"How absurd... I would never kill my son and his wife — both of them — never!"
Looser's face turned pale blue, his lips trembling as he stammered out his defense.
"Our son was killed by the Empire... yes, while on a covert investigation mission, he fell into their hands..."
"Wrong."
Urla shook her head slowly back and forth.
She cut short her grandfather's protest without mercy, pressing the truth upon him relentlessly.
"Father intended to make peace with the Empire. That is why you killed him."
"—!"
"Mother planned to flee with me. That is why you killed her."
"N-No, that's not true!"
Looser waved his hand wildly.
In his flailing, the items on his desk clattered to the floor, and spilled ink spread across the ground.
Looser's face had gone beyond pale — it was white as paper.
That reaction betrayed the truth of Urla's words, but the old man still screamed on.
"No, no, no, no... I did nothing wrong — nothing! I am not to blame!"
"........."
"I..."
"My son..."
"He was a fool! He thought he could come to terms with the Empire — unworthy of bearing the Looser name! He abandoned his covert investigation mission to make contact with an Empire noble — unforgivable! He brought shame upon every ancestor who came before him!"
"........."
"So, you killed her?"
"That woman too! She had the special power of the Spirit Eye, so we took her in — but the moment my son died, she tried to flee! She tried to abduct the child she bore... my grandchild who carries my blood... unforgivable, utterly unforgivable!"
"So, you killed her?"
"It's the Empire's fault! Every last bit of it — it's all the fault of the Empire, House Lavender's sworn enemy!"
"............"
The old man was screaming, and Urla's expression showed just a hint of sorrow.
"Gebh..."
And then, in the next instant — A thin, needle-like object pierced into Looser's neck.
The needle had come from the window of the room. Through the slightly opened window, something resembling a wooden tube had slipped inside.
"Bebh... guguehh..."
Looser's face turned a deep purple as he collapsed to the floor, twitching in convulsions.
Looking down at her grandfather like that... Urla narrowed her eyes.
"Thanks a bunch."
"No need for thanks. We simply fulfilled our duty."
The one who answered was Earlie.
"Our 'Shadow' unit... 'Sky Demon' has received the ancestral patronage of House Lavender for generations, and we serve with our very lives. Words of gratitude are unnecessary."
"Mm."
"That said... now that the ring has been handed over, there will be those who won't obey. Are you sure it was right to give it to him?"
"Without a doubt."
There was nothing wrong with that decision.
The covert unit that served under House Lavender — the "Void Demons."
To command them absolutely, the ring was necessary. But even without it, there were those who would obey willingly, just like Earlie.
For Urla, that was more than enough for the time being.
"...It was fine, really."
She looked down at her collapsed grandfather... and murmured with a sigh.
Yes... it really was fine.
Even if he was the one who had killed her father, the one who had killed her mother... he was still the grandfather who had raised her.
If even a single word of apology had escaped Looser's lips, she could have forgiven him.
But there was no apology.
And the reason to hold back vanished along with it.
"It was fine."
Urla had known. That it was her grandfather who had murdered her parents.
With the eyes of the spirit she possessed, very few people could lie to her.
And yet, even knowing the truth, Urla — who had always been devoid of strong emotions — had never felt hatred.
Not until she fell in love. Not until she met Rest.
"You're in the way."
Yes... he was in the way.
Looser Lavender, a ghost consumed by the past, a demon of vengeance — he would become an obstacle to Rest down the road.
And that was something she could not allow.
She had used her Spirit Eye to locate the ring, and ordered that Looser be shot before it was handed over to Rest.
"He's still alive, though... what would you like us to do?"
"That's fine."
It didn't matter.
Looser was apparently still alive, but he would never recover.
She had no interest in an old man who could do nothing.
"I'll do my best."
"Yes, my lady. Let's work hard from here and seize control of House Lavender."
This house would soon belong to Rest.
Even if that didn't happen, Rest's child was meant to inherit it.
Because Urla had decided so.
"I'll do my best, I'll do my best."
She couldn't dump garbage on Rest.
Before eventually presenting this house as an offering, she would need to drain it of all its festering pus.