Reading Rufus’s bewilderment, Shiro extended a hand with a benevolent smile. He rested it lightly on Rufus’s shoulder and helped him to his feet, speaking in a clear voice that seemed to rouse the banquet hall from its silence.

“Thank you for your courtesy, Lord Marigold. I realize our sudden visit must have come as quite a surprise, but I hope you will graciously welcome these rude, uninvited guests.”

Shiro spoke gently, but his words carried an authority that brooked no refusal. Rufus swallowed hard. House Marigold might be the foremost house in Merchant City, but before a prince certain to become his nation’s next king, he had no choice but to show deference.

“H-how could you say such a thing? For the Sun of Ristal to grace us with his presence is a tremendous honor for House Marigold. However...”

Deference did not mean groveling or offering flattery. Even with his head lowered, Rufus drew a clear line.

“Our house has never had ties with the Kingdom of Ristal. For a mere common man such as myself, it is difficult to understand why Your Highness would visit us in person.”

At the question, Shiro’s smile quietly faded, and sorrow entered his eyes.

“Yes, you are correct. Our Kingdom of Ristal has yet to establish ties with House Marigold. However... we share an inseparable bond with tonight’s ‘guest of honor.’”

Shiro’s gaze moved past Rufus. The sorrow in his eyes was so clear that those watching almost imagined an ache stirring in their own hearts.

Those sorrowful eyes settled on Yuto, who stood in a daze.

“As you know, our Kingdom of Ristal and the fallen Kingdom of Belkain were allies as close as brothers. After that horrific night when Belkain incurred the constellations’ wrath for reasons unknown and was engulfed in catastrophe... our royal family considered it our sacred mission to seal its gates and guard its ruins against grave robbers, preserving the repose of those who had died there.”

The distinguished guests murmured at his account. Shiro’s words were true. After Belkain fell, other kingdoms and cities had tried to explore its ruins and gather the wealth buried there, but the Kingdom of Ristal had led the effort to stop them.

“Recently, however, my royal father fell gravely ill, and all our kingdom’s attention turned to domestic affairs. When we learned that wicked Black Mages and base grave robbers had exploited that lapse in vigilance to trample Belkain and desecrate its restless spirits, our royal family felt profound anguish and responsibility.”

Shiro’s voice resonated low through the hall. It sounded like heartfelt repentance, drawing quiet exclamations from the guests.

“Just as we were preparing to assemble an army to cleanse Belkain without delay, we heard the rumors from Merchant City. They spoke of a brave boy who had fulfilled the duty Ristal had failed to discharge, safeguarding Belkain’s repose and crushing an evil conspiracy.”

Shiro’s gaze remained fixed on Yuto. His smile was deeply benevolent, his eyes radiant as the sun.

But Yuto felt a chill in that benevolent smile. He saw pitch-black darkness in those sun-bright eyes. Every bit of it disgusted him.

“As Belkain’s brother, it is only right that we personally commend the one who acted justly on our kingdom’s behalf and convey our gratitude in the royal family’s name. Unfortunately, my father has yet to recover from his illness, so I have come here myself as prince.”

Shiro’s eyes returned to Rufus.

“I, Shiro Ristal, hurried here without making arrangements because I wished to meet the new star in Marigold’s embrace—the hero who saved Belkain.”

His explanation was flawless. All of Callisto already knew that the Kingdom of Ristal had proclaimed itself Belkain’s guardian. It was also common knowledge that Ristal’s king had been bedridden with illness for several years.

“...”

Rufus pondered, unable to find a reply. Even without such a reason, he could hardly turn away Ristal’s prince and princess after their unannounced arrival. Yet Shiro had supplied an impeccable justification as well. What was more, that justification was immensely useful to Rufus and House Marigold.

The prince of Ristal had elevated Yuto from a mere adventurer to a hero who had performed a royal duty in their stead. The nobles at the party were trembling with excitement at the realization that Yuto mattered enough to warrant a personal visit from Ristal’s prince.

“I had not considered such a reason. Your Highness, please forgive this humble man’s foolishness.”

Rufus chose to be moved by the noble purpose Shiro had declared. He bowed his head deeply.

Then Princess Shirin stepped forward from her brother’s side. She approached Rufus with a smile as radiant as a flower coming into bloom.

“Raise your head, Lord Marigold.”

Her voice held a pure clarity of a different kind from her brother’s.

“My brother’s words are also a token of the deep trust Ristal’s royal family places in you. On behalf of the royal family, I thank your house for its dedication in helping safeguard Belkain’s repose.”

Shirin inclined her head gracefully toward Levian in her red dress. Her bearing was full of dignity, yet tempered with a humility that showed respect for the other person.

“I was particularly impressed by Lady Levian’s courage and compassion. Risking your life alongside Yuto, wiping away the restless spirits’ tears, and sheltering those with nowhere to go—such nobility of character is truly an example to all of Callisto. Marigold’s name will be recorded with honor in Ristal’s histories as well.”

