“The information in the warning letter was accurate. Unfortunately, we were unable to apprehend any of them before they were all dead.”

Kael's eyes narrowed sharply as he turned away from the ongoing auction toward Reind, who had come to report what had unfolded. “What do you mean when you say they are all dead? Were they—”

“As per your guess, Lord Kael. They are all bound by a blood contract, just like the previous assassin. But before they could... perish by the contract, a handful of them ingested a poison.” Reind went on to explain even more.

“Have you found out who gave the warning letter?”

Reind shook his head, wanting to hold the secret a bit longer. He needed to be certain of a few things before informing the Sixon family of the truth behind this failed assassination attempt.

Kael nodded, no longer questioned about it, and turned around to tell his mother and sister that everything would be fine for the time being and not to worry too much.

“What about the guests? Are they all right?” Killa turned to look at Reind, her face wrinkled with worry. Of course, as the event's host, she was concerned about the guests she had invited, especially since if something happened to them, their family's reputation would suffer.

“We've already escorted them back, Your grace.” Reind tried to assure Killa. “I'll go back and make sure they arrive safely at their destinations.” He then bowed before heading back to his duties.

“Reind, where’s Rayla? I only saw her at the exhibition earlier. I didn't know she was here. Can I meet her?”

Reind came to a halt, his hand tightening around the doorknob. He turned to face the smiling Lilith. “Rayla had already left with her lady. She just helped me around the mansion for tonight, but she needs to return to her annual job right away. Now excuse me, Lady Lilith.”

He then walked away without waiting for Lilith to respond, ignored how the girl clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned to stare at the stage while grumbling.

Someone opened the door to the room next to the Sixon room as Reind passed by, greeting the crown prince and princess who sat comfortably within.

Andora shifted his position and leaned sideways on the sofa backrest that he and his sister were sitting on, tilting her head to look at Ezel, who had returned after being gone for over thirty minutes.

“Where have you been, Ezel?” Andora glared at the guardian who had suddenly disappeared from his sight. “Who have you seen that has forced you to abandon your master?”

Ezel's behavior was out of the ordinary. He'd never left Andora before, not even for a second. However, not long ago, as they circled the exhibition, he suddenly disappeared without a word.

“... Something happened in the dining room.” Ezel tried to divert his master's attention to matters far more important than why he disappeared on him, even though he knew Andora would never let it go that simply.

Andora's eyes narrowed as he noticed Ezel's forced smile. He'd known his guardian long enough to know that Ezel would remain quiet about what he did in those thirty minutes of disappearance for the time being, but eventually would open up later. All he had to do was wait.

Andora turned his attention back to the ongoing auction, his eyebrows raised as a small smile appeared on his lips. “The Duchess had warned me in her invitation. I didn't expect that something would really happen. Tell me what happened, Ezel.”

“The assassin was killed by a blood contract, your highness. But a few of them took their own lives by drinking poison, and they were so young that I doubt they were skilled assassins.”

“Blood contracts?” Esther was startled by Ezel's report, but her face lit up with curiosity. She had read the story about a family destroying a kingdom hundreds of years ago, over and over again. Not that Esther admired them, but she was intrigued by how greedy they were to make that final wish that resulted in their demise. “I can’t believe the family still exists until today. Is it true?”

“That old story real?” Andora, unlike Esther, was uninterested in what occurred hundreds of years ago in a kingdom that was even on the other side of the world from them. He had no idea why books about their tales had made their way to the royal library and some to the Dukes' families.

Esther's attention had been drawn entirely to Ezel. She wanted to see what was going on for herself, but there was no way her brother or Ezel would allow her to leave this room. So she had no choice but to ask him.

“So, do they perish in a way... you know?” Esther imitated an explosion with her hands.

Ezel responded with a sluggish nod and a pained expression. “The daughter of one of the baron's family, who saw the incident firsthand, probably needed quick treatment before she lost her mind.” Ezel added to ease Esther's curiosity.

She could only nod in understanding. “Is it really that horrible?”

“Ezel... found out how Sixon knew what was going to happen ahead of time.” Andora gave an abrupt command. For whatever reason, he needed to know if the Sixons had a reliable informant or not.

“... As your wish, Your highness.”

Before he could go to do his unexpected assignment, something down there caught his attention.

Downstairs, the presenter announced the last artwork up for auction that day, a painting by the well-known painter Mrs. R.

The presenter took the artwork from his assistant, which was still nicely wrapped, and placed it on the little table beside him. The two of them carefully unwrapped the painting and were instantly stunned by what they saw.

