Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Endra stole another glance at Lyudvik before they closed the door. This time, he was acting as normal. But just as the door closed, he sent Endra another triumphant glare.

'He's really proud of himself, isn't he?' Endra thought with a sigh. 'Well, at least it looks like he won't attack me any time soon…'

The group then made their way back to the Bureau. There was no point going to the square where they held the trial since Endra was finished with everything he needed to say. Now he only had to wait for Alvich's decree.

"Well, sir Inspector. That seemed to be a dead end," Endra spoke. "And baron Kasna doesn't seem to know any other suspects either, so I think we should end for today."

"Are you sure?" Alvich asked. He seemed surprised that Endra wasn't going to push the case further.

"Yes. If the Bureau wants to, they can continue the inspection, but for me, I'm satisfied."

"Satisfied?"

"Yes. Ah, I should probably say I hope I'm satisfied," Endra said. "I was thinking that I'd convinced you that my grandfather was innocent. But as I said, the decision's yours, ultimately."

"Don't worry. I've already sent someone to the Bureau earlier to clear your grandfather's name."

At his beck, an official came over to release Ssatsko's bindings and then brought the man away to have him sign some documents.

"Thank you for coming here," Evin said. "I understand you usually work on much bigger matters."

"No-no. One must not be picky with one's job…" Alvich replied. "My father used to tell me that a lot. I've worried him a lot when I was young... It was too late when I realized my mistakes. Now I only wonder what would he say when he sees me now."

"Mm…"

"Regardless. This wasn't such a boring job. No, not at all. I'm a bit saddened we wouldn't find the culprit, but I'm glad I could get acquainted with such a talented youth like yourself."

Endra nodded, not trusting himself to not sigh or scoff in self-deprecation if he opened his mouth.

"Though… are you not worried about why your family was attacked?"

After what he saw with Lyudvik, Endra wasn't sure if they were actually attacked or not.

"Well, I'm half convinced that they've been sent by someone. And if we can't even find Ilhan's accomplice, then I'm really doubtful I'd be able to find who sent them in the first place. Of course, I can't be sure they won't get attacked again, but for now, I can only increase the security around them and hope nothing happens."

Alvich seemed surprised. "How old are you again?"

"I'll be 11 in four months, your honor."

Endra knew he was acting way too mature to be Evin, but he long decided not to care. It was Evin's problem to deal with.

"Really? I've heard there was a promising student in Ankelite Academy, was that perhaps you?"

"Hmm? You must be talking about Arza. He's halfway finished with creating a Conditional Absolute and he's the current Helm. I'm in his class, but I'm nowhere near as talented as he is, I'm afraid."

"Is that so?" Alvich hummed. "Well, I'll have the bureau here searching for more clues. If you find anything yourself, don't hesitate to contact the authorities. Just mention my name."

"I'm not sure, I'll be searching for anything, though, sir."

"Bah, you kids always say that as if us old timers can't see what's going on through your heads. Remember, don't hesitate the contact me," Alvich said, then pulled out a piece of paper. "Actually… just contact me if you feel like you need help. Here's my address in Ankelite city."

"Thank you in advance, then," Endra said, receiving the address.

They then said their goodbyes and Endra decided to go to Bella's manor. He checked on Ssatsko, but it looked like it was going to take a while so he went on ahead.

'I'm not sure if I can trust him yet…' he thought, looking at Alvich's address.

Apparently, a High-mage was moving against him. That knowledge made Endra a very, very cautious person. Suddenly, no one seemed trustworthy anymore, making him wonder who really was behind these attacks. He first suspected it was Decatur trying to fulfill his stupid revenge, but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

He half-suspected the Chairman, but this whole thing didn't feel like his style. Maybe the Chairman was trying to push the blame to Decatur, finally pushing Evin against the nobles like he always wanted.

'In the first place, if he suspects Evin's controlled by some ancient power, why does he think he can control it to fight against the nobles? I certainly don't feel like trying to fight against the nobles, and I'm pretty sure any ancient artifact won't be so stupid to be get angry at the nobles…

'Is it typical evil scientist/cultist/fanatic delusion? But he doesn't feel like that to me… It's more like he's trying to get my attention… Huh.'

Endra felt like he was getting somewhere, but he heard Bella calling him.

"Welcome back."

"Hey, hey," Endra replied, though of course, he didn't lean in to kiss the girl as Evin would.

Bella also seemed to not expect it, knowing that it really wasn't Evin. Endra was thankful for the girl.

"How was the trial?"

"Not bad. We couldn't find the culprit or their motive, but we managed to save Ssatsko. He's handling some documents now and should be back sometime later."

"Was Lyudvik really not him?"

"Yep. I even went to check on him to see whether he was really sick. He really was sick with something. What a coincidence, huh?"

"Then let's go tell your family, then," Bella said.

"Before that, do you have any questions for me?" Endra asked.

"What kind?" Bella asked, frowning.

"Oh, I don't know. What I really am, or what's going to happen to you and Evin now that you can't pretend he's just half crazy anymore… stuff like that?"

"I… I guess…"

"Then let's go to your room. The rest can wait."

Endra was not a child predator. It was weird to be spectating Evin's lovey-dovey moments sometimes, but that was something he couldn't help, so it was what it was. He blocked himself out whenever he could, but naturally, there were moments were he couldn't help but witness those moments.

He considered trying to push Evin and Bella away from each other so things like this wouldn't happen, but he knew the more he tried to pull the apart, the more Evin would try to get together.

It was the same with the two teens having sex. Endra definitely did not want to be a part of that, but he knew that the more he opposed it, the more Evin would want it. The human mind worked in the weirdest ways sometimes.

So, Endra decided to just inform the boy of sex thoroughly, and hoped he would wait until the two were separated. Somehow.

'Sigh…'