Clack... Clack... Clack...
A steady, rhythmic tapping at the window glass shattered the quiet late-night air, snapping the Doctor straight out of a fog of exhaustion.
"Doctor, what is that...?" Blaze murmured, her hand dropping instantly to the hilt of her weapon as she locked her eyes on the darkened pane, trying to gauge whether the late-night guest was friend or foe.
"Doctor? Doctor, are you in there?" A muffled female voice seeped through the glass, followed by a light shudder. "Could you open up? It's me! It's freezing out here!"
Both of them exhaled a breath of relief.
Blaze slid the window open and reached out, hauling the lightly dressed Ensia over the sill. "Ensia? What are you doing out at this hour? And dressed like that—are you trying to catch your death?"
"Brrr! It's freezing!" Ensia shivered violently the moment her boots hit the floorboards, crossing her arms tightly. "I had to sneak out, so I couldn't grab a heavy coat. Getting away wasn't easy!"
"Sneak out?" The Doctor tossed aside a stack of paperwork and walked over, eyes light with curiosity. "What, did your household put you under house arrest or something?"
"Not house arrest, exactly," Ensia said, her gaze dimming as her tone faltered. "It's just... everyone thinks I'm the sole remaining heir to the Silverash estate now. They're terrified of letting me step outside. Plus, with everything going on at home..."
She trailed off, clearly still weighed down by Enciodes's sudden disappearance.
"And then there's Degenbrecher," Ensia added, rubbing her arms. "She keeps a sharp eye on the whole estate, and to be honest, I still can't look her in the eye. Her glare is way too terrifying. If she hadn't led a patrol out tonight, I never would have slipped past the guards."
"Degenbrecher?" Blaze's eyes lit up instantly. "The legendary three-time champion of the Kazimierz?"
"I've heard Nearl mention her more than once," Blaze continued, a competitive spark flaring in her eyes. "I had no idea she was actually here in Kjerag! I'd love to go a few rounds with her."
"Simmer down," the Doctor warned, holding up a hand to check the bloodthirsty Feline. "I am not letting you start a brawl with someone like her right now. If you're itching for a fight with a champion, wait until we get back to Rhodes Island and spar with Nearl. Don't stir up trouble here."
"That's totally different!" Blaze protested. "Even Nearl admitted that if she went up against the former Black Knight, winning would be a huge question mark! Otherwise, Nearl wouldn't have been pushed to her limits back then."
Though she grumbled, Blaze didn't push the issue, settling for mentally postponing the duel until the current crisis wrapped up.
"You said Degenbrecher left the estate tonight?" The Doctor turned her focus back to Ensia, ignoring Blaze's eager twitching. "That's odd. Why would a warrior whose main duty is guarding the family's remaining heir suddenly slip away in the middle of the night?"
"I don't know," Ensia admitted, shaking her head glumly. "I actually thought about tailing her, but... Doctor, when that woman runs across deep drifts, she doesn't even leave footprints in the snow! I couldn't keep up at all."
"Moving across snow without leaving a trace?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is the former Black Knight secretly a ninja from Higashi?"
"Doctor, have you really not read her file?" Blaze chimed in with a wry smirk. "She's an anomaly from Leithanien. She can't cast Originium Arts at all; her entire reputation was built on pure physical martial prowess."
"So doing something like gliding over snow without leaving tracks is easy for her?"
"No, I mean the fact that she achieves that through sheer physical body control makes her a complete monster!" Blaze shuddered slightly.
"Got it," the Doctor said, patting Blaze's shoulder without paying any mind to her annoyed glare. "In short, you can't do it."
Turning back to the young snow leopard, the Doctor asked, "How are things at your estate right now? Are you in any danger?"
"The household... is actually holding up," Ensia replied slowly. "There was some panic right after my brother went missing, but Degenbrecher and the managers immediately rolled out contingency plans he had set up beforehand. Everything's back on track now."
"My brother really is incredible," Ensia murmured, staring at the floor. "He even prepared for his own sudden disappearance well in advance... while I still have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. It's really..."
"Hold on a second," the Doctor interrupted, her voice sharpening with disbelief. "Your brother put contingency plans in place for his own disappearance before it happened, and those plans are running smoothly right now?"
"Yeah," Ensia nodded, looking up in confusion. "I don't handle the family business much, but I've seen how my brother operates. I can tell when it's his work."
"I had no idea you had an eye for organizational management," the Doctor noted, nodding thoughtfully. "Next time I need help going through administrative reports, don't you dare turn me down."
"Eek! Please no, Doctor!" Ensia waved her hands frantically in panic. "I'm awful at paperwork!"
"Appeal denied," the Doctor said dryly, lightly tapping Ensia's forehead. "Now, back to business. I'm curious how your family estate is managing to run so smoothly without its head."
The Doctor already suspected Enciodes was far from dead, but a powerful faction built around a single leader didn't just stay perfectly unified when that leader vanished—unless everyone was terrified of stepping out of line, or Enciodes had somehow managed to mind-control the whole region.
"It's mostly because of Degenbrecher," Ensia explained. "Some of the retainers definitely had thoughts about stepping out of line, but nobody dared to move with her standing guard."
A remarkably straightforward solution, the Doctor thought.
"Doesn't all of this feel a bit too convenient to you?" the Doctor asked gently. "It almost feels like..."
"Like my brother isn't dead at all," Ensia finished, her tone quiet but steady. "Like he's just hiding in the dark, pulling the strings on some grand plan. Right, Doctor?"
The Doctor dropped the subtle hints and met her gaze directly. "Did you notice something specific?"
"It's just too seamless," Ensia said softly. "Especially Miss Degenbrecher's actions. I don't doubt her loyalty to our family, but the way she's handling things feels like someone is feeding her instructions. She's never been one for political maneuvering, and leaving the estate out of nowhere tonight..."
"Leaving in the middle of the night like that is completely out of character," Blaze added, leaning against the wall. "It means one of two things: either she's coordinating with someone else, or your brother is tucked away somewhere close, directing the whole board from behind the curtain."
Ensia jumped slightly at Blaze's sudden input, startled by the big Feline's sharp deduction.
"Hey, don't look at me like that!" Blaze pouted at the Doctor's surprised expression. "I might act reckless sometimes, but I am an Elite Operator. Don't look down on my brains!"
"That settles it, then," the Doctor said, tapping her helmet in thought. "We might not know every detail of what your brother is scheming, but we can guess his ultimate target."
"What is it?" Ensia asked anxiously.
"Kjerag itself," the Doctor stated with absolute certainty. "He's planning something drastic for the entire nation."
Ensia stood frozen as the realization settled in, her mind torn in every direction. "Then... what am I supposed to do? Do I try to stop him, or do I just pretend I know nothing at all?"