"Speak."
The morning sun began to rise. Lillian sat on a bench in the mansion's courtyard. Frederica stood beside him, arms crossed, eyes burning with intensity.
"Before you speak, I'm curious. I have some questions for you."
Lillian looked around. The mansion had been heavily damaged before but was now mostly repaired. It wasn't as grand as before, but it looked decent. Only Frederica remained as a maid in the mansion, and Beatrice wouldn't interfere—she was quite capable.
"What questions?"
"The barrier of the Sanctuary—only demi humans and humans can freely enter and leave, right? No offense, but you should be a demi-human as well. If you once stayed there, how did you manage to get out?"
Lillian's question made the maid frown slightly. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "What do you think the barrier uses to judge whether someone is a 'demi-human'?"
"Hm…?"
"'Bloodline concentration,'" Frederica explained. "Only when a person's human and demi-human bloodlines are roughly equal—about half and half, or at least not too different—will the barrier classify them as a half-blood."
Lillian immediately understood. "I see. So your degree of 'mixed blood' must be much lower."
Frederica nodded.
Lillian had never expected the barrier to make its judgment this way.
"Then what's your relationship with Garfiel?"
"It's your turn to answer my question," the blonde maid said, glaring at him. "You're human—what were you doing inside the Sanctuary?"
"You call it the Sanctuary, but in reality it's the 'Tomb of Witch of Greed,' isn't it?"
"You… you actually know about that?"
Frederica looked shocked, her green pupils widening slightly. In truth, aside from the villagers themselves, very few outsiders knew this secret. After all, the very reason the Sanctuary existed was to "protect" the tomb.
"Yes. As for the tomb… her spirit hasn't completely perished. The reason I went there was because I received her guidance."
"You were guided by the Witch…"
Lillian's words were so startling that Frederica looked at him with deep suspicion. After a while, she finally asked, "What was her purpose in guiding you there?" A thought struck her. "Could it be… to challenge the trials?"
Instead of answering, Lillian asked again, "What's your relationship with Garfiel?"
"…One question each, is it? Fair enough." The blonde maid spoke with a somewhat complicated expression. "That guy… is my younger brother."
"Younger brother, huh? Then you must know he wants to liberate the Sanctuary and shut down the barrier. What's your stance on that? Do you also hope to see it freed?"
"My turn to ask. Did you go to the Sanctuary to challenge the trials?"
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, Frederica could not help but press further, "And the result?!" After asking, she noticed Lillian's silence and immediately remembered their rules. "…Right. Yes, I know he wants to shut down the barrier. I… share the same wish."
Hearing this, Lillian suddenly recalled what Frederica had said earlier about bloodline concentration. That meant she could freely pass through the barrier. She and Garfiel were siblings, yet the elder sister could come and go while the younger brother could not. Could bloodline distribution be random? Or perhaps they were not full siblings—maybe they shared only one parent?
The question felt somewhat sensitive. Lillian sensed it might anger her, and besides, it was mere curiosity with no real significance, so he chose not to ask.
"As for the result—I passed the trial."
"You… passed?"
Frederica froze for a moment. "Then the barrier has been lifted?"
Lillian shook his head. "There are three trials in total. I've only passed the first one. All three must be completed to lift the barrier. Since you've been to the Sanctuary—or even lived there—you must know Ryuzu, the village's representative. Do you know that there's a child in the village who looks exactly like her?"
As soon as he asked this, Frederica's expression turned strange. She seemed caught off guard, as though she had never expected such a question. Lillian also noticed her reaction—it was clear she knew about it, and that this matter was extremely important.
"I don't know."
For the first time, Frederica lied. Lillian frowned slightly. He could tell she knew the truth, but since she refused to speak, there was no way to force her.
"Then let's leave it at that."
Lillian stood up. Once lies began to appear in a conversation, there was little point in continuing.
Still, their brief exchange had confirmed that Frederica also wished to remove the barrier. The urgency she had shown earlier could not have been faked.
"You're leaving?"
Lillian smiled. "What, are you reluctant to see me go?"
"Get lost!!"
Lillian said nothing more and cast one last glance at the mansion. He had originally come to bring Beatrice along, but since she was unwilling, there was no helping it. The trip hadn't been in vain—at least he had obtained considerable information from Frederica.
Turning away from the estate, he prepared to return to the Sanctuary.
After passing the first trial, he had earned the right to ask a question—one he had not yet used. He had already prepared what to ask; in fact, he had planned it long ago. He had no confidence that Echidna could answer it, but if even she could not, then perhaps that path would truly be closed to him.
