As he carries her to the house, Sincir asks No about the details regarding her father’s disappearance, including everything she has uncovered in her investigation thus far.

  Unfortunately, she is not able to tell him much, other than the fact there have been multiple disappearances across Elderspire recently, having started a couple of months before her father’s carriage was found empty one morning, having never arrived home after he left the city’s citadel.

  “He always came home te… But he never slept out, so I knew something was wrong when he wasn’t home in the morning,” No murmurs over his shoulder, her voice a soft whisper next to his ear, “We couldn’t see each other for most of the day, but he always made a point of joining me for breakfast… He was the only family I had left, and now…”

  No swallows... If fact, she cried silently a couple of times throughout his questioning, but Sincir didn’t comment on it, allowing her to vent her emotions... After what happened, it is obvious she needs it.

  “I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll do what I can to find him… I can’t promise I’ll find him alive, but at least I’ll be able to give you closure, and stop the disappearances.”

  Well, he’ll have to think of a pce to start first, and of a way to keep himself from drawing attention, while investigating…

  “I… I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and it’s hard to tell because of the mist… But Mr. Sincir isn’t taking me home, is he?”

  Sincir chuckles. “You can drop the mister now, or I’ll be made fun of… But yes, I’m not taking you home... It’s best if you stay hidden, until everything is over.”

  “I understand… But please, at least Daniel should be told about my true fate… Once my cloak is found, I’ll probably be decred dead, and I dread of what might come of him, after he receives the news.”

  Daniel… Her knight, huh?

  “Are you sure they’ll recognize your cloak?” Sincir asks, while gncing at No over his shoulder, “I was certain they’d believe you to have skipped town, after your disappearance…”

  No shakes her head. “My cloak has the family crest on it, and Daniel would’ve recognized it, even if it didn’t… It’s why I left it there to begin with. I didn’t want him wondering about what might’ve come of me.”

  Sincir rolls his eyes; Giving the poor man the certainty of her death is arguable worse than the alternative, but at least it might’ve spared him from meeting his demise while searching for her… That is, if he decided to drop the search for No’s father after her death, which Sincir doubts would’ve happened, if he is indeed as loyal to her family as No seems to believe.

  “Say, would your family assets be seized if you’re decred dead?”

  “No… By Krador w, in the absence of a body, the kingdom would have to wait at least a year before seizing anything. That goes for my father, too, and I think it is why they’ve waited to deal with me.”

  “You still think they might be after your nds? Wouldn’t it have been easier to simply kill your father, if that was the case, rather than wait a whole year, and then kill you?”

  No shrugs. “I wouldn’t think anyone was after those cursed fields, if not for my father having mentioned having received an offer, a couple of weeks before his disappearance… Unfortunately, he never told me who it came from, only that he’d refuse it, and I was also unable to find any documents mentioning anything reted to the matter in his office.”

  “And since the nds are so undesirable, you think that makes it suspicious for someone to make an offer for them,” Sincir guesses.

  “Yes… The only reason my father held onto them is that he still believed they could be recovered one day. As for why whoever is behind this didn’t kill us outright, I can only assume they were smart enough to realize that if both father and daughter were assassinated, whoever jumped at the opportunity to buy their nds immediately after would most likely be considered the prime suspect.”

  “So, they had no choice but to go about it the roundabout way… If a whole year had gone by since your father’s disappearance, and the cause of your death was ruled as a suicide, then there would be more people who’d try getting your nds, since they’d be sold at a cheap price, and they’d be able to get away with the whole thing with having hands clean.”

  No’s eyes widen. “Does Mr. Sincir thinks they were counting on my suicide?!”

  “Maybe… I’d have a backup pn, if I was in their pce, but it isn’t much of a stretch to think you might take your life in view of your current circumstances… I mean, you actually tried today, and had you succeeded, it’d have probably helped them further their goals.”

  Still, this doesn’t expin the other disappearances, or why anyone would want the Barnett’s monster infested nds…

  Suddenly, No ughs humorlessly. “I see… So, my suicide was a part of their pn. Even had I not done it myself, they’d most likely have me killed me and then made it seen as thought I did it… People would not hesitate to believe it.”

