Lucien Vale wasn't in a hurry to take Serena straight to the black market.
He drove slowly, deliberately,
chatting with her the whole way
and pointing out the scenery along the route.
Any place she liked,
he'd bring her again—
he had the most free time in the entire family anyway.
Serena listened attentively,
perfectly playing the role of a little sister
who adored her older brother.
After a long stretch of conversation,
their destination finally came into view.
And the location of Velencia City's black market
was far more unexpected
than Serena had imagined.
It was located beneath an aging department store in the southern district of Velencia City—
an area with sluggish business and fading foot traffic.
Rumor had it the black market stretched across three underground levels,
its total space more than five times the size of the entire mall above,
and each floor was divided by strict hierarchical access.
Even Lucien Vale had only ever reached the first basement level.
Outside, everything looked ordinary—
the noise of vendors, the shuffle of workers,
the unmistakable scent of everyday life.
Most people here belonged to the city's lower and middle working class,
which made them the perfect camouflage
for the transactions taking place beneath their feet.
"We're here, little sister."
Lucien hopped out of the car,
rushing to open the door for Serena.
He added excitedly,
"Don't be fooled by how rundown this place looks.
The underground floors are a whole different world."
"Really? Then let's hurry and take a look."
Serena played along smoothly,
her tone bright and cooperative.
"Look—these are the two admission tickets I bought for a high price."
Lucien Vale pulled out two slips of paper resembling movie stubs and handed them to Serena, pride glowing in his eyes.
The first time he'd entered the black market,
he had been brought in by a friend.
Afterward, curiosity about the second and third basement levels kept gnawing at him,
so he had found a way to acquire these two tickets.
Originally, he meant to explore alone.
But now,
he wanted to share the experience with his sister.
The moment Serena's fingers brushed the tickets,
her brows knit together ever so slightly.
A shard of cold light flickered in her eyes,
but she smoothed it away instantly,
careful not to let Lucien notice anything.
She had never visited Velencia City's black market before,
but these admission slips were far too crude—
poorly forged, cheap in material,
the sort of fake that might fool someone naïve and inexperienced…
like Lucien.
Faking or using forged admission tickets
was something the black market punished harshly.
How harsh…
depended entirely on the offender's background and usefulness.
Serena tilted her head slightly,
pretending to ask casually,
"Did you get these from someone you know?"
"Yep! From a good brother of mine,"
Lucien Vale replied with a bright, carefree grin.
"I'll introduce him to you sometime."
"All right."
Serena's lips curved faintly,
but there was a glimmer in her eyes—
subtle, eerie, impossible to catch unless one looked closely.
A hunger.
A cruel, wicked gleam.
A hint of bloodlust slipping through the cracks of her gentle façade.
It seemed her chance to take action
was coming very, very soon.
To be honest,
after only two days of "peace,"
her hands were already itching for action.
She just didn't know yet
whether the person behind this was targeting Lucien Vale alone—
or aiming for the entire Vale family.
Either way,
she would not hesitate.
Eradication at the root
had always been her style.
In the brief moment they'd been talking,
she had already drafted several messages
and sent them out.
"Come on, little sister.
Your third brother will take you inside."
"Lucien… I'm hungry.
Can we eat something first?"
Serena quickly stopped him just as he was about to enter the department store,
pointing at a nearby food stall.
But hadn't they just eaten breakfast not long ago?
Even so, Lucien Vale didn't question her for a second.
Not a hint of refusal crossed his mind.
"What do you want?
Order anything you like.
I'm paying."
And so the two of them walked toward a small street stall
selling spicy soup.
"Eating something this oily and spicy first thing in the morning isn't good for your stomach."
It was the first time Lucien Vale had ever frowned at Serena.
She had only pointed at the stall casually,
never expecting it to actually be selling soup at this hour.
But she couldn't worry about that now.
So she simply softened her voice
and leaned into the act.
"But I want this one, Lucien…
just this,"
she murmured, her tone sweet and sticky as honey.
Lucien froze.
Her soft, syrupy voice hit him like a direct blow—
his brain short-circuited,
his heart melted clean through.
He didn't want to agree.
He really didn't.
But his little sister was…
coaxing him.
How was he supposed to refuse?
Fine, fine—
he would spoil her just this once.
Serena ordered a bowl of mala soup,
and the two of them sat at the stall waiting for it to be served.
The moment the steaming bowl arrived,
she looked up at Lucien Vale again.
"Lucien…
I think I saw someone selling candied hawthorn earlier.
Can you get one for me?
I really want to try it."
"Of course.
Stay right here and wait for me, okay?
Don't wander off."
He agreed without hesitation
and immediately headed off in the direction she pointed.
The instant his silhouette vanished into the crowd,
Serena's expression shifted—
all sweetness gone.
Her face cooled,
eyes darkening into a lethal calm.
She glanced down at her phone first,
then rose smoothly and slipped into the narrow alley
beside the food stall.
At the corner,
someone was already waiting.
When the man saw her,
he hesitated—
puzzled at first by the sight of such a delicate,
bright-eyed girl.
But the hesitation vanished the moment
he felt the oppressive, familiar force radiating from her—
and saw the way she looked at him.
He understood instantly.
She was one of them.
He bowed his head at once,
holding out two admission tickets with both hands.
"My Lady, it's been handled."
"Mm. Well done."
Serena accepted them without a flicker of surprise.
She rarely bothered managing the Nightfall Syndicate's Aurethia branch,
but it seemed their efficiency was still respectable.
"It is our duty," he said quickly.
And of course it was—
the tickets were freshly snatched,
still warm from the hands they'd been taken from.
He kept all such thoughts buried deep—
not daring to reveal even a flicker of them.
He didn't know who this young girl truly was,
only that she was someone sent from above.
Someone he absolutely could not offend.
Serena handed him the two forged tickets
Lucien had proudly shown her earlier.
"Find out where these came from."
"Yes, My Lady."
He accepted the order without hesitation,
spine straight,
voice steady—
fully aware that even a single misstep
could cost him far more than his life.