"Today, he's back," Anna murmured, her voice laced with a genuine, bittersweet excitement.
Eve, currently inspecting the sharpness of her rapier's point in the cool morning light of her private quarters, nodded. "Yeah. Eren. He was so small when they sent him to the Academy, barely five years old. I wonder how much he has grown."
Eren, the youngest Morgan sibling, had been packed off to the prestigious Imperial Academy immediately due to his prodigious, all-rounder magical capacity. Fifteen years had passed. He was twenty now; Eve, twenty-two.
"I miss how clingy he used to be to me," Eve sighed, a brief flicker of genuine emotion bypassing her cultivated detachment. "Now… they have Mary to cling to." She placed the rapier back on its rack and began to dress in her training uniform, the silver and ruby colors of her features contrasting sharply with the deep blue of the cloth.
"Shall we go, Anna?"
"Where are you going, sister?"
The voice was deep, resonant, and unfamiliar. Eve spun around. Standing just inside the doorway—which had been securely locked only moments before—was a tall, powerfully built young man with the signature golden hair of the Morgans. He had the chiseled features of the Duke, but his eyes, a bright, mischievous green, were all his own.
"Eren?" Eve breathed.
Before she could form a cohesive thought, a wave of overwhelming grief—the accumulated despair, the shock of betrayal, and the brutal trauma of her execution—crashed through her. It was the volatile price of having removed the Deadly Needle from her neck. Tears, hot and heavy, streamed down her cheeks. She ran toward him.
"Did you miss me that much?" Eren asked, surprised but pleased, catching his older sister in a tight, awkward embrace. He was far taller than her now, his muscular frame easily encompassing her.
"Sister?"
A saccharine, small voice arrived from the main hallway. Mary. She had clearly been waiting.
Eren gently pushed Eve's face into his solid chest to muffle her tears, his attention fixed on Mary. "Lady Mary. Nice to meet you," he said with practiced, curt politeness.
"That's rude, little brother. She's your sister, you should greet her properly," Mary chided, approaching with a look of affected dismay.
"Ah, oh. Well, excuse us," Eren cut her off with brutal efficiency. "We have something very important to do. Bye."
With a flash of emerald light, Eren activated a Teleportation spell, and both he and Eve vanished, leaving the hallway empty except for a stunned Mary.
Anna, maintaining a perfect, emotionless poker face, simply followed her master's exit. "Excuse me too," she said, walking away without even waiting for Mary to formulate a retort.
Mary stood there, teeth gritting so hard she thought her jaw would crack. "What the fuck!" she hissed, her elegant facade momentarily collapsing.
Everything was going wrong. Eve was supposed to be completely disdained, weak, and pathetic. Instead, after Mary's arrival, Eve had cured herself, gained her own military command, and now, the beloved youngest brother had chosen her side instantly and publicly. Mary's perfect plot was unraveling before it began.
The Moonlight Killer
Eren and Eve reappeared with a small, familiar 'pop' at the family dining table. The Duke and Duchess had not yet arrived. Eren, a creature of habit, immediately began loading his plate.
"Why did you do that?" Eve asked, wiping the last vestiges of tears from her eyes, her control quickly returning.
"Well, she's a snake," Eren stated simply, his mouth full.
A gasp drew their attention. Dyroth, the middle son, stood at the entrance. "Little brother?" He was stunned to see Eve sitting there, a genuine, albeit brief, smile still lingering on her lips from Eren's affection.
"Ah, Third Brother. I'm back," Eren waved cheerfully.
The rest of the family arrived shortly after. As the Duke took his seat, Duchess Rosie immediately focused her cold gaze on Eve.
"Look at you, Eve. Instead of waiting for your father to arrive, you've already begun eating. So unethical," Rosie snapped, though the plate in front of Eve remained untouched.
Mary saw her chance. "Mother, perhaps sister simply forgot her manners—"
"It's Eren, not Eve," Dyroth interrupted Mary, his eyes narrowed as he continued to eat, a rare instance of him defending his sister. The Duke looked straight at Eve's serene, expressionless face.
"I... Please excuse me." Eve was not interested in participating in their manufactured drama. She rose from the table, opting to go hungry rather than stay.
"Adios~" Eren followed his sister, grabbing a roll for the road. Dyroth, surprisingly, rose too.
"Eve," Dyroth called out, catching up to her.
"Why?" Eve stopped, turning to face him. Her tone was flat, devoid of the annoyance a sibling deserved.
Dyroth fidgeted, his usual cool demeanor abandoned. "I... urgh—Here." He awkwardly thrust a rolled scroll sealed with the Imperial Knight's crest into her hands.
"Why?" Eve repeated the single, cold question.
Dyroth's face flushed a deep red. He felt an intense, overwhelming presence radiating from her—an aura of absolute, emotionless power. It was chillingly familiar.
"Hic—" Dyroth suddenly recoiled, stumbling behind Eren. He was shivering violently.
"Wha—Brother! I never knew you were a coward!" Eren teased, confused by his brother's reaction.
"M-Moonlight Killer…" Dyroth whispered, his voice trembling as he stared at Eve.
"Eh?" Eve was genuinely taken aback.
"You're what?!" Eren demanded of his sister.
"No, of course not!" Eve stated, a sigh escaping her lips. She approached Dyroth and gently touched his shoulder, her touch instantly soothing.
"Well, whatever. Welcome to the Special Battalion," she said, nodding toward the scroll—her official commission paperwork.
Eren slung his arm over Dyroth's shoulder. "I'm applying too! We should all be comrades!"
Eve couldn't help but let out a quiet, genuine laugh at their camaraderie. At that moment, Anna, who had been lingering nearby, rushed up and whispered into Eve's ear, her tone a perfect, terrifying monotone.
"What?!"
Anna calmly repeated the intelligence: The Deadly Needle, which Milady left for safekeeping, is nowhere to be found. And the old woman who sold it has vanished without a trace.