  The fact he threatened her with this exact scenario doesn’t escape Sincir’s attention… Should he apologize? He is sure she also remembers it…

  “Thank you, Mr. Sincir, for bringing as much to my attention,” No continues, “I realize now there is nothing you could’ve said that would’ve made me want to live more than knowing how much my enemies would benefit from my death… Don’t worry, I no longer wish to end my own life. Even if I have to crawl and beg, I’ll see it to the end…”

  As he gnces over his shoulder, Sincir easily recognizes the fire which burns in No’s words and expression... How could he not, when he himself, was consume by revenge during a good period of his life?

  “I’ll live until the day I see them pay for their crimes…” No promises through a whisper, her voice now cold.

  Although she is shaking, he doesn’t comment on it… He knows that any words of advice he might have to say would be lost on her now.

  For revenge, she’ll walk through the dark, chasing the light at the end of the tunnel, and then realize only emptiness awaits her, on the other side… But unfortunately, there’s little he can do to stop her from following such a path, just as he cannot stop Eleanor from doing the same.

  They’ll have to see for themselves after reaching the end of the road they’ve chosen, if the blood spilled was worth it or not…

  It doesn’t take long for Sincir to spot the house after his talk with No was over. Even though they stopped to rest at a couple of alleys, he is panting heavily by the time he lowers No in front of their door.

  “Is this…?”

  “It’s my house, yes... Don’t worry, with the mist, I don’t think we were seen by anyone on our way here.”

  “Mr. Sincir looks very tired…”

  Sincir stops the process of deactivating the runes protecting the door in order to throw No a dirty look. “...I wonder why I might be tired, Ms. Barnett.”

  At least, she has the decency of blushing. “I’m sorry… Does Mr. Sincir live on his own?”

  Sincir shakes his head. “No, but they’re trust worthy enough to keep your presence a secret… Also, other than me, they’re all girls, so you don’t have to worry about your innocence.”

  Thinking of the previous day, Sincir chuckles to himself... After sleeping with Esme, he went on a date with her ,as promised, and most of their time was spent reading together under the sun, on a nearby public square...

  Meanwhile, Ena was busy with Rez’s house, deciding on what furniture she’ll need to order as well as making the necessary measurements… Apparently, Eleanor took the job of distracting the overactive half-goblin during the day by giving her a head start on the chores of the house she’ll be performing from now on...

  In the end, they all gathered together for dinner, after which Sincir helped the girls train their mana (though Ena is still not speaking with him), and then went up to sleep with Esme again...

  Since Eleanor said she was fine, he didn’t help her this time, even if he could tell she was lying, most likely because of Ena… Well, they’ll have to talk about what happened during their girl talk soon, but they didn’t really have the time, yet.

  Should he look for her, first thing in the morning…?

  As Sincir finally opens the door, he freezes for a brief moment, upon the sight of Eleanor standing in the corridor, with her arms crossed.

  Under her cold, striking blue eyes, he smiles tensely. “Eleanor… I thought you were long asleep.”

  “I should’ve been,” she murmurs while gncing over his shoulder and taking in No’s appearance, “But I happen to have lost my sleep, after being awaken by a certain worried girlfriend.”

  …Well, fuck. Since they haven’t been sleeping together for long, and Esme is a heavy sleeper, he thought he could sneak away without her noticing… Obviously, he was wrong.

  “Still, you didn’t have to wait for me awake… Anyway, since you’re already here, this is No, our newest guest. For her own protection, she’ll be staying with us for a while.”

  Under Eleanor’s gaze, No quickly curtsies, though somewhat awkwardly and while staring at her with slightly widened eyes (he doesn’t bme her, his nephilim is a sigh to behold, specially when angry).

  Eleanor sighs. “Sincir... Are you serious? After Esme and Rez, you’re bringing another girl in?”

  Gesturing for No to walk in (lest she is spotted in front of his door by the most stupid reason possible) Sincir rolls his eyes.

  “Look, I’ll take responsibility for Esme, but Rez had nothing to do with me, remember? Also, there is a good reason for it, this time…”

  Sincir stops speaking as he walks into their living room to find Esme and No staring at each other.

  No produces another slightly awkward curtsy, while Esme gnces from her to him… Rolled up on the couch as she is, and if the bags under her eyes are anything to go by, he can tell she was very unwilling to leave her bed in the middle of the night.

  “Esme, this is No. No, this is Esme, my girlfriend,” Sincir says, smiling apologetically as he does so.

  “He means concubine…” Esme corrects drily, “But anyway, I guess you’re the reason this idiot left our bed in the middle of the night...? Whatever it was that you were doing together, I hope it was worth it.”

