Sebastian decided to visit his father on the very next day. After making sure of Amy's whereabouts, he teleported into the House of Sol and snuck into his father's office.
"Sebastian."
"..."
Just as he entered the room, he was spotted.
"It's been a while, Father."
"Take a seat."
Sebastian complied and took down his cloak and mask. While he would normally keep them on, or disguise himself, he didn't want to do so in front of his father.
Facing Jonathan who was still as silent and domineering as ever, Sebastian felt nostalgic. It had been four years since the incident at the academy, and four years since had last stepped foot into this office.
"We've reached a dead end. No matter how much more we search, we can't find any more clues about Markus' whereabouts."
Sebastian understood him. After all, their opponents were Sages.
And, even Fae, who had promised to get Markus' location within a year still hadn't returned.
"...You believe me?"
"If I, your father, won't believe in you, my son, who will?"
Save for the brief interaction between the two of them during his escape, he didn't provide his father with more evidence or at the very least, proof claiming his innocence. It wasn't because he didn't trust his father, he was just reluctant to meet with anyone who could interact with Amy.
Though Sebastian was overcome with emotion, he knew it wasn't the time. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he put on a solemn expression.
"What did you want to meet me for?"
"The other day, a village near the border of the country was attacked. Luckily, the knights managed to arrive before they could destroy it completely. However, half of the village was razed to the ground."
Sebastian had heard about it but hadn't actually investigated further.
"You're searching for the origin of the rogue Inheritors, aren't you?"
Though Jonathan asked a question, his tone was filled with certainty.
While Sebastian didn't know how he managed to figure that out, he wasn't worried.
"Yes."
"I may have found a lead."
…
Around the same time in Tidas, Amy appeared along with a flash of light. She had used a teleportation service to get here as fast as she could.
Without even caring about the people gathered around her, she walked away from them and quickly headed to her informant.
They met up at a private booth in a restaurant. It was a place frequently visited by those who had secrets that they didn't want exposed.
Behind the closed doors, no sound could get in or escape.
"Where is he?"
"Lady Luna, it's a pleasure to see you again—"
"Cut the idle talk and get to the point, where is Sebastian Sol?"
Amy's voice was chilly. The man who was her informant gulped and began to take out photographs.
"Yesterday, a man wielding a spear was spotted at the slums. While he didn't match Sebastian's facial features, he used fire and his level couldn't be gauged properly."
"..."
When Amy had heard Deimos' report, she knew that the information would be vague. After all, she had told them that anyone wielding a spear was potentially a target.
'Still, this is the closest our information has ever gotten. Was he just complacent? Or is this not Sebastian?'
"Is that everything?"
"No…"
The informant then took out another couple of photographs and showed the warehouse filled with weapons and tools for war.
"This was found near the area where we saw the target. Someone had tipped the knights about it and they moved to confiscate it immediately. This information should spread in a few more days."
"This many unregistered weapons…"
Illegal arms being traded inside the country. While it's safe to say that every country had illegal goods being traded, seldom was one found this close to settlements.
"We believe that it's one of two things. Sir Sebastian is either working with the enemy, or he's trying to take them down."
He was either the one storing the weapons, or he was the one who tipped the knights.
"..."
Amy raised her hand and folded her index finger to cover her mouth while in thought.
"...Alright. Thank you for your work."
Amy took out a pouch of money and dropped it onto the table with a clank before leaving. The informant waited for a few seconds after she left before finally looking into the pouch with a huge smile on his face.
…
After leaving the informant, Amy headed to the House of Luna's branch in Tidas. Ever since she and Sebastian had visited Tidas, she felt that there was a lack of accommodation when visiting other countries. Hence, to make things easier for her and her house, she had decided to set up small branches inside the capital cities of various countries. While it wasn't cheap, it was a great investment for a long-term benefit.
"Mistress."
A line of maids and butlers greeted Amy as she entered the mansion.
"Prepare the study for me, and call the strategist."
"As you wish."
The maids and butlers quickly moved. None of them walked up to Amy, most of them went to various rooms in order as if they had rehearsed it beforehand.
