{ 1 YEAR AND 5 DAYS AGO... }

  It was the first of April, 1414, a typical crisp autumn m.

  Or rather: that was the day of the arrival of the famous and muticipated "Professor Shirkenn"!

  The air was fresh, and the sun was already high as Krk Mi hurried along the paved road leading to the castle walls. With his hands tangled in his messy hair and an anxious look on his face, he had already decided how to present himself.

  ‘I’ll pretend to be te, so I’ll appear as a professor so clumsy that I even fot to hire a carriage! Surely, at the moment of his will py in my favor!’

  Arriving in front of the majestic iron gate, embedded between the imposing stone walls that surrouhe castle, Krk stepped forward with a determiride, fervently searg through his trousers’ pocket for the necessary dots—the ones he had obtained a week earlier after getting rid of the real Professor Shirkenn!

  One of the three guards at the gate, dressed in a bd red uniform that stood out against the gray of the bricks, raised a hand in a reassuriure. His pierg gaze rested on Krk, momentarily halting his frantients.

  “You are Professor Shirkenn, am I right?” the guard asked, his voice firm and authoritative.

  Krk hesitated for a moment.

  “Y-Yes, exactly!” he finally replied, handing over the dots with a slightly trembliure, a detail meant to lend greater credibility to his act as an insecure professor.

  The guard accepted the papers and began to examihem one by oaring at the photo attached to the dot. With a sharp look, he pared the image with the face of the man in front of him, making sure they matched.

  After verifying the identity of "Professor Shirkenn," the guard smiled, a gesture that veyed reassurance.

  “Actually, we’ve already been notified of your arrival. However, we are still required to follow some mandatory procedures. I hope you uand,” said the guard, returning the dots to Krk with a calm and fident tone. “Please, you may proceed now.”

  Then, with a nod, the guard sigo the two panions behind him to get to work opening the gate.

  The two moved in unison, expertly gripping the heavy metal k. With deliberate movements, they began to turn it, and the majestic, imposing gate slowly began to rise.

  The sound of metal scraping against rusted hinges filled the air as the passage opened, revealing the entrao the Strongold royal family's territory.

  Oher side of the cobbled road, well-maintained gardens stretched gracefully, while in the distahe t castle loomed on the horizon, filling the gaze with a silent awe.

  ‘Poor fool!’ thought Krk, suppressing a triumphant grin as he gave a small bow to the guard he was mog.

  He turowards the entrance, quiing his pace as the heavy gate smmed shut with a metallig. Then, a subtle smile curled his lips.

  “I'd say that so far it's beey easy...” he murmured to himself, the satisfa buzzing inside him like an unspoke.

  Finally, still following the cobbled road, he tinued his feigned exhausted run towards the castle, where a massive double wooden door stood between him and the beginning of his mission.

  ‘Let’s go!’ he excimed to himself, his wild and intense gaze fixed owo golden handles.

  He swallowed and, to create the right effect, opehe doors aered the castle with a feigned clumsiness, pretending to catch his breath, despite not being tired at all.

  "Apologies for the dey-" Krk started to say, but before he could finish the sentence, he preteo trip awkwardly on his shoeces ao the ground, almost face-first.

  ‘Good, this should work!’

  In the chaos of the fall, his bag opened, and a myriad of books scattered across the floor. Krk let out a fake embarrassed ugh as he tried to get ba his feet.

  “Augh! What a pain...” he muttered, massaging his head.

  “Oh, did you hurt yourself?!” Carmen excimed, croug down beside him and starting to pick up the books.

  “Uh… No no no, I’m fihank you,” the man replied, smiling nervously.

  Carmehe books ba his bag and ha to him, adjusting the strap carefully over the guest’s shoulder.

  ‘I assume she’s the Prince’s personal servant!’ Krk deduced, carefully analyzing the red-haired woman. ‘If so, maybe I “befriend” her. She’ll definitely be useful iure to raise fewer suspis.’

  Without saying a word or showing aion, Carmen began thten him up with the same meticulousness as someoaking care of a lost child: she bent down to tie his shoes with quick, precise movements, then moved on to the tie, gently pulling it thten it and give it a more dignified appearance.

  While dispying a fake expression of embarrassment and gratitude, Krk was already scheming maliciously to get rid of his target—the young Prince!

  But the flow of his thoughts was suddenly interrupted.

  “What exactly do you think you're doing here, Krk?!” Carmen asked suddenly, her voice low to avoid being heard by Mirac, who had remained motionless in his pce.

  Krk’s rea was immediate: he stiffened for a moment, his face betraying a slight tremor of surprise before he mao pose himself.

  His eyes widened in surprise, but she tinued without giving him a ce to respond:

  “It's pointless for you to look at me with that face. I already know everything about you! The ‘Last Storm’ sent you here to kill Prince Mirac, am I right?”

  With that, Carmen tinued adjusting his crumpled lic shirt.

