"Seraphine… tell Fengyue to come back."
"Ah?" She looked at Julius uncertainly, then lowered her gaze to the floor and answered softly, "Mmm."
Seraphine's gentler eyes shifted into Fengyue's more arrogant and confident ones.
"What do you want?"
At that moment, Cassian took out a bottle of pills.
"I think you know what these are. Make sure Sylvia receives them and help her recover."
"Why don't yo—" But when she looked toward where he had been standing moments ago and found it empty, she snorted.
She turned toward Julius, who was frowning at the entire interaction.
"So, Fengyue, huh?"
The two looked at each other with little appreciation. She did not respond to the provocation and simply ignored him.
"Come on. This place reeks of blood."
She turned around and quickly disappeared. Julius sighed and followed with Sylvia in his arms.
But someone remained there, surrounded by shadows that were recovering more with every passing moment—or had already done so.
"And what will happen to me? I think they forgot about me..." But seeing the Transcendents approaching him, Zarian sighed. "I suppose there was never any chance of that..."
...
"I see you're having fun, Adela."
The maid, who had been slaughtering Corrupted humans with a smile on her face, stopped. She turned around and shouted,
"Master!"
She immediately dropped what she was doing and ran toward him, but just as she was about to throw herself into his arms, she stopped. Looking down at her clothes stained with black blood, she sighed in disappointment.
Cassian chuckled at her reaction, took her by the waist anyway, and pulled her into an embrace.
"Master, I'm dirty..."
"How could you possibly be? Can't you see?"
When they separated, she looked at herself again. Her uniform was now immaculate, not a single stain in sight. She laughed, rolled her eyes, and replied playfully,
"Master! Don't tease me."
"Things on Elara's side are finished, Adela," he said shortly, glancing away for a moment.
The maid searched his eyes.
"Did something happen? That person you had to meet…? Did you meet her?"
"Mmm, everything's settled. Someday I'll take all of you to meet her, or maybe she'll come first."
Cassian's eyes suggested the latter was considerably more likely, though he wasn't sure whether that would be a good thing. Refocusing on the present while gently caressing Adela's waist, he asked,
"Will you come with me to see Elizabeth, or would you rather stay here?"
"What is Elizabeth doing?"
"Dealing with the Valois."
She glanced toward the streets, which still showed signs of lingering chaos, hesitating for a moment. Then, remembering that Valois woman, she answered enthusiastically,
"I'm coming!"
...
Meanwhile, the Valois family—or what remained of it—had been gathered together and escorted by Cassian's shadows.
Waiting for them was none other than Elizabeth Vane. With her cunning smile and confident posture, she looked every bit the true victor.
"Cordelia, it's good to see you're safe."
The duchess frowned, somewhat surprised. For some reason, she had expected someone else...
"It seems Marchioness Vane never ceases to surprise. Where did you find all these people? I thought business was the only thing you were good at."
The owner of Nexus laughed softly.
"You should check your sources again, Cordelia. Your daughter figured it out before you did, though I suppose she had luck on her side. He can be quite gentle at times—that's one of the reasons I love him—but other times... well, you're experiencing that right now."
She said the last part in an amused tone.
Then a more serious and husky voice rang out.
"Elizabeth, where is my dear?"
"Are you that eager to see him, Morgana?"
"These ropes around my hands are starting to get annoying..." She shifted uncomfortably and shot daggers at the people surrounding her to make sure she didn't escape.
"I'm not sure he'll come. I haven't seen him in a while, and I understand there's something more important he has to deal with."
"What is all this about?"
"I don't fully understand it either. I was informed not long ago. It seems he's a little angry about something. I assume it has to do with what happened in the capital's streets recently."
Morgana's hand trembled.
She remembered hearing him deal with the people of Pradiles that day. For a moment, she imagined him treating her—or someone close to her—the same way...
She shut her eyes tightly, trying to erase the memory.
But to interrupt the flood of her thoughts, her father had to speak.
"Marchioness Vane? I hope this pathetic little performance isn't an attempt at extortion to renegotiate the rates on the warehouses in the northern district of the capital."
Elizabeth did not answer. Only a subtle laugh escaped her as she shook her head. She ignored the duke's arrogant comment entirely.
Still, she knew that if Cassian did not come, she would have to decide what happened to them herself—and she wasn't entirely sure what to do.
Victorio Valois had remained silent the entire time, merely observing the changing expressions of his mother and sister. He was not stupid. An idea of the situation had already begun to form in his mind.
'Sister... I hope you have a way to get us out of this,' he thought.
Silence filled the room.
Then Cordelia slipped free from the person holding her and walked calmly toward Elizabeth. She sat down across from her.
"I'm sorry I don't have one of my teas to welcome you with. As you can see, I'm not exactly at my best."
She raised her bound hands.
"Oh, please. I'm sure the kind of ropes we use aren't much of a problem for someone in the Eighth Circle."
Even so, Elizabeth tilted her head slightly, silently ordering the man who was about to pull Cordelia away from the sofa to leave her alone and remove the restraints.
The man obeyed uncertainly and stepped back.
"What deal saves our lives, Elizabeth?"
The violet-haired woman's smile widened. The duchess was quick.
"It's actually very simple. You'll have to give Nexus eighty percent of your grain business and all of your warehouses in Demor."
Frederick also tried to break free at those words, but was restrained even more firmly.
"Impossible!" he shouted. "Who do you think you are, extorting a duke? This is House Valois! A small trading company has no right to make demands!"
"Silence!"
Cordelia cut off her husband's useless shouting.
She turned her attention back to Elizabeth, whose expression had not changed for even a moment, and said calmly,
"It's too much."
The marchioness lowered her head with a subtle smile.
"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice."
"I want to speak with him. I won't negotiate with a subordinate."
Despite the situation, Cordelia's composure never wavered.
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
"Mmm, I'm afraid you're negotiating with me right now."
She could already smell the profit in this situation. Though she understood that Cassian did not care about such things, for her they were the source of her confidence, and she could not help taking advantage of the opportunity.
Fortunately, she always carried what she needed. Taking out ink and several sheets of paper, she began drafting an agreement. Once she finished, she handed it to the duchess.
"I'm not lowering my demands. Sign, and you're free. Though I assume you understand you'll also have to support someone else for the throne."
"No, if you don't tell me, I never would have figured it out," Cordelia replied with an ironic smile.