Yawning as he entered the entrance hall of a building banning the logo of two swords crossed behind a wolf's head, Deker von Rotsguard passed by the receptionist's desk.
"Hi, Undila," he greeted lazily. "How's it gazin' ?"
"Good evening, boss. I'm doing quite well."
"Is that so? Hey. Mind if I ask you a question?" he then leaned in, arms resting on the desk.
"Sure."
"Still got no news on Maria?" he asked, his voice tinged with worry as Undila gave him somber look.
"No… Unfortunately, there's still no news yet. Even her brothers, Theodore and Isaac haven't had any updates on the investigation of her disappearance."
"I see…" Deker tapped his finger against the surface of the desk repeatedly before releasing a sigh and stopping his tapping.
"Well, I guess I'll leave you to it then."
"Yeah…"
As Deker walked away, Undila couldn't help but be left with her own thoughts.
'It's already been 6 weeks since Maria's mysterious disappearance. And the Sentinels still haven't found anything yet. It's understandable why the boss is worried and restless.'
She leaned back into her chair, releasing a deep breath, staring at the high ceiling above with a pensive expression.
'I really hope she's alright. Please come back to us safely, Maria.'
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Emilia simply sat there, grappling with the logic of Ace's actions this time around.
It was almost ironic. A pattern that continued again and again where she continued to chase after Ace almost obsessively.
"I will admit that I do not understand your fixation on master Ace, my lady," Francesca's voice pulled Emilia out of her thoughts. "Do you hold special feelings for him?"
"Huh? I…"
The words stuck in Emilia's throat as she remembered that recent night and the kiss that she herself had initiated.
Francesca simply tilted her head to the side with mild confusion at Emilia's hesitation.
"Well, it is not my right to intrude on the specifics of your relationship, but I will have to ask you to let master Ace go… For both his sake and your own."
"…" Emilia's eyes widened in confused surprise, a strange emotion she had yet to name flaring up within her. "What do you—"
"I do not know anything, and I won't pretend to understand," Francesca cut Emilia's voice dead in its tracks.
"Frankly, if you ask me my own personal opinion as an unrelated party, the information I inherited from grandfather and the bare minimum I collected from your expressions and behavior, I would say—and forgive me for speaking bluntly—you are a liability for the current master Ace."
Shock was the only visible expression on Emilia's face at that moment. But something else was mixed into it. Something akin to a deep-seated fear.
"As he is now, I'm sure master Ace will be able to finalize the final phase of grandfather's plan."
"You—!"
The glass in Emilia's hand fell to the ground and shattered as she then gasped for air.
'What's… what's happening!? My body… I can't…'
"It would seem the drug kicked in."
Francesca said supporting Emilia's body by holding from the small of her back as she then lay her back onto the bed, tucking her in under the blanket with an almost gentle and caring grace.
"You see, unlike grandfather, I'm not quite as kind as him. I'll fulfill my duty even if I must used force and underhanded methods."
Light emanated from Francesca's hand as it hovered above Emilia's chest, the former's expression being a cold icy doll-like expression as she started informing the paral
"Even if it is at a non-lethal dose, what I slipped into the glass of water I handed to you was a personally made paralyzing agent that causes muscles rigidness within the body. I have just used a spell to lessen the pain and burden you might currently feel. I figured that after sending master Ace off, this would be the best means to hold you down here as per his wishes."
'…!? Send him off? His wishes? Then…'
"Yes. I lied when I said I hadn't met master Ace."
'Why? Why would you…? Why would he….?'
"You might be asking yourself quite a bit of question, but I'm afraid I cannot answer any of them at the moment. With grandfather's… No. With Hugo's Hendrickson's death and you're contribution in the recent events within the inner world, master Ace should now possess both the knowledge and Interference Power to eliminate that thing."
'That… thing?'
"It is time to sleep, lady Emilia. When you wake up, I pray that this matter will have advanced to the next stage…"
Francesca slowly covered Emilia's eyes, the approaching hand radiating with light.
'No! No! No! Stop it! Stop it!!! Why am I… Why am I the only one who's always left powerless to choose?' Emilia's thoughts raced as the hand approached her field of vision before drowning her in darkness. 'I… I…'
"And there." Francesca removed her hand from Emilia's face, the latter sleeping with a saddened expression as a tear ran down her face.
"All of this suffering and trials…" Francesca pulled out a handkerchief and then wiped away the falling tear from Emilia's face.
"All of it to eliminate one anomaly…"
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"Why hello there~!"
A sultry and amused female voice echoed amidst the breezy night of ruins.
The place was none other than where Therion Academy used to stand, and right on an open space amidst the ruins, there sat a table where a red-eyed woman with long black hair wearing a turtleneck black sweater, grey jeans and black heels shoes, was savoringly chomping on biscuits as if she had been waiting for hours.
"It's such a pleasure to finally meet you, Ace the Irregular~" she said with a playful smile that emanated an eerie flash of dark amusement.
"I don't quite share the same sentiment unfortunately for you. After all, today…"
Ace, wearing a simple grey open hoodie with a long-sleeved, unbuttoned white shirt and a black t-shirt underneath, blue jeans and black-and-white shoes, walked towards the table with an almost casual air about him.
"…I only came here to kill you."