* * *
At the husky command, one of the guards quickly slid the bolt shut and stood in front of the door.
The others moved to block the windows of the sitting room.
Baha slowly withdrew his arm — brushing against Ranshel’s skin with something solid — and stepped back.
Ranshel turned his head, face going pale.
In Baha’s hand was a dagger.
He unsheathed it slowly, making sure everyone could see.
As the gleaming blade came free, he flipped the empty sheath — and from the hollow interior, dark blue leaves fluttered to the floor.
A dagger… and poison herbs.
Items Ranshel had never brought with him today had just fallen from inside his clothes.
In front of everyone.
‘When he was behind me earlier… he did something.’
With trembling eyes, Ranshel scanned Baha from head to toe.
And then, he noticed it — one of the buttons on Baha’s sleeve was undone.
‘He had it hidden in his sleeve…!’
It was like being drenched in ice water.
The heat drained from his skin all at once, leaving only cold.
Of course.
He wasn’t the first son of Nameless for nothing.
For someone who could live their entire life built on lies, this kind of setup was probably nothing — child’s play.
And Ranshel hadn’t noticed a thing.
But even if he had noticed, there would’ve been no way to defend against it.
A suspect can’t refuse a search.
The moment he’d come to this fasting retreat, all escape routes had been sealed.
He should’ve made a scene — claimed false arrest, gotten himself thrown into the holding cells outside the cathedral.
At least then, he wouldn’t have had to deal with Baha.
He had only ever tried to keep Baha away from Zavad.
He never imagined Baha would turn on him first.
Looking around solemnly, Baha spoke.
“Report to His Holiness and the Holy Lady that the suspect has been identified. As of this moment, this man is stripped of his rights as a holy disciple and is to be treated as a criminal in violation of sacred law.”
Ranshel instinctively bit down on a bitter smile.
Being stripped of one’s holy disciple status meant harsher interrogation was now permitted.
The guards who had stepped back now approached him.
They seized his arms and wrenched them behind his back, forcing him to his knees.
Baha looked down at Ranshel, now restrained, and spoke coldly:
“Take him away.”
A black cloth was pulled over Ranshel’s head.
Dragged away, his feet barely touched the ground as he was forced to stumble forward.
His vision was blocked, but his mind stayed alert.
He could tell they loaded him into something like a cart, moved for a short while, opened a door, and then descended stairs into the ground.
There was no way to pinpoint the location.
But one thing was certain — his situation had gotten much worse.
With a loud, metallic screech, a rusty iron door opened.
Ranshel was roughly tossed forward, unable to brace himself because his hands were tied.
His body hit the cold stone floor with a dull thud.
His shoulders and arms throbbed with the pain of what was surely bruising.
The black cloth was finally removed.
Ranshel blinked through the haze, trying to adjust.
He was inside a heavy iron cell, faintly lit by a single dim wall lamp.
Unlike the refined prayer rooms, this was unmistakably a prison — built to hold true criminals.
“This prison is on the grounds of the Holy Legion,” Baha said from beyond the bars.
“They say it was originally used to hold demon prisoners.”
“……”
Baha stood calmly, peering in through the bars.
As soon as the other guards exited, the impassive mask on his face broke into a smile.
“Do you recognize me? It’s been so long, I hope you haven’t forgotten.”
“……”
“If you have… I’ll kill you right now.”
Ranshel had reset the game.
So to Baha, this was their first encounter — again.
His reaction was eerily similar to how it had been before.
He never imagined he’d be doing this all over again.
Lying with his cheek pressed against the stone floor, Ranshel muttered:
“How could I forget, Baha?”
“So you’ve been thinking about me too, huh? That makes me happy.”
Not in the slightest.
Ranshel muttered inwardly, clenching his eyes shut.
‘Am I going to die here again?’
He hadn’t meant to waste one of his extra lives like this.
All that effort — carrying weapons, staying alert — all useless now.
Tied up like this, Baha could kill him even easier than last time.
“Hey, Ranshel.”
“……”
“I have a favor to ask.”
‘Now what?’
Ranshel opened his eyes and turned his head just enough to look at Baha.
‘A favor?’
That word didn’t suit him at all.
What twisted thing was he thinking now?
With a sweet, innocent smile, Baha looked down at him and said:
“I want to be alone with that young master of yours.”
Ranshel’s eyes, dulled by resignation, suddenly sharpened.
“…What do you mean?”
“I’ve tried all sorts of things, but I can never find a moment alone with him. He must really hate being by himself. Unless I put him in a cell or something, there’s no way… But lucky me — there are quite a few people who hate that young master.”
“……”
“You’re his servant, right? It wouldn’t be hard for you to accuse your master of a crime.”
The moment Baha said that, Ranshel realized something.
A new option had opened up.
Unlike before, Baha wasn’t planning to kill him immediately.
“Testify that your young master ordered the monks to be poisoned.”
However, the difficulty hadn’t lessened at all. If anything, it had gotten worse.
“So the young master gets locked up until the truth comes out, I get to spend some quality time with him, and you get released right away. Sounds great, doesn’t it?”
He was spewing nonsense at a masterful level.
Ranshel clenched his teeth.
Baha chuckled and tapped the bars.
“You hate noble brats anyway. Bet you didn’t even want to be near him. Don’t worry—I’ll take care of him for you.”
As Baha smiled, a system window popped up.
[Event Contribution]
+
Bringer of Storms: 5%
?
The Most Villainous One: 30%
+
The contribution list had updated.
Baha had claimed the title ‘Bringer of Storms’, and shot straight from 0% to 5%.
“…Baha.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
Baha lowered himself closer to Ranshel, who was still lying on the floor.
His murky black eyes hovered uncomfortably close.
‘Not going to happen. Not the way you want.’
You bastard. Ranshel smiled sweetly as he spoke.
“Why are you messing with someone else’s mission?”
“…Huh?”
“That young master is my prey. Don’t touch him.”
The smile that had lingered on Baha’s face vanished.
He tilted his head.
“Why do you want to kill that noble brat before me?”
“Because I feel like it.”
Ranshel knew exactly what Baha hated.
Carrying around even 3% of someone’s memories meant you learned things whether you wanted to or not.
“He’s a more entertaining prey than you are.”
“…”
“Killing you wouldn’t be any fun, Baha.”
Baha craved attention from the ones he liked.
He wanted to monopolize their interest.
And if he couldn’t… his bloodlust only grew stronger.
‘Just kill me here already.’
Don’t get interested in Zavad…
The last trace of a smile disappeared from Baha’s face.
His body tensed as he stood upright, grabbing the bars with force.
“…I’m jealous, Ranshel.”
“Yeah?”
“I wanted to let you go… but I guess I can’t.”
* * *
