As Gabriel was making his way back from the palace, having spent a bit of time talking with both Abigail and Caine, his mind was quietly moving. His sister had ended up here after making a deal, and he had coincidentally ended up here after he ended his own life. But, not only had he ended up in the same world, he had ended up in the same time-period as his sister, despite the difference in time between their departure.

Gabriel did not like coincidences, much less believe in them. Something, or someone, had laid a plan for all of this, and he just so happened to be one of the pieces. So, the questions at the time would be Who and Why, if he didn’t figure out the answer to these things then it would be a touch hard to rest easy in the future.

Alice probably had similar thoughts, there was no way someone like her wouldn’t end up suspicious after she found out that Abigail was Gabriel’s sister. One of the reasons she notified him about the possibility was probably so that she could get her suspicions confirmed. Well, it would always be something they could talk about together, two scheming heads put together would be better than one.

On the way back, he heard the news that Kaden Gaun Sorin had escaped the prison of the Amber Inquisitors and gone on a mad rampage to escape. They tried to capture him alive, but after he killed two guards they were forced to apprehend with the intent to kill so he ended up perishing. With the job done, Nergal naturally returned to his side, eagerly awaiting praise for doing such a good job of controlling the corpse. Naturally, Gabriel was not shy of giving it as he kept heading back.

He returned to the estate they were currently living in, but his steps halted in front of the iron gate. For a moment, his eyes narrowed sharply.

There was a scent in the air. A soft and lingering fragrance of hyacinths. For it to linger in the air, it either meant that the source had been here recently, or that the source had carried the scent so thickly that even the passage of time could only fade it slowly.

He hadn’t seen any carriages or people in the immediate area around the estate so he ruled out the possibility that it had been here recently. And for something to carry a scent this thickly, it was evident that whoever carried it was of sufficient status, at the very least around the level of a Marquis.

But due to their current positions and the events going on with the accusations raised by Gabriel, there was no way that a Marquis would dare to come by. The Dukes were also mostly out of the picture, Alice belonged to the Vritara family so the two other ducal families had next to no reason to seek her out, especially after she rejected the Soring family in public in favor of Gabriel.

“The third prince.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed as he reached the conclusion. The noble families were out of the question, so it could only be the imperial family. He had just been with Abigail so it wasn’t her, and during the investiture it was the third prince that Alice had spoken to the most, he was the main person that the emperor had tried to match her with.

Now… what could the third prince want with Alice?

Inspecting the ground, he could see relatively deep tracks so they had clearly used a rather decadent carriage to pick her up, implying that it wasn’t your average visit.

“…”

His eyes moved about quietly as he walked, making his way across the garden that served as the front of the estate. The tracks didn’t continue inward so they didn’t pass through the gates. Inside… A few dirty dishes still lingered in the kitchen, the remains of a light snack that she probably made while she waited. It hadn’t been cleaned, and judging by the state of the remains, they had been lying there for a bit of time, enough to dry out somewhat.

Bellona and Edith… Still sleeping peacefully, huddled together under the covers as they recovered from their earlier shock. Even stranger. Alice would never just leave the children here on her own, she was too fond of young and hurt children like this so she would definitely want to be around to greet them when they awoke.

“Alright, if that’s how its going to be…”

A mutter escaped Gabriel as he quietly closed the door so as to not wake the kids, muttering a spell shortly after. The shadows rose and swallowed him, spitting him out at a different location within the city immediately afterward. A black, wolf-like mask covered his face as he appeared within one of the strongholds of the Night Pack, a finger beckoning over one of his workers.

“The movements of Alice De Vritara and those in her estate, bring me every report from today.”

He plopped down on a couch as he spat out the order, the operatives quickly springing into action. This wasn’t one of the undercover businesses, this was a hideout dedicated solely to the expedient delivery of news between the various other hideouts and business, a server of sorts.

As such, several different reports from various operatives reached the desk in front of him before long. They detailed when Alice first left to meet Abigail, when she came back, what she did on the way, etc. It naturally also included what Gabriel had done during the day, at least what he had been seen doing publicly.

“…”

It had indeed been the imperial family that came by while he was gone, the maids and knights at least wore the insignia of the royal family. The report indicated that they had gone to Rosemary Avenue, to Crowning Delight, and had been there for a while already.