  Seeing as No looks more and more uncomfortable by the second, Sincir grimaces.

  Once he decided to bring her over, he pnned to tell everybody about her during breakfast, while she was still asleep in her room, in order to make things less awkward… Obviously, he didn’t expect these two to be waiting for him.

  Sincir sighs. Well, for now, he should make sure No has a pce to sleep.

  “Eleanor, could you please take No upstairs and prepare her a room…?”

  As Eleanor gives him a look which makes it clear she is seriously considering refusing, he smiles coldly at her.

  “Eleanor, love, do you remember the talk we had about guests...?”

  She grimaces, but after another gnce in No’s direction, sighs. “…Sorry, I guess the ck of sleep made me grumpy. Name’s Eleanor, by the way. Come, I’ll show you a room.”

  Once No throws a gnce in his direction, Sincir nods at her. “Don’t worry, you’re safe in here, and I’ll find a way to contact Daniel soon… I know it’ll be hard, but try and get some sleep, okay? Don’t mind the girls, they’re nice once you get to know them… Nice enough, anyway.”

  Esme clears her throat, now blushing slightly, and seemingly having realized her mistake. “Oh… Sorry, I assumed… Never mind. I’m just another guest here… No, was it? Sorry for being rude.”

  “It’s… It’s no problem really.”

  As Eleanor goes up with No, Sincir throws Esme an exasperated look.

  “I’ve never called a single woman I’ve slept with a concubine.”

  Esme averts her gaze, though Sincir can tell her freckled cheeks are still slightly pinky. “You did, that one time at the table… But I admit I might’ve jumped to conclusions too soon this time... Sorry.”

  Sincir walks up the her, pcing a soft kiss against her forehead as he caresses her hair, removing it from her face. “No, you don’t need to apologize… I shouldn’t have left without saying anything.”

  As their skin touches, Esme’s eyes widen. “Sincir! You’re freezing cold!”

  Pressing his body against her warmth, Sincir smiles, shuddering slightly. “It was supposed to be a quick trip, and I’d have never guessed I would end up bringing No back home with me, when I left… I’ll tell you all about it, so please don’t kick me of our room tonight? I don’t know if my ego could handle it happening twice in a row...”

  Esme bites her lower lip , staring into his eyes and shaking her head. “Idiot, I’d never deny you a bed, when you’re so obviously cold and tired… Let’s go up already. You can tell me about what happened ter.”

  Sincir allows Esme to drag him to their room without protesting.

  They happen to see Eleanor and No on their way there, but the girls seem busy preparing the room, so he doesn’t bother saying anything while walking by their door.

  “Are you shaking?” Esme asks as she opens their room’s door.

  “…No?”

  She sighs, then grabs his hand and pulls him in.

  As Esme closes the door behind them, Sincir immediately releases a small sigh of relief, rubbing his hands against his arms. Since Esme left the firepce lit (Creator bless her Soul), having probably fed it wood after waking up, their room is quite warm.

  “That girl must be cold too… Maybe we should invite her here, at least for a bit?”

  Sincir shakes his head. “I would, if I thought she would accept it… Unfortunately, we really don’t have that kind of retionship. But if you want to help her, there is some tea downstairs you could make.”

  Esme hesitates for a second, then nods. “I’ll bring you some, too.”

  Sincir knows he could’ve most definitely been a better host for No, but even changing out of his clothes takes him what little energy he has left, and all that he manages is a quick cleaning spell before hopping in bed, naked, and lying his head against a pillow.

  And he must have dozed off almost immediately, because he doesn’t notice the passage of time before Esme returns, now with a steaming cup in her hands.

  “Sorry, it took me a while to find every-”

  Esme freezes as she spots him, but she is not quick enough to close the door before Eleanor walks in behind her, nearly bumping against her back.

  “What-”

  Eleanor also freezes.

  Gring at the both of them, Sincir rolls his eyes. “Fucking hell, if you’re gonna stare at my cock with your mouths hanging open, can you at least close the door so the heat doesn’t leave the room?”

  Eleanor’s brow twitches, but she does kick the door closed at her back, before walking around a still frozen Esme to approach the bed. Just then, Sincir realizes she has two cups with her, which she pces over the dresser near the bed.

  “…I’m also cold,” she murmurs, toward his questioning gnce.

  He almost chuckles over the obvious lie, but stops himself.

