She Existed

36 Zouteland Street, Blackthorn Security Company.

Leonard stepped down from the carriage, looking at the newly renovated building with a complex expression.

The fierce battle mainly took place on the streets, with only the surrounding houses affected. The exterior walls of Blackthorn Security Company have been repainted, and several previously damaged sections of the walls have been repaired.

The potholes on the road had long been filled in, and the spot where the blood-red inverted cross had been drawn was no longer red at all. But Leonard still felt that he could smell that nauseating stench of blood.

He had initially believed he had lost many comrades that day. But what if things weren't so simple? Could he still, as before, continue to fuel his burning anger and seek revenge for them?

With such a heavy heart, Leonard stepped into the building.

The receptionist was still Rozanne, reading the newspaper. She seemed quite conflicted about Leonard's appearance, showing both joy at seeing an old friend and an indescribable sadness and sense of estrangement. In the end, Rozanne simply greeted him briefly before introducing him to Tingen's new Nighthawks captain.

The captain was completely unfamiliar with Leonard, and only exchanged a few pleasantries with this elite from "Red Gloves" out of courtesy before calling over the company's veteran team members—namely, Royale, Siga, Frye, and others.

Everyone was very excited to see each other after so long.

Is working in Backlund tough?

Royale asked.

It was incredibly tough. Before coming here today, I had just worked overtime to clean up the mess left behind by that damned Devil...

"It was quite easy."

Leonard laughed, "No, I even have time to come back here to see you all."

"That's good..."

Because of internal discipline, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning the situation inside the Red Gloves, only catching up on the past. But as they talked, they inevitably brought up what happened that day.

"We investigated very hard afterward, but we still couldn't find any trace of Cecilia," Siga said regretfully. The writer lamented the unfortunate fate of the Rondal siblings, "It's such a pity, their lives had just started to get better..."

"Klein's brother and sister have also moved to Backlund..."

"Captain Dunn..."

The lively atmosphere was gradually replaced by silence; the Nighthawks fell silent. The dead had found peace, but the survivors were filled with guilt and torment.

Well...

Leonard sighed silently to himself.

"How about it?"

After leaving Blackthorn Security Company, Leonard walked to a quiet corner, lowered his voice, and asked himself a question.

"I've checked, your teammates are all fine."

An aged voice quickly echoed in his mind.

"Are you sure?"

Leonard persisted, "You said back then that Luther and Klein were fine, but then..."

"I can only say that, to my ability, I haven't found anything special about them," the aged voice said irritably. "Of course, you can choose not to believe it, if you have other means to confirm it."

Leonard's visit to Blackthorn wasn't just about catching up; he was also investigating his former comrades. To be honest, he was becoming overly paranoid, suspicious of everyone he saw. He increasingly felt that the events of the past weren't as simple as they seemed.

And in order to resolve his biggest question...

"Step."

He ignored the old man's rambling in his mind, paused, and turned to walk into a nearby general store.

A moment later, he paid and came out with a shovel.

The Crimson Moonlight streamed down, providing excellent illumination, perfect for me to get to work under the cover of night.

Luther wandered aimlessly through Tingen City, reminiscing about the time he had spent there. The restaurants where he had eaten, the shooting range where he had practiced shooting, the general store where he had bought things... all of these were still there, only the people who had been with him back then were gone.

That girl is no longer a part of this city.

Before he knew it, Luther had arrived in the suburbs of Tingen. His eyes lingered on the rows of villas, then he suddenly stopped and noticed a house that looked somewhat familiar. This two-story detached house had no tenants and looked dark and gloomy under the moonlight.

This property belongs to Luther.

The house originally belonged to Old Neil, but to express his gratitude for saving his life, he transferred it to Luther. For Luze's teammates at Blackthorn Security Company, Luther is dead, so what will happen to the house...?

Luther stepped forward and pushed open the front gate.

"Crunch-"

The door made a rough, creaking sound, and the withered branches that had been spreading across it snapped with a crack.

Luther walked through the Desolation Garden and saw withered roses and Golden Mint creeping on the cracked, hardened soil. He stepped forward, came to the front door, easily Door Opening, and went inside.

"Snap."

After turning on the pay-per-use gas light, the scene in the living room immediately came into view.

Luther was momentarily stunned.

The living room was cluttered with items, making the originally spacious area feel somewhat cramped. Two coat racks held men's black suits and women's casual dresses. On a nearby table, white porcelain plates were stacked, and silver spoons, cutlery, and utensils gleamed under the lamplight. The sheets and blankets were neatly folded and pressed against the wall, covered by a dust cloth...

These... these are all things I owned when I lived at No. 6 Daffodil Street!

There's no mistake, it must have been Leonard or one of his teammates who helped organize it. The house on Daffodil Street was rented, after all, and they couldn't leave their things there, so they put everything in his property...

Luther walked to the table and found a photocopy of a document among the pile of items. The document was the terms of the inheritance process, and according to its contents, the property already belonged to Cecilia Rondal.

She herself was already "dead" at that time, and her sister was also missing. It is likely that her teammates took it upon themselves to use some inside methods to help Cecilia inherit her property first, so that she would not be left without support after finding her sister.

A very complex expression appeared on Luther's face.

The teammates never imagined that in the end, it wouldn't be them who died, but Cecilia.

He suddenly felt tired, so he pulled out a chair and sat down. Then, under the light, he gazed at everything that had once belonged to him and his sister.

The decent tableware he had painstakingly saved up with his weekly wages, the pot his sister loved and thought was very durable, the little hat with lace trim, the cat-shaped doll, the schoolbag she used when she went to school, the textbooks... Luther took the textbook and looked at the notes Cecilia had left on it.

Luther stared blankly at the words.

Once, a pair of warm, delicate hands glided across the paper, leaving these beautiful words. This is proof that she existed; she once lived. Like me, she had a habit of lifting her hand when writing certain Loen letters, and she also had a touch of girlish capriciousness, enjoying scribbling on the faces of historical figures.

In order to see more of Cecilia's belongings, Luther stood up and walked to the other side of the table, when suddenly his foot bumped into something.

It was a tattered box.