"

"Are we moving to another place again?" Eros asked, recognizing the seer's expression even though he can't see it.

"Let me escort you, which place are we going?"

Eros just nodded and take the seer to another part of the city.

Once again her visions move, but just like the previous one the man they saw was just following a random old mans's orders for money. One location after another, they followed the vision's thread. Each time, the contractor turned out to be just another pawn. A hooded man hired by another hooded man.

And so the chase continued.

"Should we rest, lady seer?" Eros offered since he could sense the weaknening mana of the lady he was holding.

Though she is indeed tired the seer shook her head "No, Im good please help me to the next destination" she was determined to help despite her strength growing thin.

Baylee and Eros couldn't help but look at each other, they both understand that no matter what they say she won't listen.

"Here lady seer, please take this, it will reduce the fatigue you are feeling" Baylee offered this time his voice was filled with concern opposite to his usual cold tone.

Face with such kindless of her two escort, th seer couldnt help but comply. She took the potion and felt a sudden lightness.

"Thank you-....!?" Her words were cut off suddenly as Eros scoop her from the ground and decided to lift her.

"I will carry you my lady, so please just tell where should I go"

At first she wanted to reject the offer but seeing the night sky, she realized that the tracking had taken too much time already. If being lifted could make things faster then so be it.

"It's for the mission so its should be fine" she thought so while resting her head on his shoulders.

While she snuggle into Eros' arm, Baylee took out another potion and put it on her hand.

"Drink this to replenish your stamina, we are still quite far from the next destination so please rest"

The two were very accommodating that Viena, who just returned from the Imperial Palace can only blink in surprise at the sudden gentleness of the two men, who'd once looked at her with pure hostility.

"Is this the same people that kept looking at me with killing intent?" She wondered while quietly following them.

After a few more minutes and they arrive at a mansion, it was abandoned and left into ruins.

"We are here"

"You may put me down, young lord" Eros just nodded and obeyed the seer's words. Immediately she went to work and the surrounding suddenly changes.

The image shifted again, this time to a well-furnished room. Velvet drapes. A sigil carved into a wooden panel too faint to make out clearly. Then the quiet mansion was disturbed by man, he was wearing a suit while a hat was covering his face. Walking into the heart of the manor what attracted Eros was the scroll on its hand.

"I think that guy is our target"

Yukan whispered which Baylee and Eros quietly agreed.

The vision then wavered and another figure appeared, taller, broader, dressed in high quality robe, but with a hood still masking their face. A gloved hand passed over a satchel of gold.

Baylee leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Pause it. That ring."

The Seer froze the vision. A single ornate ring glinted on the hooded figure's hand, shaped like a falcon in mid-dive, its wings spread in aggressive grace.

Baylee exhaled. "A Falcon emblem."

Eros' brow furrowed. "You recognize it?"

He was confused while the people beind him all bore a grim expression.

"I think I am the only person here who isn't aware of the meaning of that sigil" he added.

Baylee couldnt help but sigh, while Lyrise came forward and began explaining.

"As you know each houses, each family especially those with powerful background had their own people that takes care of the dirty stuff for them. Assassination, bribery and information gathering, those things are being handled by the most trusted people of each family. The crest we jus saw belong to an organization known as the the Falcon.....and the family that owns them....is someone you know well."

She looked deeply into his eyes wanting to see if her words were able to reach him. And Eros did understand what she was saying. His expression changes for a second before turning into a calm and determine one.

"The falcons are working for the Aileas of the Aileen kingdom right?"

All the members of the investigation team simultaneously nodded, Liam on the other hand is extremely worried about his master. He knows him and despite his calm demeanor his mind must be in turmoil.

"I guees we know what we need do." he just said

Eros stared at the paused image. He looked deeply into the crest, his expression bore no signs of anger of denial, it was just calm.

"Everyone you recorded that rigth? Have it reported right away to the archduke" Eros said, voice steady, "We must know what the scroll contains"

Baylee gave a rare nod of agreement.

But behind him, the Seer suddenly flinched the vision twisting violently. Smoke. Screams. A shattered tower. It wasn't from the past for sure, which made the team shiver.

Her voice broke through the rising panic:

"…I see… a shadow behind the falcon…"

Then the image blinked out.

The Seer collapsed.

Eros and Baylee panicked trying to catch her as she fall.

Eros' Pov

The wind that swept across the northern skies felt colder than usual.

Eros sat quietly in the cabin of the airship as it neared the border of the Ailen Kingdom. He had not spoken a word since they left the capital. Even as Baylee handed him the communication orb earlier that morning, he only gave a small nod in response, as if afraid his voice might betray the storm inside him.

Something was off. Wrong. Deep within, he knew it.

Emilia.

Her name echoed in his mind like a whisper, persistent and soft—neither fading nor growing louder. But with every pulse of emotion came something else. A weight.

A tension in his chest that pushed back whenever he tried to linger too long on her face.

A chill that crept along his spine whenever his thoughts drifted too far into sentiment.

A sensation, faint yet constant—like invisible chains tightening around his conscience. Not pain. Not exactly. Just… a subtle redirection.

Loyalty. Duty. Order.

They were no longer just words to him. They were instincts. Reflexes.

Whenever he tried to think of Emilia as a victim… the warmth in his chest flickered. The image of the empire—the emperor, the cardinal dukes, the people—sharpened, clearer than her smile.

Each time he questioned Lorenzo's guilt, something inside tugged him back toward suspicion.

He didn't realize it was the Eternal Oath.

How could he?

It felt like himself, just colder. More decisive. Less… human.

---

The hum of the airship broke as alarms rang throughout the vessel.

"Ambush—!" one of the guards shouted.

Before Eros could rise, the sky above cracked, and the space around them folded like paper.

Dark figures emerged from all sides—masked, relentless, and silent. A sealed domain. No message could pass through. No reinforcements could arrive.

Steel clashed against magic. Screams tore into the sky.

Eros fought at the helm, every strike of his blade carving space and will. Even as blood soaked into the airship's wood and snow scattered around them, he held the line. For a day, they battled inside that pocket of frozen space. Time stilled. Night and day blurred.

Until finally, with a roar that cracked the sky, Eros forced his sword into the tear in space. Mana exploded outward, and the lock broke.

---

Seventh day of Ianuarius Enjoying the story? Find more at *.

The snow was no longer white.

The field below was littered with bodies, both enemy and ally. Eros stood among them, drenched in blood not all his own. His arms hung heavy. His skin was split in a dozen places. Each breath was a scream in disguise.

He staggered forward.

Ahead, a lone figure waited. A woman with blood-stained armor, gripping a sword that still dripped. Viena.

She stood tall, her gaze cold and commanding.

"You have two options, Lord Eros," she said, her voice flat. "Share this discovery with the world…"

Eros halted. The pressure from her stare was immense, but it wasn't her words that made him clench his fists.

It was the truth.

No. It was the lie they both knew.

"This is a lie..." he whispered. His voice trembled.

Yet even as he said it, the sensation returned—that pull. Like a tide rising inside his soul.

This lie would protect Emilia.

This lie would keep the Empire from crumbling.

This lie would allow order to remain.

His loyalty was not being demanded. It was being felt.

He shut his eyes tightly.

"I need to see her," he said, not to Viena, but to himself. To whatever remained of his heart. "Emilia. I need to know if she had any part in this."

His voice cracked. And still, he stood.

Even as the sensation threatened to strip him of his love. Even as duty clawed deeper into his soul—he pleaded.

Just one chance.

To see her.

To know.