News of a Death

Neph had little interest in Klein entertaining his guests. She took the opportunity to sneak another helping of red velvet cake from the kitchen.

When it came to food, Loen had very few famous dishes. Before finding herself inside the novel, Neph had been impressed by Desi pies and sweet iced tea. After arriving, she discovered those really were the only two things Loen made well.

Desserts, however, were an exception. Backlund was renowned for its desserts, and the chef Klein had hired was particularly skilled in that field. As Neph held her cake in the kitchen, she thought of the rat by Hazel Macht's side.

Hmm, at this point, she probably wasn't a rat yet-

Neph blinked. She had no intention of letting Amon abduct Klein to the Forsaken Land of the Gods in such a rushed manner. Finding Flora Jacob-the rat demigod-before Amon did had therefore become essential.

After all, it was through Flora Jacob's fate that Amon had caught sight of Klein.

Still, the whole matter required careful planning. When Neph returned to the drawing room with the cake she had requested for Klein, Dwayne Dantès was recounting his adventures.

Councilman Macht's wife, Liana, kept gasping, looking both frightened and eager to hear more. The councilman and the bishop were equally interested, repeatedly interrupting Dwayne Dantès's account to ask about particular details.

Neph knew they were probing him. She was not especially worried about Klein. Before assuming a false identity, he would certainly have rehearsed responses to various possible situations, including attempts to test his identity. Soon, however, she noticed something.

The stories Klein told felt strangely familiar.

They did not remind Neph of any particular story, but their overall structure and certain details carried a familiar feeling, as though they had been pieced together from separate