At exactly three in the morning, everyone regrouped as planned.
Sora had succeeded in creating a small vial of liquid—unremarkable at a glance, yet capable of causing catastrophic consequences. Just a few drops were enough for it to spread perfectly through water. Within hours, it would vanish on its own, cleansing itself completely, as if it had never existed.
Chewie and Jake departed first, heading toward the monastery with the vial of artificial blood crafted by Sora and Lucien, guarding it as if it were a sacred relic.
Meanwhile, Seo-jun rushed to retrieve the young holy knight from a discreetly hidden brothel.
The sight was… unpleasant.
The so-called knight of God was utterly wasted—drowned in alcohol and indulgence, having entertained nearly five women at once throughout the night. His body was limp, his mind gone, lost to earthly pleasures.
Seo-jun could only shake his head silently.
Rowan, on the other hand, burst into laughter.
"A man who claims to be closest to God," he mocked openly,
"yet the greediest when it comes to sin."
Without wasting time, Seo-jun bound the knight's hands and feet, blindfolded him with a dark cloth, and stuffed a thick handkerchief into his mouth. Not a single sound would escape him.
Seo-jun and Rowan then donned masks and long cloaks, concealing their identities completely from their unwilling accomplice.
Just before reaching the gates, Seo-jun signaled the young coachman who had served him faithfully since the earliest days of his life in this world. Without asking questions—without even a flicker of curiosity—the coachman executed his orders flawlessly.
Seo-jun and Rowan dragged the knight into the monastery grounds and positioned him beside the central fountain—
the fountain that always reflected moonlight beautifully each night.
And then—
The clear water turned a deep, vivid red.
Like fresh blood.
A sharp, metallic stench filled the air, instantly nauseating.
The holy knight screamed in hysterical terror.
His head spun, his stomach churned, consciousness slipping in and out. His muffled screams shattered the silence of the night, drawing angry shouts from guards and priests disturbed from their prayers.
But anger quickly turned to fear.
One by one, they noticed the horror.
The slow-flowing blood, the suffocating stench, the sacred grounds defiled beyond recognition.
Holy knights rushed in.
Moments later, the Archbishop arrived—falling to his knees in panic, praying desperately. Beside him stood Alaric, his face pale, eyes locked on the cursed fountain.
While every gaze was consumed by the madness unfolding before them—
Chewie and Jake slipped into the inner grounds of the monastery.
Silent. Precise.
They descended into the underground prison, where the oracle woman was held.
The escape was swift and clean.
Disguised in priestly robes, the three of them fled toward a waiting carriage.
Elsewhere, Seo-jun and Rowan remained within the monastery grounds.
They knew the spectacle wasn't finished yet.
The phenomenon had to linger—long enough to carve fear and confusion deep into everyone's mind.
Only after Chewie and Jake successfully escaped did Seo-jun and Rowan begin their own withdrawal.
But fate intervened.
Behind an old storage building in the rear courtyard—
right along their intended escape route—
Alaric appeared.
They froze.
Alaric was just as shocked to see his two younger brothers there, in the dead of night, in the middle of chaos shaking the entire monastery.
"You?"
"What are you doing here?" he demanded sharply.
"I–it's that—uh—Brother Adrian just came to retrieve something he left behind," Rowan stammered, cold sweat trickling down his temple.
"Really. You have to believe us."
Alaric clearly didn't.
His suspicion deepened, especially after the unholy event he'd just witnessed.
"Don't tell me you were the ones who—"
Before he could finish—
A holy knight called out to him from a distance.
Without hesitation, Alaric shoved both of them into the shadows and composed himself instantly.
"Prior Alaric," the knight said,
"what are you doing here? Everyone has gathered to pray and purify the monastery."
Alaric gave a curt nod and walked ahead, leaving Seo-jun and Rowan hidden in the darkness.
Once the area was clear, both of them exhaled in relief.
Rowan even whispered a quiet prayer of thanks to God—
for the first time in his life.
Using what little strength they had left, they sprinted toward the two horses prepared by their personal guards, exactly as planned.
That night, the monastery lost its peace.
And the kingdom—
without realizing it—
took one step closer to a chaos engineered with absolute perfection.
Upon arriving at Sebastian Hanwick's estate, they immediately headed for Adrian Hanwick's private villa, located slightly apart from the main residence. The night was deep, yet the atmosphere inside the villa was thick with relief and lingering tension, woven tightly together.
Everyone had gathered there—including Jake's older sister, the oracle woman they had successfully rescued from the monastery.
