After a long while, Samantha finally calmed herself enough to return the resident registry to its original place. She cleaned up all traces of her intrusion, restored everything exactly as it had been, and only then left the office.
She had originally intended to head straight to Acorn Town, as recorded in the registry, to find her mother. But considering Baron Fermont's and the Allied Forces' deception, if they discovered she had left, her mother might be secretly moved elsewhere. She abandoned that impulsive idea.
I need to investigate the truth of what happened nineteen years ago in Oak Town as thoroughly as possible before taking action!
And most importantly, she had to find out where her younger brother John was!
If things had truly developed into the worst possible outcome, then perhaps—
At the thought of a gravestone bearing her brother's name appearing before her, Samantha's violet eyes filled with unprecedented madness.
Yet she forcibly suppressed that emotion, constantly reassuring herself that these were merely wild thoughts. Perhaps John and her mother were both still healthy and waiting for her to come home.
Though after seeing her father's cold death certificate, her instincts had already told her that this possibility was slim.
"Tap, tap."
As the distraught Samantha wandered the streets aimlessly, constantly thinking about what she should do next—
The next moment, as she passed a dimly lit tavern, the murmurs from within caught her attention.
The extraordinary hearing of a transcendent Mage allowed her to sharply catch her own name. She immediately stopped in her tracks, then swiftly moved to the wall outside the tavern while concealed, focusing all her attention on eavesdropping on the conversation inside.
"—That woman has returned. I'm afraid the Speyer Family affair can no longer be kept hidden."
A man's low, helpless