To even gain an inkling of Joachim Pascal Beißwenger’s whereabouts, Julius had to sift through his memory. There was another individual connected to that catastrophe who had played a decisive role in the Triplet Tower incident.

Only one name came to mind.

"Emil Henry Bauer..."

The Triplet Tower incident earned its name from the structure itself. The Aurelian Tower was built as a triad of skyscrapers fused together and connected at multiple levels by reinforced bridges.

Beneath it was the Central Plaza, a commercial hub that was always crowded, especially during school field trips and weekend gatherings. When the Plaza had been bombed during the crisis, the entire foundation weakened.

Those trapped inside had no chance to escape as the collapse began. The towers fell inward, crushing everything beneath and sealing the fate of every victim who had not already died from the initial blast.

The bomber responsible for the Plaza had been Emil Henry Bauer.

Julius remembered that fact clearly, for in his previous life he had hunted Bauer relentlessly.

Day after day, year after year, he had tracked every breadcrumb that led back to him.

His pursuit had been driven by a fixation so raw that even the Directorate had quietly turned away from questioning it.

* * *

2158.

"Uncle, I’m going!"

"Going where? It’s a Saturday, isn’t it?"

"Did you forget? Today’s the field trip!"

"Is that so?"

Julius reached into his pocket and tried to hand his niece some allowance. She was only eight, yet she gently pushed his hand back with a small shake of her head.

"It’s okay, Uncle. I still have some of the allowance you gave me before. I didn’t spend everything."

"Are you sure?" Julius tilted his head. "Most kids your age take any chance they get to grab money from their uncles."

His niece giggled at that. "It’s really fine. I know Uncle works hard. Just... get me a nice birthday present instead?"

Money was not something they struggled with, but compared to what the Schneiders used to be, it was a far cry from their former life.

His niece had grown up like a princess, sheltered from everything ugly in the world. All of that disappeared the day her father and mother died.

The world had changed too suddenly for her to keep up, and the trauma remained hidden behind the small smiles she tried so hard to show.

Julius, who had taken on the responsibility of raising her, never wanted her to know what he truly did for a living. He worked as an officer in the Directorate, putting his life on the line almost every day, yet he repeatedly told her he only worked a simple office job.

He wanted her childhood, whatever remained of it, to stay as innocent as possible.

"I’ll drive you."

"Mhm. But... do you even know where it is?"

"...."

"The Central Plaza," she said with a sigh. "Jeez, Uncle. I told you already."

"Right, right..."

Julius guided her into the passenger seat and buckled her in properly. As he tightened the seatbelt, Julius realized something. Field trips weren’t free. Yet he didn’t remember paying anything.

"Lara," he began, "Central Plaza has an entrance fee. Quite a pricey one. Did the school not ask for payment?"

"A-Ah. Uhm... N-No?" she said, eyes darting away.

The little girl was lying badly. He didn’t even need SIBYL to know.

"How much was it?"

"...."

"Lara Margarethe Schneider, how much?"

"T-Thirty euros..."

"Haa..." Julius exhaled, then crouched down so he was eye level with her. "And did you pay for it yourself?"

The little girl nodded weakly. Julius placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he said, "what do you think of me? Do you really think I’m that poor that I can’t afford thirty euros?"

The truth was the opposite. Julius had more than enough to retire comfortably and raise Lara all the way through university without working another day.

But she didn’t know that. After all, Julius lived quite frugally and never spent money unless it was necessary. Most of his money went to raising Lara instead.

"Uncle isn’t that poor," he continued. "Next time, just tell me. Do I have to buy a new car just to prove it to you?"

He could do it. He could walk into a dealership and drive out with the newest model in Germany and still remain wealthy. But that was beside the point.

"Ah, no! Uncle!" Lara quickly grabbed his sleeve. "I’m sorry, okay? I just... I just didn’t want to..."

"Didn’t want to what?"

She lowered her head, clutching the hem of her shirt.

"I just didn’t want to be a burden... when Uncle is already taking care of me..."

"...."

A burden.

That was what she thought of herself.

