The next morning.
After returning to the Capital Second Headquarters, Han inspected the handcuffed criminals.
Perhaps the interrogator had put them through the wringer all night, because their bodies were covered in bruises, and they were asleep without consciousness.
The condition of Brock Renner’s abdomen, the initial target, was particularly serious.
Whoever had struck him had aimed with astonishing precision. No bones were broken and no organs had ruptured, but the pain tormenting him was severe enough that death might have seemed preferable.
“Ugh, ngh… uh…….”
Brock Renner frowned as though terrified.
He seemed to be having a nightmare.
“…….”
After checking the criminals they had arrested, Han left the interrogation room.
The young interrogator, who had spent an intense night with them, saluted him.
“You have been working hard since such an early hour.”
Han returned the salute and asked the interrogator.
“Did you learn anything else?”
“Ah… well.”
The interrogator hesitated.
Han told him not to worry because he had no intention of blaming him and asked him to speak freely.
The interrogator slowly began.
“There was something, but it is not information that will be particularly useful. Their organization is so small, and they do not have ties with other organizations either, so they do not seem to know much.”
“As expected.”
Han gave a low hum, as though he had anticipated that answer.
The organization Brock Renner belonged to was weak.
As was usually the case, small organizations yielded little compared to the effort required to track them down.
Even so, they couldn’t simply be ignored.
They posed a direct threat to ordinary citizens.
And occasionally, they also served as pawns for massive organizations like the Big Three.
‘…If only we could at least get some information about their boss.’
Sink Ber, who had already been arrested.
Five Second-Tier Mages, including Brock Renner.
And ordinary thugs.
The only reason such a weak organization had managed to survive without being swallowed up by another organization until now was the existence of its ‘Boss.’
“Unfortunately, it really does seem that those bastards have no idea where their boss… ‘Ivan Keller,’ is or what he is doing either.”
Ivan Keller.
A Fifth-Tier Heretical Mage.
A dangerous criminal who had once annihilated an entire Special Unit team that pursued him.
“It has been six months since Ivan Keller was last seen, correct?”
“Yes. His last confirmed sighting was in District 19.”
‘He was confident in his own abilities. He never went to great lengths to hide his whereabouts either.’
Yet now, he was hiding even from the members of his own organization.
Something had clearly happened.
But they had no information about what it was.
“…Could he perhaps have died after clashing with another organization?”
The interrogator asked with a faint trace of hope.
If Ivan Keller had gotten into a fight with another organization for some reason and ended up dead, it would be like blowing their nose without even using a hand—the problem would have solved itself.
Han didn’t completely dismiss that possibility either, but he remained doubtful.
“Who knows. We will have no choice but to find out from here. Continue the interrogation. They are going to receive life sentences anyway, so do not concern yourself with anything else. Ah, and….”
When Han hesitated briefly, the young interrogator continued for him.
“I know. If I learn even the slightest thing about ‘Andrei Chikatilo,’ I will report it to you immediately.”
“……Thank you.”
“It is the only favor you ever ask of me. I will get the information to you faster than a courier.”
The interrogator spoke as though Han could leave everything to him.
Han smiled faintly and was about to leave.
“Ah, but Team Leader Han. You do not seem to have been visiting the hospital lately. Is everything all right?”
The question was filled with genuine concern, and Han’s chest grew heavy.
“…I was already planning to go this afternoon since I have some free time. There has been so much work lately that it has not been easy to make the trip.”
“I see…. Um…. I do not know whether saying this will help, but I am sure your younger sister will wake up before too much longer. You work this hard, Team Leader. If she still did not wake up, there could hardly be anything more unfair than that.”
Andrei Chikatilo.
The vicious criminal who had shattered Han’s family.
Han had lost both his parents, but by a stroke of fortune amid all that misfortune, his younger sister had remained by his side.
Even if she currently had one foot in life and the other in death.
“…….”
