"What do you want?"
The eldest sister, Daya, spoke evenly, her voice dry as autumn leaves. Her face revealed nothing.
"The funeral is tomorrow."
"Yes. I know..."
For the briefest moment, Daya's composure cracked—a flicker of something raw beneath the surface. Then the mask slipped back into place, and she continued:
"...And I remember the promise you made. You said you would show us Perido tomorrow."
Killon's brow furrowed. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
*That* was the problem.
The youngest had vanished, and the sisters believed he was hiding Perido somewhere. If he hadn't deceived them with this promise, they would have raised an alarm—demanding answers about their parents' so-called accident.
*If only Perido had died with them.*
The memory of that botched incident surged up, and with it, a familiar rage.
"What kind of tone is that to take with your uncle?"
"What kind of *uncle* are you to us?" Garnet's green eyes blazed as she stepped forward. "You *devil!* You locked us in here and hid Perido somewhere!"
Killon's expression turned dangerous. He strode toward her.
"Garnet. I told you to correct your manner of speaking. *Remember?*"
Before he could reach her, Daya moved—placing herself between them, her head bowed low.
"Forgive me."
"*Sister!*"
Garnet's voice cracked with fury, demanding to know why she was apologizing to this monster.
"You forgot to add 'uncle,'" Killon said coldly, as though instructing a disobedient child.
Daya squeezed her eyes shut. The words scraped against her throat like broken glass.
"Forgive me... Uncle."
"Tch."
Killon regarded her bowed head with visible displeasure.
*The Duke was in the house.* He couldn't raise his hand—not now.
"Uncle..." Daya's voice trembled, small and desperate. "Tomorrow... you'll show us Perido, won't you?"
Killon's eyes narrowed as he stared at her black hair.
Perido had black hair too. Just like their mother.
*If Perido isn't found by tomorrow, the backup plan will have to be executed.*
"The Duke of Vines has arrived."
He ignored her question entirely, muttering the words through clenched teeth.
Daya's head snapped up.
*Duke Vines is here?*
She had never seen him in her life. The Duke was always occupied with defending the Western borders, and recently, rumors said he had injured his eyes and lived as a recluse.
She had assumed he would ignore the news of her parents' deaths entirely.
"So." Killon's smile was gentle, but his eyes held winter frost. "Behave as you should before the Duke. You *can* manage that, can't you?"
The unspoken threat hung in the air: *One mistake, and you'll never see Perido again.*
Daya bit the soft flesh inside her cheek until she tasted copper. She nodded.
Her submission seemed to satisfy him. Killon's smile widened.
"Good girl. You two—" He pointed at Garnet and Rubiena. "Follow your eldest sister's example. Keep your mouths *shut* in front of the Duke. Dress beautifully for the formal dinner this evening and come downstairs. Since the Duke has graced us with his presence, we owe him a proper greeting."
"Yes."
When Daya responded obediently, Killon walked out—leaving the door standing open behind him.
For the first time in a week, that door—locked every moment except during meals—remained unbarred.
---
"*Sister!*" Garnet whirled on her the moment Killon's footsteps faded. "Have you lost your mind? Why do you keep humiliating yourself in front of that devil?"
Daya looked at her sister with eyes full of bitter exhaustion.
*If I hadn't yielded, Killon would have struck Garnet.*
Just as he had struck *her* the first time she dared to challenge him.
She was nearly an adult—she could endure it. But she could not bear to watch that man's hand fall upon her younger sisters.
"...We need to see Perido."
At those words, Garnet's fury faltered. She bit her lower lip hard enough to leave marks, then turned away sharply.
"Sister... are we really going to see Perido tomorrow?"
Rubiena's small voice emerged from behind Garnet. She had been hiding there the entire time, and now she poked her head out, hesitant, hopeful.
"Yes." Daya forced conviction into her voice. "We *will* see him."
"Really?" Rubiena's face brightened, her eyes shining with fragile hope. "I want to see him so badly!"
She nodded vigorously and padded toward the sofa.
Garnet, still seething with anger she couldn't contain, threw herself onto the bed and thrashed furiously against the pillows.
*How did everything come to this?*
She still couldn't believe the events of the past two weeks.
---
That day, their parents had left to buy a birthday present for Perido.
Perido had begged to come along, insisting he wanted to choose his own gift.
A few hours later, Killon had arrived in tears, bearing impossible news: their parents had been killed by monsters.
*Monsters?* In the *South?*
If this were the West or the North, perhaps. But here? It was unthinkable.
Yet something else mattered more now.
*Find Perido.*
The sisters had sought out their father's vassals—trusted men who might help them search.
But no one would see them.
Some had suffered "accidents" and were dead or bedridden. Others simply avoided them, turning away when the sisters approached.
It was *wrong.* The entire household had shifted overnight, as though the very walls conspired against them.
In desperation, Daya had gone alone to the one person besides her parents she had always trusted.
Uncle Killon.
"Uncle, no one is looking for Perido. Father's vassals won't meet with me—some were injured in accidents, others—"
The kind uncle she had known her entire life dropped his mask that day.
"Tsk-tsk." His eyes went cold. "Just sit quietly. Why make such a fuss? If you want to see Perido, keep your mouth shut until the funeral."
"Could it be..." Daya's voice rose, trembling with horrified realization. "Did *you* arrange all of this, Uncle?"
*Slap.*
Her head snapped to the side. Pain bloomed across her cheek—sharp, stunning.
For the first time in her life, she had been struck.
"Watch your words, Daya." Killon's voice was ice. "Go upstairs with your sisters."
"If I obey..." She forced the words past the burning in her face. "Will you let us see Perido?"
"Yes. I promise."
And so they had sat—locked in this room—for an entire week.
---
"Daya."
Rubiena's soft voice pulled her from the dark spiral of memory.
"What is it, Ruby?"
"What if... the Duke helps us?"
A tiny spark of hope flickered in Rubiena's pale green eyes.
Garnet sat up on the bed and let out a harsh, mocking laugh.
"*Help us?* That's rich. He never once came to visit. He's a complete stranger." She crossed her arms. "You couldn't sense *anything* from that devil who spent his whole life pretending to be kind and caring? And you think some uncle we've never met will be different?"
Rubiena's face crumpled. She looked up at Daya with glistening eyes and whispered:
"But Mama always said it. *Vines*..."
"...*protects.*"
Daya finished the phrase automatically.
*The Grand Duke's House of Vines protects.*
She had heard those words from her mother hundreds of times.
Their mother had never once reproached the Duke for his absence. On the contrary—she spoke of him with pride. With *admiration.*
*"Mama, why hasn't the Duke ever come to visit? He's your younger brother."*
At this, her mother had smiled—warm and tender—and stroked Daya's hair.
*"The Grand Duke's House of Vines protects. That's the saying of our bloodline. The House of Vines has too many enemies. I understand that. I know how much effort that boy puts into keeping us safe."*
Her mother's eyes had softened with something that looked almost like sorrow.
*"Daya, if anything ever happens—remember one thing. Vines protects. That boy will protect you."*
Daya turned toward the window, watching the fading light of evening spread across the sky.
She could almost hear her mother's voice, gentle and certain.
*Mama... is it true?*
*Will Duke Vines really protect us?*