As usual, I was scribbling with quiet urgencywhen a sound that didn’t belong in this pce pulled my head up.

  Soft, cautious footsteps—descending the staircase,drifting through the dark aisles beyond the shelves.

  The sound...bothered me.

  Which was strange.To be bothered?

  “Siren, she’s coming.”

  set down the pen and turned toward Siren.

  Long bck hair,vacant crimson eyes,and a silhouette that never moved unless necessary.

  It said nothing,but as always, it knew before I did.

  “…Yes. I know.”

  At the base of the stairs, the footsteps stopped.The familiar presence approached.With her scent filling the air,I quietly set aside my pen.

  Elysia appeared,wearing a look that was both familiar and mildly surprised.

  “It’s been a while.I thought you’d left, since the librarian here had changed.”

  I answered her words with a smile—the kind that looked painted on, like always.

  She replied with one of her own.

  “Still silent.Still the same.”

  The gilded doors closed behind herwith a deep, weighty sound.Silence settled in the room.

  Elysia set down the ntern she carried onto the desk and spoke with deliberate detachment.

  “A few days ago—magic traces were detected in the nameless district.”

  “Only remnants,” she said. “The spell was erased.”

  “But... it resembled the Hound Project.And the records I need are in Sector B-12.Only you can access that, right?”

  She looked up.

  “Take me there.”

  I picked up her ntern and stood.

  Gncing to the left,I saw Siren beside me,staring at her.

  Elysia’s gaze flicked between us.

  Then her brow creased.

  “…Were you… just talking to someone?”

  I didn’t answer.I simply walked forward.

  Siren followed, our footsteps in unison.

  Behind us, I heard her murmur—

  “Well, no one else would be here at this hour.”

  She hurried to catch up.

  —

  Records Room B-12.The ntern fme trembled,casting long, shifting shadows.

  Cool air brushed against our backs.

  Elysia gently set the ntern down on the table.

  “There was another death. In Barisé District.”

  Her voice trembled—barely.

  She retrieved a sealed documentfrom the farthest shelf.

  A magic reaction report.Blood-soaked records.Comparative spell diagrams.

  Then she paused.

  “…Emotionally induced spell activation.”

  I filled in the rest.

  “No command necessary.Triggerable by stimulus alone.Target undetermined.But behavior influenced by the subject’s emotional state.”

  Her eyes wavered.

  —

  Next page.

  Magic sigil fragments recoveredfrom the blood left by the victims.

  ? Experiment Code: A-0-13? Registered by: Unknown? Type: Imperial Combat Weapon / Sensory-Based / Emotionally Reactive Spell

  Elysia stood still,the shard in her hand.

  It reacted—to her warmth, her mana, her name.

  The spell was tiedto Kyle.

  —

  “…No,” she whispered.

  Her hands trembled as she clutched the report.

  Next page.

  Supplementary Report – Subject A-0, Emotional Triggers

  ? Aggressive behavior observed in absence of direct commands? Confirmed triggers: Anger / Possessiveness / Jealousy / Obsession toward designated subject? Before each outburst, Elysia Altrier was confirmed in line of sight

  She stepped back.

  “…Why.”

  Breathing grew heavier.

  She didn’t look at me.And Siren, too, said nothing.

  Only the ntern fmecontinued to fade.

  —

  Elysia stood motionless for a long time.Then, she exhaled sharplyand turned toward the door.

  The inscription on the doorof the Imperial Library glinted faintly:

  “Gvien ferendil jusa yustus cen’detur.Ath illen gviar sahlta vin sangriel sulom.”

  She frowned at it.

  No one read it.No one remembered it.

  Just a forgotten scrawl on a forgotten wall.

  I opened the great door of the old yet heavy doors of the library. She pulled her cloak tight and stepped through it.

  The door groaned shut behind her.

  And in the dark,Siren murmured softly—

  “The right to wield the bde shall be granted to the just.And that bde shall dance only upon sacred blood.”