"Please continue what you were about to say, Mr Actitus," Albert said gently.

  He stood and walked to a cabinet beside another shelf, retrieving two glasses and a bottle of wine.

  He placed both glasses on the table, uncorked the bottle, then poured half a glass into each. Albert handed one of the glasses to Liam and gestured for him to drink.

  His lips trembled. His eyes were fixed on the glass. Back when he was still on Earth, he had never drunk alcohol like this. Yes, because he had lived in prison every day, and food and drink had been strictly determined by the guards. But he did not remember it clearly. He let out a faint laugh while staring at the wine in his hand.

  "Alright," Liam said, placing the glass back on the table. "What do you mean by 'handling' supernatural cases?" he asked with a serious gaze.

  Albert chuckled softly. "As I mentioned before… about unnatural deaths." He paused, drawing a deep breath before continuing, "And that mark, the black spot on the neck. It is not an ordinary stain."

  "What do you mean?" Liam interjected reflexively.

  "My apologies. When I say 'stain,' that black spot cannot be explained in a normal way. You could say it is the work of an evil spirit. As for the details, I do not yet know."

  "I also have no desire to handle the death of someone who bears that mark," Albert said, holding his breath, unwilling to elaborate further.

  Liam fell silent, contemplating those words deeply. Half a minute later, he sensed the presence of someone over his left shoulder.

  He glanced without turning his head and saw a shadow between the railings of the upper corridor. Liam let out a quiet laugh. "Try looking over your right shoulder, Mr Albert," he whispered with a strained smile.

  Hearing that, Albert turned his head, slipped his hand into his trouser pocket, and looked toward the direction Liam had indicated. He immediately stood and moved quietly to investigate.

  After climbing the stairs, he saw a familiar figure crouching there, her gaze fixed on the sofa below.

  Anastasia was observing Liam's movements and did not realize that her brother was standing directly behind her, watching in silence.

  She only became aware when she glanced to her left.

  "Gone? Where did he go?" she said in confusion, because her brother had vanished from her line of sight.

  Albert laughed at her panic. "Why are you so restless, Anastasia?" he asked with a faint smile before taking a sip of the wine he had brought.

  'How did he know I was here?' she thought in shock. 'That man must have told him.' Anastasia glared at Liam, who was still seated there, grinning faintly in her direction.

  'He is definitely hiding something.' Anastasia thought irritably.

  Her jaw tightened, followed by a low growl from within.

  Seeing him, her chest suddenly felt hot. She calmed her thoughts, took a deep breath, then turned around.

  "Ah, Brother. Why are you here?" she asked, trying to divert the conversation.

  "Return to your room. Should I call that servant?" Albert said in a threatening tone, knowing his sister feared the servant he referred to.

  Anastasia put on an expression that was almost fearful.

  Yet that fear was merely a mask. She remained silent and obeyed her brother's command to return to her room.

  "Alright," she replied weakly. After that, she turned around, wore a dejected expression, and staggered toward her room.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Albert smiled, then walked back downstairs.

  "My apologies if my sister made you uncomfortable, Mr Actitus," Albert said as he approached, still holding the wine glass.

  Liam suddenly stood up. The information he had obtained was not enough, and he was still curious about what else existed in this world, even though while listening to that conversation, something unseen had slipped into his body and pressed down on his shoulder with considerable force.

  As much as possible, he wanted to ask questions related to how he could exist in this body. Yet he hesitated to press further, afraid of arousing suspicion or making Albert uncomfortable.

  He straightened his coat and stepped forward two paces.

  "In that case, shall we conclude this meeting?" he asked with a forced smile.

  "Very well." Albert paused, walked to the table to set down his glass, then turned back. "Would you accompany me to Forn's house?" he asked, hoping Liam would accept.

  Liam was startled, thought for a moment, then replied, "Alright."

  'Does he already know that 'he' would end up like this? And… what about Zeta?' Liam wondered, both curious and doubtful.

  "Besides, I feel something is wrong with Forn. That is all," Albert said without turning around, focused on rummaging through a drawer.

  "In truth, I also want to return the money I borrowed this morning," Albert added, the corner of his lips lifting briefly at the memory.

  Albert immediately ran upstairs. Before that, he told Liam to wait patiently and assured him that he would not be long. Liam nodded in confusion and remained standing where he was, waiting for his return.

  Two or three minutes later, Albert descended wearing a shirt beneath a knee length black coat, the same round hat as before, and carrying a silver cane with a blunt tip.

  Inside his coat pocket were two gleaming silver revolvers, to be used if the situation deteriorated. He concealed them and intended to hand one to Liam if necessary.

  "Let's move," Albert said, hoping Forn was safe.

