Zarria looked like a child who was trying her hardest not to cry. She stared at Dhein as if seeking comfort.
Dhein scanned the people around them and saw a red haired girl with tired eyes and a malnourished body. The scion of the Craft Clan was also there.
Jaizen raised both arms and then exclaimed:
"I—It wasn't me, I swear! I didn't make her cry!"
After listening silently, Dhein had heard most of what had happened from when Jaizen walked into the alleyway up to when Zarria bumped into him. He was equally shaken by this discovery, but he did a better job at hiding it than his little sister.
He walked up to the red-haired girl, and she looked at him with so much hate in her eyes. Behind that hate was subtle fear.
"What? Are you gonna kill me now for exposing the truth?" she asked defiantly.
"Go on, do it."
Their eyes widened after seeing Dhein's next move. He got down to his knees, dirtying his expensive pants, and then he lowered his head to the girl's feet.
She screamed.
"W—What are you doing!?"
She sounded even more terrified than when she was about to die.
Zarria covered her mouth, her eyes wide open. Jaizen, on the other hand, seemed like his world was already shattering by how many bizarre events he'd seen today.
Dhein began to speak in a soft voice while kneeling. His head was touching the ground.
"My name is Dheinyrus Theocheirós, I'm the heir to the Divinity Clan. May I know your name?"
Like a barrier shattering, the scene broke the coldness in the girl's face. Tears rolled down her cheeks while she stared at Dhein's back in disbelief. It was like a fever dream, seeing something impossible like this. In many different ways, he was someone who just didn't belong to the ground.
After a few seconds of silence, she answered with a quiet voice.
"Eunice..."
Dhein clenched his fists.
"Eunice, I'm begging for your forgiveness. Please forgive me."
The girl turned to Zarria and Jaizen to see if they were also hearing what she'd heard. They were also as baffled as her.
"I was neglectful. If only I'd done a better job, my people wouldn't have made you suffer like they did. All the blame falls on me."
"Though I was unaware of these horrible acts the members of our clan are doing, as one of their leaders, I owe you an apology. I'm truly, deeply sorry for what we've done to you and all the people who live in the slums."
Silence hung thick in the air for several seconds. Commiting his whole body into kneeling, Dhein didn't move an inch from the ground.
Eunice fell to her knees and started sobbing. With weak shots, she hit Dhein's back multiple times, releasing her anger physically on him.
When she stopped, Dhein raised his head and sat up. He put a hand on Eunice's shoulder.
"It's too late for me to save Walter, but I promise you that justice will be served. I will not stop until the one behind all this is punished."
"But for now, I'll end this corruption once and for all. Everyone who wants to accept the mark of divinity will be welcomed to our manor effective this day. You can now become a proper citizen of the empire."
It was unforgivable. No matter what the reason was, using innocent people and turning them into those abominations against their will was something Dhein could never forgive.
"But Lord Theocheirós, there's still the threat that she might turn into a monster," Jaizen butted in.
Dhein stood up and turned to him.
"That's not entirely correct," he replied.
He then looked at Eunice as she also got up from the ground.
"Isn't that right, Eunice?"
Though a bit reluctant, she nodded.
"Yes, I think I know why I haven't turned into one yet."
The sun had already begun sinking into the skyline and the heavens darkened. Eunice had told them everything she knew.
Five or so months ago, a mysterious group of people arrived at the slums. Accompanied by Sike Monrow, they distributed free food for all of the people of the slums.
Although they were free, the food was still limited, and not everyone managed to acquire some.
That program proceeded for an entire week. Everyday during the program, a riot would occur among the people of the slums for the free food. The stronger and faster ones managed to grab a few extra for themselves, while the weaker and slower people had almost nothing.
Eunice had scrambled through the crowd and had been able to take a little food with her.
She gave it all to her brother, leaving nothing for herself.
She remembered Walter describing the food's taste as "a little bit weird." The people of the slums were poor and hadn't been able to taste a lot of food, so their description of food as "weird" already says a lot.
Some people that she knew who also weren't able to eat this mysterious food didn't turn into monsters. Although some had died naturally, most of them were still alive.
"But that isn't enough evidence," Jaizen stated.
"I agree," Dhein replied and then pulled a black envelope from inside his suit.
"What Eunice said is just a confirmation to the evidence I have found."
He gave the black envelope to the scion of craft. It was already opened by Dhein so Jaizen just grabbed the paper inside.
It was a letter.
The man Dhein had met in the brothel seemed to be a messenger who also happened to be a spy sent to follow them. His name was Silver Cloud, but it sounded more like an alias than a name.
