Years ago when my hunt for Angelica led me to Vocatus, I had lost track of her trail at the very early stages of the pursuit.

As clever as she was, Angelica had erased her footprints that led me to the city, leaving not as much as a scent to follow. Even though the Dark Wolfs left no stones unturned there were no traces of her ever leaving the city.

*THUD*

I punched the wall unable to contain my frustration, as the Knights took away the peddler to hand over to the tower guards. If only, Angelica had not abandoned taking the fake identities, I would have found her by now.

It felt as if I was left blinded in the middle of the ocean. Still, my resolve to find Angelica was stronger than ever.

As a part of the mission, I decided to take care of all the entities that threatened her. Starting from those who tried to harm her to the people who sent them. One among them being the organization that sent assassins to kill her in the Frost estate.

The Third Eye organization which had its origin as a simple information guild had turned over in the years to become one of the most feared assassination guilds of the underworld. While the organization was spread across the continent, the headquarters just so happened to be in Vocatus.

It was the perfect place to vent a defeat.

However, by the time I reached the Third Eye Headquarters, it was already filled with blood leaving behind one man standing.

Among the many predictions that Angelica made the night she disappeared, there was only one prognosis that involved my past more than the future.

"Don't do anything that involves the Third Eye organization, they are not your enemy. The leader of that group is none other than your long-lost best friend. I don't remember his name by the way"

There was only one person who could fit into those descriptions, someone who I knew back when I was under the guidance of Tozier.

A young peasant boy, who was training under Chief Tozier. He was a talented pupil among the many children Tozier acquainted with a fascination towards magic. We were sparring partners until he disappeared one day under mysterious circumstances.

A few days later, it was found that he was killed by a sudden goblin attack in the forest between the borders.

That boy was Jack the newly inaugured master of the Third Eye Organisation. The search for one person assumed to be dead had inadvertently led to the discovery of another. More surprisingly, of who he really was.

Now, Jack was investigating the disappearance of Saintess Oralia under my orders as the master of the Third Eye Organisation.

Since I was inside the guild there was no need to hide my true form. Therefore, I deactivated the glamor magic that concealed my appearance. I had sent Ezra out on an errand leaving only the two of us in the hidden room inside the bookstore.

We were in the middle of a breakthrough in the investigation when our conversation was cut short by the arrival of an unexpected visitor.

"The clerk doesn't know her identity. He simply brought her in because she had this with her..." Jack held out a blue tassel that had the Third Eye insignia and shook his head in disapproval.

"Leaving behind obvious evidence of the guild's identity. Not our finest moment"

Angelica was seated, looking around the room she was waiting in. She was alone. The last we saw each other minutes ago, she was accompanied by the fox beastmen of her mercenary companions.

"You certain she didn't follow you here, Boss?"

"..."

I ignored Jack and fixed my gaze on Angelica. There were a number of questions in mind.

Why did Angelica have a tassel from the Third Eye? How did she find the guild? Why was she alone?

If my assumptions were right, the tassel must be from the same knife Angelica returned with when she was attacked by the Third Eye assassins in the Frost Estate.

Although I was unsure of how she managed to find the guild, I could guess that she left her companions outside to hide her motives from them.

I unconsciously reached out my hand to cover the smile on my face.

It was quite daring of her to bring the weapon she was attacked with to the very assassination guild that tried to kill her and use it as a gateway pass to enter the guild years later.

'Why are you at the Third Eye guild?'

The moment the question crossed my mind, Angelica stood up from her seat. As if she could read my thoughts she walked over to the other side of the room and stopped right in front of me. Or rather at the painting on the wall between us.

Unbeknownst to Angelica, the magic embedded in the wall acted as a one-way mirror. It was a structure designed to make a preliminary assessment of the customer's psyche before accepting a job. It was a simple yet effective tactic.

While Angelica was looking at the woman in the painting, her clear emerald eyes were gazing right into mine.

Of course, Angelica was unaware that the Third Eye was no longer a threat to her nor that they were working for me. Whatever, it was running inside her devious mind was far beyond comprehension that it made me chase after her every single time.

"Jack. I need you to..."

I retreated to the back room for the time being to avoid being spotted by Angelica. As anyone would, I too was curious about the reason behind Angelica's visit. And there was no better way to know of Angelica's intentions that to ask her.

Since the room I was in was originally meant to hold confidential meetings, the walls were insulated from sounds. Thus I couldn't hear the conversation between the two on the other side.

Aside from a few chairs and tables, there were numerous tubes built into the walls that ran across the building that acted as a delivery system. I took a seat in one of the chairs and waited for the time to pass.

