I'll Let You Off for Now

Jason O'Neill was a name buried deep in Angel's memory.

When she had first arrived in Backlund as Irene Watson, she had worked part-time as a Seer Witch to digest her Witch Potion and fill her spare hours.

Introduced by Lola, Jason O'Neill had come to the Divination Club seeking help after his daughter was kidnapped. With Angel's guidance, he had learned a few things about the kidnappers and sought out a private detective to investigate further. In the end, Klein, disguised as Sherlock Moriarty, had helped him get his daughter back.

It should have been a happy ending. But after Mr. O'Neill thanked Angel, he dismissed all his servants and jumped into the Tussock River with his wife and daughter. Emily had survived by sheer luck, but she had lost both parents and become an orphan.

That tragedy had led directly to Angel and Klein's first collaboration under their assumed identities. They had destroyed wealthy Capim's hideout beneath his mansion, killed him and several Beyonder accomplices, and created an opportunity for the Black Emperor to make his debut.

From what she had learned since, Capim had been one link in a human-trafficking chain involving the royal family, the military, and the Demoness Sect. That chain was inextricably tied to the truth behind Backlund's Great Smog.

Which meant...

"Were the Psychology Alchemists also involved in the Demoness Sect's collaboration with the Aurora Order and the military?"

Angel asked the question aloud.

"To a limited extent. However, Hvin Rambis did not kill Jason O'Neill himself. He had made an Advanced Charm for his subordinate. Because Emily O'Neill was rescued, the trafficking operation risked exposure. The Charm was used to suggest that the O'Neill family end their lives in the dead of night, when no one was around. Capim then recaptured Emily