Ayrton didn't get angry. Instead, he leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling with dull, faded eyes, as though trying to remember better days.
His voice was quiet when he finally spoke "Work used to be good… Adam, old Walter, and I accomplished a lot together. But Walter…" A faint, ironic smile crossed his face. "He got the job he'd wanted for years. Now I only hear him through his music… He's evil."
He let out a short chuckle before his expression turned serious.
"But I don't blame him. I would've done the same thing. As for Adam… there's no need to mention why." He sighed. "And Isildar… he's mentally hopeless. Colton alone is enough for me, so don't argue with me."
Kayden listened without interrupting. After a moment, he quietly asked, recalling Charlotte's earlier words, "Does Isildar treat you normally?"
Ayrton turned toward him, immediately understanding what he meant.
"Of course. It's not as if he'd dare act arrogant around me or raise his voice in a way I dislike. He wouldn't even think of trying." A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I don't distinguish between people. The only thing that matters to me is being able to beat all of them equally."
He slowly rose to his feet, moving like an old man worn down by time, then concluded coldly,
"In the end… everyone dies or gets sealed away."
Kayden understood those words perfectly. He agreed with them himself.
Soon afterward, the two brothers left for the station.
The moment they entered, Kayden's eyes landed on Colton standing nearby.
His expression changed instantly. "Don't come with us on this mission."
Colton blinked in confusion, looking between the twins. "Why?"
He was about to seek support from Henry, but the latter slowly shook his head.
Kayden smiled lightly, though it was clearly meant to hide his seriousness.
"We need to learn without protection. Go stay with Ayrton instead. He's struggling more than anyone realizes."
His tone softened."Be a good companion to him. Help Fiona develop her abilities. And if you don't feel like doing that, go home instead. Help Adele with her training… and my mother too."
He paused before suddenly turning to Henry, a proud smile spreading across his face.
"You know? My mother's started training again. She said she wants to challenge my father soon."
Colton stared at them silently for several seconds.
For a brief moment, it felt as though they were deliberately trying to get rid of him.
Then a far more amusing thought crossed his mind.
A crooked smile appeared on his lips."Fine… I'll help." He grinned. "If only because I want to see that fight. Besides… I could use a vacation. Looking at your faces hurts my poor eyes."
Running a lazy hand through his hair, he turned away, waving at them as though shooing away annoying flies.
"Twins… what a curse."He clicked his tongue dramatically. "That's completely inhuman."
Henry watched him leave with an unreadable expression before whispering,
"…Did he just insult us?"
Kayden nodded without hesitation, his eyes still following Colton's retreating figure.
"He did."
Not long afterward, the three of them were seated inside a train carriage.
The twins sat beside one another, while Isildar occupied the seat opposite them.
He didn't utter a single word throughout the journey.
Henry and Kayden exchanged short conversations on purpose, making no attempt to include him.
Isildar remained motionless, like a statue, until the train began approaching their destination.
Only then did he finally speak, his voice cold.
"You two… I'll explain the mission."
The twins immediately gave him their full attention.
"According to the police investigation, the woman committed suicide in the forest. However, a ritual resembling a sacrificial ceremony had been performed."
He pointed toward Kayden.
"The same kind that would've been used on you."
He continued, "The ritual was strange… suspicious. We're going there to investigate. Her husband was the first to discover the body. His reputation isn't particularly good or bad… so he's also a suspect."
Kayden raised an eyebrow, suspicion creeping into his voice.
"Why are you treating him as a suspect? He might not even be the culprit."
Isildar slowly turned toward him. "Instinct."
' Does he really have sharp instincts… or is he simply guessing?' Kayden wondered.
After getting off the train, silence settled over them once more.
Without exchanging another word, they headed straight into the forest.
Isildar walked ahead at a rapid pace before breaking into a run, quickly putting a considerable distance between himself and the twins.
The brothers attempted to catch up
Then, suddenly…Kayden stopped.
