The footsteps grew louder and louder, clearly heading his way.
He wondered whether Vanessa couldn't wait until tomorrow and had come to question him now.
But when the two figures stopped at the entrance of his cell, he froze.
The person beside Vanessa wasn't her guard—it was Sylvana herself.
Sylvana enhanced her vision to pierce through the darkness and recognized him immediately.
"Long time no see, kid. Thank you for healing me," Sylvana said.
"I never did," Alex replied.
"Why lie?" Vanessa asked. If he really had saved Sylvana, that achievement alone outweighed all his crimes.
"Who says I am?" Alex returned.
"I do," Sylvana answered. "Did you think that while unconscious I couldn't see or hear?" she asked.
"You used the Saint's Tear on me. You told me it could heal every injury, poison, or disease—but only once in a lifetime, isn't that right?"
Alex fell silent. He hadn't known all of that.
"Why heal me? That ingredient could buy you one-tenth of the continent," Sylvana said.
"Well, if you heard what I said, then you already know," Alex answered.
"You told me a storm was gathering, and that if left unchecked, it would destroy the whole realm," Sylvana said.
"What!?" Vanessa gasped. That was one hell of a confession.
"And I find it unlikely that someone who hates nobles would go through so much trouble to save a person he despises unless what he said was true. Besides, you thought I was unconscious—you wouldn't lie to yourself, would you?"
She had eliminated every possible excuse. Alex had no choice but to speak the truth.
"That's because it was the truth," he said.
"How do you know that?" Sylvana asked.
"The walls speak," Alex said simply.
"Don't speak nonsense. I don't understand why you insist on worsening your relationship with us when this accomplishment could earn you honor," Sylvana said.
"Do you think I care about that? If I wanted honor, I would have stayed until you woke up," Alex replied.
"That's true," Sylvana admitted.
Vanessa, meanwhile, was stuck on the phrase 'the walls talk.'
"Ah! So you're the owner of the Whispers of the Night!" Vanessa exclaimed.
Alex looked at her.
"You know, if all the royal guards were as competent as you, I wouldn't be lying here. I'd be teaching my sister magic. How disappointing," Alex said.
"What?" Now it was Sylvana who was confused.
"Yes. After some time, we discovered through his own info broker that if a commoner couldn't find justice against nobles, they could leave a letter, and their plea would be heard. That's how I caught him," Vanessa explained.
"Quite clever. Your last maneuver—two birds with one stone, eh?" Alex said.
"Well, thank you. I have to say, we found you by pure luck. If the guard hadn't found traces of your broker, we'd still be looking for you." Vanessa felt proud of the praise and complimented him back.
"Not lucky enough, I guess," Alex said.
"And why do all that through illegal means?" Sylvana asked.
"Hah," Alex laughed.
"To protect those who cannot, is it?" Vanessa said. "That's what your employee told me."
"That's a nice way of living, but why like this?" Sylvana asked. With that mentality and his skills, he would make one of the finest royal guards, yet here he was, rotting in a cell.
"It's not my way of living—it was my best friend's. He confessed that to me before being cruelly tortured and killed by a noble who was molesting a girl. My friend pushed him off her, and that was enough to seal his fate," Alex said.
"I'm simply carrying on his will," he concluded.
"We're going on a tangent," Sylvana said. His story was a sad one, but they had more urgent matters.
"So, your info broker was how you found that information. But how?"
"That's the good thing about hiring the homeless—they're a constant source of hearing. And since everyone thinks they're insane or mentally deficient, they go unnoticed," Alex said.
"Clever. Go on," Sylvana urged.
"Through them, I received a report about a terrorist organization. They call themselves Dionysus. I say terrorist, but they haven't committed any acts—yet," Alex explained.
Both women listened closely.
"But they've been gathering their forces for who knows how long. They've infiltrated most, if not every, capital in the world. Their end goal is to destroy Solmyra, but I don't know how, or who their key members are."
He essentially summarized the reports from his two dreams.
"Shit… something like that was happening behind the scenes and we didn't even notice," Sylvana said, stunned.
"Well, now that I think about it, they did commit terrorist acts. You, for example, Sylvana," Alex added.
"Me? Why?" she asked.
"Probably for the same reason I saved you," Alex replied.
Sylvana remembered.
"Yes… you told me you hoped I would put my pristine record to use and help protect the realm," she said. She also remembered his last words.
"For your family, for mine, and for everyone else's."
"That's right," Alex said, unashamed.
"I have a request," Alex said suddenly.
"What is it? Surely not to release you, right?" Vanessa asked. She wasn't letting go of this man; he was a gold mine of information.
"Well, I'd rather not be crippled by tomorrow, so I need a mana potion," Alex said.
"What? Why?" Vanessa asked.
"So you did develop Mana Leakage Syndrome while helping me?" Sylvana asked.
Vanessa was shocked—he had even injured himself saving her aunt.
"No. I already had it from a past accident, but it worsened after helping you," Alex replied.
"Oh? What kind of accident?" Vanessa asked.
"The accident of nona," Alex said.
"Nona?" she repeated.
"None of ya business," Alex said flatly.
Sylvana looked at Vanessa, trying not to laugh.
"You seem to forget who's the one in chains. Do you want to spend the night here with the cold and humidity?" Vanessa retorted.
"Ooh, shiver me timbers," Alex said sarcastically.
"Now I understand why Marina hates you," Vanessa muttered.
"So? Are you going to bring me a mana potion or let me become a cripple?" Alex asked, deadpan.
"Are you afraid of nothing?" Sylvana said after listening to the exchange.
As she spoke, she released her legendary aura.
The whole prison shook; the steel gates rattled from the sheer ferocity of her presence.
Alex didn't know if Sylvana was testing him, but at this point, having been caught, he didn't care anymore. He didn't defend himself—not that he could. The handcuffs were designed to disrupt mana flow.
He took the full force of the aura with his bare, weakened body. Blood began dripping from every orifice.
Yet the only thing he said was, "My family doesn't know of my adventures… so let them be, please," his voice hoarse.
'Am I going to make it through tonight?' he wondered.