He let out a slow breath and reached out, resting his hand on her trembling head. Lara flinched at first, but when Julius gently ruffled her hair, she relaxed.

"Lara," he said. "Listen to me. You are not a burden. You have never been a burden."

She blinked up at him with glossy eyes as if she were guilty.

"You’re my family," Julius continued. "Taking care of you is not some obligation I’m forced to do. It’s... the one part of my life I don’t regret."

Her lips trembled. "But Uncle works so hard—"

"And if I have to work harder, I will," he cut in. "That’s not your worry. Thirty euros won’t change anything. A hundred won’t. A thousand won’t. You just have to enjoy your childhood."

He flicked her forehead. Lara pouted her lips, covering the red mark.

"That’s the only job you have," Julius continued. "Understand?"

"...Okay."

That was perhaps the last conversation he ever had with the little girl.

Because while Julius spent his weekend with no Directorate assignments, everything changed in the span of a heartbeat.

He had left the television running in the background, expecting nothing more than mundane weekend programming.

——Breaking news. We interrupt all scheduled programming for an urgent special report. Approximately five minutes ago, authorities confirmed that a commercial aircraft had crashed into the East Aurelian Tower of the Aurelian Tower Complex. Emergency response teams have been mobilized, and initial footage shows extensive damage to multiple floors of the tower.

Julius froze.

——We are also receiving unverified reports of a coordinated explosion in the Central Plaza directly beneath the towers. The plaza was hosting several school groups and weekend visitors at the time of the incident. Emergency personnel on site are describing the structural integrity of the area as severely compromised. Evacuation efforts are ongoing, but authorities are warning that additional collapses may occur.

The anchor’s voice twitched, and so did Julius’s fingers.

——We repeat. Both the East Aurelian Tower and the Central Plaza have sustained major damage. Casualties are expected, though official numbers have not yet been released—

The rest of the sentence distorted into static.

Slowly, Julius reached for the remote. He turned up the volume as the live footage cut in. Smoke billowed into the sky as flames engulfed the metropolis.

"...!"

Julius moved before he realized it. He grabbed his keys and rushed out of the apartment without turning off the lights or locking the door.

He drove with a single thought running through his mind. Lara was there. The child who had insisted she did not want to burden him. He pushed the car through gridlocked roads.

"Get the fuck out of the way!"

When he could no longer drive, he abandoned the car and ran. He pushed past barricades, ignored officers yelling at him, and forced his way through waves of fleeing people.

By the time he reached the ruins, the Aurelian Tower had already collapsed. The Central Plaza was nothing but mangled steel and dust.

The smoke stung his eyes, but even without seeing clearly, he knew the truth that waited for him among the ruined concrete.

He pushed through the debris like a man possessed, ignoring the shouts around him until a rescuer managed to pull him back. The moment the man recognized the former Chancellor’s son, his grip faltered.

Julius stood and grabbed the rescuer by the shoulder.

"H-Hey... she’s not here, right? You pulled her out already, didn’t you? Tell me she’s safe."

"Sir... please calm down—"

"Answer me," Julius said. "L-Lara Margarethe Schneider... A little blonde girl about this tall.. Came here for a school field trip... Did you take her out earlier? Did she—Did she make it out?"

Another rescuer approached.

"Sir... we found the group she was with. The collapse was too sudden. They’re still retrieving bodies from the lower levels, but... the section where the children were gathered suffered the heaviest damage."

Julius felt the world tilt.

It took an entire day before the authorities released the final list of casualties.

"...Ah."

And among the dead was Lara.

’I just didn’t want to be a burden... when Uncle is already taking care of me...’

Ever since that day, Julius finally realized he was truly alone.

* * *

A horrible memory he never wanted to remember.

A nightmare he wished had never happened, yet one he could never forget.

Knock, knock——

"Yes?"

"Emil Henry Bauer?"

"Ah, yes, that’s me. How can I help you?"

Julius’s eyes gleamed beyond the doorstep. "Do you know a Joachim Pascal Beißwenger?"

Emil’s entire posture locked. "P-Pardon?"

"Don’t make me repeat myself."