“Guys, have you seen Henry and Sylia?” Mirelle asked as she entered the filing room.

  It had been a while since Vierna and Lina began waiting for the ripple of their plan to show. Cold sweat clung to them as they wondered if by some unknown chance that Henry and Sylia might still report for their shift. When Mirelle spoke, Vierna’s mind seemed to exhale in relief.

  “No, senior. Is everything all right?”

  “No, everything is not all right, Crysta,” Mirelle said as she paced. “We’re going to Rolbart in a minute, and they’re not here. Korrn is in a strange mood today. I’m afraid whatever excuse they have won’t be enough to prevent their termination.”

  Stay calm, Vierna. You knew this was coming.

  “Ugh… let me know if something changes,” Mirelle said as she stormed out of the filing room.

  Lina and Vierna looked at each other, and they continued their job. Asking to be picked for Rolbart would rose suspicion and they knew the outcome already since everyone has been assigned.

  Moments passed. The ticking of the clock filled the silence, louder than it had any right to be. Paper rustled as Vierna tried to tidy them up, yet she made no progress. With each passing second, the room felt grayer, the colors bleeding out of everything until only pale ghosts of furniture remained. Everything felt monochrome now.

  What if he found someone else? What if they knew it was their doing? What if… what if… what if…

  The questions came again and again, each one feeling more justified with every passing second.

  After a while, Korrn and Mirelle entered the filing room, where Vierna and Lina were still stacking paper after paper.

  “Crysta, Aline, you two are coming with me to Rolbart.”

  Vierna held her breath as long as she could. In that moment, she felt like exhaling would deflate her completely.

  At least their sacrifice hadn’t been in vain.

  Lina noticing that Vierna was probably too shake to answer looked at Korrn, “It would be a pleasure Herr Korrn, but why the sudden changes?”

  “Those two idiots decided our job isn’t worth it. I don’t know what happened to them and I don’t care.” Korrn walked toward them. “I don’t usually like changing schedules. Last-minute changes like this really get on my nerve! Mirelle, remind me to fire them once they finally drag their lazy asses here.”

  “Herr Korrn, I think—” Mirelle began, trying to defend her coworkers, but her words died under Korrn’s sudden gaze. “I understand, Herr Korrn.”

  “And don’t pay their severance. Find some loophole in the rules to make that happen,” he added.

  Lina noticed Vierna’s hand trembling as she heard the news. Despite everything, guilt clung to her like a bloodstain that refused to wash out. So Lina quickly took her hand and held it tight.

  Korrn turned toward Vierna and Lina. “I’m sure you two are well aware of how important our job is. When we’re out there, you will follow everything I say to the letter. Do not deviate. One hint of weakness, and they’ll milk it until they don’t have to pay a thing. Fucking non-humans only want to freeload off our tax money.”

  “Understood, Herr Korrn,” both girls replied.

  As Korrn and Mirelle stepped outside, Vierna and Lina glanced at each other.

  “Be strong for me, okay?” Lina brushed her fingers against Vierna’s cheek.

  “Okay, Lin,” Vierna said quietly. “Have you taken the elixir?”

  “Oh, right—I haven’t.” Lina conjured her rune and retrieved the bottle.

  Vierna did the same, and they both drank. The Formbind Elixir had to be taken once a day to keep their bodies from reverting to their real forms.

  Drinking it was agony, as if swallowing molten steel. Vierna gripped Lina’s hand as she trembled, fighting to endure the pain. They couldn’t scream. The filing room was empty—just the two of them—but who knew what ears might be waiting on the other side of the door?

  When it was done, they stepped outside the office and headed towards the entrance.

  At the entrance, several soldiers stood on standby. They looked more like militia than a standing army. Armed with swords and muskets, their white uniforms caught the sunlight, as if to say they were still capable despite being only militia.

  Wagons waited as well, an open cart for Mirelle and the girls. Behind it was a stagecoach that certainly belongs to Korrn. His carriage mirrored the man himself: indulgent, over-decorated, dripping with wanton excess. Gilded frames, even a mosaic window.

