"…I'm surprised you wanted to meet," Daisuke said softly as he approached the edge of the small bridge, its wooden beams creaking underfoot.
Fay's cowlick stiffened at his close proximity. She immediately scooted a bit further to the side and turned away, hiding the blush that crept into her cheeks.
Daisuke smiled at her adorable reaction, a soft warmth settling in his chest. His gaze then wandered, drawn to the moonlight dancing across the lake's surface like shimmering crystals.
"How is Silvie?" He asked.
She stole a fleeting glance at his face. "She's fine… but there's still no change in her condition."
"I see."
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. Then Fay's eyes drifted until they settled on the soft glow of two fireflies dancing above the water's surface. As she watched them, she couldn't help but be reminded of Silvestia and the way they used to play. Her friend had been just like the fireflies—radiant, graceful, and free-spirited.
All of a sudden, Fay's usual shyness vanished. Her crimson eyes narrowed with rare intensity as she turned to face Daisuke. "Did you… ever find them?" She asked angrily. "The one behind the Mhaledictus—the person controlling it all?"
Daisuke studied the delicate furrow of her brows and the tight twist of her lips. Then his own eyebrows narrowed as his gaze drifted back towards the lake.
"Unfortunately, Zerbst and his goons didn't know anything we didn't already suspect. But," he said as a memory resurfaced. "We did manage to acquire some additional information that may just lead us to the one we're looking for."
Midnight lay draped over one of Daisuke's shoulders, tail flicking with disdain, while Zephyr clung to the other, baring his teeth in a low growl. The feline and canine exchanged heated glares, their silent feud crackling with tension.
Meanwhile, Lyndoria and Lumielle leaned in, their curiosity piqued, eyes fixed as Daisuke carefully unfolded the letter sent by the High Justiciar, Hadrian Vexford.
According to the message bearing the man's official seal, Stynx was, in truth, not the king's son.
At some point, Hadrian had been approached and ordered through violence to not only surrender and comply, but also draft an official declaration affirming Stynx's legitimacy as the king's biological son.
To support the false claim, forged documents were arranged, including manipulated genomana data from the hospital archives.
"Stynx was just a contingency plan?" Lyndoria quoted a line from the message.
Daisuke frowned, looking to Lumielle. "It looks like he was brought in to take on the rule of a puppet-king if both you and Reneal didn't want to play nice."
The words scarcely registered in the princess's mind. Instead, a wave of relief washed over her—relief that her father hadn't betrayed and sullied her mother's love.
That comfort alone was enough to soften the weight in her chest. After all, it was in his grief, when he was most vulnerable, that darkness had found its way through the cracks and into the halls of the palace.
As for Stynx—
I guess that's the reason why he had said those words before, Lumielle thought as a memory came flooding back to her:
"You're not our brother," Reneal countered, his frown deepening as he eyed the boy who was barely a year older.
Ignoring him entirely, Stynx shifted his focus to Lumielle who still had her head lowered, her eyes concealed beneath the shadow of her bangs. "I'm not your brother, huh? Tell that to the masses whose favor I've already won."
A muscle twitched in Reneal's jaw.
"If you two don't see me as your legitimate brother, that actually works to my advantage," he murmured with a dark grin, his voice dripping with malice. Reaching out, he tilted Lumielle's chin upward, forcing her to meet his gaze. Then he slowly brushed his thumb across her lower lip, the smile on his face twisted with cruel satisfaction.
SLAP!
The princess's hand shot forward in a sudden motion, delivering a sound blow to his face.
"You disgust me!" she spat, spinning on her heels and storming off.
"I guess it's worth a shot," Daisuke said, tugging Lumielle from her flashback.
"What is?" Asked Lyndoria, crossing her arms. "That lowlife not being even remotely related to the royal family is fantastic news, but how exactly does that help us achieve our goal?"
"Think about it," Daisuke invited with a slight gesture. "Eleonore mentioned the mastermind infiltrated the palace with only a small force, right? And Stynx is an outsider… what are the odds he just so happens to be directly tied to the person we're after?"
Lumielle blinked. "…Then the method to unveiling and apprehending the mastermind may have been underneath our noses all along."
"…Use the outsider to track down the others," Lyndoria murmured, her eyes widening with realization. Then, with a sly grin, she added, "I have to admit, that's a brilliant strategy. You've really outdone yourself this time, Starfrost—even if you are an infuriating little bug."
Daisuke glowered at her before shifting his attention and stroking one of Midnight's ears. "You've still got a marker on Stynx, right?" He asked the feline. "Can you sense where he is right now?"
The tip of the deity's tail to his forehead offered him instant enlightenment.
"Really?!" Daisuke exclaimed, startling Zerbst and his cronies as they were being hauled away by a less than hospitable Leopold. "Stynx is here?! In this building?"
"…So, you intentionally allowed him to see all three of you?" Fay asked in surprise. "Isn't that a bad thing? What if they find the orphanage?"
Daisuke held her worrisome gaze with a calm smile. "The orphanage should be fine so long as Lynn, Lumielle, and the king hold on to their sutra. As for Stynx, I have Midnight keeping tabs on him, so the moment he decides to inform his accomplices about us—"
"We'll find out who the main villain is," Fay added enthusiastically, a rare smile curving her small lips.
Daisuke gave a firm nod. "Even if they're not the ones pulling the strings, capturing and interrogating them might lead us to someone who is. It's a lead—one we can't afford to ignore." His gaze darkened, voice low and cold. "Then we'll finally be able to avenge Silvie's parents… and everyone else those bastards have hurt."
Fay held his smoldering gaze, a silent plea stirring in the debts of her crimson red eyes. Daisuke immediately recognized what that meant.
"We'll be careful," he reassured sweetly. "I promise."
Fay blushed, her cowlick bobbing up and down. Shyly averting her gaze, she stepped closer and began gently patting his head.
Daisuke blinked, caught off guard. "What're you—"
"…You risked your life to help everyone escape from Reginald," she said softly. "You saved Brek and the others, helped Tiphanna free the elves, and now you're even supporting the orphanage. And despite everything, you're still fighting alongside Princess Lumielle to free an entire kingdom."
She turned her head slowly, her crimson eyes gleaming, burning into his. "What you've done… what you've accomplished so far… it's nothing short of incredible," she whispered in veneration. Then her delicate eyebrows crinkled. "I'm sure people thank you all the time. But, Haxks… who do you lean on? Who listens when you're hurting? When you need support?"
Daisuke's eyes trembled as her words sank deep into his chest—raw, unexpected, and painfully true.
It was clear Fay wasn't speaking on a whim. Her words carried the quiet weight of someone who had suffered deeply—someone who knew all too well what it meant to endure heartbreak, isolation, and the burden of having no one to rely on. She, too, had been forced to carry more than any child should.
Daisuke lowered his head, his eyes concealed beneath the fall of his bangs as her small fingers gently combed through his hair.
"…When Silvie wakes up," she murmured slowly, sheepishly, her eyes hopeful, "do you think… we could get to know each other a little more?"
Daisuke gave a faint nod, his expression unreadable beneath the veil of shadow. But something in the way his shoulders relaxed—just slightly—made it clear he had heard her. And that he genuinely welcomed the thought.