"Why...?"
"Surely you don't expect a guard to be unaware of that."
The young guard hesitated, uncertainty flashing in his eyes as he met Yuder's steady gaze. But Yuder didn't elaborate on the purpose of his question.
"Incredible. He seems like the type who can't help but spill everything."
After the guard finished answering and hurried off, Nahan, who had been watching from a step behind, approached Yuder.
"Did you recognize him as the guard we encountered last night and choose him on purpose?"
"No."
Despite this, the intimidation had worked better than expected, which was fortunate. As Yuder strode toward Devran's former home, Nahan followed, continuing their conversation.
"I never imagined he would be so shaken by the threat of you telling Zakail his name. Why, though? Even if you did, Zakail wouldn't care, as long as things were going according to his plan."
"Just because those at the top don't care doesn't mean the ones below feel the same."
Yuder referred toward the memory of the stern and intimidating old guard captain, underscoring his point.
"...I see."
Nahan's eyes glinted as he quickly understood the nuance.
"So, even lower-ranking individuals fear being mentioned, lest it offend their superiors. Hmm. How did you pick up on such a subtle detail? Were you perhaps part of the imperial army?"
"Do I have to answer that as well?"
Yuder's quiet retort implied it wasn't him who stood to lose anything. At this, Nahan let out a low chuckle.
"I'm just a curious man, especially when I encounter a brother who is capable as you."
"I thought I made it clear. We're not 'brothers.'"
"Your chill rivals the breath of a glacier. Surely, you could share that much."
"If you're so eager to know, you should start by sharing something yourself."
Annoyed by Nahan's relentless curiosity and his refusal to offer any information first, Yuder's tone sharpened. Nahan, catching the hint, fell silent. The rest of their walk to Devran's house passed in quiet contemplation.
'Here we are.'
Everything was scorched black. From a distance, the ruins looked tragic, but up close, the devastation was overwhelming. Yuder slowly circled the remnants of the house, inspecting the burnt debris.
The neighboring homes and streets bore signs of the same fire, but none had been as severely damaged as Devran's. The others, at least, still stood; Devran's had completely collapsed.
Yuder returned to his starting point and gazed down at the wreckage. Nahan joined him, standing at his side. After a brief glance at Nahan, Yuder spoke again.
"You've been here before, haven't you?"
"I have."
Nahan casually agreed.
"However, I didn't find much beyond the suspicion that the fire here was set with more destructive intent than elsewhere."
That aligned with Yuder's thoughts. He was certain the fire that had consumed Devran's house had been deliberately set.
While the rest of the village had only been lightly scorched, the fire here seemed intent on completely annihilating everything. If that weren't the case, the house wouldn't have been destroyed to the point where it was entirely unrecognizable.
"The villagers seem to think it's cursed. They won't even approach the place. Whatever bodies were inside must've burned completely, so they're planning to bury it all as is."
"Well..."
Yuder's gaze lingered on the pile of debris, muttering as if he were contemplating the secrets that might still be buried within.
"Just because the outside is burned... doesn't mean the inside is, too."
"Hmm? Do you think there might still be something inside? But it would be difficult to clear all this on our own."
Without turning to look at the puzzled Nahan, Yuder waved his hand nonchalantly. Suddenly, a tremendous wind arose, swirling silently around the ruins of Devran's house and lifting the debris into the air. The ground trembled slightly, as if bowing under the immense force at work.
Moments later, the entire floor of Devran's house was laid bare beneath the floating wreckage.
"The inside... surprisingly, it's pretty intact."
Nahan glanced between the floating debris and the exposed floor, murmuring to himself.
"We might still find traces of a body."
They looked at each other and without hesitation, they stepped into the interior. The old stone floor, barely touched by the fire, was unexpectedly clean.
Yet, despite the assumption that two people had died here, there was no sign of their remains. No bones, no blood—nothing.
"Most of the debris seems to be furniture, dishes, cloth... Is this a shovel?"
As Nahan wandered through the floating remnants, he nudged a small shovel with a scorched handle. Meanwhile, Yuder approached what had once been the doorway, stepping carefully over the charred remains.