  Not even the Arkmarschall’s stagecoach, the one that had brought Vierna to Einhartturm, was this luxurious. But unlike the Arkmarschall’s carriage, polished and sharp as a blade, this one reeked of desperation.

  “Everything is ready, Herr Korrn,” an attendant said to the man in the stagecoach.

  “Good. Let us be off,” Korrn replied, his voice flat as he leaned back in the seat without sparing the attendant another glance.

  They traveled from the tax office toward the main gate. Citizens moved aside as the caravan passed through the street. Vierna caught their eyes—disgust, disdain, as if she and the others were the very embodiment of the corruption that plagued Haustwitch Barony. Even the merchant who once called her pretty looked at her differently as she rode past.

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  “You’ll get used to it,” Mirelle said, noticing Vierna’s worried expression.

  “Even the tax officers in Einhartturm weren’t this hated,” Vierna whispered. “Is Korrn really that corrupt?” She kept her voice low so the man inside the gilded stagecoach wouldn’t hear.

  Mirelle glanced at Korrn’s carriage. “He doesn’t steal the tax money that’s supposed to go to the baron. But he overcharges the villages. And the baron couldn’t care less, as long as he gets his due.”

  “We shouldn’t talk about this.” Lina said. Her voice tight, afraid the soldiers might overhear and report them.

  Mirelle’s eyes flicked to the soldiers. “They hate Korrn too. No one likes him. If he weren’t the baron’s relative, nobody would put up with him.”

  Both girls nodded.

  The carriage continued on, the girls talking about a myriad of things. The breeze caressed their skin gently, and the smell of grass carried by the wind tickled their noses, mingling with the warmth of the sun that comforted their bodies.

  “What do you think happened to Sylia and Henry?” Lina asked, feigning ignorance.

  Vierna clenched her fists at the question. Yet she knew it was normal for a coworker to ask what had happened to their colleague. Not questioning it at all would have seemed suspicious especially when they both were the last one to see Henry and Sylia.

  “I sent Luke to Henry’s home. It seems Henry decided to eat nuts right after you two left,” Mirelle said.

  “Henry told the innkeeper to carry him home and even paid him some money. After that, it seems Luke tried to take him to the hospital. Henry refused at first and tried to come here instead, but luckily he fainted during the argument. The hospital said it’ll take a while for him to recover, given how many peanuts he ate. It was sheer luck he isn’t dead, but his condition is pretty severe. Still, sometimes he just can’t help himself. Probably the wine and the thought of us heading to Rolbart made him desperate.”

  “I see.” Vierna exhaled in relief. At least Henry hadn’t died because of her—only been fired.

  “And Sylia said her brother suddenly fell ill but shouldn’t you two know more about that?” Mirelle asked.

  “We were up pretty early, before both of them woke up,” Lina lied smoothly. “We headed for another inn, since the one where we ate last night didn’t have any rooms left.”

  “Why did you leave so early?” Mirelle pressed, as if she sensed something was off.

  “We didn’t want to impose on them too long,” Vierna added. “Besides, we couldn’t really sleep in their parents’ room. It felt shameless to stay in a place they clearly valued so much. We tried the floor, but we couldn’t manage.”

  Vierna tried to recall the sign of the inn they had passed while carrying Sylia home. “Luckily, the Ale and Witch Inn had rooms.”

  “I see.” Mirelle nodded, though it was clear she sensed something.

  They passed beyond the walls of the barony. The Haustran Highway stretched as far as the eye could see, its lanes connecting Haustwitch to many places, including Einhartturm.

  Vierna remembered reading that Silbermark Duchy, headed by Herzog Leopold, boasted the best infrastructure in the Reich. Seeing the road again confirmed it. At least the Arkmarschall truly cared for his domain.

  After a while they arrived at what seemed to be an endless plain of grass. Caressed by the gentle autumn breeze, the caravan pressed onward. Estates and plantations dotted the lowlands, carrying with them the scent of ripe fruit soon to be harvested.

  Vierna noticed something. Her vision felt strange. A faint aura shimmered around everyone she looked at. Confused, she turned her eyes to Lina. She had dozed off, exhaustion from constant vigilance finally showing. Her aura glowed in two colors—white and yellow—that coalesced together but never truly mixed.

