At that very moment, the lights in the hospital room remained dim.
Marcellus leaned against the headboard, his body still wrapped in bandages, but his gaze was fixed on the window. The night outside was thick and silent—just like the waves of unrest churning within him.
His hand would occasionally clutch at the edge of the blanket, fingers turning pale; other times, he'd tap restlessly against the bedframe, his rhythm erratic and disordered.
He kept picturing Livia facing Jim.
Worry gnawed at him—was the castle's perimeter truly secure?
But right now, he was powerless.
All he could do was repeat silent prayers in his mind, again and again, hoping everything was going according to plan.
"Livia… you must come back safe."
—
Far from the castle—on the city's outskirts, some tens of kilometers away—Elias sat inside a concealed, decrepit building.
A large, rough-hewn regional map lay spread across the table in front of him.
He held a communicator close to his mouth, whispering to a scout on the other end.
"Is it confirmed? Any movement near the back mountain path?"
A hoarse but clear voice responded,
"No signs of the Second Legion. No unknown individuals entering the forest either."
Only then did Elias exhale slightly.
He knew Jim was arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. If Livia's plan had even the slightest flaw, Jim would never have taken the bait.
He set the communicator down and quickly sent a coded message to a contact inside the castle: Ready.
Then, he switched to a temporary encrypted channel.
On the screen, the faces of Adrian and Elise appeared.
"It's confirmed. All surveillance forces have been diverted. Time to move."
Elise gave a silent nod and pressed a small signal trigger.
At that moment, the two of them were holed up in a stone shed near an old, abandoned well—once a temporary workers' hut from the castle's expansion, now overgrown and forgotten.
Adrian gently adjusted a device strapped to his back.
It was one of his inventions—sensitive to the resonance frequency of the Holy Grail fragments.
He couldn't explain the theory well, but he knew:
Whenever he neared one of the "fragments," a strange, tidal resonance would surge through his nerves—impossible to ignore.
"Let's go." he said.
They didn't take the main path.
Instead, they slipped down the weedy side slope, placing each footstep precisely where the ground had already been flattened, avoiding twigs and soft earth that might make noise.
The night breeze stirred the trees. A startled bird flapped off into the dark.
But neither of them spoke.
Gradually, Adrian's hand began to tremble slightly as he gripped the device.
His expression grew tense.
"It's close… I can feel it. The signal's stronger."
Elise immediately raised her short blade, whispering,
"Don't rush. Slow down even more."
They rounded a massive pine tree and came upon a slanted rock wall.
There, nestled beneath it, was a well—unremarkable and hidden among leaves and vines.
"This is it," Adrian said quietly.
Both of them knelt.
Carefully, they peeled back the moss and decaying leaves covering the entrance—revealing a narrow crevice beneath.
They crawled down into the shaft, descending several meters before it opened into a natural cavern.
The air was dim, but the ground shimmered faintly with the reflection of metal.
Drawn forward as if by an invisible force, Adrian stepped closer.
He reached down and gently brushed the dust off a half-buried object.
It was the base of a cup—damaged, but unmistakably ornate.
Its surface shimmered with aged yet untarnished silver, and fine inscriptions wound along its edge—perhaps ancient script, long forgotten.
The moment Adrian's fingers touched the rim, his whole body jolted—as though struck by lightning.
Holding his breath, he whispered:
"This is it… the true base of the Holy Grail."
Elise knelt beside him, her gaze fixed on the relic.
It was her first time seeing such an artifact—never before had she felt such an oppressive weight.
Not evil, but history—so heavy it nearly suffocated her.
She murmured,
"Looks like we gambled right."
Adrian carefully placed the base into a shockproof container, but his expression grew more solemn.
"This is just the base… The real Holy Grail still has other fragments."
They looked at each other—eyes filled with excitement, and with a rising, silent tension.