Inside a guest room on the second floor of the hotel.
Elias was currently leaning against the window frame with an air of casual indifference.
In a slightly lazy tone, he was nonchalantly entertaining Charlotte, who had just begun to recover from her state of panic.
"The beaches in Hastings Port are actually just okay. The sea breeze smells heavily of fish..."
"However, I once had some roasted oysters with garlic there that were truly a masterpiece!"
He spoke incessantly to his sister about the beautiful coastal scenery and the seafood delicacies.
In reality, his attention was not on their conversation at all.
Elias kept half of his face hidden in the shadow of the curtains.
His gaze was secretly fixed on the ruins across the street, two blocks away.
Through his active Spirit Vision, he watched from a distance as Ms. Cecil slowly walked out from the depths of the ruins.
In his spiritual sight, the woman's clothes were still a mess, dirty and stained from the battle.
However, the moment she stepped across the police cordon of the ruins.
Elias keenly noticed Cecil's gloved fingers twitch slightly.
A faint flicker of arcane energy flashed at her fingertips.
Immediately afterward.
The bloodstains and mud covering her body vanished instantly, leaving her perfectly clean.
"Holy crap?!" Elias couldn't help but exclaim in his mind.
"What kind of divine spell is that!"
"Stop making such a fuss," Old Ed's disdainful voice chimed in from the depths of his mind right on cue.
"It's just an 【Arcane Trick】."
"A Scale One minor spell that can instantly strip away impurities and filth attached to the surface of an object."
The old man clicked his tongue twice from within the bracelet.
"It's certainly better than you looking like a beggar and hunting for clean clothes every time you finish a fight."
"Damn it," Elias muttered inwardly with a hint of jealousy.
He watched as Ms. Cecil crossed the street, heading with clear intent toward this very hotel.
"She's coming."
Elias quickly retracted the Spirit Vision from his eyes.
Click.
The brass door handle was turned from the outside.
The door was pushed open.
Greeting Cecil was Elias's bright, radiant smile, as warm as a spring breeze.
"Ms. Cecil!"
"Long time no see!"
"You're as beautiful as ever—positively glowing!"
Cecil visibly froze for a moment at the doorway.
She clearly hadn't expected this man, whose whereabouts had been unknown just moments ago, to be standing in the room now as if nothing had happened.
"Mr. Rockland!"
But it only took a single second.
Cecil put on a warm yet professionally distant smile.
On the surface, she was nodding in greeting to Elias.
But in secret.
She unhesitatingly activated her Spirit Vision and instantly triggered a targeted 【Arcane Detection】.
During their last meeting, she hadn't paid much attention to this man, originally intending to start her questioning with Charlotte.
But given his appearance here at such a coincidental time and place, she couldn't help but be suspicious.
However, before she could make any further probing moves.
"Ms. Cecil!"
Charlotte squeezed past Elias.
She hurried over to Cecil.
"I had originally planned to show you around Hope County properly."
Charlotte looked up, her small face wearing a cramped and apologetic expression.
"I didn't expect to interrupt your work in this manner."
At the sound of Charlotte's voice.
Cecil's detection spell was forced to a halt.
She had to use the motion of lowering her head to take another extremely stealthy, hidden glance at Elias.
She found nothing.
After confirming that there was indeed no spirituality leaking from the man, Cecil's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
She turned her gaze back to the red-haired girl before her, a rare look of indulgence appearing in her eyes.
"It's quite alright."
She reached out and gently patted Charlotte's shoulder, her tone softening.
"I'm already very happy that you came to visit me."
As Cecil spoke, her gaze subconsciously swept over Charlotte.
Suddenly, her eyes paused.
Her attention was caught by the exquisite brooch pinned to Charlotte's collar.
In her vision, the brooch was emitting a faint, spiritual shimmer.
"What a beautiful brooch!"
Cecil praised with some surprise, her tone carrying a hint of genuine delight.
Hearing this, Charlotte looked down at the accessory her brother had given her.
A flash of joy and pride sparkled in the girl's eyes.
"Thank you!"
She turned to look at Elias and said cheerfully:
"This was a special gift Al brought back for me from his time at sea!"
"The craftsmanship is indeed very unique."
Cecil's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at Charlotte and asked:
"May I see it?"
"Of course!"