Not long after, the answer I looked for came in the form of a small bird that flew in from one of the tubes in the walls. It circled in the air above my head and rested on my palm when I extended my hand.

The bird turned into a piece of paper that contained a list of familiar names including my own at the top. Almost immediately, I recognized the penmanship. It was the same disconnected writing which I found peculiar every time I looked at it.

Aside from her signature, Angelica seemed to have developed a way of writing that was out of the norms of the empire's teachings. Even under disguise, there are some traits of a person that cannot be hidden.

Jack had circled together the two names written parallel to each other with a note added to the side that read 'Busted'.

Evidently, the names encircled were both mine, one being the alias that I currently used and the other my true identity. Turns out she was suspicious about my other persona too.

Putting together the pieces after that was a simple task.

"Heh" As my mouth curved into a smile at her cunningness, the paper turned into a bird again and dove back into the pipes.

After Angelica left the guild, I returned back to see Jack leaning over his chair with an amused grin on his face.

"She's onto you, Boss. All of you"

As expected, Angelica had requested a detailed check on the list of people she had written. Collecting the current whereabouts of the people she was running from was a wise move on Angelica's part. Had I been in her place, I would have done the same except for the part of asking for help from the people who tried to kill her.

"You should have seen the look on her face when she read the part about you being at the Capital. She looked too happy to have ridden of you... " Jack commented, but quickly corrected his words on seeing my expression.

"Or so I could tell"

On the desk was the blade from which the tassel was removed and the documents containing the information Angelica requested.

"She looks cautious. Too cautious if I were to be exact. More likely than anyone I had ever seen. And she is suspicious of your identity" Jack said as I flipped through the pages of the documents.

"If this is her reaction now. I can't wait to see her find the truth... hehe" He muttered under his breath.

Except for the part that included my whereabouts and the fabricated background for 'Kalan Verglas', everything written in it was true. I skimmed through the rest hearing Jack talk about the short meet with Angelica. Judging from his tone, he has taken a liking to her.

Unlike the men around Angelica, it did not bother me. Having survived purely on self-preservation, Jack was someone who knew where his boundaries lay.

It was right when was about to read the pages on the new Saintess that Jack asked,

"Just what did you do to make her this way?"

I paused.

"I would like to know that too"

"Hmm... You shot for possession but ended up landing a thousand miles into obsession. You sure she's gonna be ok with it, Boss?"

"No"

I already knew that. Yet, there was no denying the truth.

With that, I activated the glamor magic and decided to return to the inn for the evening. With the newfound knowledge in hand, I wanted to see what Angelica was going to do.

For some reason, I felt a bad premonition.

Just as I was about to exit the guild, I turned my attention to the painting Angelica was looking at earlier.

It was a portrait of a woman looking at the sunset in the distance. Its workmanship was as impeccable as it seemed familiar.

"This is stolen"

It was stolen art from the Orion Imperial Palace. Lost decades ago, it was said to have been one of the few surviving pieces painted by Emporer Arthur.

"Really, Boss. Can't I have one beautiful thing to myself?"

"..."

Taking my silence as his response, Jack put up his hands as a sign of defeat before turning the subject back to Angelica.

"You have my word. I'll send it to the palace. But in exchange..."

He clapped his hands in a theatrical fashion.

"All I ask is when the show starts. Save me a seat"









As the days went by, something became more and more apparent. The number of leeches following Angelica was rapidly increasing.

At first, it was just a hunch. Nothing more than an instinctual feeling that rose from my years of quest for Angelica.

However, the goblin attack the day we left Lorem cleared the last of my suspicions.

I was not the only person searching for Angelica. There was someone else seeking her for unknown reasons and they were getting closer.

"We found another summoning circle in the area, Your Grace. They were intentionally planted on the forest path"

"They are meticulous enough to cover their tracks"

After the goblin attack, the Dark Wolfs found traces of summoning circles in the area nearby. Now, it was the fourth time they have found similar summoning circles in our path which were promptly destroyed before being triggered. The attacks have become more frequent.

Why are they looking for someone who was already dead? What are their motives? I don't know yet.

Still, one fact still remained. Whoever it was trying to harm Angelica would have to go through me to reach her.

Since it was long past midnight, most of the people in the camp were already asleep aside from those standing guard. This made it easier to slip away during the night to assemble the Dark Wolfs.

"We received word from Sir Ellinger. He intercepted a message between the Seamus Esdel and an unknown source in the East. The message itself was written in an ancient language"

"We are in the efforts of deciphering the message, Your Grace"

After dismissing the Knights, I decided to return back to the camp before anyone noticed my absence. Certainly, Ezra would see to it that nothing was out of the ordinary. We were almost at our destination, it would be foolish to commit a mistake at such a point.

