stronger." The Grand King began majestically making her way down the stairs. Like pet dogs, her underlings obediently followed as she pulled on their chains. As the unsettling group finally faded from view, Elisabeth murmured in disgust. "...What a vile woman. However, pursuing her is beyond me. I am quite certainlyâ€”" "Elisabeth?" "Lady Elisabeth!" "â€”at my limit." As if the strings holding her up had been cut, Elisabeth collapsed on the spot. Crimson runes wriggled atop her pale skin. Flustered, Hina and Kaito hoisted her up and carried her to the entrance hall. Using the knowledge recorded in Hina, they activated the teleportation circle and somehow made their way back to the castle. It was the first time the Torture Princess had ever had to beat a retreat after being face-to-face with a demon. At the moment, Elisabeth was still sleeping in her room. Although keeping her comfortable was about the extent of the treatment Kaito and Hina were capable of, her breathing had calmed down again. After confirming that Elisabeth was stable, Kaito turned his weary, wavering gaze toward Hina's back. Then he looked back at Elisabeth, who was sinking into her bed. "...Elisabeth." After murmuring softly, he closed his eyes and frowned. He thought back on everything that had just happened. He thought back to how innocent Elisabeth's expression had been as she stuffed her cheeks with food and how Hina had gently smiled beside her. He thought back to how the Grand King had sadistically laughed as she peeked out from behind her crow-feather fan. Suddenly, her expression blended together with the one his father had when he had tried to kill Kaito. While one had been much scarier than the other, they'd shared the same fundamentals. They'd both thought of Kaito as a worm, vermin they could crush as they pleased. Finally, Kaito turned to face the phantom of a red-haired boy. The boy looked at him worriedly, and Kaito muttered a few words. "I know, Neue... It's too early to panic. But even so..." As he opened his eyes, Kaito loosened his grave expression. He calmly rose from his chair and then called out to Hina. "Hey, Hina. It doesn't look like there's much more for me to do here. And because both the butler and the maid were occupied, the chores are starting to pile up. I'm going to go clean up a bit." "Master Kaito, I can deal with that laterâ€”and there's the matter of the Governor's invasion. It's dangerous for you to be alone right now." "Nah, I'll be fine on my own. Can you let me leave?" "Butâ€”" "...Hina." "...I understand. If anything happens, please call out at once. Although I'm protecting Lady Elisabeth, I won't waste a moment in rushing to the side of my beloved." Although she didn't seem convinced, Hina nodded. No doubt she'd seen Kaito's pained expression and suspected that he'd wanted to be alone. ...Sorry about this. And thanks. Thanking her internally, Kaito left the room. But while Hina's conjecture had been right, it also missed the mark. It's true that I want to be alone, but... No, I need to be alone. Kaito closed the door behind him and then took a short breath. He looked down and then raised his head and strode forward with an expression brimming with resolve. After stopping by the kitchen and picking something up, he walked briskly down the stairs and made for the underground corridors. The corridors were filled with the stench of rust and a noise that sounded like groaning, and they resembled a labyrinth. If one entered them carelessly, they could easily get lost and die without ever finding an exit. But Kaito, taking advantage of the fact that his experiences in life had left him with the ability to remember any information that was accompanied by pain, had once carved a map of the important parts in his flesh. As a result, the pain had caused him to memorize the route he needed to take. After entering the empty, unused room, Kaito closed its heavy door and locked it from inside. After surveying all the room's stone walls and triple-checking that nobody was there, Kaito stuck his hand in his pocket. From within, he drew out a clear stone wrapped in a handkerchief and a fruit knife. "...Here goes nothing." As he muttered to himself, he opened his hand wide. Then he plunged the fruit knife deep into his flesh. Biting down on his lip a little, Kaito drew the blade horizontally across his palm. The sound of flesh tearing rang out, and blood spilled forth onto the floor. "That should be good, right?" As he stared at his wound, which was gruesome enough to make any ordinary person balk, Kaito coolly gauged the pool of blood atop his hand. After deciding that the quantity was sufficient, he took the stone from the handkerchief and placed it atop his palm. The bottom of the stone sank into the mana-rich crimson pool. As it did, the blue rosebud within in bloomed, as if it had just been watered, and the black feathers grew in quantity. However, no decisive change occurred. ...Was that not what I was supposed to do? No, wait, the kindling is in place. Now all it needs are live coals. Kaito opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, and then closed it again. Suddenly, he felt a chilly hand on his shoulder. Frantically, he looked to the side. However, nobody was there. Even so, the sensation on his shoulder remained. In tune with the hallucination, a low, velvety, youthful male voice resonated in his ear. "Now, you just have to whisper like this." "â€”La (become)." Black feathers blew through the room like a blizzard. The feathers, which should have only existed within the stone, piled up elegantly on the floor. Quietly mixed in with them were azure rose