The next night, Beula was walking toward her room.
Suddenly, from inside her room, a greenish statue stepped out.
It looked straight at Beula… and smiled.
Then, as if nothing had happened, it walked past her.
Beula stood frozen, her body refusing to move as her eyes followed the statue in disbelief.
The green statue turned right and began walking straight toward David's room.
Without thinking, Beula followed it.
The statue entered David's room and vanished.
Panicking, Beula rushed forward and knocked on David's door.
David, assuming it was Amanda, opened the door with clear irritation.
But the moment he saw Beula standing there, words failed him.
For Beula too, seeing David snapped her back to reality.
(Beula's thoughts: "Oh no… what am I supposed to say to him now?")
Shaken by what she had just seen, Beula had unknowingly reached David's room.
Regaining her composure, she forced a smile and said, "I just came to check if you were okay, David. Nothing else."
Without waiting for a response, Beula hurried back to her room and shut the door.
Two minutes later, David finally came out of his pleasant shock.
Like a restless kitten, he paced around his room.
His thoughts were completely filled with Beula.
The sound of his footsteps was loud enough to be heard even in the next room, where Vincent stayed.
In the adjacent room, Rebecca and Amanda were talking.
That very night, Vincent was determined to finish his work.
He rolled up every map of Mexico—from B.C. to A.D., along with white charts—and packed them into his bag.
To avoid disturbances, he quietly went down the stairs and entered an isolated room below.
The room was drowned in silence.
Guerrero knew very well about Jeromino's loyalty—to his people, his nation, and his faith.
So Guerrero had already told Cheran that Jeromino had gone along with the Spaniards.
Two days later, Jeromino came to meet Guerrero.
Guerrero and his wife Jazilha were staying alone in a mansion near the palace.
The moment Jazilha saw Jeromino, irritation filled her face.
But Guerrero, on the other hand, was overwhelmed with joy at seeing his old friend.
"Come, Jeromino… come!
Where have you been all this time?
I thought you disliked staying here and had returned to Spain."
Guerrero spoke emotionally, while Jeromino listened calmly.
"How could I leave without saying even a word to you, Guerrero?"
"Come… I need to speak with you privately."
Jeromino began steering the conversation toward his real purpose.
Princess Jazilha intervened sharply, "Whatever it is, speak here itself."
Though she clearly understood why Jeromino had come, she restrained her anger.
Jeromino replied politely, "My apologies, Princess. This matter can only be discussed with the military commander."
Jazilha's anger finally broke free.
"Why?
Is my husband supposed to negotiate with Spanish slaves now?"
She pointed toward Francisco, who had come along with Jeromino.
"If you want, go back and rejoin your people.
Go to your country and do whatever you wish.
I won't question that.
But stop troubling my husband.
I cannot remain silent and watch this anymore."
(Guerrero's thoughts: "I never imagined she could get this angry…") It was the first time Guerrero had seen his wife in such fury, and for a moment, he was left speechless.
"There is no one like you're imagining here, Jazilha," Guerrero said gently.
"Calm down. Getting angry without knowing the truth isn't right."
When Guerrero turned around to look at Jeromino—
He was gone.
Vincent spread out the Mexican maps one by one, searching for the cave where the Mayans had hidden the Mayan Calendar, based on everything he knew.
The Itza Mayans fled to the Nakke Valley due to internal conflict…
The Sival River that flowed there in the 14th century dried up…
So they must have gone searching for water.
Nearby, a river flowed from the El Mirador mountains.
Vincent marked that spot with a red marker.
That river too disappeared in the 15th century.
"Hmmm…"
Among the villages in that mountain region, only Sanbar village had all essential resources.
A few months later, a major conflict erupted between them and the Sakala tribe.
The Sakala tribe emerged victorious.
Only a handful of Itza Mayans survived and fled into the dense forests nearby.
Vincent pulled out his sketch and drew lines— from Sanbar to Cerrars,
from Sanbar to Guatemala,
and another line to Teotihuacan.
He stroked his beard thoughtfully.
His eyes remained fixed on Guatemala.
Guatemala was barely two kilometers away from the Sanbar region.
Vincent searched on Google for the number of caves in Guatemala.
The result showed: 4.
"Four?" he muttered. "Even if there are forty caves, I'll search every single one."
He took a cigarette from his shirt pocket and placed it between his lips.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
"George?" Vincent muttered irritably as he picked it up—
But the display showed Professor Axley.
Vincent's expression instantly brightened as he answered the call.
"Hello, Professor!
I was just about to call you, and you beat me to it."
"Vincent…"
"What happened, Professor?
You sound disappointed. Is there some problem?"
"I don't even know how to tell you this, Vincent…"
Professor Axley sighed heavily.
"I'm so sorry…
The data we believed belonged to the Mayans… doesn't actually belong to them."
"What?
What are you saying, Professor?"
Vincent felt as if his blood had frozen in that instant.
"Yes, Vincent.
A recent study by a Norwegian archaeologist has revealed that the data we found belongs to a tribe called the Mongoli, not the Mayans."
The cigarette Vincent was about to light now felt like it was burning him instead.