Lost in thought, he descended the mountain along the same route, passed through the village, and entered the Mabeast Forest. Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
Rumble…
A low, heavy sound echoed from the distance. Lillian frowned slightly, then leapt swiftly between the trees, arriving at the source of the disturbance in no time.
Standing on a tree trunk, he saw several figures about dozens of meters ahead—mages cloaked entirely in black robes—surrounding and attacking a single person.
That person was none other than Meili.
What was going on?
The two sides seemed to be talking. Lillian focused his attention, using his extraordinary hearing to listen in.
"Meili, come back with us."
"Resistance will only lead to death."
"Your crimes must be judged."
The three mages encircled Meili. Judging from the dense fluctuations of mana surrounding them, each was highly capable. Meili might be able to defeat one of them, but facing three at once was beyond her strength.
"I won't go back." Only seven or eight magical beasts remained by Meili's side, all badly wounded. Continuing the fight would undoubtedly lead to death, yet even so, she refused to return.
"You acted without permission and stole your employer's information. Such actions can never be tolerated by the organization."
"I only want to avenge my sister!"
"The Bowel Hunter, huh," one of the mages said. "Like you, she acted without permission. Even if she hadn't died out there, she would've been punished by 'Mother' upon her return. This works out just fine—dying outside saves 'Mother' the trouble."
"What did you say?!"
Furious, Meili commanded her magical beasts to attack him. The mage merely sneered and waved both hands. A vast wave of freezing air spread out, instantly encasing all the magical beasts in ice. Another mage slammed his palms against the ground, causing the earth to split apart. Countless fragments of rock shot toward Meili. She tried her best to dodge, but a stone struck her shoulder, and the force knocked her to the ground. Her head slammed against the earth, and she lost consciousness on the spot.
"All right," said the mage who used ice magic. "Take her back—ugh… ugh!!"
He could not finish speaking.
His body suddenly floated into the air. His hands clawed desperately at his own throat, legs kicking wildly, as if some invisible hand were strangling him.
"You just said that dying outside saves you the trouble, didn't you?"
The sudden turn of events and the chilling voice startled the other two mages, who immediately looked around in alarm.
"Who's there?!"
Lillian stepped out from the forest, his expression blank as he glanced at the mage still struggling in midair.
"I'll return those words to you."
Crack!!
A sharp, distinct sound rang out. The mage suspended in the air had his neck twisted by an invisible force. To the other two mages, their companion simply hovered in the air in a grotesque manner, his head drooping backward until it rested against his back.
"Kill him!!"
The two mages frantically channeled their mana. Countless fragments of stone and blades of wind surged toward Lillian. He stood still without moving; yet when the magical attacks came within a few meters of him, they were all deflected, as if repelled by some unseen force. The scene was extremely bizarre.
"What's going on?!"
They had no idea what had happened. Their companion had died for no apparent reason, and their own attacks were mysteriously repelled by something invisible… There was only one choice—run!
Exchanging a glance, the two made their decision. But just as they turned to flee, they felt something seize them. Unable to resist the overwhelming force, their bodies were crushed instantly.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed onto the unseen hands. Lillian calmly withdrew them, and in his own vision the arms immediately vanished from sight. As for the three mages, they died without ever understanding how.
It was hardly surprising. Very few people in this world knew about the Witch Authority known as the Unseen Hand. Facing such unseen attacks without preparation usually meant certain death.
Unless one had reached the level of a master mage like Roswaal, even those with the power to counter it would likely die just as these three had—without ever knowing why.
Crunch… crack… gulp…
The magical beasts controlled by Meili began devouring the three corpses. None of them dared approach Lillian; each dragged a body to a distance before feeding. Lillian paid them no attention. He walked over to the unconscious Meili, feeling somewhat conflicted.
From the earlier conversation, it seemed Meili had discovered that Roswaal was the one who hired them to assassinate Emilia by stealing confidential information. Lillian had considered this before—assassins were not supposed to know their employers' identities. Independent killers might be exceptions, but assassins like Elsa and Meili, who belonged to an "organization," were certainly not meant to know.
And those mages had mentioned "Mother"… She was probably the leader of the organization, or perhaps an intermediary between employer and assassin. If that was the case, it was only natural that such a person would send people to eliminate Meili.
After all, if word spread that "an assassin stole her employer's information and sought revenge," the organization's reputation—and livelihood—would be ruined. What client would dare work with them again?