Luosang the Second remained silent, his face expressionless as he ignored Belicia's mockery and denigration.
Only after Belicia composed herself did she slowly rise and leave the killer's side.
"Have I ever told you about my past?"
She looked toward the faint lamplight in the corner, leaving the captive with only an elegant view of her back.
Her past...
Luosang the Second's brows drew together slightly.
"Yes."
More than once.
"It's just that I don't know..."
Luosang the Second raised his eyes, scrutinizing the back he had once known so well:
"Which parts of it were true."
A momentary daze flashed through Belicia's eyes.
"Of course..."
She immediately smiled, crossed her arms, and turned her head:
"It was all false."
It had all been made up.
Luosang the Second remained silent in the darkness for quite some time.
"No wonder."
He sounded relieved.
"No wonder every sentence sounded so reasonable."
Belicia let out a snort of laughter.
For an instant, Luosang the Second seemed to see that girl again, the one who had sat across from him in silence on the rooftop.
"Your granny's name isn't Belicia. At least, that wasn't what I was called at first."
Belicia gazed at the dark corner untouched by the lamplight, as if looking into the distant past:
"It was just, how should I put it, a stage name?"
Her tone was teasing.
Luosang the Second said nothing.
"When I was little, Blade Territory was struck by disaster, then famine. By the time my family fled all the way to Emerald City, most of them had already died," Belicia said with a cold snort. "My uncle sent me to a relief home run by the Sunset Temple—don't underestimate that spot. Back then, you still needed connections to get in."
But she quickly turned around,