Hera tucked the map she was trying to duplicate on a scrap of paper under another thick book and continued to stare at Lyonnel without saying anything, while unintentionally rubbing her red wrist. 

“I'll be going shortly.” Hera hurried to clear the table full of her books. She didn't want to see Lyonnel for a while, since seeing him still made her heart ache so badly.

“Hera... Let's have a conversation, shall we?” Lyonnel smiled wryly as he realized his sister was avoiding him once more.

Hera blinked her eyes, confused. “There's nothing we can talk about.”

Lyonnel slowly approached Hera and sat across from her, gazing at the books his sister had stacked up in front of her.

While Shie flew to the window frame, intent on observing the siblings' awkward interactions.

“Are you interested in gardening?”

Hera lowered her gaze to the gardening book at the top of her stack of books. She brushed her fingers over the hardcover of the gardening book and tapped her fingers on it before returning her gaze to Lyonnel.

“No. I just don't know what else to read.” Hera reasoned as she continued to tap her fingers. She just didn't know what to do with Lyonnel, who kept staring at her and making her feel uncomfortable.

“Were you all right yesterday?”

“Yesterday?” Hera tilted her head, looking confused. “I’m fine. I just walked around the exhibition before heading home with Ysmay and Kyle.”

“You have no recollection of what happened yesterday?”

Hera shrugged her shoulders and began to open one of the books on her stack, a book about medicinal plants. “But why haven't you returned with them today? What keeps you here?” She inquired nonchalantly.

Lyonnel felt something strange about Hera, who was sitting in front of him, avoiding eye contact with him again. “Why am I still here?” He repeated Hera's question in an uncertain tone. “Isn't this something I've previously told you? You even guessed it yourself.”

Hera was silent for a long time and recalled their brief conversation at the exhibition.

“Ah, I remember... But... What kind of case happened in this small city? Hm…” Hera made a humming sound. She tried hard to remember what had happened during the time she had spent in this small city with her grandmother.

Silverna couldn't have been directly involved in last night's matter. They only had to wait for the Heiza and Sixon families to find the criminals and later prosecute them based on the evidence they had gathered. That didn't happen until a few years later, without the information she gave.

Apart from the unbearable winter, which prompted people to consume more firewood and caused a small fire, nothing really happened.

“How did you learn about it?” Lyonnel's voice snapped Hera out of her mind, causing the girl to raise an eyebrow at him. “How did you find out about what the Silvernas did for a living?” He repeated it again.

“... if you can believe the rumors about me. Why can't I believe everything the servants said about what the Silverna family did to all those criminals? How noble what your family is doing and that the criminals deserve to be punished inhumanely.” Hera chuckled bitterly, but her eyes glowed with disgust.

Lyonnel was taken aback by Hera's remark. He then took a deep breath. Hera didn't need to know deeply what their family was doing. “Don't really believe what they say.”

“Oh, I'm not going to trust them until I hear it for myself.” Hera leaned forward. “Say... how was your night's sleep back there? I'm sure it was a peaceful one. Because you can't hear all of their screams and pleas when they're being tortured.” Hera snarled, her pupils constricted.

“What exactly are you—” Lyonnel couldn't help but be silent as he remembered their dungeon's placement exactly under the mansion's eastern side. How terrified was she when she heard all of that all night long? Is she ever able to sleep peacefully at her so-called home?

Lyonnel cleared his throat and tried to divert their conversation, and decided to tell Hera about the painting.

“Do you know who Mrs. R is?”

Hera scoffed, leaned back in her chair, nodded, and returned her gaze to her open book.

“She created a portrait of you. Would you like to see it?”

Hera's actions came to a halt. Her body was frozen. “What did you say?” Her voice hissed vehemently.

Hera was even shocked by her emotions. Her heart twisted, and something within her warned her that the painting would be her worst nightmare.

But why? What made her fearful of hearing about the painting? And why did her body suddenly become feverish?

Even the cold breeze from the open window didn't seem to have any effect on her body temperature, which was rising rapidly.

She hated this sensation, which made her insides feel as if they were boiling. Hera's breath became shallow. Why is this happening? This is absolutely not a normal fever. There's no reason for her to be sick now.

Hera dropped her head, gazing at the pages containing information about the flower she usually searched for every winter, the crystal-like flower that could only be found in winter by the sea.

The starlight flowers will bloom in a few weeks. Some physicians discovered how to utilize it as medicine, a medicine she might need later on or right now.

The medicine's cooling effect will heal any burn injuries, and Hera really wanted to use it right now to cool down her burning body.

She doesn't want to experience that agony of being burnt alive again!

Hera was stunned by the thought that suddenly crossed her mind. Her eyes widened in terror. Was she ever burned alive? For what reason? The more she tried to remember why she ended up dying like that, the more her mind blanked.

Lyonnel extended his hand, shaking Hera's forearm as she noticed the girl's body beginning to tremble. “Are you alright? What's the matter with you?”

“Nothing. I'm perfectly fine.” Hera's voice was wavering. She jumped to her feet and collected the books in her arms.

Hera's face was flushed with fever, which appeared to worsen by the minute.

Lyonnel sensed that something was wrong with Hera's emotions. Is she lying again about not remembering what happened last night? There was no way she could forget what happened last night, an event that would surely imprint on all the memories of the other nobles who witnessed it firsthand.

But then his eyes widened as he observed Hera's scarlet face and her choking breaths. Her eyelids shut tightly as if she was trying to endure excruciating pain.