“Increase the surveillance in the other countries, but put a halt to the integration process. Tell everyone to simply stay on hold for now and observe the situation, reporting even the smallest movements.”

He slid the report back to his operative as he stood up, giving the order to not just his man but also into the ear-piece he wore so that it would reach the other middle-men of the organization. If one of the princes was involved then it was likely that one of the other countries was also involved, it would be too dangerous for the prince in question if he was caught actually doing something to Alice. One of the other countries would make for a good scape-goat in such a situation.

Gabriel muttered a spell again and vanished from the hideout, popping up within one of the alleyways in the city. He’d prepared several of his marks around the city just in case he needed to quickly move about. It wasn’t terribly efficient on his mana, but the safety it provided made up for it so he had no plans of complaining.

His mask faded into the darkness and he donned a large hat before heading into the city, the hat masking parts of his face. He headed for the shop, and the carriage was indeed still waiting outside, the knights and maids leaning against it somewhat lazily. Gabriel quietly moved forward, his fingers wriggling as his magic moved.

“Katush, Erakos, Lagu Hui Katek Haral.” (Water, Strangle, Bind And Bring Them.)

As he cast the spell, the ever-present number looming in the sky decreased by one as he used his Unique Magic, burning one of the souls that had been mixed with his own.

The spell activated just as he reached the other side of the carriage, water bubbling up from a puddle underneath the wagon. The dirty water rose like a living being and swarmed around the four people, flooding into their mouths and noses while also coiling around their arms like chains.

Gabriel quickly moved around the carriage and snuck into the door, the magic tugging on the shocked people as it yanked them into the carriage. Gabriel closed the door behind them, everything happening almost instantaneously.

The carriage really was decadent, it could even accommodate all five of them without being too cramped. Well, for Gabriel at least, the four others were slumped together. The muddy water filled their mouths and noses so they couldn’t even breathe, gasping wildly for air. But the water refused to sink down their throats and simply hung there, strangling them.

“Now. Would you mind telling me where Alice De Vritara was brought?”

Gabriel’s cold gaze looked down at the four people as he spoke. He was a sensitive person, but he couldn’t detect a single trace of Alice within the shop so they had clearly already moved her. And since his operatives hadn’t mentioned it in their reports, it was clearly done rather stealthily.

Naturally, with their orifices sealed, the captured people couldn’t say anything. Still, Gabriel didn’t undo the magic that strangled them, simply watching them quietly, a gaze devoid of emotion drilling into them and instilling them with a gnawing fear of death.

In the end, just when it looked like the two women were about to pass out, Gabriel moved the magic so that the water left their mouths. The four quickly gasped for breath, one of the knights hurriedly opening his mouth. But before a single word could leave his throat, Gabriel’s hand reached it.

His fingers clamped down on the man’s throat, blocking his wind pipe as his grip slowly tightened. He didn’t use strengthening magic, he didn’t pour magic into the man to incapacitate him. He simply grasped his throat and tightened his grip, a frighteningly calm gaze nailing down the remaining three people.

In the end, the knight… just fell limp. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he simply collapsed as Gabriel loosened his grip. A lightly pink foam oozed out of the man’s mouth, a bit of blood leaking out from his eyes and nose as he lay there.

“”I really don’t want you to make too much noise. Just tell me what I want to know.”

Gabriel shook his hand as he spoke, his voice as emotionless as his gaze. A life had been snuffed out just like that, but he just shook his hand as if it was dirty.

“…Will you spare us if we talk?”

The other knight took the lead to speak up, leaning forward slightly as if he was trying to shield the two maids, be it from the sight or from Gabriel. Gabriel didn’t mind, making a small gesture with his hand, as if urging the man on.

“If you speak, I will not harm a hair on your head.”

He slumped down in the seat, his gaze still nailing down the remaining three people. They clearly found a new sense of hope in his promise, the remaining knight clearing his throat a few times to catch his breath.

“We don’t know where she was taken, we were only ordered to bring her here so that someone else could take her along. But the owner of the shop will know more, he was the one responsible for handing her over to the next party. He’ll still be in the shop, he will give you the information you want.”

