William pulled Yvonne and knelt directly, confessing everything without holding back any detail.
Their choice really caught Loren off guard. He had already thought about how to handle them, but William coming to surrender directly saved Loren quite a bit of trouble.
"Master Mentor, this is all our fault. I failed to control him; he acted on his own, and no one else in the family had anything to do with it… The family will do everything in its power to compensate you…"
William's body trembled, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face. He pressed his forehead to the ground, not daring to look up.
"Master Mentor, we truly knew nothing about any of this… If I had known, I would have killed him before he could act…"
Yvonne also bowed her head, pleading.
"Come here, both of you. Stretch out your heads and let me take a swing first."
"Yes…"
Hearing Loren's words, William didn't hesitate at all. He didn't even ask whether this would be enough to spare the Chailros Family.
The Requiem fell. William squeezed his eyes shut. His intuition screamed a frantic warning, yet he didn't move an inch—until the Requiem pressed against his neck. The icy touch made him suspect his head had already been severed.
"Alright, get up."
Loren withdrew the blade. But there was no way he'd be that merciful. He did swing that cut—except the damage was stored by the Justice Card.
If they ever truly tried to harm him in the future, Loren could release the damage instantly. That was far more effective than those curse-based control methods.
Curses could be lifted, but stored damage couldn't be undone.
"Since you reported internally this time, I'll spare you. But my anger still needs an outlet. Call all your family members here—each one gets one swing of my blade."
Loren's approach matched the rules of the Church of the God of Vows and Wind: if someone committed a major offense, their family would be implicated even if they truly knew nothing—unless someone turned them in.
Still, Loren decided to play it safe. He'd take a swing at each of them first.
"Yes…"
William had no idea whether Loren's "one swing" would be the same as what he just endured, but he had no choice. Even if Loren wanted to kill him outright, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Alright, go back now and inform them. I'll come by tonight—on my own."
"Yes…"
William stood up and left with Yvonne.
To be honest, he felt a glimmer of relief. Since Loren said it would be handled privately, that meant it wouldn't be dragged into the open.
That left some room to maneuver. His only task now was to execute Loren's orders with full force.
"That swing couldn't have just been to scare us. I suspect the Master Mentor's goal is to imprint some kind of mark on every member of our family. He might use it to monitor us later, or even directly control our lives…"
"But we have no choice…"
On the way back, William explained things to Yvonne.
He took Lane's corpse with him. When he got home, he placed Lane's body in the house where they'd lived as children, then used Return to Earth to make it vanish.
William couldn't even hold a funeral for him.
After that, he informed the rest of the family. The elderly patriarch, after declaring William the new head of the family, died from sheer anger.
Under William's orders, everyone else knelt in an open space on the family estate, waiting for Loren's arrival. They even sent word for scattered family members to rush back immediately, claiming something urgent had come up.
No wonder this family had become the most powerful nobles in a place where nobility had the least influence. They truly understood how things worked.
They knew perfectly well they were just ordinary nobles—before a true behemoth, they were nothing at all.
…
"Paqina, you've earned a great merit this time!"
After William left, Loren hoisted Paqina up on the spot, catching her completely off guard.
"If it weren't for you, I don't know when I would've found Lane. I'd probably have run into a lot more trouble."
Loren, brimming with excitement, wrapped his arms around Paqina from behind and pinched her cheek.
"Huh?"
Paqina hadn't expected Loren to be so thrilled. Her face instantly flushed red. Watching from the side, Naclis's expression turned increasingly icy.
"Master Mentor, please maintain some composure."
"Oh, sorry. I got a little carried away."
Loren released Paqina, then cupped Naclis's face and planted a firm kiss on her cheek.
This time, Naclis was just as taken aback. She felt dizzy with excitement but still tried her best not to show anything.
She steadied herself against the chair, barely managing not to collapse.
After kissing Naclis, Loren finally took a proper look at the Sun Card in his hand. Its face matched exactly what he had drawn before: a figure standing on a high vantage point, backlit by the sun, their face impossible to make out.
[Tarot Card: Sun]
Effect: Makes it easier for others to believe what the user says. If enough people believe, what is said can become reality.
Description: He stands on the moral high ground, bathed in sunlight, and I cannot see his face.
Loren summoned the Unabandoned Casket and placed the Sun Card inside.
High Priestess (reversed curse), Strength (bursting power), Hermit (invisibility), Justice (stored damage), High Tower (Void-walking), Sun (beguilement), Judgment (damage boost), World (recording)—Loren now possessed eight Tarot cards. He was one step closer to collecting them all.
"Unknowingly, I've gathered this many. It's time to put collecting all the Tarot cards on the agenda…"
Many of these cards had come to Loren by chance, as if fate itself was helping him obtain them.
Otherwise, the Tarot card holders were scattered across the land and frequently changed hands. It would've been nearly impossible for Loren to find them all.
"Is there anything you want? I need to properly reward you."
After putting the cards away, Loren grabbed Paqina by the shoulders and said.
"But you've already given me so much…"
Paqina felt that, compared to the help Loren had given her, what she had done for him was nothing.
The debt of gratitude was too great. Paqina didn't know how she could ever repay Loren—even if he wanted someone to willingly sacrifice themselves, she wouldn't hesitate.
"Come on, we're all family. Don't be so distant."
"Well…"
Paqina hesitated for a moment. She glanced at the enraptured Naclis, and suddenly realized what she wanted.
"Then… give me a kiss too…"
After blurting out that request, Paqina felt a little embarrassed, but she ultimately chose this reward. She was gradually becoming aware of her own feelings.
She wasn't jealous about Loren kissing Naclis—after all, she knew very well what Naclis's position was.
"Alright."
Loren didn't refuse. He gently pressed a kiss to Paqina's cheek. Seeing this, Naclis snapped out of her daze and instantly bristled like an angry cat.
---