“I'll go first.” Hera hurried away while massaging her temple, which was starting to throb.

A cold sweat began to trickle down her back. Hera's temples were burning, as if she were suffering from a fever. Her body staggered as she began to move her legs to walk away from that room.

Lyonnel grabbed his sister's arm, which was very hot, causing the girl to stumble towards him and drop all the books she was carrying on the floor. “I'll take you back.”

With the little strength she had, Hera pushed herself away from Lyonnel. There is no need to do that. She refused the attention she wished Lyonnel had given her when she was younger, but it was too late; to Hera, Lyonnel would always be one of her murderers.

“Have you developed a fever?” Lyonnel glanced at the open window and then went to close it securely. There is no longer a cool wind blowing into the library, leaving snowflakes in the corner of the table slowly melting. “Winter has already arrived. You should not sit with the window open.”

Hera placed her hands on the table, supporting her weak body, absolutely not listening to Lyonnel.

She groans in pain. Even the slightest contact from the table on her palms sent pain through her entire body. Her ears were ringing with incoherent voices.

This was not a fever, she was reliving one of her deaths as her memories of it surfaced.

The first death memory she ever recalled was nothing compared to this. This was an excruciatingly agonizing death rather than an instant death.

“I'll take you back to your room and call the doctor for you.” Lyonnel felt a surge of panic in his heart.

“I told you there was no need for you to do so.” Hera gritted her teeth.

When the pain became tolerable, she tried to walk again. But Lyonnel made it even more difficult for her when he reached for her arms again.

He may have had good intentions, but the pain made Hera more irritable than ever. Walking was now extremely painful for her. She didn't need anything to make her feel pain other than walking.

As a result, Hera slapped his hand away, enduring the pain of the contact. “Don't touch me!”

“Hera... Don't be like this. You have a very high fever right now. At the very least, allow me to get you to your room and contact the doctor.”

Lyonnel tried to grab Hera's hand again, but Hera smacked his hand away once more and groaned in pain. “I told you not to touch me. It hurts.”

Lyonnel was speechless. What kind of fever causes someone's body to hurt when they come into contact with another person?

Hera's staggered steps made Lyonnel immediately reach out before she fell. “Can you endure the pain? I'll be quick. Please endure it.” Somehow, Hera's pained face convinces him that she was in a lot of pain when Lyonnel hoisted her up.

Hera's face grimaced in pain, her breath hitched. “Alright.” This is not the time to be stubborn.

Hera lowered her head, her gaze hazy on the books scattered under Lyonnel's feet. She let out a small sigh, ignoring the messy books and papers, and tried not to move too much in Lyonnel's arms.

“... You seem used to this kind of pain.” Lyonnel spoke quietly. He also made an effort not to shift Hera's body in his arms. His heart wrenched as he saw Hera bite her lips to keep her shrieking from escaping her mouth from time to time.

“You have no idea how much suffering I am capable of enduring.” Hera chuckled unconsciously, as though this was amusing to her.

But her words made Lyonnel's face harden. He wanted to tighten his hold on Hera, but stopped himself before hurting her.

How much suffering did she go through that made her laugh about it?

“Is this the first time you've felt this way?” Lyonnel asked the question as soon as he opened Hera's bedroom door.

“Hmm…” Hera didn't move an inch once Lyonnel placed her on her bed. She tried to pry her eyes open and stared at Lyonnel. “No. But I'm not going to die this time. So, there is no need to think about it. You can leave now. Don't call the doctor. I'll be fine after some sleep.”

“No. I'll call the doctor. It's clear you've been in a lot of pain up until now. And don't bring up the subject of death in such a way.”

“You do that. But none of them will be able to enter my room later. So you'd be wise not to do that.” Hera murmured under her breath as she closed her eyes.

Her restored memory grew hazy. She had no idea why, but she gradually felt as if someone was soothing her down in her thoughts. Promise her that everything will be fine, that someone will take care of everything that occurs as a result of the painting's presence, which should not have existed in the first place.

Lyonnel could only stand there and watch as Hera's breathing went back to normal. He even tried to touch her forehead, and her fever gradually subsided. She appeared to be alright now, as she had stated. There was no discomfort or pain on her serene sleeping face, as if the pain she'd been feeling for a while had simply vanished.

For a long time, Lyonnel was pensive in silence. Hera's condition was strange. She was in pain and couldn't even walk normally not long ago, but she is completely fine now. As if her body needed a moment to adjust to the pain she was suffering before it was gone?

Lyonnel was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Shie, who was now flying around the room with two pieces of paper in his beak before shifting back into a human in front of him.

“I discovered these papers tucked among the books that had fallen on the floor. Oh, and I've already picked up the books and set them down on the table.” Shie handed the papers to Lyonnel and sat on the sofa, waiting for him to open them.

Lyonnel lowered his gaze to the papers. His hands trembled as he unfolded the papers, which had his family's insignia and crucial information written on them.

The two papers that no one should have known about, the two papers that had formerly been stored for years in the music box, which were now playing softly in Ruth's study.

Lyonnel now held two papers that Hera had hidden in the hopes that no one would find them.

“What is it? Is it important?”

Shie tried to see what made his master look so startled and repeatedly read what was written on the two papers. “I thought it was important. It has Silverna's insignia on it, but I don't read it.”

Lyonnel ignored Shie's curious gaze as he stared at Hera. “How is that possible?” He whispered in disbelief.