Judging from the layout of the debris, it seemed a bed had once stood in this spot.
Among the ashes of wood and cloth, something small gleamed. Yuder reached out and picked up a small, round piece of metal.
Despite the damage from the fire, it was clearly a piece of jewelry, adorned with a gem.
"What's that? A brooch?"
"It seems so."
Yuder turned the object over in his fingers. It appeared to be a simple brooch, but when he applied pressure to one end, something shifted within. Yuder's interest sharpened at the discovery.
'A double brooch?'
Even a regular brooch would be considered a luxury for a commoner, but this was no ordinary piece. It was a double brooch—designed to conceal something within.
Yuder remembered seeing such brooches in his previous life. Nobles often used them to hide miniature portraits of loved ones, cherished for their romantic sentimentality—though Yuder himself had never understood the appeal.
He tried to pry the brooch open, but the heat from the fire had warped it. After a few attempts, he finally succeeded. Inside, a small portrait had been miraculously preserved from the flames.
'This is...'
Upon seeing the image, Yuder's brow furrowed. Nahan, who had leaned in to peek at the brooch, had a similar reaction.
"A knight, wearing a cloak with the Hartan family's insignia and a cross emblem. There's only one person that could be."
"…"
Zakail Hartan had once mentioned a brother, a member of the Silver Cross Knight Order.
Devran Hartude, on the other hand, had a father and a younger sister.
Yuder recalled Devran expressing his worries to his comrades about the lord possibly denying his request to relocate, all because of his sister.
Devran and his family had vanished. But Zakail Hartan's brother hadn't died. The face in the fine brooch they'd discovered in the ruins of Devran's house belonged to a man who was clearly alive. What did it all mean?
Yuder closed the brooch and tucked it into his chest pocket.
"Step outside. I'm going to restore the place."
"Did we find what we came for?"
Quick to catch on, Nahan didn't wait for a response and slipped out of the ruined house. Yuder followed him and, with a slight release of his power, returned the remaining debris to its original state.
As the wind settled the rubble back into place, a thick cloud of black dust rose, but none of it touched Yuder, who stood untouched by the gusts swirling around him.
"Where to next? The back mountain?"
"...Yes."
Before arriving at the house, they had heard from a young guard that executed convicts were casually buried around a large rock on Mount Clayman, which stretched behind Hartan's territory.
If Devran had truly committed suicide, his body would likely be buried there.
Of course, that is, if he had actually died.
There had been no bodies in the house, no signs of those who supposedly perished in the fire. Could Devran's body truly be found? Yuder had his doubts, and as they reached Mount Clayman after about an hour's walk, those doubts were confirmed.
'Just as I thought. Nothing.'
They quickly located the large, distinctive rock used as a burial site for convicts. Just as the guard had described, the rock resembled a monstrous creature standing on two legs and roaring into the sky, earning it the name "The Rock of Death" among the townspeople.
But there were no signs of any recent burials near the Rock of Death. To be sure, Yuder used his powers to manipulate the wind and earth, turning the ground over. All they found were a few ancient skeletal fragments buried long ago.
"Over here. Come take a look."
Nahan's voice called out from a short distance away. He had found something.
"There's a pit here."
The pit Nahan had discovered was closer to the woods than to the rock. It was narrow and deep enough to bury a body, but it was empty.
"Was it like this when you found it?"
"No. It was covered by fallen leaves… like this."
Nahan demonstrated, pushing some leaves with his feet back over the pit. It was clear the pit had been hastily concealed.
Yuder brushed the leaves aside again and knelt in front of the exposed hole. As he leaned over, a foul, damp odor wafted up from within.
The scent was mixed with the stench of decaying leaves that had accumulated over time, but the foulness beneath was something Yuder recognized all too well.
Reaching down, Yuder scooped up a handful of dirt from the pit. As he turned the soil in his black-gloved hand, a dark liquid that hadn't yet dried seeped from between the clumps.
'Blood.'
There was no mistaking it. This was blood.