  She then carefully buttohe st button and, leaning close to Krk’s ear, whispered:

  “Well, you know, I suggest you not make any reckless moves... if you really care about Lois ara...!”

  The servant’s voice, sharp with calm, seemed to slip like a sharp bde into Krk’s ears.

  “Huh?!” The fake professor was as shocked as he was fused. “L-Lois? Petra? You... W-What do you mean?”

  Without responding, Carmen finished adjusting his colr, with slow, methodical gestures, leaving him standing there, seemingly more dighan he deserved, like a puppet in the hands of a puppeteer.

  A cold shiver ran down the “Professor Shirkenn’s” spine, creeping through his bones like an ominous premonition.

  Carmen’s words echoed in his mind, turning into a warning he could not ignore.

  ‘Who is this woman?! How did she reize me?! The “Deceptive Gsses” I'm wearing are supposed to alter my real appearance, copying and using the true Professor Shirkenn's look! But then, how did she reize me? Is it possible that someone had already informed her about me and my arrival?!’ Krk wondered, maintaining a fake expression of gratitude on his face. ‘Wait a minute! If she already knew about me but didn’t warn any of the royal guards, then I assume she’s an infiltrator in the royal pace as well! Maybe she’s a spy? Or perhaps she’s an assassin too? But even if she is... how does she know about my wife and daughter? Is she trying to threatesz, damn it! I don’t know who you are, but it won’t work with me, you ugly bitch!’

  Once she made the final adjustment to the fake professor’s colr, Carmen began to step back, her gaze as cold as a shard of ice reflected in her dark eyes, fixed on Krk.

  Then, with her hands csped in front of her, she calmly turowards Mirac, resuming her positioo the young Prince, as if nothing had happened.

  * * *

  { THE AFTERNOON OF THE SAME DAY... }

  Carmen was at the back of the castle, immersed in the quiet of the su. Her gaze was fixed beyond the small training field, towards the line of trees marking the entrao the royal garden.

  The air was thick with the st of damp earth and the first blooming roses, but she seemed oblivious to it. Her eyes, cold and unwavering, were focused on a thought that no one else could fathom.

  Behihe rge double doors creaked open slightly, breaking the silence. She didn’t turn immediately, but a barely perceptible smile crept across her lips.

  She didn’t o look to know who it was.

  "Who are you?" a firm voice asked.

  It rofessor Shirkenn, or rather, the man hiding behind that name. His performance, so carefully structed up until then, had deceived everyo the castle.

  But in front of Carmen, the o pretend no longer made sense.

  With an almost exasperating ess, Carmen turowards him. Her eyes locked onto his with an icy ess, and Krk Mihe man behind the disguise, felt a chill run down his spine.

  "It doesn’t matter who I am," she replied, her voice as calm as the sea before a storm. "Let’s talk about you instead."

  She took a few steps towards him, approag with grace.

  "Krk Mi," Carmen tinued, her voice full of disdainful fidehe infamous assassin wanted in much of the ti. You’re accused of unimaginable crimes: ruthless murders, victims without distin, women, children... No one is safe from your cruelty! It is clear that you are a despicable being!" She emphasized the st word with a hint of pt, her gaze sharp as a bde. "But I’m not here to talk much about that. Nor about the secret anization you serve with such zeal. Rather, I want to warn you about something else..."

  She stopped in front of him, looking him in the eyes with an iy that seemed to dig into his soul. Then, she uttered the words that would shake the man to his core:

  "I have your family hostage, Krk."

  For a moment, silence fell betweehe words echoed in the air like the sound of a gunshot.

  Meanwhile, Krk’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  "What did you say?!"

  "You heard me right," she said, her calm uling. "Lois ara are our hostages."

  Krk ched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the tension.

  "My family... hostage?" he repeated, his voice thick with disbelief.

  Rage threateo erupt within him, causing an uproar that would have surely ruined his cover as well as his pns, but the man miraculously mao hold himself back.

  He took a deep breath, trying to maintain trol.

  Then, with a forced attempt to appear superior, he let out a cold ugh.

  "Heh, yeah, sure! And you think I’ll believe you? You think your words are enough to scare me?"

  Carmen watched him with an impassive look.

  "You may not believe me," she replied, iwining her fingers in front of her. "But are you sure you want to take the risk?"

  Those words, spoken with a near mog calm, hit him harder than any shouted threat.

  Krk fell into deep thought, his mind beginning to whirl in a storm of hypotheses.

  ‘Damn!’ he thought, feeling his heart pound furiously in his chest. ‘I ’t afford to uimate this woman! She knows too much about me, my pns, and maybe even about the Last Storm! She’s not just a spy, that’s clear. But who is she really? Is she part of a secret anization? Yes, it’s probably like that! Earlier, she said “our hostages” referring to Lois ara... That “our” means she’s not ag alohis firms she works for an anization, and not just any one. A simple group of bandits wouldn’t even know about the existence of the Last Storm.’

  Krk gritted his teeth, his thoughts spinning in a chaotic whirl.

