To Eros's slight disappointment, the luxury only lasted a single night. Early the next morning, Estelle roused them from their slumber. She was taking them to the Bain Earldom—her maiden home, and the seat of Eros’s maternal grandparents.

  The Bain family had clearly received word of their arrival well in advance; a large reception party was already waiting at the gates by the time their carriage pulled up.

  Estelle was visibly overcome. Her beautiful eyes brimmed with tears as she stepped onto the soil of her childhood home for the first time in over twenty years. Ulysses Hisai, the Earl of Bain, whose face was habitually set in a stern mask, looked genuinely moved. Beside him, the Countess had long since broken into sobs.

  The gentle noblewoman couldn't restrain herself a moment longer. She rushed forward, pulling Estelle into a fierce embrace, weeping as she stroked her daughter’s back to comfort her. Seeing this, Undine’s eyes turned as red as a rabbit's. Large crystalline tears rolled down her porcelain cheeks, while Eros felt a distinct prickling sensation in the bridge of his own nose.

  After the initial outpouring of emotion, Estelle pulled Eros and Undine forward to greet their grandparents. She then proceeded to introduce the rest of the gathered kin. Occasionally, she would stumble or hesitate—hardly surprising, given that two decades of absence had turned some once-familiar faces into those of strangers. Fortunately, the Countess warmly took the siblings by the hand, introducing each relative to them one by one.

  Eros and Undine played the parts of well-behaved children to perfection, collecting a respectable hoard of gifts from their newfound elders in the process.

  After lunch, with the atmosphere still thick with sentiment, Estelle turned to her mother and asked: "Mother, where is Elsa? Where is she now?"

  At the mention of that name, the Countess’s expression darkened. Beside her, Earl Ulysses let out a heavy sigh. "I'll tell her," he said softly.

  Estelle’s heart sank at their reaction. Sure enough, Ulysses delivered the blow: "Three years after you were married, Elsa went missing in the Domain of Sin within the Martigorton Mountain Range."

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  "We petitioned the Church for help, but every search yielded nothing. The only certainty we have is that she is still alive—merely trapped somewhere within that Domain."

  "You were about to go into labor at the time, so your mother and I decided to keep it from you. Later, we figured that since we’d already hidden it once, we might as well keep up the ruse. Telling you would have only added to your grief."

  The Countess wiped her eyes, her voice trembling with pain. "My poor Elsa... she was so young then. God only knows how she has endured these ten-plus years in that place. Great Goddess, please have mercy on my poor child!"

  By the end, Eros’s grandmother had begun a fervent prayer on the spot, seeking a divine blessing for her youngest daughter.

  Elsa was Estelle’s younger sister—Eros’s maternal aunt.

  As for the Domain of Sin, Eros understood it as something akin to a "Dungeon Instance" from his past life. While the faith of living beings rises to the Heavens, their sins sink into the Abyss. The Abyss is the dwelling of Evil Gods, a realm of chaos and instability. Occasionally, fragments of that space are hurled outward, manifesting in the mortal world as "Domains of Sin."

  Most alchemical and ritual materials in the occult world are harvested from these domains. Even the commonly used Spirit Marrow originates there. Calling it a "dungeon" was, for all intents and purposes, accurate.

  Estelle fell into a long, heavy silence. "If we’re certain she’s still alive," she said finally, "then I will go and find her myself tomorrow."

  The two sisters had been inseparable as children; Elsa had been like a little shadow, always trailing behind Estelle calling her "Sister." After the marriage, the vast distance and the responsibilities of motherhood had kept Estelle away. Combined with her parents' deliberate secrecy, she had been completely oblivious to Elsa's disappearance until this very moment.

  She had written letters, but the replies had always been ghostwritten by her mother—becoming increasingly brief and infrequent over the years. Estelle had assumed that time and distance had simply cooled their bond, a thought that had caused her much heartache. To learn now that the silence wasn't due to a lack of love, but a decade of being missing, filled her with overwhelming guilt.

  It was this guilt that drove her to resolve to enter the Domain of Sin personally.

  Earl Ulysses immediately intervened. "No, it’s too dangerous! If the Church’s specialists couldn't find her, what could you possibly do?"

  The Countess nodded frantically in support. "He's right, it's too perilous. Let it go, please." Having already lost one daughter, she couldn't bear the thought of losing another.