In the corner of his eyes, Anna smiled. It wasn’t a direct response, but Ulrich had basically guessed the truth in his heart. Or at least, he’d hoped that his guesses were right. In that case, he could trust her more closely. During his journey with Silas, the priest constantly spoke about the Sun God, beliefs, and doctrine. Honestly, Ulrich zoned out through ninety percent of it; however, he did recall some details that made him frown.

  

“Our God despises those who follow Twilight. ‘He’ hated degeneration, and ‘he’ shared some goodwill to your Night Mother. Good thing you met me, little Watchman, and not those pesky madmen.”

  It is no wonder that Anna would look down on the Bishop of the Twilight Order. All of it made sense if Anna were a Sun Worshiper of the Yellow Order. However, what the seer could not fathom was how Anna arrived precisely at this moment, in this location, not long after meeting him in the Tea Shop. Was that unknown pursuer her? If so, then why follow him?

  By this point, the flame had died down, returning the room back to that stale darkness lack of light. No one move, not Ulrich, Anna, or that mad Bishop. The tension grew in the air, thickening like starch mixed with water. For a moment, there was a deafening silence that filled the space in the room.

  “Go on, do what you do best, little shade. Run. And you'd better run far.” Anna said dryly, her voice so gentle that Ulrich shuddered.

  “…”

  “I will remember you. Anna Castella.” Lewis Smith said. His voice no longer friendly, becoming extremely threatening. There was a dreadful hatred buried beneath that voice, and as much as he wanted to lunge forward and rip Anna apart, he couldn’t. Facing the Sun, he knew it was helpless, and being a Shadowmancer himself, she was his ultimate weakness.

  Heh, I’ve stalled for enough time. My goal wasn’t to kill them anyway; that was only a bonus. Ultimately, the Bishop retreated, his shadow disappearing from the room. Ulrich was surprised, perplexed at the Bishop’s swift retreat.

  For a moment, he was relieved, but his heart froze when he recalled the Bishop’s vicious schemes.

  He’s been planning this since our first meeting and even faked his death. Lewis must have taken Selena, or his lackey did, but remained in the vicinity. Why?

  Was it to lure out the people watching Selena’s home? Or was the mad Bishop waiting for someone to stumble upon that scene? Thinking on it now, the seer's relief turns to dread. He had thought that everything was going well, and that this operation was destined to succeed. However, he wasn’t so sure now. Not with the Bishop’s sudden appearance and swift disappearance.

  Either way, Ulrich let out a deep breath. All of this was beyond his pay grade, and the goal of finding Selena was what truly mattered. In that moment, he sped toward Victor’s body, examining his condition.

  His eyes… It’s purified!

  It was normal, no longer bearing that scorched mark. Anna’s flame, or whatever spell she used, had unknowingly purified it. Ulrich wasn’t sure, but at the very least, his sidekick was no longer in danger. Seeing this, he turned to Anna, wearing a pleasant smile.

  “Thank you for your help, ma'am,” He said formally, his voice carrying a great degree of respect. “May I know who you are?”

  She stared at him blankly, like a mannequin. Then, with that familiar tone of voice, she mused. “Anna Castella, didn’t I tell you before?”

  Right…

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “And you are right, I am a member of the Yellow Order, worshiper of the Great Verdant Sun God!”

  That name sent chills down his spine. Ulrich gathered his composure, tossing the depressing memories in the back of his mind and asked with confusion.

  “Why—“ He paused, then changed his question, “Did you follow me here?”

  Anna's face shifted as she crossed her arm, slowly circling in the room.

  “Yes.” She admitted bluntly. Ulrich wasn’t sure what to expect, but he didn’t think she would be so direct.

  “Why?” He blurted.

  “Someone marked you. One of our members to be exact, and not just any ordinary member. I was interested, curious, so I followed you.”

  Ulrich’s eyes narrowed. Each of his questions seems to beget two more. Recalling that pursuer he’d encountered, he was enlightened. “That was you!”

  She grinned and nodded. “That’s right. But I didn’t follow you into St. Samuel. One cannot simply disrespect a God, any Gods.”

  Finally, Ulrich raised one final question, hoping to clear his doubts. “Do you know who marked me?”

  She raised her head, her finger resting on her chin as she said. “An old friend of mine, Silas. I thought he’d die of old age by now, but I didn’t think there would be a day when I’d see his mark, his sun mark on the surface world.”

  Sun mark? Ulrich's face twisted. That name sounded too flashy and obvious. What does he look like to Anna Castella? A walking sun? A light flare? Or a light stick?

  That damn priest! I knew it!

  Ulrich thought he had escaped the priest’s constant pestering, but no. It was a ruse, a trick! All to lower his guard and make him shine like a sore thumb to those who could see the mark. If Ma’am Anna didn’t bring it up, how long would it take for him to notice that anomaly?

  While Ulrich sank deep in his thought, cursing a certain priest. Anna's face was solemn, conflict apparent on her face. After a brief moment of silence, she spoke again, her voice lowered, bearing a hint of uncertainty.

  “Was he alright?”

  Ulrich looked up, confused. “He? You mean that old stinking priest?”

  Anna's eyes flickered, a smile growing on her face.

  “Yes, Silas.”

  “He.. Uh. Talked a lot. And I mean a lot. I’ve never met someone more talkative than him, at his age no less!”

  Anna nodded, her smile deepening. “Thank you.” She said.

  Ulrich blinked. “What do you mean? I should be the one to thank you for saving my comrade and me from that madman.”

  “No, I mean it,” She said, not taking the situation seriously at all. Perhaps, to her, the Bishop wasn’t worth mentioning. Or maybe this wasn’t her first encounter with the zealots of the Twilight Order, and the Yellow Order had been constantly at war with the Twilight Order, so helping Ulrich happened to aligned with her interests.

  Either way, Ulrich wasn’t going to let her go that easily. As a gentleman, he couldn’t be ingrained!

  “May I…” He paused, then coughed, “offer you my gratitude with a meal?”

  This time, she blinked, a bit surprised. “Are you asking me on a date?”

  “No, no! How could I dare?”

  He’d often treated Selena to a meal every time she helped him. Last time, he was in a rush, so he’d forgotten about it. And by the time he returned to the library, Selena was already gone. Not to mention, Ulrich wasn’t really in a position to take romantic interest in Anna.

  “I was joking,” She laughed upon seeing Ulrich's flustered face, her soft voice bouncing off the wall. Once Anna finally settled down, she wiped the tear off her cheek and said, “I suppose whatever the Twilight Order had planned is not over yet. You’re better off going now, little watchman.”

  Ulrich's heart skipped a beat. Right. Captain and Rosaline should be in a battle against the Resistance Leader. Just as that thought passed, the wind blew, picking up the curtain.

  From behind him, a familiar voice came, Captain’s voice to be more exact. As for Anna, she already disappeared from the room, like an illusion conjured by his mind.

  “Ulrich, what happened here?”