I followed her quietly from behind.
In the quiet corridors, she walked towards her room. In the meantime, I kept my breath in check while keeping enough distance between the two of us.
She couldn’t see me nor could she hear me, but one could never be too certain.
I felt my heart press tightly as I followed quietly from behind.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly as I became oblivious to everything around me, my focus fixed on her back. It was therefore a surprise for me to find her stopping right before Kiera’s room as she stopped and looked around.
For a moment, I thought our gazes met and my entire body tensed.
Thankfully, it was only for a brief moment as her gaze moved past me, and she finally opened the door and entered.
Clank—
It all grew quiet then.
Suffocatingly so as I cautiously approached the doors to Kiera’s room.
I had just neared the door when it suddenly burst open and a pair of glaring red eyes stared in my direction.
“—!”
I froze and my heart started racing as my stomach tightened with a sudden sense of dread.
I had to stay calm, but my instincts screamed for me to run.
My fingers twitched, and my chest rose and fell sharply, every muscle coiled. I took a step back, instinctively preparing to act in an instant.
Her gaze felt suffocating, but she looked away before I could react.
“…Hm, I guess I’m being overly paranoid.”
The door closed once again, leaving me standing in silence.
I just stood there for the next few seconds, unsure of how to react.
‘So she didn’t notice me?’
I brought my hand to my chest and secretly sighed in relief while wiping the cold sweat from my forehead.
‘That almost gave me a heart attack.’
For a split moment, I almost thought she had truly detected me. Those few seconds felt like hours and I almost found myself taking the initiative.
It was a good thing that I was able to remain still in those few seconds.
Otherwise…
‘No, it doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t waste any more time.’
Stepping forward, I reached out to touch the wooden door. Closing my eyes, I visualized a purple orb, and slowly, my hand began to phase through the surface of the door.
Following up with a step, my entire body passed through the door and I managed to pass right through it.
What greeted me on the other side of the door was a familiar yet unfamiliar room.
It was one that I had seen before, but not in real life.
‘It’s almost exactly the same as in her childhood memories. It looks like her father kept it like this for her…’
The more I learned about this family of hers the more confused I became.
From the way Kiera spoke about him, he seemed to be this big bad indifferent father who neglected her and didn’t love her.
And yet…
What I saw and what I heard from her was completely different. Could it all be an act from her father, or was Kiera lying?
…Or could there be more to it?
Suddenly, the vision I’d had with the second leaf on Rose came rushing back, and my mind paused, fixating on the one figure who hadn’t left my thoughts since that moment—Kiera’s mother.
Something about her felt unsettling.
But what exactly? What did she—
“Hey, Ki.”
The space around me rippled, and my head snapped toward the source of the disturbance, my gaze locking onto Rose’s turned back.
She seemed to be looking down, and when I stepped to the side, I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, sitting down on the ground with body tied up with some strange rope. She was awake, and her eyes were locked right towards her aunt’s.
At that moment, I saw it.
The rage…
…The pure rage and hatred she held for the figure that stood before her.
It didn’t seem like I was the only one who noticed.
“Oh my~ There’s no need for you to make such a face.”
Shaw dismissively waved her hand at her niece.
“You know I love you, Ki. This… ehm, what I’m doing is just tough love. Yes, tough love.”
Her jokes didn’t land well with Kiera, who shot her an even fiercer glare in response. If looks could kill, she’d probably have killed her aunt many times over.
“Tough crowd…”
Rose didn’t take Kiera’s seriously.
If anything, the scene looked weird from an outsider’s point of view. With her disguise on, she looked the same as Kiera.
It was a good thing that I could tell the difference.
“Well, in any case, I can’t waste too much time catching up with you.”
Without warning, Rose bent down to Kiera’s eye level, snapping her fingers in the air. Instantly, the rope binding Kiera loosened.
As soon as the rope loosened, Kiera lunged forward, only to be instantly halted by a finger pressed against her forehead.
“You bitc—!”
“Tut.”
It was just a finger, and yet, it was all that Rose needed to stop Kiera who tried to channel her mana and attack her.
“Don’t bother, your mana is sealed. It’ll be like this for a good while. Why don’t we have a nice talk between the two of us?”
“I’ll fucking kill you.”
“That’s not very nice…”
“I’ll—”
“A little birdie told me that you’re going to help them find a certain mirror. Is that true?”
Cutting Kiera off, Rose went straight to the point.
Kiera’s face froze all of a sudden. She looked utterly bewildered. I couldn’t blame her. She never made such a promise.
“You know, that makes me very sad.”
Rose lowered her head in disappointment.
“I’ve spent years trying to get you to open up and tell me where the mirror is, and yet, it only took one boy a year to get you to help him. Eish… I guess it’s true what they say—girls always have a soft spot for boys.”
“Wha… what?”
Kiera’s confusion only grew from there.
She was just about to refute her, when I pursed my lips and partly canceled [Lament of Lies], granting a view of my face.