I looked up at the sky to find the moons shining brightly. It was almost the night of the full moons. The field I was in was covered with deep red hibiscus flowers in full bloom owing to it.

Seeing the field reminded me of the day in Carrelem when the members of Angelica's group had surprised her with flowers. It would have been a peaceful exchange if not for the hidden meaning behind it.

Each of the beastmen gave her a flower that represented the relationship between them.

Angelica might not know the language of flowers, but it was clear that the wolf recognized the meaning behind the tulips he presented.

Friendship, trust, family... but when it came to the wolf beastman it was a declaration of love.

To clear my thoughts, I picked one of the red flowers and reached my hand inside my coat.

'One more day till the night of the full moons... Where is it?'

It was then I realized that the gift I had brought for Angelica was missing. It must have fallen off on my way out of the camp.

I kept the flower in my coat and retraced my steps back to the camp while searching for the small jewelry box. Then I felt a familiar presence ahead of me.

"I miss you all" Her voice was filled with longing.

I was surprised to find Angelica with a book in her hand in the opening a short walk from the camp. And as if it had found its way to its owner, she standing beside the object I was looking for.

Just as I was about to make my presence known, I was welcomed with a book to the face, making me halt on my steps.

"I thought I was alone"

Angelica's voice was hoarse. She appeared a bit tired under the moonlight.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you" I said as I walked towards her.

"Why are you here?"

Clearly, she was doubtful. But when I explained, leaving out a few details she relaxed and went back to her usual self.

As we talked, one thing led to another and the conversation took an unexpected turn.

"You must be missing your wife..."

Hearing Angelica say that, I automatically confessed the truth.

"My wife left me"

There was a visible change in Angelica's face. The smile she had faded to a frown.

If we were going to continue this game of tug, then why not make the most of it? Indeed it might be a bit foolish, but I figured there was no harm in a play of words.

If anything, my words weighed no lies.

"We were together. Though I didn't get to see her for a long time" I continued, as Angelica struggled to find the words in her head.

It was in fact, the horrifying truth.

Strangers can become companions, just as fast as companions could turn into strangers. It did not matter what form of relationship it once was after everything has fallen apart.

Nevertheless, that was not the case for us. We were neither strangers nor companions. The relationship between us was far more complicated than that to be described in a single word.

"Where is she now?" Angelica's question caught me off-guard.

I could see her placing herself in the same situation. The suspicion in her eyes was now replaced with guilt.

"..."

Instead of replying, I smiled choosing to remain silent. The glass wall she built between us was slowly starting to shatter.

'Why?' I could hear the unspoken question.

"She said I would ruin the lives of everyone around her"

"Did you?"

"Hmm?"

"Destroy her life?" Angelica emphasized.

Did I? I reached for my chest feeling a sharp pain in my heart.

It was no longer an exchange between Ann, the mercenary, and Kalan the merchant. The masks we were wearing were coming undone.

It was a confrontation between two people whose lives were entangled forever.

"She didn't give me a chance to prove otherwise..."

'Hence I plan on taking matters into my own hands' I refrained from completing my sentence.

"Do you still think about her?"

I looked into Angelica's eyes and declared sincerely,

"Every second of the day"

Moments passed as neither of us was willing to break the silence.

"!"

Angelica swallowed, her eyes wavering to the sides not knowing what to say. She had a troubled expression on her face. So, I decided to break the ice.

"Here you go"

I took the flower I had taken earlier and extended it to Angelica. Guess it was meant to be in her hands

"I saw them on the way here. Thought it might suit you"

The tension on her face began to dissipate.

"Thank you, Mr.Kalan"

But just as she reached for it I pulled my hand back in a playful tug.

"Just. Kalan" I iterated.

It had been bothering me for a while being addressed as any other stranger. Thus, when the opportunity presented itself I made use of it.

"Ok. Just Kalan. Can I have the flower now?"

However, just as things were getting pleasant we were interrupted by the wolf beastman causing Angelica to quickly bid her farewell and return.

"Good night Mr. Kalan! I mean, Kalan!"

'Him again?' I clenched my fists to control my rage. Among the many leeches around Angelica, he was the one I detested the most.

To avoid an unwanted confrontation, I went on my way when he declared,

"We do not want any complications to hinder our travel"

I merely smirked at his futile threatening before continuing to walk away.

He must have recognized the flower I gave her. For red hibiscus represents deep passion and undying love.

Although I had never thought of myself as such, throughout the years, there have been countless people who have called me a cunning bastard. But who knows...

"I might be a little..."