  “She went through the trouble of waiting with me downstairs in the cold, so I invited her to warm up with us for a while… Sorry, I didn’t realize you would be naked. Should I knock in the future?” Esme says, while also approaching the bed.

  Sincir snorts. Even now, he still hasn’t covered himself in the slightest. “I think you can tell that I don’t care, love, so it’s up to you, really… Thank you for the tea, by the way. How is No doing?”

  Esme sighs while leaning over and pulling a bnket to cover his lower half, blushing as she does so. “She was already asleep by the time I finished the tea, but Eleanor talked with her for a bit, before that.”

  “Really?”

  “What, do you think I’m incapable of having a normal conversation?” the nephilim murmurs grumpily, gring at him.

  Sincir smiles at her. “Come here.”

  Eleanor narrows her eyes. “What for?”

  “Just come.”

  Eleanor exchanges a gnce with Esme, then approaches him as instructed, kneeling by the bed. “What is it?”

  Quickly, before she can move away, Sincir pces a peck over her lips. “There.”

  Eleanor pauses for a second, and he can almost see the gears turning in her brain as tries to understand what just happened… Then, she gres at him. “What in hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Rewarding you for a good job, of course. You didn’t have to wait with Esme, and it was nice of you to keep No company.”

  Eleanor sighs, averting her gaze. “Just drink your tea… Clearly, the cold has been driving you delirious.”

  Over their cups of tea, he tells the girls about No, including an abbreviated version of their theory about the people who kidnapped her father.

  “…Did you really jump into the river to save her?” Esme asks while gncing up to meet his gaze.

  At some point during their talk, she snuggled up to him, lying her head against his chest, whereas Eleanor sat cross-legged near the bed’s edge.

  “It was a close call,” he admits. While caressing Esme’s hair, he meets Eleanor’s gaze and smiles at her, “If I was even a couple of seconds ter, No would’ve been dragged too far away down the river for me to detect her presence, and that would’ve been it for her.”

  “So, if I understood things correctly, not only did you drive her to suicide by refusing her request for help, but you also failed to catch her before she jumped…?” Eleanor asks, facing his gaze as she calmly sips from her tea.

  Sincir grimaces. “Shut up. Who do you think I was trying to protect when I refused her, huh?”

  Esme ughs. “Regardless of what happened, I’m gd you’re both safe.”

  “How do you pn on finding these kidnappers?” Eleanor asks.

  “I don’t know yet,” Sincir confesses, “From what No told me, it doesn’t seem there is an obvious connection between the people they target… I suppose I’ll have to borrow Collin’s help again.”

  “Have you considered the vampires might be the ones behind this?” Eleanor asks.

  In the midst of bringing his own cup up for a sip, Sincir pauses. However, after a moment, he shakes his head. “The vampires want to stay hidden, more than anything else. They wouldn’t make this much of a mess in their own city… If anything, they are probably after whoever is doing it, as well.”

  Esme groans. “This is all so complicated… Murder mysteries excite me when I’m reading about them, but now I can’t stop imagining what it’d feel like if you were the one to have disappeared, instead,” she murmurs, hugging him tighter and pressing her face against his chest as she does so.

  Sighing softly, Sincir pats Esme’s head comfortingly as meets Eleanor’s gaze with another teasing smile...

  She narrows her eyes at him.

  “…Don’t worry, love, I’m not that easy to kill. And no one should know No is here, so we have an advantageous position to investigate this... We could save a lot of people.”

  Esme raises her head to stare at him, then sighs. “I know. But I don’t have to like it, right?”

  Sincir smiles, then kisses her. “…No, you do not,” he murmurs after pulling away and meeting her gaze again, “Better now?”

  “…It’s te. Maybe I should go back to my room now,” Eleanor says, her voice even.

  Still staring at Esme, Sincir smiles again. “Do you know what Eleanor is, love? Did she ever tell you, over these past couple of days?”

  Esme quickly gnces toward the aforementioned creature, before replying. “Ena told me…”

  Sincir ughs. “You see, the thing is, I’m pretty sure angels never feel cold… And since Eleanor over here is often too hot for her own good…”

  Eleanor freezes.

  Esme blinks. “…I’m not sure I follow,” she says, while looking from him to Eleanor, “So, Eleanor wasn’t cold? She just wanted to talk?”

  Ironically enough, both him and Eleanor grimace at the same time.

  “Don’t-” she starts, but Sincir is already ughing.