When Silver Cloud left, he dropped a black envelope. Whether it was intentional or due to nervousness, Dhein wasn't sure. But one thing was certain. After Eunice's testimony, Dhein confirmed that all of the contents of the letter was true.
Jaizen began reading the letter aloud for everyone to hear. It was then that they discovered the scheme the unnamed masterminds had done. They fed the people of the slums cursed food to be able to turn them into those monstrosities at will.
They had done this in order to gain complete control over the whole population of the slums through coercion when the right time came. But at the same time, the victims also acted as a distraction incase they were discovered, so that they could make their escape.
The latter had taken place. While Zarria and the others were busy fighting, they hadn't noticed that some people in the empire as well as the slums and their manor, had disappeared.
Though this was still nowhere near enough information to catch the perpetrators, it still proved that no more people in the slums will turn into a monster.
"I see... This is a mess, oh boy," Jaizen mumbled to himself.
He then turned to Dhein.
"But Lord Theocheirós, this letter is..."
He raised the piece of paper.
"... torn in half."
Dhein looked at him in silence before replying.
"I can see that."
***
When they got back to the imperial city, Dhein left the reporting to Augros, Fiorelle and Jaizen. The scion of light was absent to the scene because he decided to investigate inside the castle about the vision Fiorelle had received.
Although he found nothing concerning, Thevon still reported all of the result to Dhein as though he was the one who ordered the investigation.
As always, the genius mage acted in a strange way.
The few hundred remaining people of the slums were sent to the Theocheirós Manor for the divine marking. Dhein specifically instructed his servants to bring them to his mother and not anyone else.
When night came, Zarria barged into Dhein's room and cried in his arms for two hours.
They all spent the night with common anxiety in their hearts.
***
< THE NEXT MORNING >
The emperor had demanded a meeting between the scions and representatives of the five governing clans. Dhein, Zarria, Fiorelle and the others stood before Emperor Vedis inside his office.
According to the new information they had discovered yesterday, Princess Shina had been abducted by a mysterious group of people. Though some traitors within the Divinity Clan were involved, the clan itself didn't seem to be involved on a deep level.
Fiorelle also confirmed this fact.
Regarding Dhein's confidence that Shina was in no danger, he had no choice but to spill a little bit of truth.
"The truth is... Shina hasn't been abducted."
The whole room fell silent.
Vedis stared at the scion of divinity. The young man's sharp, calculating eyes of gold were so calm, not a trace of uncertainty could be found in them.
He continued.
"The night before the tournament, Shina secretly left the imperial capital because I told her to."
Vedis' hands started to shake.
"I have caught wind about the betrayal in my clan for quite some time now. When I discovered that they were planning to kidnap the princess, I figured that I wanted to warn her."
Everyone listened in silence, shock was written all over their faces, especially Fiorelle who was sure he was telling the truth.
"So that was what you meant..." she uttered.
Vedis didn't know what to feel. While he was thankful to know that his daughter was safe, he still didn't appreciate that they'd kept him in the dark the whole time.
"Lord Theocheirós, why didn't you tell me all this from the very beginning?" he asked with a complaining tone.
Dheinyrus turned to him.
"Emperor Vedis, what would you have done if you knew?"
The emperor replied with silence, Dheinyrus continued.
"You wouldn't have let her leave. You would fortify the palace and keep her inside."
What he said was dreadfully accurate. Vedis shivered.
"For me to fully uncover the traitors in my clan, the best course of action was to confuse the enemies, not to tell them head on that their plans have been found out. I was able to make one of them sing, thanks to the events that have unfolded. If you knew about the truth from the beginning, I wouldn't have accomplished anything that I have right now."
"My apologies, Emperor Vedis. I used you and your daughter to fix the problems in our own clan."
Vedis stared it him with eyes opened wide, speechless.
This man calculated every single possibility alone and made everyone play in the palm of his hand.
Vedis was reminded how formidable the scion of divinity really was. He was a generational prodigy not just in terms of power but in intelligence as well.
'Wha...What a monster,' he thought.
"Everything... you knew everything from the start," he muttered with trembling voice.
"No. I was unaware about their activities in the slums, sadly."
Vedis stood up.
"Then where is my daughter? Where is she hiding?"
Dhein suddenly grinned, a sight rarely seen which made Vedis shudder.
"I don't know her exact location, but I believe she fled west."
Fiorelle's eyes widened upon hearing this.
Dheinyrus Theocheirós had lied for the second time.