Gabriel looked at the three people as the knight spoke. There was a glimmer of hope in their eyes, a light that showed them the path to survival. Hope was important for people, they would be able to do an untold number of things as long as they had hope. Gabriel knew that well. He used that well.

“Good.”

A single word. A simple word. But it was all he left them with as he got up from his seat. His magic moved as he did so, the water that had previously strangled the three moving again. It entered their mouths, their nose, their eyes, their ears, it forced itself into their heads and into their insides. Parts of it dug into their bodies, into their squishy organs, while another part of it clogged their throats so that they couldn’t even let out anything more than a subdued gurgling.

While they were dying without even getting out any last groans, Gabriel searched the carriage for what he knew it would contain. And sure enough, it packed a bit of oil for the lights that the driver would use for late night trips. Gabriel poured the oil on the people and spread it through the carriage, picking up one of the knight’s swords.

“Nergal, bring a mark inside please.”

Gabriel muttered a small spell as he spoke, dropping a mark of darkness on Nergal before the spirit left the carriage through the shadows outside. He moved through the darkness and entered the building, bringing Gabriel’s mark with him.

Once Nergal found a good spot inside, Gabriel used the sword he stole and struck it against the metal armor of the knight. Sparks flew as the two objects met, and the sparks ignited the oil, flooding the carriage with fire in an instant. But before it could reach him, Gabriel used his magic to switch places with the mark that Nergal had carried.

Now inside the store, in one of the storage rooms it seemed, he could faintly smell the fire from outside. It was rather haphazard and different from his usual style, but it would have to do for now.

“Take his legs and then silence him.”

Gabriel spoke into empty air, the shadow beneath him obeying his command before it moved. Before long, a pained shriek that was quickly silenced reached his ears.

“Second floor it is.”

He quickly found the stairs and followed the sound upwards, reaching a room that looked to be the main office. Inside was a middle-aged man, a man who Alice would recognize as the servant who brought her tea when she was here. His legs had been severed just above the knees, the jagged and torn edges of the flesh implying that it was anything but a pleasant process.

Nergal had swarmed the man, expanding into a mud-like darkness beneath him. His teeth had torn away his legs, and the wriggling tentacles that rose from the tar pit had wormed their way down his throat to silence him.

Gabriel closed the door and pulled over a chair, sitting down as he made eye contact with the man.

“So. Where did you send her?”

The man was heaving for air as Nergal’s tentacles retracted, in contrast, Gabriel still looked so emotionless that it was eerie.

“You… Ah… You must be… Huh… Worried about her… Right?”

The man forced out the words through pained breaths. He really wanted to curse his bad luck, or perhaps the poor planning of his master. Why and how the hell had the Viscount tracked them down so quickly? He didn’t know, so he wanted to rile up Gabriel a bit so that he would slip up and say more than intended. But what a shame it was that Gabriel’s gaze remained the same.

“Please, if the likes of you were able to take her away then it can only mean that she allowed herself to be taken just so she could see where she would end up.”

These people were really overestimating themselves if they thought that they could kidnap Alice. Using strength to overwhelm her? Good luck, she was stronger than all of them combined. Poison? She had the poison affinity, and had been taught by Teresa, so that was nigh-on impossible. By threats? Please, she would just murder them if they dared.

There was nothing they could do to her, so if they got a hold of her then it meant that she allowed them to do so. And if she allowed them that grace, then it could only be for a single reason.

“It’s just a shortcut, a quick way to dig out a great deal of people to kill. So don’t overestimate yourself, you were just bait.”

Bait, they were all just bait. Probably to draw out one of the princes and whatever allies he had. Bait that would let them take a good number of heads in quick succession.

“Then… Whooo… Then what’s the point of all this?!”

The man had tried to rile up Gabriel but ended up being the agitated one in the end, gritting his teeth in pain as he clutched his bleeding legs. He could also smell the fire from outside so he guessed that the four others were already dead, or dying as they spoke. If what he said was all true, and they were just bait, what was the point in going about it so violently from his end?

“Just venting.”

Sadly, the answer he got from Gabriel was anything but assuring, the man couldn’t even quite understand what Gabriel meant. But Gabriel didn’t bother explaining himself and simply urged the man on.

“Now. Talk. Tell me what I want to know and I won’t harm a hair on your head.”