"Kayden?" Henry whispered as he approached.
Only then did he notice Kayden lowering his stance, his eyes locked on the darkness ahead.
One heartbeat separated stillness from chaos.
Kayden suddenly leaped high into the air, his gaze fixed on something invisible. He landed with enough force to shake the earth beneath his feet before shooting forward like an arrow, leaving behind nothing but tense silence.
There, at the edge of the illuminated crime scene, Kayden caught sight of an ugly shadow racing away with unnatural speed.
He landed and immediately gave chase.
Henry followed without hesitation.
It wasn't long before both of them could clearly make out the figure. "Stop!"
Kayden commanded.
"Why are you running through a crime scene?"
Henry narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the face concealed beneath the shadows.
As the moonlight swept across it, they realized it was a young woman.
She lifted her head slightly and answered with a calmness completely at odds with the situation. "This land… belongs to my family."
Kayden remained unconvinced.
Taking a step closer, he spoke firmly.
"Then why were you running? You know a crime was committed here." His gaze hardened. "You need to explain yourself."
The girl wore a loose black cloak that concealed far more than it revealed, leaving only half her face visible.
Kayden lowered his voice until it sounded almost like a threat.
"Take off the cloak. And if that's inappropriate, I'll call a woman to search you instead."
His eyes never left hers.
"You could be hiding something underneath."
She hesitated.
As the moonlight revealed more of her face, her expression suddenly changed to one of utter disbelief.
"You…" Her voice trembled. "You're twins? How are you both still alive? Everyone knows… one of the twins always dies."
Kayden narrowed his eyes. "That's none of your concern."
His tone remained cold. "Take off the cloak."
She lowered her voice. "There's no need…"
Then she looked directly at them. "Just tell me… who died? I know what happened here. I'm certain it was murder, but no one will tell me the victim's name."
She swallowed. "So I came to find out myself."
Henry spoke under his breath.
"That may be the stupidest thing I've ever heard." The twins exchanged a glance.
"Who are you?" Henry asked.
"My name is Hazel." She answered immediately."My father owns this land."
Her voice grew urgent."Now… tell me."
Henry shrugged indifferently. "A woman named Grace Mr. Hudson's wife."
Hazel froze. Her lips trembled before a lifeless smile appeared. "…What did you just say?"
"What you heard." Henry answered simply.
She staggered backward as though the ground itself had given way beneath her.
"No…" Her voice cracked. "That's impossible…"
Suddenly she screamed and tried to run again, but Kayden caught her.
She struggled wildly. "How could this happen?! This… this makes no sense!"
She abruptly looked up at Kayden, terror filling her eyes.
"You're all idiots! How can this possibly make any sense?!"
Henry quickly stepped forward and grabbed her shoulder, trying to calm her.
But the instant his fingers brushed her back—
He froze. His eyes widened with shock… and something disturbingly close to fear.
Hazel gasped.
The tremor that ran through her body wasn't ordinary.
It was violent, as though she had been struck by something invisible.
She instinctively shoved his hand away.
Henry remained silent.
His gaze lingered on her before slowly shifting toward Kayden, as though an unbearable question had risen to his lips but refused to be spoken.
Then he looked down at his own trembling hand.
He stared at it in disbelief, as though it no longer belonged to him but had become something foreign attached to his body.
Slowly, almost unconsciously, he began wiping his hand clean.
Kayden didn't understand. He reached toward Hazel
She immediately cried out, still shaking. "Don't look at me, you man! You're all… exactly the same!"
Kayden stopped.
His hand remained suspended in midair before he slowly lowered it and stepped back. "I won't look at you." His voice softened slightly. "Just answer me."
"What was your relationship with Mrs. Grace?"
Hazel answered with startling honesty. "She was my personal physician."
Tears streamed down her face before she even realized she was crying.
"Now… I'll be sick forever."
Kayden gestured toward Henry. "He's a doctor. He can examine you."