Rowan, still unable to shake the nervous aftermath of the night's events, collapsed onto the sofa in Adrian's bedroom. His breathing was heavy, as though his heart still hadn't fully accepted that they had escaped without being caught.
Lucien and Sora stood in one corner of the room, quietly talking, noticeably closer than before. Jake, meanwhile, was visibly overjoyed to be reunited with his sister—his face glowing like a child who had finally reclaimed a world stolen from him.
Seo-jun—now Adrian—felt a measure of relief knowing his plan had gone almost perfectly. And yet, unease lingered in his chest, especially when Alaric's gaze at the monastery resurfaced in his mind. A quiet instinct warned him: the night wasn't truly over.
Chewie, unlike the others, looked increasingly impatient. Her eyes never left the oracle woman, as though she were trying to peel apart every secret hidden inside her mind.
"I am truly grateful for all of your courage," the woman said sincerely.
"I will remember this for the rest of my life. Especially… meeting you, Lord Adrian."
The room fell silent.
Every gaze shifted toward Adrian, who looked genuinely confused. The woman's tone was far too familiar—almost intimate, as if they had known each other for years.
"Me?" Seo-jun asked hesitantly. "Why?"
Chewie, who had initially been eager to secure the oracle for Princess Victoria's sake, now felt irritation coil tightly in her chest. The woman's attention was fixed entirely on Adrian Hanwick—and that alone was enough to sour her mood.
"Yes, you," the woman replied without hesitation.
"The infamous Casanova so admired in this era's history. Your beauty was recorded in detail—though your personality was described quite poorly in that book. But now, you've changed. You made me want to save your life and—"
She didn't get to finish.
Chewie abruptly clamped her hand over the woman's mouth.
"Enough of your nonsense," she snapped coldly.
"Introduce yourself properly. Don't make me regret saving someone useless—only to send you back where you came from."
She released her grip and wiped her hand against the woman's clothes in visible irritation.
The woman shot Chewie a sharp glare—then instantly softened when she turned back to Adrian.
"My name is Valerie," she said calmly.
"I come from the real world. I woke up inside the last book I read—a historical novel I loved. A book where you were the character I idolized."
Valerie's eyes sparkled with unmistakable admiration.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Seo-jun forced a stiff smile, a dull ache forming at his temples from a nervousness he wasn't used to feeling.
Before he could respond, Chewie burst into laughter—loud and dismissive.
"What kind of ridiculous story is that?" she scoffed once she calmed down.
Rowan, clearly entertained, pulled out his notebook and pen, diligently jotting down Valerie's words as if compiling classified records. Lucien and Sora exchanged strange looks—they sensed an unsettling similarity between Adrian Hanwick and Valerie, something they couldn't quite put into words.
"I'm not lying," Valerie insisted firmly.
"Everything I said is true. But because Lord Adrian has changed, the future I knew has changed as well. The story has diverged."
Sensing the conversation heading somewhere dangerous, Seo-jun cut in immediately. He had no intention of letting Valerie's knowledge of the future—or the narrative—spread further.
"We'll continue this another time," he said flatly.
"For now, get some rest. A guest room on the second floor has been prepared."
One by one, everyone dispersed.
Sora excused herself and returned to her own residence—clearly uninterested in sharing space with either Chewie or a stranger she barely knew.
Chewie protested fiercely when she learned she would have to share a room with Valerie. Unfortunately, the villa only had one master bedroom and two guest rooms. As the host, Seo-jun naturally took the master bedroom—he also needed privacy to plan his next move.
The night deepened.
Fast asleep, Seo-jun suddenly jolted awake, a strange pressure weighing down on his chest. His breathing caught. Unease crept in as he slowly opened his eyes.
And that was when he realized—
Valerie was asleep, tightly wrapped around him.
Startled, Seo-jun reflexively shoved her away.
Thud.
The sound echoed through the room.
Guilt slammed into his chest. He immediately helped Valerie back up, guiding her to sit on the edge of the bed.
She winced in pain, making his guilt deepen—alongside irritation. What she had done was clearly inappropriate. Entering someone else's room without permission crossed a line.
"What were you thinking?" Seo-jun snapped, his voice low but sharp.
"You have no respect for my position here. You know that, don't you?"
Valerie simply smiled brightly and nodded.
"Yes, my lord. But you're very kind—much kinder than I imagined. You only pushed me away and even helped me back onto the bed. It just makes me like you even mo—"
Before she could finish, Seo-jun pressed his handkerchief firmly over her mouth.
His face flushed with frustration and unease, he grabbed his robe and left the room immediately.
His steps carried him toward the lake within the villa grounds—
to clear his head, cool his body, and make sense of the new chaos quietly slipping into his life.