Her heels clinked against the floor as Athena hurried to her father's office, where the safe room was located.

With a trembling hand, she took out a key, unlocked her father's office door, and entered it while locking the door behind her.

"Haah, haah, haah…"

She went to the bookshelf, and in a very specific order, she started pulling the books back until she heard a soft click.

The bookshelf slid open like a door, and on the other side, there was a solid steel door with a knob made of polished copper.

Under the knob, there was a keyhole.

She quickly inserted the key in the keyhole and turned it to the right. The door clicked open. She quickly opened the door.

With her heart beating so loud that she could feel it in her ears, she entered the safe room and tightly locked the door.

It didn't matter to her that no one else could make it to the safe room because she was in possession of the only key.

When she saw Aren riding on a horse towards the estate with Ashley, she knew that he was coming here for her.

She couldn't quite understand what she did to him and why he was with Ashley. They had something special going on.

Athena was proud of the fact that she could make any man fall in love with her, but for some reason, she never felt like Beau… or well, Aren, in this case, was ever in love with her.

"This is the worst day in my life."

Athena sat on the bed there, looking scared and vulnerable. She didn't think she was deserving of this.

BANG!

In that moment, a thunderous bang sounded, and the door was shot open. It creaked open eerily.

At the doorway, Aren stood with a black revolver in hand, and he walked inside the safe room with his ear piercings glinting in the dim light.

"…Why."

Athena asked, teardrops appearing at the corner of her eyes, her voice trembling. She felt truly small right now.

It was like the time when she got lost when she was around eight years old, and was scared and alone in the dark forest.

"Do you need to even ask?"

Aren sat at the table, resting the black revolver on his knee and staring at teary-eyed Athena with a steel gaze.

He wasn't feeling pity or anything like that when she was looking at him.

Those moments that they shared in the bed did nothing to sway his resolve to finish the job he had started.

"W-Why did you come here?"

Athena asked tearfully.

It was obvious that she didn't ask why he came here to kill her, but why did he even originally come here at the Brackenford Cross.

"I was hired by Ashley's father to find her and get her back home."

Aren said.

"Hah… Is Ashley more important than me?"

Athena asked, raising her gaze to look at the unrecognizable eyes of Aren, as they weren't the warm brown eyes of Beau.

"She is."

Aren said.

"…Did I mean nothing to you?"

Athena asked sourly.

A tinge of jealousy pierced her heart. She had been compared with Ashley all of her life.

"You didn't."

Aren said.

"…Hah."

She dropped her head low. In that moment, she sneakily pulled out her long needle from her back.

"The feeling is mutual. You were just a good fuck, nothing else!"

With a scream, she jabbed the long needle towards his neck, and Aren quickly rolled backwards over the table.

The long needle missed.

He rolled off the table and stumbled backwards, knocking over chairs and glasses.

"I hate you! I hate you!"

Athena slid over the table and grabbed the needle tight. She jabbed it towards Aren, like she was currently knitting.

The needle's tip brushed against Aren's shirt. A graze of cloth, but it didn't quite reach his flesh.

In that moment, a gunshot cracked like thunder in the small space. A bleeding wound appeared in Athena's side.

With a gasp, she let go of the needle, and it clattered to the ground.

She looked at her bleeding wound and put her hand over it, but she couldn't stop the overwhelming flow of blood.

Warm tears streamed down her face.

"I-I was supposed to become a nobleman's wife, not die here in forgetfulness."

She hit the bed with her body and let out a guttural cry that echoed in the small room.

"…Huff."

Aren let out a deep breath, slid the revolver inside his holster, and slowly made his way out of the safe room.

"W-Where are you going… I don't want to die alone… I hate you… Come back here!"

Athena screamed, but in that moment, she let out a final gasp of breath, and her eyes slowly closed as she succumbed to the darkness.

…

Ashley's eyes darted around the surroundings nervously. She was able to see some noblemen and women leaving the estate from another entrance.

It didn't look like they wanted to try anything with her.

The guards were nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, she heard footsteps and hurriedly turned around. A look of relief washed over her as she saw Aren and none of the Hauwnted family members.

"Let's go."

Aren hopped to the back of the horse.

"W-Where?"

"Lanternford Market."

Aren said with a deep sigh.

"R-Really? W-we're really leaving now?"

Ashley asked with a big smile and hopeful look.

"Yeah. There is nothing else left in here."

Aren said.

With an excited nod, Ashley kicked the horse into a gallop, and while making their way out of the gate, Aren turned around to look at the terrace.

A cold-eyed Jupiter was looking at him.

'…This is on you. If only you hadn't worked with Rav'akari, I could've spared your family and let the Guild decide your fate.'

Aren thought, then turned around, and they rode off into the distance, leaving the Hauwnted family estate in a faded background.

…

"…"

Within the depths of the Forest of Justice, an overweight blob of meat wobbled down the ground, looking at all the sacrifices that he had received just now.

All around him, in the dead trees of the Forest of Justice, people—some withering and rotting, but some new—were hanging with knots around their necks.

"Where are the rest of the sacrifices? This is not good, not good at all, mmh~."

Perverted Justice nudged his glasses up his nose bridge and looked over to the entrance of the forest with a hungry gaze.

"I AM HUNGRY!"

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