Two maids and a butler moved upstairs. The maids walked up the left flight of stairs while the butler walked up the right.
Amy soon followed the maids' trails and went inside her own room. There wasn't much furniture, only the necessities of her work and life.
A bed, a desk and chair, and a table filled with various papers and books. It was dreary but clean. It would take a bit of time for the strategist to arrive and for the maids to prepare the room, so she had some leeway.
She tried to lay down on her bed to close her eyes even for a few minutes but couldn't. Though she had been working with barely any rest for quite a while now and could feel her fatigue, she couldn't fall asleep properly. In the end, she ended up just tossing and turning until the maids called her.
When she got to the study, the strategist—a young man who looked to be in his twenties. The same age range as her.
"Mistress."
The strategist stood up and bowed lightly.
Amy gestured for him to sit down as the maids prepared some tea and snacks for them. Once they finished, she made them leave and faced the strategist alone.
"Desir (Désir). He's been found, is your plan ready?"
"As ready as it'll ever be, Mistress… However, are you sure? This plan isn't built to capture but kill. I know that the Mistress harbors hate toward him but he's still your fiancée—"
"I don't want to hear another word."
Amy took a sip of the tea and looked into the ripples.
"Besides, he's not one to be killed by something of this level."
The strategist opened his mouth but just ended up smacking his lips. Though he wanted to refute because it was a plan that took him months to prepare, his opponent was someone capable enough to kill a house head.
"The backup plan is also prepared in case we fail."
"Good."
After talking about the plan a little more, the strategist fell silent. Amy, knowing he had something to ask, told him not to hold back.
"What happens if he really dies because of this?"
"..."
Amy closed her eyes lightly, memories of the past emerging inside her head. After a while, she took a deep breath.
"Then, that will be the end."
"..."
An ambiguous answer, but Amy made it obvious that she didn't plan to answer more than that. The strategist stood up, bowed, and took his leave.
Amy finished her tea and put the cup back on the saucer. Her lips opened slightly as she spoke with a heavy heart.
"...Of both his life, and mine."
…
A few days later, Sebastian raised the mask covering half his face and turned around.
"I'm okay."
After confirming Serena's condition, Sebastian moved forward. The two of them leapt across the roofs of the various buildings. Though it was still morning with the sun up, their speed wasn't anything a regular civilian would be able to take notice of.
He couldn't bring Ainslie because the possibility of combat was high. And, while he could bring another member of the organization, Wisteria told him to take Serena, who was only a step behind Ainslie in terms of combat prowess.
After landing on one of the roofs, Sebastian crouched down and looked at the tall building across the street closely. Serena silently landed next to him and looked around for any witnesses.
"...I can see the target. Alright, be prepared to fire on my signal."
Serena nodded and got into position. She hid under some shade and did her best to hide her presence. Sebastian scanned his surroundings for a bit and after confirming that there weren't any threats aimed at Serena, he left.
A few blocks away, Sebastian landed on a roof inconspicuously.
Currently, they were planning on becoming terrorists and committing high-profile crimes to gather attention. It was a plan devised by Sebastian and some members of Blue Rose after days of strategizing and work. It was something he could only do with the help of the others and designed to sweep all of his missions in one fell swoop.
While it was a week earlier than planned for him to show his presence to Amy, this was the best opportunity for a cover-up and an attack. If they were successful, he would be able to stay away from Amy for a while longer and at the same time, become one step closer into finding out the identity of the people rampaging everywhere with unknown abilities.
Of course, this was something that couldn't be found out by anyone. Serena and Sebastian were going not as members of Blue Rose, but as independent criminals.
This meant that if they were to get caught, Blue Rose would have more trouble getting them out of prison. But, they didn't have any other choice seeing as how while Blue Rose could indeed bypass the law in most cases, a terrorist attack in the middle of a city during the day was pushing it too far.
The nobles and those in the know wouldn't just brush this matter aside so easily, even if nobody were to die.
Pushing those thoughts to the back of his head, Sebastian took in the peaceful scenery before confirming his target.
"Fire."
BOOOOOM BOOOOOM
Two explosions happened simultaneously, both Sebastian and Serena met up and began running.