The room fell completely silent.

Kael was frozen mid-motion, statued in the middle of her attempt to shake off Selka. Selka herself was wide-eyed, her arms remaining locked with Kael’s as neither of them moved an inch.

Ilya sat beside me, absolutely awestruck.

Cass bent forward again and set her cup down slowly on the table. The soft clink was the only sound in the room, aside from the gentle swaying of the curtains at the open windows as the night air washed in.

[In case anyone could see me... I’m letting you know I don’t know who this guy is.]

’Dude, I’m the only one you know.’

"I see," Cass replied calmly.

She seemed like the only sane person in the room.

[This girl’s insane.]

Nexar seemed to second my conclusion.

"...Regressed?" Ilya finally asked, her voice hesitant and uncertain.

"As in, going back in time?" Kael added, her expression confused.

"I would say ’coming back’ in time."

Ilya and Kael looked at each other, then back at me. Kael seemed to have completely forgotten she was still in an arm lock with Selka. So did Selka, apparently.

"He’s kidding us, isn’t he?" Kael concluded after a moment.

I wouldn’t say that.

"Seems like he needs more disciplinary actions," Ilya said, adjusting her glasses with one hand.

At this rate, I might buy her new ones — tighter ones.

Besides, I had a strong feeling the "disciplinary" term she just used was just a cover-up for the long torture session she was already planning in her head.

"Ilya, take Kael and wait outside with Selka," Cass said, picking up her cup again and taking another slow sip.

She might as well just take the cup with the saucer and put it back on the table after finishing. Save herself the trouble of constantly picking it up and putting it down.

"But..." Kael started to protest.

Selka lifted her off the couch like she was a small, unruly cat and started walking toward the door.

Kael was so short that her legs didn’t even reach the ground after Selka lifted her. They just dangled in the air uselessly.

"Hey! Put me down!" Kael kicked her legs in the air, flailing like a child having a tantrum, but Selka carried her away without any visible effort.

Ilya stood up from the couch gracefully and gave a slight, respectful bow to the Duchess. Then she glanced at me for just a second, a look that promised we’d have another conversation later, before turning and leaving.

The door clicked shut behind them.

And then it was just me and Cass.

Alone.

A soft click of the teacup as it was placed on the saucer was the last thing I heard before Cass blurred and appeared before me, pinning me to the couch.

Her face leaned close to mine as her leg rose up and rested beside my head, pressing me back against the backrest of the couch.

Her long red dress flowed seamlessly with the movement, and her pale leg peeked out from the slit.

She stood balanced on one leg, her ember eyes locked directly with my golden ones.

My grip on Blood Raven tightened instinctively.

I shouldn’t have allowed her to get this close in the first place. At this range, nothing would help me escape if she decided to snap my neck.

"Don’t play games with me," she said, her voice tight with intimidation. Her teeth were clenched, and heat unconsciously emanated from her body, making the air around me uncomfortably hot.

"What? You don’t believe that I regressed?" I asked.

I mean, it was easy to prove that I’d regressed, even if she said she didn’t believe me.

"You regressing explains how you knew Selka and could use Aura Slash," she said, leaning even closer. Her features darkened as her ember eyes gleamed more crimson, and the air around me became even hotter.

I was pretty sure she was currently a seventh-circle fire mage. The heat radiating from her was oppressive.

"But I don’t care how you know about any of it," she continued coldly.

She extended her hand, and—

Vroomm!

A blazing sword blurred into her grip, igniting the room along its path. Fire rose on the polished floor and carpets, spreading rapidly.

Then, the next instant, it vanished. Vanished as if there had been no flame at all. The damage to any of the surfaces was zero. Perfectly controlled.

The sheath of the sword slid off by itself and fell to the ground with a heavy thunk as the blade revealed itself, reflecting the white light from the ceiling.

She twirled it masterfully, the motion fluid and practiced. Then the blade came to rest against the skin of my neck.

I could feel the slight cut immediately, a sharp, stinging sensation. A crimson drop of blood slid down from where the blade met my skin.

I lifted my eyes from looking at my neck to meeting her ember eyes directly.

"Then what else would you need me to answer?" I asked, keeping my voice as calm as possible.

I mean, there was nothing else I could do at this point.

"Tell me the truth," she demanded, her grip tightening on the sword. I could feel it cut slightly deeper into my skin. "You’re from the Netherworld, aren’t you?"

I would die at this rate.

"No, I am not," I said firmly, meeting her gaze without flinching.

"How do I believe that?" she asked, her voice sharp.

"It’s you who suspected it. It should be you who gives me a way to prove it as well," I replied, trying to use wordplay because I genuinely didn’t know how to prove someone wasn’t from the Netherworld.

In fact, all those who’d come from the Netherworld in my past life had simply announced they were from the Netherworld before declaring war. They didn’t look much different from humans either. Of course, there were some who had visible features like horns or tails... but they were not everyone.

Cass looked thoughtful for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"You don’t know what an ingot is or how it ended up in your belongings either," she said, pressing her lower lip with her teeth.

"If I did, you would’ve known from Voidmirror," I pointed out. "And isn’t that proof enough that I’m not from the Netherworld?"

My tone was a bit rushed now, the urgency creeping in as I felt more blood sliding down my neck.

She moved back suddenly. Her slender leg reverted back beneath her red dress as she stood properly on both feet again.

"I’m not convinced yet," she said, looking at Blood Raven’s chain again.

Why was she so interested in that sword’s chain?

She’d shown the same interest in Blood Raven in my past life too.. asking if there were other katanas made with the same design. It seemed like the ingot was the trigger point this time. Understandable, since she’d never seen my ingot in the past life.

"But since you said you know the future, I’ll keep you around," she said finally.

So basically, she was saying: You’re not a prisoner, but I’ll keep you around since I’m not convinced yet.

"Sure. I’m glad to be of service to the Duchess," I said, smiling as if there wasn’t blood actively dripping from my neck.

She looked at me for a second, then sighed.

"Your friends are waiting for you in the guest hall," she said as she walked back to her couch, picking up her cup. The tea inside it warmed up again, and traces of aroma rose in the form of steam.

So Selka did bring them here, huh? Guess even the user can’t lie in the voidmirror along with the target.

Guess I was heading to the third floor instead of back to prison.

I slowly stood up, feeling the dizziness starting to creep in from the blood loss.