Fixing her gaze Rozen who had fallen into silence before her, Olga Marie could only let out a sigh in her heart.
If possible, Olga Marie truly did not want to say these words.
Because Olga Marie knew very well how close Rozen and Roman were.
The two were not only brothers by blood but had lived together for over ten years—playing, fooling around, even bathing, sleeping, and eating together.
They were brothers in every sense of the word, with no room for falsehood between them.
It could even be said that once Rozen had gained Roman as an elder brother, it was Roman who practically raised him.
If not for Roman, Rozen might still be confined to the White Room, with no chance of appearing in Chaldea, let alone becoming a Master Candidate and the most outstanding talent Chaldea had produced.
To bring up suspicions about Roman in front of Rozen was nothing short of trying to sow discord between them, and Olga Marie despised herself for even doing so, let alone how the person involved might feel.
She had already braced herself to be scolded harshly by Rozen, even hated and despised by him.
But this was something she had to mention first.
There was no choice.
Ever since the Fifth Singularity, when Rozen had been in danger and Roman suddenly gave off a terrifying surge of mana, Chaldea had been suspicious and on guard against Roman, afraid he might do something drastic.
Olga Marie was no exception.
"You know very well what happened with Lev," Olga Marie said bitterly.
"If not for him, all the Master Candidates besides you wouldn't have been left on the brink of death, forced into cryogenic suspension just to keep them alive. Chaldea itself nearly perished, and the disaster of the Incineration of Human Order bore his share of responsibility as well."
With that kind of precedent, how could anyone in Chaldea not be on high alert?
At this crucial time, Roman—a supposedly ordinary doctor of no remarkable ability—was revealed to have deep, unfathomable mana within him, deliberately hidden away under the guise of being a mere man unable to use magecraft.
How could people not grow suspicious?
Previously, Olga Marie had chosen not to tell Rozen, partly to avoid sparking internal strife, partly to prevent him from thinking Chaldea was trying to divide him and his brother, and partly to avoid any friction between them that might jeopardize the Human Order Restoration.
Thus, she had kept silent, even warning everyone in Chaldea not to mention the matter to Rozen or Mash, so as not to affect Rozen's mental state.
But now, with all seven Singularities repaired and the seven Holy Grails recovered, they were about to face Solomon, the Mage King, and the true mastermind of the Incineration of Humanity.
At this moment, if Roman were truly hiding something and suddenly turned against them, the consequences would be catastrophic beyond words.
With that in mind, Olga Marie felt she had to warn Rozen.
Otherwise, if something happened, it would be too late.
Even if it meant Rozen would hate her, resent her, and even lose the trust and goodwill toward Chaldea that had been built up so painstakingly, reverting to the days when he was hostile to them—it was still a risk she was willing to take.
After all, Rozen had saved her life once and fought so hard for the future of mankind. If he were betrayed without warning and suffered because of it, that would be far too cruel.
So Olga Marie confessed everything to him.
Of course…
"I've long since realized how sharp your mind is. These things—you must have noticed something was off, even if you chose to ignore it."
Olga Marie looked straight at Rozen, her tone grave.
"I don't ask you to believe me, nor do I ask you to act on it. I only hope you keep it in mind, stay alert, and prepare yourself with a way out."
Having said her piece, Olga Marie turned to leave.
There was no need to make Rozen any more uncomfortable than this.
But there was one thing she had not expected.
"You thought I hadn't noticed Chaldea's attitude toward my brother changing after the Fifth Singularity?"
Rozen's voice suddenly came, calm and faint.
"You thought I hadn't noticed the unfathomable mana in him—or how he nearly lost control when he saw me in danger?"
Olga Marie froze.
"You… You knew?"
She was utterly shocked.
"Of course," Rozen replied flatly, though his gaze was complicated. "My Mind's Eye now observes not just past, present, and future—it can view all phenomena across time, even records within the Root itself. If not for the Incineration of Humanity twisting time and space until the world was distorted, there would be nothing beyond my sight."
How could he possibly fail to notice the mana inside Roman?
Combined with Chaldea's strange attitude toward him, Rozen had long been aware. How could he sit idly by?
"I already used my Words of Power to draw the truth out of Chaldea's staff about what happened to my brother during the Fifth Singularity, then erased their memories afterward," Rozen said indifferently.
"So yes—I've known about this for a long time."
Olga Marie was speechless.
"Then you…" she began, but Rozen cut her off.
"I know my brother has secrets—big ones," Rozen said, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "But I still choose to believe in him. To believe he would never harm me, nor the people of Chaldea."
"…Is that so?" Olga Marie was silent for a while before replying. "Are you certain you haven't made the wrong choice?"
"Of course," Rozen answered without hesitation. "Because someone who's hidden himself so deeply, yet still chose to intervene—risking exposure—just so an experiment like me, or a test-tube child like Mash, could experience the outside world and live like normal people… That person, I cannot believe he would ever betray all of humanity."
Yes—
Even with countless secrets surrounding Roman, Rozen still chose to trust him, burying all doubts deep within his heart.
Otherwise, how could Chaldea have continued safely exploring Singularities up until now?
"Besides, that coward wouldn't have the guts to harm so many people," Rozen said with a sudden smile. "Even when he fails to save a single patient, he can wallow in guilt for months. There's no way he could actively harm humanity."
"I trust him. He's nothing like that scum Lev."
Hearing this, Olga Marie could only fall silent.
At length, she sighed.
"If that's what you believe, then I'll respect it," she said at last. "Pretend I never stopped you here."
With those words, Olga Marie flew away.
Rozen watched her leave, his expression once again turning complicated.
"…The truth is, I know more than you do, Director."
He murmured under his breath.
"Perhaps my brother really doesn't have the courage to plot against all of humanity."
"But sometimes, even without intending to, one's actions can still bring about disaster."
"To harm without malice… yet still cause countless deaths."
And so, in the end, the Incineration of Humanity might truly be inseparable from Roman.