  She glanced at the others. Their auras showed only a single color, white, differing only in density.

  “Is something wrong?” Mirelle asked, noticing how Vierna kept glancing at the people around her.

  “Uh… nothing, senior. I’m fine,” she said.

  She slumped against the side of the wagon, trying to sleep too, since the journey would take a while.

  ‘Hmph.’

  At the sound, Vierna opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings to find where it came from. Seeing nothing, and thinking she might have misheard, she closed her eyes again.

  ‘I’m stuck here trying to fix this mess, and you went ahead and flirted with my wife. Not fair.’

  “Senior, did you say something?” Vierna asked, opening her eyes to look at Mirelle.

  “Uh, what? Nothing… I’m trying to sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead when we reach Rolbart.”

  “I see… sorry.”

  Vierna closed her eyes again.

  ‘I just want to swap with her for a while. Why is she so stingy?’

  This time Vierna didn’t open her eyes. It seemed that only she could hear the voice.

  Moony, is that you? she spoke silently.

  ‘Of course it’s me. Who else would be trapped in this miserable place?’ the voice replied.

  Vierna was surprised. This was the first time Moony had spoken to her without dragging her into Moony’s domain. It felt like Moony was there with her in the wagon but directly talks to her brain, just like how Halwen’s Communication Rune before.

  How can you speak to me directly? This never happened before.

  ‘What do you mean? I try to talk to you all the time and you keep ignoring me. As a conscious you’re lame and mean, Vierna.’

  Moony, wait— I only heard you now. If I’d known you were talking, do you think I would have ignored you?

  ‘Hmph. Don’t ask me, meanie…’

  Vierna laughed inwardly, irritated. Oh come on, who can ignore you, my cute little spirit?

  For a moment, there was only silence—the faint hum of mana in her ears, the sound of her own breathing, and the steady beat of her heart. Then the familiar, playful voice slipped back into her mind.

  ‘Hmmm… I guess you’re right. Hehe. Praise me more, Vierna,’ the voice chimed in a sing-song tone.

  Vierna scratched her head in confusion. Dealing with Moony was like handling an overly clingy child who, somehow, also managed her inner world. Yet the question lingered—maybe Moony had something to do with her new vision.

  Hey Moony, do you know why I’m seeing those aura things around people?

  ‘How should I know, dumdum? I am you. When you don’t know something, I also don’t know. This is why you should read more. Honestly, switch up with me sometimes—you’re too lazy to steer this body.’

  Come on, you know I do my best. And besides, we still don’t know how to switch.

  ‘You should have asked Halwen back then. I tried to tell you about it, but you were stubborn as a mule!’

  All right already. We’ll ask Halwen after we’re done with this mission. Are you fine with that?

  ‘Hmph. You’re just delaying it because you want to hog Lina for yourself.’

  Moony, we’re the same. If Lina loves me, she would also love you. Why are you being like this?

  Silence. Moony didn’t answer, but Vierna felt her sulking inside her world.

  Hey, what do you think those white things around people are? Vierna asked.

  ‘Hmmm… I don’t know. But remember what Halwen said — that people’s spirits usually linger in their bodies? Maybe we’re starting to see those spirits.’

  Vierna thought about it. Halwen had said that spirit and body were two intertwined entities. Yet the Kagemori could split them, letting their spirit wander the physical realm. Maybe she was starting to do the same.

  Hey… can you wander off from my body?

  ‘What? I don’t know how to get out from here.’ Moony complained.

  Hmm… but why am I starting to hear you? I didn’t back then.

  ‘Maybe the thing with Lina helped?’

  Vierna paused, the thought lingering longer than she wanted it to. Helped how, exactly? To heal? To forget? Or was it just another way to keep herself from falling apart? She rubbed her arm absentmindedly, unsure whether she even wanted an answer.

  Maybe. I don’t know for sure. We should ask Halwen about it, but maybe we should skip the confession part?

  ‘Yes. Lina already told us to keep it as secret, right?’

  Yes. Well, it seems we’ll be on the road for a while. I’am sleepy, I want to sleep now. Vierna told Moony.

  ‘Lazy ass.’