After the conversation ended, Hosanna fell silent as if lost in old memories. Since Yuder didn’t ask another question, the room quickly fell into quiet.

It was then.

A small knock, as though breaking the silence, echoed through the room. Hosanna, who had been sitting motionless, flinched as if snapping out of his trance.

"Yuder. Do you think you’ll need more time? It seems like it’s about time to head out."

As soon as Hosanna realized that it was Kanna who knocked, he immediately felt a sense of relief. The anxiety that had lingered in his eyes soon faded.

This meant that Hosanna still didn’t fully grasp what abilities Kanna possessed, but despite that, he felt a considerable amount of trust. It also meant that Kanna had done a commendable job.

Yuder stood up from his seat, brushing himself off.

“No. It’s done. I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Uh...”

Hosanna hastily grabbed the hem of Yuder’s clothes.

“My... my request...”

Filled with fear and guilt, Hosanna couldn’t even meet Yuder’s eyes, and the grip on Yuder’s clothing was so tight that his fingers turned white.

In reality, Yuder could easily shake off Hosanna’s hand, but after a brief silence, he spoke.

“My thoughts haven’t changed. But I’m not sure about the General’s thoughts. There may be more to learn based on what you said, so I’ll talk about it later.”

To be honest, Yuder assumed everyone would share his opinion, but there was no need to provoke Hosanna by saying it too harshly.

"...Understood."

Yuder looked at the top of Hosanna's head as he released his grip on Yuder’s clothing, his gaze lost in thought.

Nahan was the one who came to confirm that Gai and Duil were alive by visiting the Cavalry himself. He must have understood the Cavalry’s policy of not easily killing people, so he likely suspected that Hosanna was still alive, but he hadn’t sought him out until now.

Was that all? Even when he had met Cavalry members in the capital, it was said that Hosanna’s well-being wasn’t even mentioned. Although the situation was urgent, considering the relationship between those two, it was hard to view that as a normal reaction.

Hosanna had been with Nahan for a long time before becoming an Awakener, and he even saved his life at a critical moment. If Nahan had to choose just one Awakener who was like a “true brother” to him, it would have been Hosanna. Yet, Nahan didn’t seem to consider Hosanna all that important.

‘Even when I heard about Hosanna being with Nahan and the Star of Nagran before they joined, I thought it was simply a relationship of a long-standing master and servant.’

A scale-like emotion. And their relationship.

Could it all be because of the Sage’s brainwashing? Or...

Yuder spoke, still lost in these half-formed thoughts.

“By the way, where was that great family that so looked down on the bastard born of the Southern people? I don’t think I’ve heard about that part yet.”

“Ah…”

For the first time, Hosanna, who had never hesitated when asked a question, froze.

“That...”

“Why?”

“...”

“Is there some problem?”

“...That’s... unrelated to the request I made.”

This was the first outright refusal.

‘Not only is it not about something else, but now, suddenly refusing to answer here?’

Yuder observed Hosanna’s face closely and asked again.

“If it’s possible, would you still not answer?”

Hosanna kept his mouth tightly shut. Cold sweat began to form on his slightly furrowed brow. His expression seemed to reflect hesitation, or maybe someone suppressing pain. His fingers trembled ever so slightly, and his body twitched here and there.

It was a faint, but increasingly growing bubbling, like water about to boil.

“If that’s the case, I must say... I…”

“Wait. I understand. You don’t have to answer.”

Yuder raised his hand, halting Hosanna before he could speak. At the same time, the faint reactions rising from Hosanna’s body stopped altogether.

Yuder was now certain.

“You can’t answer, can you?”

“...”

“A vow?”

“I can’t answer.”

“Does Nahan have something like that too?”

“I don’t know about that.”

The answers to the two questions were different. But that alone was enough for Yuder to piece together the response.

“I see. Understood. I won’t ask any more about it.”

Yuder left the room. Kanna, who had been waiting, glanced inside the room before quickly approaching.

“Is it over?”

“Yeah.”

“What was it that Hosanna wanted to tell you?”

“You probably already predicted it.”

“Ah. From /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the way you’re saying it, it must be about Nahan.”

Kanna easily deduced the answer.

“Was he trying to persuade him to surrender? Or just asking for his life?”

“I’m not sure. It seems like he just wants him to be spared, if possible.”

“Greedy. If we spare Nahan, then... Does he want Nahan to be spared too?”

Kanna wrinkled her nose and laughed. Without waiting for Yuder’s answer, she immediately answered herself.

“Someone like Nahan would rather die than live. He’d never say he didn’t want to die.”

“I think the same.”

Yuder briefly agreed, and Kanna burst out laughing.

“So, what did you say?”

Yuder relayed everything he had discussed with Hosanna. Upon hearing the past details that had been uncovered during the investigation, Kanna’s face showed a hint of excitement.

At the end, after mentioning the name of the family Hosanna had ‘been unable to mention,’ Yuder let out a small sigh.

“This is all I found out today. What do you think?”

“Hm... I think the idea of someone opening their mouth themselves is sometimes better than trying to extract information a hundred times on my own.”

Kanna mentioned this first. She muttered with a slightly aggrieved expression.

“Since I read information, not thoughts, it’s really hard to read such old memories, no matter how important they are... But thanks to the information you gave me today, I think it’ll be a bit easier from now on.”

After saying that, Kanna lowered her voice and began to list the tasks they would need to accomplish.

“I’ll try to see if I can figure out the family name that’s tied to a vow. I’m not sure if I can break through that vow with my ability, but I’ll give it a try. As for the relationship with Nahan, if I try probing in a more varied way, I might be able to get a more detailed answer to the part you found suspicious. And…”

She paused for a moment, counting off with her fingers.

“The brainwashing order that was likely applied to Nahan.”

Kanna’s eyes sharpened.

“I really think it’s the part that says ‘for the Star of Nagran.’ That would explain why, unlike others, he didn’t follow the Sage completely, but still remained loyal to the Star of Nagran.”

Yuder agreed with that reasoning. The Sage likely used indirect brainwashing because he hadn’t fully established a trust-based relationship with Nahan back then.

At that time, the Sage would have viewed Hosanna as a much more useful individual than Nahan. But Hosanna was Nahan’s servant.

If Nahan had decided to leave the Sage’s side, Hosanna would have followed him no matter what. This was an absolute truth that couldn’t be broken, even if Hosanna was in a brainwashed state, fully trusting the Sage.

To stop Hosanna, the Sage would have had to ensure that Nahan wouldn’t leave, but Nahan hadn’t easily fallen for the Sage’s control like the others. The Sage must have been quite impatient.

‘And after realizing Nahan’s abilities were better than expected, I imagine he became even more urgent.’

“Even if it was indirect, I’m sure it seemed fine at the time, right? I think the start of the brainwashing was when the Sage made Nahan choose the name of the Star of Nagran.”

Kanna shared her own speculation as Yuder thought deeply.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. There’s no better way to instill responsibility than naming someone. I know from experience, because I raised animals before, and the ones I named had a much stronger attachment and affection than the ones I didn’t.”

“…Responsibility, huh.”

Yuder had never thought of naming something as related to responsibility.

As Yuder pondered Kanna’s words, the word ‘name’ led him to recall a man who had once named him.