Without answering, Han adjusted his hat.
He lowered his head slightly and left the interrogation room.
***
The Special Unit’s Capital Second Headquarters and the Capital Hospital weren’t very far apart.
It was only a twenty-minute drive.
After finishing his morning duties, Han drove toward the hospital.
Since he had headed there immediately after work, he was still wearing his uniform.
“It has been a while since you came by.”
Before entering the hospital, Han stopped at a small flower shop across the street.
The young florist recognized Han and greeted him with a bright smile.
“Purple hyacinths. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“Please wait just a moment. I will have them ready for you.”
While waiting for the flowers to be wrapped, Han noticed a small vase he hadn’t seen before.
It had no extravagant patterns and looked simple, but it seemed as though flowers would look beautiful inside it.
“If you need one, you should take one with you. It goes well with hyacinths too.”
The hyacinths had already been wrapped.
As the florist handed him the bouquet, something suddenly seemed to come to mind.
“Ah, but you always come to buy more around the time they wilt, so perhaps you do not need one.”
“…….”
Han looked back at the small vase.
He seemed to think for a moment before opening his worn wallet.
“Give me one. Come to think of it, I believe it is time to replace the old one.”
“Of course. Since you are a regular, I will give you a special discount.”
Han left the flower shop and headed across the street.
As soon as he entered the hospital, its distinctive smell reached him.
At the same time, Han’s expression gradually darkened.
There probably weren’t many people who liked the smell of a hospital, but Han particularly hated it.
He walked along the familiar route until he finally stopped directly in front of a hospital room.
The sign read, ‘Patient Room: Han Anna.’
“…….”
He could beat down the most vicious criminals without batting an eye.
But whenever he came here, he was simply one guardian.
And another victim.
Han grasped the doorknob, and his left arm throbbed.
There should have been no pain in an arm made of iron and silver, yet that was how it felt.
“Whew….”
Han composed himself and opened the door.
The same familiar sight greeted him.
A large bed.
And a young woman lying asleep upon it.
Han Augustus’s younger sister, who hadn’t opened her eyes for seventeen years.
Han carefully closed the door and approached his sister to examine her condition.
Was she breathing properly?
Was her heart rate normal?
Was the bed uncomfortable?
Was the temperature too high……?
The nurses had undoubtedly checked all of those things already, yet he couldn’t help checking them himself.
“…Nothing is wrong.”
Only after finishing his inspection could he finally gaze quietly at Anna.
Compared to when she had been a child, Anna had grown considerably, and her face had become that of a beautiful young woman.
Her hair had grown while he hadn’t visited as well.
What had once reached her shoulders now fell below her chest.
But sadly, Anna’s height was hardly different from when she had been a child.
…No, perhaps she was even shorter now.
“…….”
Chikatilo had cut off Anna’s legs.
The thought of the horrific pain she must have suffered made Han’s chest grow even heavier.
He looked down at Anna before gently brushing aside a few strands of hair that had fallen loose.
She looked so peaceful that she offered no resistance to his touch.
“It has already been seventeen years.”
If only they could have grown up fighting like other siblings.
Sometimes arguing so fiercely that they didn’t even want to see each other’s faces.
Then naturally making up afterward.
If only they could have lived that way.
“…….”
Han withdrew his hand from Anna.
It wasn’t as though he had never entertained the thought—
Perhaps she had awakened.
Perhaps today would be the day she opened her eyes.
He thought that every time he opened this door.
But reality remained unchanged.
Just how wonderful a dream was she having that she refused to open her eyes?
Han could only hope that dream wasn’t a nightmare as he shifted his gaze.
“Hmm?”
As he prepared to place the flowers he had brought into the vase, he noticed orange Maracuja roses already sitting there.
That was strange.
There should have been wilted purple hyacinths there.
“…They do not seem to have been here long.”
Judging from the condition of the petals, they didn’t look as though even a full day had passed.
Had a nurse bought them?