  “No, dumbass! She was horny and wanted something to happen in between the three of us, obliviously…! Do I really have to spell it out to you, every time? This amount of denseness is the reason nothing happened in between us for so long… Did you really not notice how much I’ve been teasing her, this whole time?”

  Blushing furiously, Esme sps his arm. “Well, I’m sorry I’m retarded, okay!? Ugh! I even knew you two were…!”

  Eleanor rises. “I’m leaving.”

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “To do what? Masturbate on your own, as you think about us fucking?”

  Eleanor misses a step, nearly falling as she throws him a look venous enough to have Esme cringe.

  “…If you really want to run away, then I won’t stop you, but Esme doesn’t have a problem with it, and neither do I,” Sincir continues.

  “…I wasn’t running away.”

  He snorts. “Right; You were retreating tactically, in virtue of your shame and wounded pride…”

  “Bastard,” she hisses at him through clenched teeth.

  “Coward,” he retorts, sustaining her gre as he does so.

  “Uhm, guys…? We fucking or what?”

  Both Sincir and Eleanor gnce toward Esme, who raises an eyebrow suggestively at them.

  Eleanor frowns. “Do you really not care?” she asks.

  Esme shrugs, then smiles at her. “At this point, I’m growing used to it. My jealousy aside, I’d feel like an asshole if I sent you away now… Would you really masturbate, while thinking about us?”

  Averting her gaze from Esme’s, Eleanor facepalms.

  “I think anyone would, in these circumstances,” Sincir supplies, “Look, she is blushing.”

  “Sincir, I swear I’ll fucking kill you...”

  As Eleanor throws him a murderous sidelong gnce through her fingers, he smiles at her.

  “Really? Are you sure you should be speaking with me like this?”

  Her blue eyes prickle his skin as they sweep through his body, seemingly involuntarily, stopping over the section where the bnket Esme pulled over his lower half earlier now meets his skin.

  “…And how should I be speaking, instead?” she murmurs coldly.

  Sincir chuckles. “If I told you to beg, would you?”

  “Want to try it, and see what happens?”

  “Say please.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Please allow me to spend the night with you and your girlfriend, Sincir.”

  “Not in a million years.”

  “If you don’t, then I won’t let you join in,” Sincir whispers teasingly, caressing Esme’s cheek as he does so, “Really, you should consider yourself lucky I’m not making you kneel.”

  Eleanor tightens her jaw. “We had a deal,” she says, her voice trembling with anger.

  Sincir ughs. “I offered help before you went to sleep, and you refused me, remember? Invading my room in the middle of the night and making my girlfriend jealous wasn’t a part of the deal, Eleanor.”

  Eleanor looks from him to Esme.

  “...Have you ever looked in a mirror before? Concubine or not, no sane woman would ever help you get in bed with their man,” Sincir says, assuming the direction of her thoughts.

  Esme rolls her eyes. “So, you really do think of me as a concubine… Sorry, Eleanor, but as you can see, I’m little more than a toy to him. Even if I say I want you to join in, he’ll just do whatever he wants.”

  “A toy? Don’t exaggerate... You’re at least a sve.”

  “Master, please allow this lowly servant to please you…”

  As Esme bows her head mockingly, Sincir ughs. “Idiot, stop! Eleanor will really think I’m actually forcing you to do things…”

  After a moment of watching the two of them, Eleanor frowns. “Tell me something, Sincir.”

  He’s still ughing a little as he meets her gaze. “Sure, what is it?”

  “Over all of these years, why have you never made a move on either of us?”

  By either of us, Sincir assumes she means her and Ena. As for the why…

  He smiles at her. “…Maybe I was hoping my girls would have the chance to find someone better than a demon.”

  “…Ena said you might say that.”

  “She knows me well.”

  Eleanor takes a deep breath. “I get it… This is the same as when I imagine those things, right?”

  “If by that you mean your perverted fantasies, then yes.”

  She grimaces. “Fucker… Fine, but you’ll have to do something for me, ter.”

  Sincir smiles. “Esme, don’t miss it; We might never have the chance to see her begging again…”

  Eleanor tightens her jaw... Then sighs, blue eyes gleaming with resolve as she murmurs, seeming to have to force each word out, “Sincir… Would you, please... allow me… to spend the night with you, and your girlfriend?”

  Sincir takes a moment to appreciate her heated cheeks, then smiles. “Well, if you’re asking so nicely… How could I ever refuse?”