Hazel slowly shook her head, as though surrendering beneath a weight too heavy to bear.
Her voice came out hoarse, soaked in despair. "No one can remove this curse… I wish I had died instead of her."
Her hand trembled as she raised it to cover her face, as though she wanted to erase her own features from existence to hide from herself before hiding from anyone else.
Her voice broke. "She had such a bright life… a family, a husband, warmth I've never known. And now… it's all gone."
The twins exchanged a brief glance.
Kayden offered a diplomatic smile. "We won't hurt you."
Hazel looked at them sharply. "You're twins… and that's a curse in itself. You're worse off than I am."
Kayden quietly turned toward Henry.
"…She's insulting us, isn't she?"
Henry nodded. "She is."
At last, Hazel rose to her feet and removed her cloak.
Her face was flawless. Her blue eyes were as clear as a cloudless sky.
'Though, Kayden thought, that sky was unbearably arrogant… and ugly.'
But her neck…
That was something else entirely.
Scars branched across it like twisted roots. Burn marks covered her skin, along with countless holes that looked as though they had been deliberately pierced through her flesh.
Inside those holes…
Tiny crimson eyes slowly moved.
A chill raced through Kayden's body. ' Dear God… the holes… That's horrifying. I can't even look at her.'
He instinctively looked away.
Meanwhile, Henry stared at her with strange fascination, silently recording mental notes.
He looked like a scientist who had just discovered an extraordinarily rare specimen.
"When I touched your back…" Henry asked calmly, still observing her. "…did your spine move?"
Hazel nodded without embarrassment. "That thing makes me hunch over… Sometimes my bones even push through my body."
As if to prove it, a bony protrusion slowly emerged, tearing through her skin right before their eyes.
Kayden nearly cried out, " I wish I hadn't looked at her at all…"
Henry remained completely absorbed.
"What do you think, brother?" He gestured toward Hazel. "Look here."
Kayden let out a weary sigh, forcing himself to collect his thoughts. "This didn't happen overnight…" His voice was low. "…did it?"
Hazel shook her head. "No."
Kayden frowned."It's a curse… or black magic." He continued studying her injuries. "Nothing rots like this without a cause. Even her neck… look at it."
He paused abruptly."We should ask Colton—"He stopped himself. "…Forget I said that."
Henry's expression became serious. "Go back home."
Kayden added slowly, "Clean your room with water and salt. Then sprinkle salt around your bed… and around every door and window."
He glanced at her body again before immediately looking away. "…And cover yourself again."
Henry whispered sarcastically, "So you've gone back to your salt theory?"
Kayden answered under his breath, "There isn't any other solution." He grimaced. "And it's disgusting."
The three of them soon left the area.
As they walked, Kayden muttered quietly, "She's terrifying… I can't think of a single solution."
He rubbed the back of his neck."…I never want to see her again."
Henry raised an eyebrow. "Are you still scared?"
Kayden immediately shook his head."This isn't fear!" He sounded almost offended."I'm just disgusted."He crossed his arms. "You're afraid of confined spaces. Have I ever made fun of you for that? No."
He pointed a finger at him. "So don't tell anyone."
Henry smiled faintly."I won't."
Then his expression softened.
"But you should deal with it. Besides, you've researched things far more horrifying than this."
He smirked. "Don't be so dramatic."
Kayden stopped walking and narrowed his eyes at him.
"You're annoying…" He muttered irritably. "I'm going to hit you."
Their argument was interrupted by Isildar's calm voice as he approached.
"Save your disagreements until you get home."
Kayden looked toward the hanging corpse and the place where the apparent suicide had taken place.
For a brief moment… He almost believed it really had been nothing more than a suicide.
After carefully documenting the scene, sketching the sacrificial ritual in detail, and completing the necessary examinations, the body was removed.
Following Isildar's instructions, the two brothers separated to continue the investigation independently.
Kayden chose to begin with Hudson.