If not…….
Han began trying to determine who the mysterious visitor might have been, but soon abandoned the thought.
Instead, he took out the new vase he had purchased, filled it with water, and placed the hyacinths inside.
Setting them beside the Maracuja roses made the hospital room look considerably brighter.
After remaining beside Anna for some time, Han finally left the room.
As he walked through the corridor, the hospital seemed somehow noisier than usual.
‘What is going on?’
Han always kept his ears open in case he picked up information about criminals.
The distant chatter of several nurses reached his ears.
“My goodness. I had only heard rumors, but she really was incredibly beautiful.”
“Exactly. She catches your eye immediately, does she not? I thought I was watching a doll walking around.”
“And that was not all. What kind of employer personally brings an employee to the hospital just because they got hurt? She even paid all the expenses!”
“Lady Violet must have been an angel in her previous life….”
Violet.
To hear her name here of all places.
“Oh my! You startled me!”
“You appeared without making a sound, like a ghost…. M-May we help you with something?”
Han asked the startled nurses.
“Is the Violet you were just speaking of… Violet of the Bradin Conglomerate?”
Had coincidence overlapped yet again?
Han found himself curious.
***
“Oh, I do not know how I can ever thank you, Miss Violet. You even brought me here yourself. And you paid the hospital bill too….”
Violet and her employee, Lea, had left the hospital.
They were on their way toward their parked car.
“There is nothing to thank me for. I was not the one driving. And the Bradin Family paid the hospital bill.”
“Oh, but all of that was still because of you, Miss Violet. Of course I am grateful. I am only an employee who twisted her ankle.”
“You are not merely an employee. Lea, you are one of the few precious people I have.”
“Miss Violet….”
Lea, supported by the driver, began sniffling in emotion.
She nearly forgot the difference in their positions and threw her arms around Violet, but barely managed to restrain herself.
Amid all that, Violet thought of someone and continued.
“And though saying ‘as it happened’ might not be appropriate, I had been in the mood to go out for a while. ……Unfortunately, it did not seem as though today would be another day when coincidences overlapped.”
“Coincidences…?”
Lea repeated the word to herself.
Soon, she remembered the hospital room Violet had visited immediately after they arrived.
Was her name Miss Han Anna?
Lea had never seen the woman before, yet Miss Violet had even prepared flowers for her.
What connection did they have?
As that question arose in her mind—
“…….”
Violet stopped walking.
She spotted someone, and a fairly surprised expression appeared on her face.
“A coincidence, you say. This time, I was certain you had investigated me and deliberately approached me. It seems that was not entirely the case?”
An Easterner man.
A man in a black uniform approached and addressed her.
His tone was calm, yet somehow there was a sense of familiarity to it.
‘Who is this man, and why is he acting like he knows Miss Violet?’
Lea regarded the unfamiliar man warily.
Countless men had tried to approach Violet over the years.
Among them had been quite a few who attempted things far beyond what could be considered normal.
Protecting Miss Violet was also a proper employee’s duty!
Lea started reaching for the magical tool hidden inside her clothes in case something happened.
‘Huh?’
Then she noticed the faint smile on Violet’s face and stopped.
“The uniform suits you even better than I expected.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Then…. Have you been well?”
“Ha.”
Han let out a dry laugh.
Perhaps gaining the initiative against this audacious woman was even more difficult than catching a criminal.
“In any case. It is truly a pleasure to see you again like this, Han. No… would Captain Han be better?”
‘Han…?’
Lea’s mind began racing.
The surname(family name) of the woman lying in that hospital room had definitely been ‘Han’ as well.
An Easterner.
The same surname.
The roses Miss Violet had prepared.
And above all, that smile she had shown after seeing this man!
‘C-Could he be……. Miss Violet’s secret sweetheart(lover)?’
Miss Violet had kept men at arm’s length all her life, so what in the world was this?!
Lea swallowed hard.