In the early morning, when dew still clung to the earth and the cold seeped straight into the bones—enough to make anyone shiver and refuse to leave their bed—Seo-jun was already on the move.
Since dawn, he had ridden his horse away from the villa, following a narrow trail toward the lake before slipping into a hidden cave—one whose existence only he knew.
Inside lay a natural hot spring, a quiet gift of nature that felt as though it had been reserved solely for him.
Armed with nothing more than a candle and a newly designed lighter—an experimental product engineered for easy ignition—Seo-jun stepped inside. The device was still in its testing phase, never released to the public. Its development had been delayed, largely because Seo-jun's attention had been hijacked by his curiosity about Alaric's life in the monastery.
Within the cave, naturally formed stones resembling crystals reflected the morning sunlight filtering through cracks in the ceiling. The soft glow danced across the walls, bathing the hot spring in a tranquil shimmer. It felt utterly detached from the outside world—private, peaceful, untouched.
Before he realized it, nearly an hour had passed.
Satisfied, Seo-jun rose from the water, dressed, and left the cave behind, riding back toward the villa.
The moment he appeared at the entrance, Lucien—who had been pacing restlessly—shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Brother Adrian! Adrian Hanwick! You're finally back?!"
Seo-jun frowned slightly as he dismounted.
"What's wrong?" he asked, scanning the gathered faces.
"Why is everyone here? Did something happen?"
Rowan shook his head and dropped onto the sofa with a lazy sprawl.
"Nothing happened," he said casually.
"Lucien just panicked, thinking you'd been arrested by the monastery. You know how his idiot brain works."
That comment instantly ignited Lucien's temper. Without thinking, he swung the paintbrush still in his hand and smacked Rowan over the head. The two immediately descended into chaos, shoving and rolling across the floor like children.
Seo-jun walked right past them without a glance. He was far too used to this nonsense.
Instead, his attention shifted to Valerie and Jake, who stood nearby, both visibly uneasy.
Seo-jun placed a firm but reassuring hand on Jake's trembling shoulder.
"Calm down," he said quietly but with authority.
"I'll handle it. I just need you to stay inside the villa. If you hear footsteps entering without calling your name—hide behind the large painting in the master bedroom."
He paused, then added,
"Come with me. I'll show you."
Seo-jun led Valerie and Jake to his bedroom. Once inside, he pointed to a massive painting—a portrait of Adrian Hanwick, radiating aristocratic charm and authority.
The moment Valerie saw it, she froze. Her eyes sparkled with awe, and she completely missed Seo-jun's explanation.
Seeing her lost in her own thoughts, Seo-jun could only shake his head. He repeated the explanation more carefully for Jake, who had been listening attentively from the start.
Then Seo-jun demonstrated.
He pressed a small, nearly invisible gap along the edge of the frame. Slowly, the painting slid aside, revealing a hidden room behind it—spacious enough to hold more than two people.
Lucien, who had helped build the secret chamber, chimed in proudly.
"It won't feel cramped in there," he said.
"There are hidden air vents running along the walls, so the airflow stays normal."
To be absolutely certain they felt safe, Seo-jun asked Jake to enter first. He wanted to erase any lingering doubt about following his instructions.
Jake, more curious than afraid, stepped inside without hesitation.
Seo-jun slid the painting back into place, leaving Jake inside for several minutes.
Then he opened it again.
Everyone reacted at once—questions spilling over each other, voices overlapping like seagulls fighting over scraps by the shore.
Jake emerged slowly from behind the painting, its height level with Adrian Hanwick's chest.
"It feels normal," he said calmly.
"Just dark—like a storage box. But I could stillhear all of you clearly from inside."
Hearing his creation praised so openly, Lucien immediately puffed out his chest and launched into an endless stream of self-congratulation—until Rowan, thoroughly fed up, smacked his shoulder in irritation.
Their bickering truly had no end. It reminded Seo-jun of an old cartoon he'd watched as a child—about a cat and a mouse endlessly chasing each other in circles. And yet, strangely enough, whenever one of them was truly not okay, the other was always the first to step in and offer comfort.
Not long after Jake finished describing his experience inside the hidden room, a shout rang out from their personal guards outside the villa.
Seo-jun's demeanor shifted instantly. Without hesitation, he ordered Jake and Valerie to hide. Chewie and Sora followed them into the secret chamber as well—especially Sora, who had now become a hunted figure herself. The monastery had branded her a future plague-bringer, a charge that could easily lead to a slow, horrific death.
Seo-jun schooled his expression into calm indifference and headed downstairs to meet the guards. With a brief command, he made it clear—it was time to go to the monastery.
There was no delay. Seo-jun and Rowan climbed into the waiting carriage, while Lucien returned to Sebastian Hanwick's residence so their parents wouldn't be overwhelmed with worry.
Throughout the journey, Rowan was visibly on edge. His face was pale, his thoughts looping back to the moment they had nearly been caught escaping the monastery the night before.
"Brother Adrian…" Rowan finally spoke, his voice trembling.
"I'm scared Alaric might tell the truth about what he saw last night. He worships the archbishop—he wouldn't hesitate to report us, would he?"
He swallowed hard, panic bleeding into his words.
"I'm not ready to lose my head to an axe—or end up hanging from a rope!"
Seo-jun snapped a hand over Rowan's mouth, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Watch your mouth, idiot," he hissed.
"Have you forgotten where we're headed?"
Rowan froze. He lowered his head, shame settling in as the weight of his panic hit him. After that, both of them took a deep breath, mentally preparing for a battle of words with the priests and the archbishop—especially since they were bringing only half of the promised gold coins.
When they arrived at the monastery, chaos greeted them.
Priests, novices, and holy knights rushed back and forth with tense expressions, as if desperately searching for something crucial. The sight nearly made Seo-jun and Rowan laugh—though they held it in with admirable restraint.
They were ushered into a waiting chamber.
Time dragged on. One hour. Two.
Still, the archbishop did not appear.
Finally, Alaric entered as his representative, his expression cold and unreadable.
"Wait a little longer," Alaric said flatly.
"Everyone is extremely busy today."
His gaze swept over Seo-jun and Rowan.
"I hope you have nothing to do with this chaos. Don't act recklessly."
Before his words had time to settle, the doors swung open.
The archbishop stormed in, his steps quick, his face taut with tension. Without any pleasantries, he immediately demanded the gold coins he had been promised.
Seo-jun stopped him.
He insisted on confirming the seer woman's whereabouts first.
At that request, the archbishop shouted for a holy knight and ordered him to retrieve the woman from the dungeon cells.
Only minutes passed before the knight returned—his face drained of color.
He shouted, his voice echoing through the monastery halls.
"Your Eminence! There's only a corpse in the cell—a woman burned beyond recognition! It looks deliberate… as if she set herself on fire!"
The archbishop recoiled.
Ignoring his robes entirely, he bolted toward the dungeon. Seo-jun and Rowan followed close behind, eager to witness firsthand what Chewie had done the night before—the final stroke of the plan.
The moment they reached the cell, a scream of pure despair tore through the stone corridors.
"No—!!!"
The archbishop's cry reverberated against the monastery walls, marking the collapse of every lie he had so carefully built.