Rufus’s shoulders trembled with emotion. A princess had formally commended his daughter’s deeds, calling them noble. For a merchant, there could be no greater honor.

But to Yuto, that clear voice felt like a dagger carving out his heart. His wife from his previous life, the woman he had loved and failed to protect. Shirin Ristal, who had grown cold after Shiro’s sword pierced her on that horrific night, now stood before his eyes offering praise.

Shiro and Shirin slowly began to walk. Their steps and gazes were directed straight at Yuto.

Levian did not know what to do. Like Rufus, she was deeply moved. She wondered what expression and manner she should adopt to greet the twins in pure white.

‘Hm...?’

As she pondered, Levian felt a tremor through the arm linked with hers. Yuto was—trembling. Not understanding why, she glanced at him and could not help giving an involuntary start.

There was no expression on his face. Not a trace remained of the smile he had worn while entertaining the nobles. His expression was utterly, terribly empty. Yet Levian could sense the emotions seething deep within his eyes.

‘Why...?’

She could not bring herself to ask.

Step by step.

Shiro and Shirin approached. With each step they took, the emotions knotted around Yuto’s heart swirled like mad.

His lips pressed tightly together, Yuto stared at the approaching twins. There was nothing else he could do. If he parted his lips even slightly, he felt certain he would unleash a torrent of vile curses that had absolutely no place at this party.

The moment he had seen Shiro in the open entrance, he had felt a terrible murderous urge crawl up his spine. It was as though his brain had gone numb, as though the part governing reason had broken altogether. He wanted to draw Gloria then and there, shred that hypocritical mask of benevolence, and expose the black intentions beneath it to the entire world.

[“Yuto, pull yourself together.”]

Elun’s sharp cry rang through his mind. In place of her usual indifference, her voice carried unmistakable urgency.

[“Now is not the time. You must never reveal your murderous intent to that man. If you run wild here, everything you have endured since returning to the past, everything I have vowed, will come to nothing.”]

At Elun’s sharp warning, Yuto clenched his fists.

He knew.

He knew that. He bit his tongue until it bled. Only when the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth did his numbed senses finally return to reality.

He had to endure. He had not yet reached the culmination of his revenge. If he let his emotions erupt here, everything would collapse for nothing.

Even if he let them sweep him into attacking Shiro, he was still incapable of killing him. Even if he failed and managed to escape, the future would be bleak.

[“Yes, take a deep breath. Is your resolve for vengeance not vast enough to swallow that man’s loathsome, hypocritical radiance? Will you settle for ending your revenge by ruining a single party?”]

Elun’s cold, scathing words settled Yuto’s emotions into an ever deeper calm. He swallowed his trembling breath. Then, as though putting his mask back in place, he relaxed the twitching muscles around his eyes and curled up the corners of his mouth.

At last, Shiro and Shirin reached him.

“You are even more extraordinary up close, Yuto.”

Shiro stopped and addressed him gently, his smile radiant as the sun. But the instant Yuto met that smile and those eyes, he saw the abyss once more. The horrific nightmare of his past overlapped with reality. Shiro had worn that same smile even as he destroyed Yuto’s happiest moments.

Yuto desperately erased his feelings toward him, but perhaps Shiro caught their fleeting remnants, for he asked with a gentle smile,

“What has you so deep in thought? You look... as though you already know me.”

Yuto did not react to the words Shiro tossed out like a joke. Shiro was skilled at manipulating and deceiving others’ emotions. To keep him from seeing through the act, Yuto would have to give his performance everything he had.

“Of course I know you. Even in the gutter where I lived, I constantly heard how kind, wise, and outstanding the prince of Ristal was.”

Yuto smiled gently. Ever so gently.

“I come from the slums of the Kingdom of Ristal. The poor there would always say that someday, when Prince Shiro became king, the day would come when even people like us could dream of living as human beings.”

Yuto delivered the lie smoothly without so much as a blink. His expression and voice feigned such admiration and respect that it was hard to believe he had honed himself for vengeance alone.

“Even the little gutter rats eased their hunger by feeding on the hope of your benevolent name. Finding myself face-to-face with that very prince, I was simply too overwhelmed with emotion to know what to do.”

Shiro fell silent for a moment at Yuto’s reply. His benevolent smile remained, but cold reason flashed behind those sun-bright eyes.

Yuto’s answer was flawless. Yet that very ‘perfection’ struck a faint discordant note in Shiro’s instincts. The language was far too polished to come from a boy raised in the gutter, and despite his words of praise, there was an unwavering depth to his eyes.

Shiro was accustomed to praise. He was surrounded by fanatics who would kiss a toilet bowl and gorge themselves on filth if he commanded it. That was precisely why he could sense that Yuto’s eyes were nothing like those of someone lavishing praise on him.

‘What are you?’

Shiro thought with a gentle smile.

‘Who in the world are you?’

The one who had thwarted Marketer’s scheme and destroyed Calipha’s aether factory.

Shiro sensed instinctively that there was far more to Yuto than that.