  Liam nodded uncertainly and followed behind. The large door opened, and they walked along the pathway within the residence grounds. From a distance, Albert signaled the two guards to open the gate at once.

  The guards stood straight, saluted with their right fists over their left chests, then quickly moved to open the gate.

  The gate opened, and the two of them stepped outside. Albert did not forget to offer a small smile to the guards. They returned their master's smile and saluted before closing the gate again.

  Several minutes passed. Now they searched for a vehicle that could take them to Forn's house as quickly as possible, located at Navana Street No 12. After searching for quite some time, they finally managed to board a horse carriage that happened to be passing by, heading toward a gathering place.

  Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the road leading to Forn's house, near the large river area. Liam stepped down first and stood beneath a street lamp, waiting.

  Meanwhile, Albert paused at the carriage door. "How much is the fare?" he asked.

  "5 Pace, thirty pence, Sir," replied the pale faced conductor without expression.

  Albert nodded, took out three banknotes and three silver coins, then handed them over.

  The conductor remained silent, his expression flat as he counted the money in his palm. After about ten seconds, he nodded, turned around, climbed the small steps, and sat beside his partner, the coachman, even though he knew he had been given more than required.

  The term "Five Pace, thirty pence" was a common daily expression used in markets, certain steam train stations, and public or private horse transport services. For small purchases, Pace could be combined with Sen.

  However, for large sums or official transactions, such as tax payments, document processing, certificates, official papers, and expensive purchases like houses, pence was no longer used. All values had to be stated directly in Pace for clarity and compliance with the city's administrative standards and banking regulations.

  Pace was high value paper currency, equivalent to two gold coins or perhaps three. Meanwhile, one pence was worth two silver coins.

  This system had been in place for more than a hundred years, established by King Rerise De Norn as a major reform, replacing several coins with paper money for efficiency, while silver coins were retained as a form of respect for those who came before.

  Meanwhile, they walked calmly toward their destination, crossing a bridge beneath which a strong current flowed, as if unaware that the house they were heading toward had already burned to ashes.

  After crossing the small bridge and turning right, there was a stretch of road about ten meters long. From a distance, they saw a crowd gathered as though watching something, faint murmurs echoing in the air.

  Something was wrong. Liam knew exactly what those people were looking at, a house, and he hurried forward, freezing in shock when he arrived at the scene.

  "What is this? How could this happen?" he said in confusion as he took in the situation.

  They had not even noticed it while crossing the bridge, even though the house should have been visible from there.

  Albert followed behind and froze as his eyes swept over the sight. Before them remained nothing but charred ruins, including burned cabinets, sofas, and other belongings.

  A strong gust of wind scattered scorched clothes and fabric everywhere, causing anyone who inhaled it to cough and feel pain in their chest.

  The people there were confused as to why a house that had been perfectly fine earlier had suddenly caught fire. Several police officers had arrived to investigate whether there were victims in the sudden blaze.

  Firefighters were also present at the scene.

  During the investigation, the police did not find the source of the fire. Only a strange pool of blood was discovered among the remaining evidence.

  Meanwhile, the firefighters continued extinguishing the remaining flames to prevent them from spreading to neighboring houses.

  "Mr Actitus," Albert said. "What exactly happened? Were you not here earlier?" He was clearly bewildered by the sight.

  Liam froze for a moment. "I do not know… Everything was fine before, I swear to God," Liam answered in panic, unsure of what to say, afraid of being blamed.

  Meanwhile, an experienced police officer accustomed to handling strange cases in Moran stood not far from the fresh pool of blood beneath a small flickering flame among the wooden debris.

  "Captain, look at this!" he shouted, still standing in the same spot. And this was the first time he had encountered something so peculiar.

  A sense of unease. Fear. And sudden whispers directed into his mind.

  That was what the experienced officer felt, one familiar with cases such as unexplained deaths and reports from citizens about supernatural incidents, seeing objects floating in their homes, or knives moving on their own and stabbing random people.

  The captain and three of his subordinates approached the location. When they arrived, they were stunned. The three officers, including the captain, could not believe what they were seeing as the pool of blood produced a faint, almost invisible flame.

  "Is this happening again?" the captain asked. "Hah, I am almost ready to give up dealing with something I cannot comprehend." His jaw hardened. His brows furrowed as he threw his pen into the pool of blood, and after only a few seconds, the pen turned into ash.

  Then he continued, "I will leave this to you, Frederico." The captain forced a smile.

  "I am not sure," Frederico replied, confused.

  The two officers who heard him looked puzzled and asked simultaneously, "Why are you not sure, Senior?"

  Frederico fell silent for a few seconds, staring at the pool while considering his next step. Then he spoke to satisfy their curiosity. "I do not know. Perhaps we need to find the cause first."

  The captain and the three officers beside him nodded.