Everyone knew Mrs. R usually auctioned off her landscape paintings, never her portraits, so who would have guessed she was suddenly auctioning off a portrait of a girl?

That sparked their interest in the girl in the painting; did it originate from her imagination? How can someone look that genuinely happy?

They were a little disappointed when they realized the girl was probably the painter's imagination; there was no way someone could auction off a real portrait painting without getting into a lot of trouble later.

The nobles on the first floor were unaware that the nobles in the exclusive rooms on the second floor balcony had completely different reactions to the painting.

Esther and Lilith were the first to react and rushed down to the backstage, followed by their guards.

While the Duchess of Sixon and Marya, who were sitting on her lap in silence, could only stare in bewilderment. Only Kael had an oddly normal reaction as he stared blankly at the painting.

The crown prince from the next room merely looked at the painting with a curious expression on his face, the curiosity mainly because of Esther's reaction as she hurried downstairs.

Andora didn't notice how pale his guardian was as he stood behind him with his gritted teeth.

Ezel fists clenched firmly at his sides, trying to stop the chills rushing through his body. There was only one thought that crossed Ezel's mind when he saw the painting that shouldn't exist in this world.

“She's going to be livid.”

In the blink of an eye, Ezel was already on the first floor. His gaze was fixed on the number plates, which continued to be raised by several nobles while shouting their bids for the painting.

In a loud voice, a young baron bid more and more money than the previous offer. He was eager to own that painting.

Ezel could only shake his head as he imagined the fate of the young baron, who had no idea what would happen to him if he succeeded in purchasing the painting.

As the bidding is getting higher, a few nobles have given up and are no longer raising their number plates.

The room opposite the Sixon family room was eerily quiet. They didn't say anything and just glanced at Luca, who had been still since the presenter began the bidding for the last painting.

Even though the painting looked completely different, Luca remembered very well every brush stroke, technique, and also the initials of the painter's name written in the lower corner of the painting, exactly the same as the paintings in his nightmare.

His chest felt tight, as if he couldn't breathe. His eyes were red and burning. Luca couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that everything he dreamed of was real after seeing the painting.

Everything, however, remained absurd. Luca knew very well that Aria couldn't fabricate dreams. All of the dreams she showed Ammely were relived memories from her past, not something she conjured up to make her master pleased with a nice dream.

Hera reminds him a lot of his late wife. If Luca hadn't seen Hera at tea time and noticed the birthmark beneath her eye, he would have thought the girl in the painting was his wife.

“Uncle Luca, isn't that sister Hera?”

Madame Hellen immediately nudged Alicia's arm, warning her not to meddle in Silverna's family matters and just stay silent.

“Father... Are you all right?” Lyonnel, who had recovered from his shock, looked at Luca and patted him on the shoulder.

“Lyonnel... find out who the painter is and how she was able to create a painting of Hera. Also, inform anyone from the Sixon family that they can't sell the painting to anyone.”

The scene downstairs appeared chaotic as Lyonnel strode out of the room, especially when the presenter halted the hammer that was going to be pounded to close the bid.

The presenter was now conversing with Lilith and Esther at the side of the stage.

It wasn't long before his assistant returned to the stage, wrapped the painting and carried it down, leaving everyone perplexed.

The presenter made his way back to the center of the stage, then he politely bowed.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we presented the wrong painting and will show the correct one shortly. If anyone objected, they could meet Duchess Sixon and listen to her explanation.” This announcement was expressed in a regretful tone, but his words also carried a subtle threat.

The young baron who had won the highest bid looked displeased, his face already darkening. But what could he do, how could he protest against the Duchess who was organizing this event? His father would beat him up if he looked for problems with the Duke's family.

Seeing his darkening expression, his companion could only chuckle.

Not long after, a breathtaking landscape painting appeared in the center of the stage, causing some people to forget about the previous painting and once again started raising their number plates.

...

Ed Hanze, who was in the room next to the Silverna family room, could only look at Hane laughing his heart out. He wanted to ask what was wrong with him, but the man wouldn't stop laughing.

“What is so funny?”

The question came out of Ed's mouth when Hane finally stopped laughing.

Hane grinned widely. “I found my master. I can't believe I found her like this.” He then turned to face Ed with his eyes glinting with amusement. “Is it possible to find out who the girl is in the previous painting?”

“We can always ask the Duchess or Lady Lilith about the painter. She must know the girl she painted, right?”