"I’ve done as you said... Is my safety guaranteed... now?"

"Excellent work."

Gabriel and Cornelia sifted through the piles of recorded evidence handed over by the diner waitress.

For the past month, she had met with Lukas Meinhardt in secret, recording every conversation they shared. Lukas had too much free time on his hands, making the meetings a nightly occurrence.

Because Lukas showed up so consistently, it had become effortless for the Revenant Knights to keep track of him. Piece by piece, the recordings painted the full picture of his involvement in the illegal smuggling of state-issued weapons.

Cornelia clicked through the files and let out a low whistle. "This is enough to get him executed twice over."

Gabriel nodded once. "You’ve done well. Very well."

The waitress swallowed, her eyes alternating anxiously between them. "So... I’m safe now? You’ll keep your promise?"

"You’ll be relocated. No one will trace this back to you."

"...Thank you."

The waitress was a Glassheart, according to Julius. Gabriel had no way to verify it himself. But if Julius said it, then it was true. And if it was true, then the woman’s fate had already been sealed.

Julius would eliminate her.

Slash——!

And with no hesitation, Julius delivered the finishing blow. He wiped the blood from his metal blade indifferently, as if he had simply erased a stain rather than ended a life.

Hans-Peter, standing closest to the scene, swallowed before mustering the courage to speak.

"If I may ask, Mister Schneider... why kill her? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to the Schneiders, specifically Dream Industries, if she were sent to the mines instead?"

Julius didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he lifted his head and glanced at Gabriel, as if silently checking whether he should bother explaining himself at all.

Only then did he speak.

"Do you truly believe this cycle of oppression and forced advancement is beneficial?"

Hans-Peter blinked. "It certainly is to the Schneiders, sir."

He wasn’t wrong. Because of Glasshearts, toxic minerals could be harvested. Because of their forced labor, Dream Industries had an endless supply of Glass Shards. As a result, weapons continued to evolve, and Germany’s military strength continued to rise.

Julius sheathed his blade. "I’m not talking about the Schneiders. I’m talking about Germany."

"Pardon?"

"What happens when even the Revenant Knights can’t keep up with the advancement of these weapons? When something emerges that even you cannot defeat? When power grows without a counterbalance?"

"...."

"It becomes a race," Julius continued. "And the one who reaches the summit first becomes the absolute ruler."

He stepped away from the corpse.

"Such weapons should never exist for the sake of everyone."

In that future, it was the Glasshearts who had won the race.

"Power unchecked becomes delusion," Julius said. "Delusion becomes ambition. And ambition, when backed by a weapon no one can oppose, becomes tyranny. Whether it belongs to a state or to a race... the outcome is the same."

Hans-Peter lowered his eyes. "So eliminating her... preserves that balance?"

"It prevents the scale from tipping," Julius replied. "Germany must advance. The Schneiders must prosper. The Directorate must maintain order. But none of that matters if a single weapon, a single being, becomes so powerful that even the institutions meant to regulate it fall behind."

He looked at them all, sheathing the blade on his waist.

"That is why she dies here. Not for the Schneiders. Not for Dream Industries. But for Germany."

Everything he did was for the German Republic. A noble outcome. A duty above blood and above comfort. And as he spoke those words, it became clear why he was a Schneider.

Gabriel lowered his head in acknowledgment. Cornelia straightened her posture, almost unconsciously. Even Hans-Peter, who moments earlier had dared to question the logic behind killing the waitress, now fell silent.

"...."

The gleam in Julius’s eyes crushed any argument before it could form.

Truly, the Schneider blood ran deep with him.

No one present could deny that Julius Sebastian Schneider was a noble among nobles.

And no one dared to challenge that certainty.

"If you’ll excuse me, I have a lesson plan to prepare for tomorrow."

With that, Julius turned and left the scene.

* * *

"So, living things need three important things to survive. Can either of you tell me one?"

"Water," Helga said, raising her hand even though she did not need to.

"Good. That’s one."

Alina thought for a moment, then looked up at him. "Air?"

"Exactly. And the last one is food." Julius drew a small triangle on their worksheet. "When you remember these three, it becomes easier to understand why plants grow differently, or why animals live in different places."

Alina blinked. "Teacher, do plants eat food?"

"Not like we do. They make their food using sunlight. It’s called photosynthesis." Julius held up one of their potted plants from the windowsill and placed it between them. "This plant is making its own dinner right now."

Helga’s eyes widened. "So it’s eating the sun?"

"In a way, yes."

The two girls exchanged amazed looks. Alina gently poked a leaf as if testing if it were truly alive at that very moment.

"Both of you did well today. You’ll surely do great in your science test tomorrow."

He did not smile widely, but the slight change in his expression was enough to make the twins brighten.

They scrambled for their notebooks, eager to show him their new drawings of sunlight arrows and green leaves. Julius adjusted their notes and corrected their spelling.

Downstairs, the sound of a cabinet opening and closing echoed. Lukas was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, giving the children space for their study time. Julius had arrived later than usual, yet Lukas had not questioned it at all. These days, he welcomed the teacher’s presence.

Because tonight, Lukas had pressing matters to address.

One of the surviving Glasshearts from the mercenary group he had once been part of had been killed last night.

Lukas needed to investigate. He needed to confirm if this was a message or a hunt.

And with his wife still not home, working late yet again, he found himself relying on Julius more and more. The teacher was dependable. The girls adored him. Their grades had improved because of him.

"Teacher Jeremy," Lukas called from the doorway, putting on his coat, "would it be alright if I leave the girls with you for a bit? I received a call that there was a problem at the warehouse I work in."

In Lukas’s mind, there was no danger in leaving them under his care for a short while.

"Speicherstadt?"

"Ah, yes." Lukas nodded. "I work there as a supervisor. One of the shipments was mishandled, so they need me to check it. It shouldn’t take long."

"I see," Julius said. "Go ahead. I’ll keep an eye on them."

Lukas glanced at his daughters. "Girls, behave. Listen to Teacher Jeremy."

"Yes, Daddy," the twins replied in unison.

He smiled at the sight of them seated at their desk with Julius standing behind them like a guardian. He could handle the crisis at the warehouse without worrying about the children.

"Thank you again."

"It’s no trouble."

Julius watched the door for a moment, ensuring Lukas was gone. Only then did he place the notebook down, his expression shifting into a cold gleam.

"Alright," he said. "Where were we?"

Just like that, Julius Sebastian Schneider found himself alone inside the target’s home, without a single pair of adult eyes watching him.

"...."

It was time to investigate.