"Let her in," Veil waved his hand casually, not the least bit surprised.
Kai bowed and took his leave. Moments later, Harvey, clad in her deep navy uniform, ascended the stairs and walked straight into Veil's bedroom.
Her sharp, heroic brows were tightly knit, and the usually composed and stern beauty now wore a clear expression of grief.
They had found the body.
Just as Veil had said, her aunt's corpse had indeed been buried inside that dried-up well.
The identity had already been confirmed.
"After all these years, how did you know where my aunt's body was? And how do you know my sister and I are related?"
Harvey tried to suppress her sorrow and questioned him suspiciously.
There was no rage in her voice, nor did she attempt to project her hatred onto Veil.
After all, when the tragedy happened all those years ago, this guy couldn't have been more than a child.
And besides, he was from Luxhaven City—how could he possibly be involved in a case that happened in Veyport City?
Veil let out a yawn, folding his arms behind his head as he lay back lazily. "I'm an information broker. If you can pay the right price, I can give you whatever intel you want."
He adjusted the pillow behind him to get more comfortable.
"What kind of payment are you looking for?" Harvey bit her lip. She was just a salaried officer—her pay wasn't high, and most of her annual bonus wouldn't come until the end of the year.
But it had been so long. Most leads had already gone cold.
Even something as simple as who donated those wells was now untraceable.
Clearly, the person behind it had erased every last trace.
If she had any other options, Harvey wouldn't be turning to Veil for help.
But if this man could locate her aunt's body, then he might know even more about the secrets behind it all.
"What do you think?" Veil gave her a teasing look.
Harvey quickly realized—someone like Veil wouldn't care about her meager salary.
His gaze made her flush with embarrassment, but she forced herself to suppress the emotion.
She had already made up her mind. No matter what, she was going to get justice for her aunt's family.
Whatever Veil wanted—she didn't want to give it, but she didn't have a choice.
Harvey slowly stepped toward the bed, about to sit down when Veil suddenly grabbed her wrist, frowning with a strange look in his eyes. "Didn't you drive here yourself?"
Harvey blinked, not understanding the connection. She shook her head. "No, I was nearby and had a colleague drop me off. I walked the rest of the way."
"Then you're out of luck. You won't be able to pay me—your sister's here."
Veil shrugged, as if it didn't matter at all.
That familiar chill ran down his spine again.
Who else could it be but Blood Mandala?
If Harvey had driven, Blood Mandala might've skipped tonight altogether. But since Harvey had walked over...
There was no way the assassin wouldn't have picked up on her sister's presence. Especially not when she was desperate for treatment.
"W-What?! That's impossible!" Harvey's face turned pale, a wave of panic overtaking her.
Footsteps echoed outside the door. As the third-ranked assassin on the global kill list, Blood Mandala had long since stopped bothering to sneak around the villa—except when infiltrating unseen.
When it came to reaching Veil's bedroom, she could walk the path with her eyes closed.
"Hide me. Don't you dare let her know I was here!"
Harvey was in full-blown panic mode. If her sister saw her now, there'd be no way to explain it.
She instinctively ducked toward the bed, trying to crawl underneath—but her curvaceous figure betrayed her.
She managed to get her upper body in, but the rest of her was still sticking out.
Her waist dipped dramatically before flaring into full hips—she was stuck.
Tsk.
Veil glanced at her futile squirming and shook his head. Then, with a loud smack, he slapped her on the back and said, "Not gonna work—your butt's too big. Try hiding over there."
He pointed toward the wardrobe.
Flustered, Harvey scrambled back out—banging the back of her head on the bedframe in the process.
It hurt so badly that tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't even have time to cry.
She quickly opened the wardrobe and dove inside.
Creak—
She had just closed the door when Blood Mandala entered in her usual dark attire, bold and unbothered.
"Mandala, seriously—didn't your sister catch you here last night? And now you're back again?!" Veil said with exasperation.
"Saving your life isn't going to fall apart in one or two nights, you know. Give me a little breathing room to plan the treatment properly, will you?"