  ‘If that’s the case, then it’s irely impossible that they really have taken Lois ara hostage in my absence! But why? Why them? Is it to strike at me? Or is it because I’m part of the Last Storm?’

  His thoughts chased each other in a spiral of unanswered questions.

  ‘But even so, who would dare to do such a thing? Who would have the audacity to go up against the Last Storm? Don’t they fear the Boss? Or maybe... they don’t know who he really is? Or worse... they think they have someorong enough to defeat him? Huh, but that’s impossible! Not even aal Angel would stand a ce against him!’

  Krk rubbed his face, trying tain trol, but frustratio growing.

  As he desperately tried to figure out which secret anization could be responsible for su affront, a possibility slowly crept into his mind, relentless and iable.

  Krk’s eyes widened in terror, and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

  ‘Wait a minute! Lois ara... they’re both... female! N-No... It ’t be! I-It’s just a ce... or-!’

  Krk’s hands started to tremble, followed by the rest of his body.

  "N-No... Don’t tell me that..." he whispered, his voice crag with fear.

  He swallowed hard, feeling his throat dry and tight like a knot—and this time it wasn’t part of the act, he was genuinely nervous!

  Then, in a trembling voice, Krk finished:

  "A-Are you... part of... the Demon’s Womb?"

  Carmen didn't respond. The silehat followed was even more eloquent.

  However, her lips curved into an enigmatic smile, full of meaning.

  "Damned woman!" Krk exploded, but there was more desperation than anger in his words.

  ‘No more doubt!’ he thought, terrnawing at him. ‘She really is one of them! In faow that I think about it... The color of her hair, that damned red that matches their cult's belief... It all makes sense now!’

  Krk was certain now: his family was indeed held hostage!

  ‘Damn it! If that's true, they're in grave danger!’

  The certainty hit him like a lightning bolt, a wave of panid rage setting his blood on fire.

  “Tell me...” Krk growled, taking a step forward. His eyes were burning with fury. “Where have you taken them? Where are they?! Have you dared to harm my wife and my daughter?! e on, answer me! I swear, if you hurt them in any way, I-”

  “If you want to see your family safe and sound,” Carmen interrupted him, her usual icy calm, ign his outburst, “you’ll have to follow two simple rules.”

  Krk gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the urge to attack her.

  He took a deep breath to calm himself, but the tension was evident in his stiff jaw and ched fists.

  “Speak!” he barked, almost trembling with impatience. “What do you want?!”

  Carmen, with slow and calcuted movements, closed the distaween them. Her presence was cold and threatening, like the chill before a blizzard.

  “Rule oay away from the young Prince!” she decred, her voice firm, leaving no room for doubt.

  Krk clicked his tongue, visibly irritated.

  “Tsk! And then?”

  “Rule two: you’ll have to provide us with some information.”

  The woman took aep forward, almost eliminating the space between them. Now their faces were so close they could feel each other's breath.

  Krk’s pupils tracted, filled with primal rage.

  “You filthy bitch!” he roared, his voice so full of hatred that anyone who heard it would swear they were fag a wild beast rather than a human.

  Carmen, however, remained unfazed. Her usual unwavering calm was, as always, evident in the way she hi a smile without fully dispying it.

  “I would advise you to moderate your tone when addressing me, Krk,” the maid replied coldly, not moving an inch.

  The assassin ched his fists, but in the end, he stepped back suddenly, moving like an animal in a cage.

  With a satisfied expression on her face, Carmen then slowly turowards the garden.

  The light breeze caressed her red hair, making it dance around her face. Out of the er of her eye, she noticed the young Prince approag slowly.

  “Now leave,” the maid said, her voi unappeable and.

  However, before leaving pletely, Krk stopped for a moment, his breath heavy. He turowards her with a look full of hatred.

  “Tsk! Laugh as much as you want now, but remember: this story doesn't end here!” he growled. “I swear you’ll pay for all of this, Carmen!”

  Without saying another word, Krk spun on his heel and walked away, smming the rge double doors behind him.

  But as he walked briskly, his mind was already rag, pnning how to turuation around as quickly as possible.

  ‘I o tact the Boss as soon as possible and inform him that there’s probably a traitor spy in the Last Storm!’ Krk thought, his heart pounding in his chest. ‘Yes, it has to be that way! Otherwise, how could that woman know so much about me and our pns?’

  Anger and suspiixed in his mind like a fierce whirlpool.

  ‘And then,’ he tinued, gritting his teeth, ‘how would she have found my house? It ’t be a simple ce! Someone must have givehe information... Someone who knows our secrets!’

  The thought of a traitor in their group made his blood boil.

  ‘If I don’t act quickly, this situation could spiral out of trol, and our entire group could be soon caught off guard with a surprise attack!’

  Meanwhile, Carmen remained motionless in her pce, gazing at the garden before her.

  A faint smile touched her lips, ohat cealed secrets and promises, as she turo greet the young Prince, once again as if nothing had happened...