Charlotte had no guard up; she immediately reached up to unpin the brooch from her collar and generously handed it over.
Standing to the side, Elias maintained his smile.
But internally, he was cursing up a storm.
Dammit!
Despite all his careful planning, he had completely overlooked this one detail!
To avoid any potential suspicion from Cecil.
He had even risked having his entire fortune of fifty-four soul coins stolen!
He had stashed his entire livelihood in the luggage storage room!
Who would have thought!
He had forgotten about this one thing he had personally pinned to his sister's chest!
On the other side.
Cecil held the brooch between her fingertips.
She appeared to be admiring the fine patterns, but in reality, she was analyzing the object.
No curses.
No negative spirituality either.
After a careful check confirmed it was just a harmless supernatural item.
Cecil handed it back to Charlotte.
Then, she looked up, her sharp eyes staring directly at Elias.
"Where did you get such a beautiful brooch, Mr. Rockland?"
Her tone sounded like casual small talk, but every word was a probe.
"I've been looking to buy one myself lately for my private collection."
Faced with this sudden interrogation.
Elias didn't hesitate for a second.
"I bought it in a remote souvenir shop while I was wandering around Hastings Port."
He spun the lie without blinking an eye.
"The old shopkeeper there was acting all eccentric while he pitched it to me, saying the brooch had once been blessed by the sea and could bring the wearer incredible luck."
Elias spread his hands.
"I thought the design was unique, so I bought it immediately to bring back as a gift for Lottie."
"I see."
Cecil nodded noncommittally.
Actually, such occurrences were not rare on the continent of Velen.
Ordinary items that had been tainted with spirituality for various reasons.
Or supernatural items that had leaked out from ancient ruins.
These often found their way into civilian black markets or antique shops.
After being bought by mercenary merchants, they would be grandly advertised for their miraculous effects and sold at high prices to unsuspecting commoners.
This sort of thing was perfectly normal and hardly worth getting excited about.
Ms. Cecil set aside the last of her doubts.
She looked at the siblings and continued:
"The two of you have such a wonderful relationship. It's truly enviable."
At this point, Cecil's tone shifted with extreme naturalness.
"However..."
"I wonder where you were just now at the hotel entrance, Mr. Rockland?"
"I didn't get a chance to say hello to you earlier."
A probe.
It was still a probe.
But the expression on Elias's face remained flawless.
"Oh?"
He seemed genuinely unaware, looking at Charlotte with a bewildered expression to confirm.
Charlotte nodded at him.
"Ah! That must have been when I was in the washroom!"
He began his explanation.
"You have no idea!"
"When I came out of the washroom and saw that Lottie was gone from the lobby, I panicked!"
Elias's tone became extremely agitated, like a rash young man overly protective of his sister.
"I turned my head and just happened to see her going upstairs with your colleague!"
"At the time, I almost thought my sister was being kidnapped by some pig... I mean, some person!"
Hearing her brother use such an exaggerated tone to describe the scene.
Charlotte immediately felt a wave of embarrassment.
Her face flushed red, and she shot a fierce glare at Elias, signaling him to shut up.
"I am truly sorry, Mr. Rockland."
After listening, Cecil gave a small smile and said with apparent double meaning:
"After all, it isn't very safe outside right now."
"As elders, we must always look out for the safety of our juniors and take necessary protective measures."
This was clearly an excuse for the Seventh Agency's forced protection.
However.
Elias showed no sign of feeling offended.
Instead, he nodded vigorously with a face full of extreme agreement and loudly echoed her sentiment:
"Yes! You are absolutely right!"
"That's why I made a split-second decision and ran straight upstairs without a second thought!"
"I wanted to see for myself whether the person taking Lottie away was a good man or a villain!"
"How was I supposed to know he was your colleague back then?"
Elias flashed the smile of a hotheaded brute—partly lingering fear, partly pride.
"Fortunately, he opened the door, confirmed the inside was safe, and left immediately."
"Otherwise, for Lottie's sake, I really might have lost my temper and gone up there to give him a beating!"
Listening to the man's incessant, streetwise bluster.
Seeing his greenhorn attitude of wanting to pick a fight for his sister's sake.
A very strange expression appeared on Cecil's icy face.
She gave Elias a long, deep look, and a murmur of doubt couldn't help but rise in her heart.
"This guy..."
"Is he really just an ordinary person?"
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