Blood Mandala clearly felt something was off, but she didn't show it. Her expression was cold. "You messed with my sister. Don't think I don't know what you did."
As a seasoned assassin, she had ended countless lives while her targets lay asleep.
And in doing so, she'd come to recognize the subtle, lingering traces that clung to a person.
She knew those scents, those signals—all too well.
"Emmmm..."
Caught red-handed, Veil didn't even try to deny it. Instead, he glanced meaningfully at the wardrobe and said patiently, "I understand your pain. You want revenge for your sister, and I respect that.
But tonight's really not the right time, okay? Maybe another night?
If you've got time, we can... sit down and have a proper talk about it."
Veil wasn't trying to protect Harvey out of any sense of justice.
It was just that these two sisters—Harvey and Blood Mandala—were like twin fish who had already bitten the bait.
If they collided too early, it could spook the entire pond.
And even Veil couldn't predict the consequences of that.
"Cut the crap! Tonight, it's either you or me!"
Blood Mandala let out a cold snort, a dagger in hand as she lunged straight for Veil's throat.
Annoying.
Veil rolled his eyes. He could tell she was having another episode. Reasoning with her was useless at this point—he'd have to subdue her first.
With a swift sweeping kick, he knocked her off balance and spun around, pinning her face-down onto the floor. Then, with a tug of the rope tied to a hidden mechanism, Blood Mandala was yanked upward, suspended in the air.
The sensation of weightlessness kicked in, and the fury in her eyes began to fade rapidly.
Avenging your sister? A fight to the death?
This woman really knew how to say one thing and feel another.
The moment she was restrained, all that aggression melted away. She didn't even scream or curse—just clenched her teeth, as if trying to suppress something.
Pain? No, definitely not.
Veil had seen enough to know the difference. She wasn't in pain. If anything, she was… satisfied. And keeping quiet on purpose.
His eyes darted between the wardrobe and the floating woman.
Two sisters—one hiding inside a closet, the other hanging mid-air. So close, yet neither dared to face the other.
He was really getting the hang of this whole "sibling separation" routine.
As time passed, the fury in Blood Mandala's eyes slowly dissipated. Her breathing evened out, her gaze softening.
Veil climbed off the bed and rummaged through a drawer, pulling out a clean rag. Gently, he stuffed it into her mouth, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.
"Don't give up so easily. It's okay to be angry sometimes, you know."
As he deliberately worked her nerves with that comment, a familiar voice rang out from downstairs.
"Young Master, I'm back!"
It was Alice.
Startled, Veil's hand reflexively shoved the cloth deeper into Blood Mandala's mouth.
Hisss…
She inhaled sharply through her nose, clearly overwhelmed by the sensation.
"Mmmf! Take it out! Let me down! I need to go!"
She spat the rag out and pleaded anxiously.
"Go? Go where?"
Veil shot her an irritated glance. She could barely stand—was she planning to teleport?
He'd completely forgotten about Alice. Kai must be stalling her downstairs, or she'd have already barged in by now.
But even Kai couldn't hold her off for long.
Footsteps echoed from the stairwell. Veil's nerves tensed. He yanked Blood Mandala down from the air and hoisted her by the waist. With one hand, he opened the bulletproof window and started pushing her halfway out.
"No! Don't!"
She panicked, her voice trembling.
The window overlooked a steep drop. If she fell from this height, she'd either die or be crippled for life.
She'd considered dying—maybe even being killed by Veil—but definitely not like this. Not in this state. Not with her dignity shredded.
If this was how she died, she'd never rest in peace.
Veil hesitated, then pulled her back in with a sigh. He shoved her toward the bed, trying to stuff her underneath—but just like her sister earlier, she got stuck halfway.
The same problem.
Both sisters might not share blood ties, but they clearly inherited the same... superior build.
Annoying.
Veil didn't bother struggling anymore. With a resigned grunt, he yanked open the wardrobe again and unceremoniously tossed Blood Mandala inside.
The last time these sisters saw each other, it was face to face.
This time, they were reunited—just not in the direction they were expecting.