After leaving the building, I didn't go home immediately.
Instead, I took a train.
I got off two stations later, transferred to another line, and then walked through several streets, pausing occasionally to check reflections in glass windows.
Standard procedure. Making sure no one was following me.
Even after leaving the station, I deliberately changed routes twice, slowing down near crowded intersections and blending in with people passing by. My gaze occasionally flickered toward mirrors, dark storefront windows, even parked car doors.
Nothing.
No suspicious faces or anything.
Only after confirming that I was alone did I finally head home.
When I reached the door and unlocked it—
It opened immediately.
Viola was already there.
The moment she saw me, her eyes brightened, the faint tension in them disappearing almost instantly.
"You're back."
Her voice was warm, tinged with relief.
Like she had been waiting.
"Yes."