Her face almost changed at the sight of me but she quickly recovered the moment she saw me place my finger on my lips.
It was as if she suddenly understood what was going on.
“Hm?”
But there was an issue with the situation.
Although Kiera managed to keep her face composed, barely showing any signs of change, she wasn’t flawless. Her slight imperfection didn’t go unnoticed, and her aunt swiftly flicked her head back to glare in my direction.
I somewhat expected such a reaction and was quick to activate the skill again.
But was I fast enough?
Swoosh!
The tip of the long rope shot toward me at a speed I could barely track, the air crackling as the string tightened and raced in my direction.
‘I can’t dodge….!’
The thought crossed my mind in that split second when the string moved, and I knew it was too late for me to dodge.
As my entire body tensed at the unexpected situation, a purple orb appeared in my mind.
Kacha—
The air cracked all of a sudden as I felt something move through my body.
It was an odd sensation, one I struggled to put into words as I held my breath, watching the rope snap back taut.
“Hm.”
Perhaps not expecting the rope to hit nothing, Rose’s face changed for a brief moment as she rubbed the back of her head and mumbled, ‘Am I being strangely paranoid?’
Cold sweat dripped down my back as I stared in her direction, holding my breath, every muscle in my body locked with tension.
‘….That was too close.’
For a moment, I almost thought I was done for.
‘It’s a good thing she didn’t use mana.’
Otherwise, it would’ve been way too fast for me to dodge or visualize the purple orb. I could only count myself lucky.
“Sorry about that.”
To my relief, Rose shifted her attention back to Kiera whose face had grown pale.
She also appeared relieved by the fact that I hadn’t been caught. To her, I was probably her only lifeline out of this.
If I was screwed, so was she.
“….Back on topic, Ki.”
Rose suddenly reached forward and grabbed Kiera by the chin as she struggled to avoid her grip.
“Kh—!”
“I’m honestly hurt that after all these years, you refused to tell me where the mirror is, yet you immediately agree to tell some random guy you’ve barely met. How do you think I should react if I were in your shoes?”
“…Kh…”
Kiera let out a strangled sound as she struggled under her aunt’s grip. Eventually, understanding that she couldn’t free herself, she proceeded to glare at her aunt as she managed to force out a few words.
“I’d…. grow a dick…”
“…..”
Rose’s face froze at the unexpected answer, and for a moment, my face twitched as I almost found myself facepalming.
Even in front of her aunt…
“Puahahahah.”
Unexpectedly, Rose burst out laughing.
“Kakakaka.”
Her laugh was loud, almost screeching, before it morphed into something weirder, an unsettling, almost degenerate sound that oddly resembled Kiera’s laugh.
No, it was exactly the same.
What in the…
‘Oh, right. The two of them are pretty much the same.’
I gave up from then.
“Grow a dick? Kakaka. That’s good…!”
For a moment, Rose forgot all about the situation and slapped her thigh in amusement.
“Kak—!”
The more she laughed, the more I wanted to leave.
Kiera also seemed to feel the same way, but at the same time, her face turned pale. It almost felt like she finally realized the true nature of her laugh and how others truly perceived it.
For a moment, I almost thought her soul left her body.
Maybe it did…
“Haa… You’ve become funnier over the years, Ki.”
Rose’s face suddenly changed as she brought Kiera’s face closer to hers. Studying her face, her tone suddenly grew serious.
“How is that despite looking like her, you ended up taking more from me? Should I be happy or sad for, sis? No, I should probably be happy. That selfish good-for-nothing bitch doesn’t deserve shit. She deserves whatever comes to her. Too bad I wasn’t the one to kill….”
As if coming to her senses, Rose stopped herself.
But it was too late.
“W-what?”
Kiera also appeared to have heard as she looked at her aunt in shock.
I did too as Rose suddenly froze.
“W…What did you say?”
Kiera’s hoarse voice echoed through the room. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, a finger flicked to her forehead, knocking her unconscious.
Thump!
“Ah, shit.”
Letting go of her, Rose rubbed her head as she paced around the room.
Judging from her reaction, she clearly didn’t expect to slip like that. Unfortunately, it was too late and Kiera had heard it.
…And so did I.
“How fucking annoying.”
Rubbing her head again, Rose clicked her tongue.
“Me and my loud mouth. Shit…”
She ruffled her hair for the third time until she eventually stopped and turned to look in my direction.
“You.”
Her eyes widened, and I calmly stood where I was.
Exposed.
“When did you…? How—?”
“What really happened between you and your sister?”
I calmly spoke, ignoring her shock and confusion.
Currently, I was calm.
Strangely so.
“That…”
Her lips quivered, still unable to fully comprehend what was happening.
I didn’t relent.
No, I knew I couldn’t because…
“Are you really sure you don’t know where the mirror is?”
The pieces of the puzzles were finally starting to fall.
I was now one step closer to the truth.
The truth behind the incident of the past.