petals. As the shades of blue and black beat an erratic waltz, their movements became more and more purposeful. The petals and feathers melted together and spun to create a thin cylinder. Then the curtain dropped. Like a magic trick, a man stood in its place. Wearing his silk shirt, cravat, and black coat decorated with silver thread, he looked just like a titled aristocrat. His lustrous black hair and crimson eyes gave him a certain androgynous beauty, and he looked directly at Kaito. His fetching features bore an uncanny resemblance to Elisabeth's. Having confirmed his hypothesis, Kaito spoke to the man. "It's been a while, Vlad Le Fanu." Vlad Le Fanu. The Kaiser's contractor. Before she'd killed him, he'd been Elisabeth's most terrible foe. He smiled, a smile clearly full of heartfelt affection. "You could say it's been a while, for a while it has been. You could also say it's nice to meet you, for nice to meet you it is. Now then, which would be better to greet you with? I'm at quite the loss... Hmm, if you were in my place, which would you pick?" Vlad meaninglessly raised his index finger as he posed his question to Kaito. As always, his words and actions had a peculiar innocence to them. However, his voice sounded like he was speaking through a veil of water. Upon further inspection, his body and clothes were partially see-through. Just as I suspected... He doesn't have a physical form. But he still has his will. Silently, Kaito reaffirmed that reality. Shrugging at his lack of response, Vlad looked around the room and snapped his fingers. Darkness and azure flower petals swirled around his feet. As Kaito wondered what he was summoning, a gorgeous seat made of beast bones and covered in animal peltsâ€”and just as immaterial as Vladâ€”appeared. With great pomp and circumstance, Vlad took a seat on the phantom chair. "I'm well aware that you're not the kind of person who takes these things into account, I suppose. You really ought to invite your guests into rooms with chairs in them. Although even if you had, it's not as if I'd be able to use them in my current state, so it really is a rather presumptuous request of me to make. After all, I'm well aware of what the old 'me' did." "...I don't know if I should refer to it as back when you were alive, but you have all those memories, right?" "Indeed, that I do. I recall asking you to become my successor, and I recall you turning me down. I even recall being killed. Hmm? Now that I think about it, shouldn't I have chosen my opening remarks to be slightly more coldhearted? Oh, what a helpless softy I am." Vlad began pondering to himself. As he took a tense breath, Kaito asked him a question. "So you really know about it all, huh...? But you don't seem to be the same as the old you, the you from back when you were alive. What are you, then?" "Well now, that's quite the problematic question! It's the height of folly, summoning something you don't even know the true nature of! ...Or rather, that's what I'd like to say, but you have some idea, don't you? Go on, say it. I'll let you know if you're right or wrong." Vlad urged Kaito on by gesturing with his chin, arrogant yet amused. After staring at him for a moment, Kaito responded. "If I'm right, then you're Vlad Le Fanu's soulâ€”or rather, an inferior replica thereof." "While it's most irritating, being referred to as inferior, you're quite correct! Would you look at that, a perfect score! The young man I set my sights on as a successor has grown rather impressively in quite a short time! Even though you rejected me, I'm oddly pleased in spite of that. Perhaps this is what they call parental love... In any case, what led you to that conclusion?" "The heat I felt from your stone was a lot like my bodyâ€”the kind of heat produced from a soul squirming around inside a homunculus. That was what first made me think that your stone had a soul sealed inside it as well." "I see, quite the impressive intuition you have. And?" "And if you'd been able to get your actual soul to safety when you were on the verge of being killed, there's no way you wouldn't have been bragging about it and saying all sorts of annoying bullshit by now." Hearing Kaito's incredibly impolite explanation, Vlad raised the corner of his mouth in annoyance. However, just as Kaito had expected, no rebuttal was forthcoming. He probably wasn't able to make light of the facts. In stark contrast to the way he'd liked to live his life, by no definition had Vlad's death been elegant. As Kaito played with the stone in his hand, he continued piling on conjecture. "If that was the case, then that meant in some sense you were unrelated to the actual person who died... A perfect reproduction didn't seem possible, but I felt like this world's magic could probably produce something of that level." "Indeed, with an emphasis on finding a successor, the old me searched for ways to exert his influence on the world in posterity. While I can't do much more than talk, I yet remain, so I can take part in the affairs of the world. Even if it's not the same 'me' who died, it doesn't change the fact that I'm carrying out actionsâ€”good heavens, what was I thinking? Well, as long as it's entertaining, I suppose." Speaking as if it were somebody else's problem, Vlad replied freely. Even though he'd been killed, it didn't seem as though he planned to hold a grudge against Elisabeth or Kaito. As Kaito made that determination, the tension he'd secretly been enduring unwound. Looking directly in Vlad's eyes, he asked him a question. "Now then, there's something I want you to tell me. It's about the Grand King." "Was Elisabeth defeated?"