While I still had more questions about what had happened in the room, I was more curious about its contents.

What exactly was so important for the Baron to contact me directly?

"........!"

Opening the letter my eyes widened.

Swoosh!

"Ah!"

Before I could even process the contents, the letter ignited in my hands, disintegrating into the air in a sudden burst of flame.

By the time I snapped out of the shock, I slumped back in the chair, blinking repeatedly, unsure of what to make of it all.

"This..."

I suddenly forgot all about the other Julien and just blankly stared at the ceiling of the room for a good minute before recovering.

By the time I did, my gaze fell on the ashes of what used to be a letter.

The lingering words from the letter echoed in my mind, making me purse my lips as my throat suddenly felt extremely dry.

'It has to be a joke, right?'

....And yet, thinking about it now, it made so much sense.

Especially when I thought back to how I thought their eyes looked similar.

Leon...

He was royalty, wasn't he?

***

"Wait, I wasn't stalking."

"Sure you weren't."

"No, I really wasn't. I was actually looking for you."

"Ah, that would make sense. But then why were you looking at Julien's room?"

"That..."

Aoife felt her lip twitch. How could she explain what she saw? No, she could, but... could she really? Would Kiera even believe her?

'Ugh!'

Aoife ruffled her hair.

"What? You look constipated? Do you have something to say? You want to borrow my toilet?"

"I-"

Bang!

Kiera and Aoife turned their heads sharply toward the source of the sound, their eyes widening as they saw a figure emerge from Julien's room. His face was ghostly pale, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

He looked around, meeting their gaze before lowering his head and walking past the two of

them.

Staring at him, Aoife's expression changed while Kiera's brows furrowed.

'He looks familiar,' she mumbled in a low voice.

Smack!

"Ah."

Suddenly recalling, she smacked her fist against her palm.

".... Isn't that Julien's brother? Wait, did the two of them fight or something? His lip looked

pretty busted."

"Maybe, but yeah, that was his brother."

Aoife was taken aback by Kiera's awareness; she typically seemed so indifferent to such matters. In fact, Aoife doubted Kiera could recall the names of more than ten people in their

own class.

For her to remember...

It felt so...

"Creepy."

Aoife winced as she hugged her shoulders.

As if noticing her reaction, Kiera lowered her head and frowned at her.

"What?"

"What is the name of the student that sits next to you?"

"Someone sits next to me?"

"See?"

Aoife hugged her shoulders again.

"Goosebumps."

"Fuck off."

Annoyed, Kiera raised her hand in preparation to smack her when Aoife's face changed.

"-Eh?"

Abruptly halting, Aoife turned her attention to the far end of the corridor. There, she spotted

a small lock of black hair peeking around the corner. As if sensing her gaze, the figure flinched

and then vanished from sight.

'What the...'

Taken aback, Aoife didn't know how to react.

Kiera's gaze didn't make things easier for her.

It didn't seem like she had noticed the lock of black hair like she did.

Aoife was just about to explain herself when the door to Julien's room opened and the two of

them turned their heads at the same time.

Sensing their gaze, Julien turned his head and met their eyes.

Aoife held her breath for a few seconds until Julien shifted his attention towards Kiera.

His expression showed subtle changes the moment he stared at her. Just as his lips parted

open to speak, he held himself back and walked past the two of them.

"I'll see you later." These were the last words he said before disappearing out of their sight.

Kiera and Aoife stared at his departing back for a few seconds before looking at each other.

"Odd."

Kiera mumbled first while Aoife kept her attention fixed on Julien.

He appeared to be the usual Julien, a stark contrast to the one she had witnessed moments earlier when he dragged his brother into the room. Yet, remembering the condition his brother had been in when he left, Aoife felt uncertain about what to make of the situation.

Unfortunately, she didn't have too much time to dwell on the situation as she yet again caught a lock of black hair in the distance.

"?"

Her expression stiffened at the sight. She glanced back in the direction where she had first noticed the lock of black hair before refocusing her gaze toward the front.

Aoife brows furrowed tightly.

"When did..."

***

Candles danced in the dim room, their flickering light casting shadows as the fragrant scent of

incense wafted through the air.

His face was calm and the room was quiet.

He basked in the heavy scent of incense that lingered in the room before finally opening his

eyes and looking down at the small shadows that wiggled beneath him.

'It's almost time.'

....He could sense his target's every movement and right about now one had started to move.

'I should start with the one I need to kill first.'

That was his current priority. Capturing someone was a lot easier than killing them. For that reason, he planned on killing

his target first before capturing his other target and fleeing.

The Priest wore ordinary white robes, and as he stood up and left the premises of the room,

coming out wearing one of the Academy uniforms, his face, and expression were completely different than back when he was in the room.

He looked like a regular cadet.

A moment later, a figure dressed in white priest robes, identical to the ones he had worn

moments earlier, stepped out from behind the room. Even his face and expression were the

same.

They exchanged brief glances before parting ways.

Without drawing much attention, both slipped into the crowd that had gathered for the

confessional hearing.

From a distance, a pair of eyes darted back and forth between the priest and the cadet before

moving towards the priest.

Fwap!

As the Owl darted in the direction of the priest, the cadet turned around and looked in the

Owl's direction, the corner of its lips curling up faintly.

***

The Confessional Hearing was the main event of the Gathering.

It was when the cadets would have a one-on-one talk with the priests, talking about their sins

and goals with them.

....Just like the Mass, it was compulsory and Julien couldn't afford to miss it.

Especially not when he had already missed the mass.

More importantly, the earlier he got there, the better for him. It would mean he wouldn't

have to wait long before getting it over with.

Pebble walked next to him, jumping on top of his shoulders before disappearing from sight. The Academy was rather crowded at this time, and Julien merely took a glance at his

surroundings before changing direction and deciding to take a different road to the

confessional hearing.

The road he took was deserted, with no one around.

No one was present besides a single cadet who walked in the opposite direction.

Julien frowned at the sight of the cadet.

Something is off.

For some strange reason, alarm bells were going in his mind and his steps slowed down.

'What's going on?'

Then, lifting his head to stare into the distance, his pupils constricted.

Before he knew it, the world around him had turned dark.