Her fingertips trembled.
The past flickered before her eyes like a mirage, just as fine sand slipping through her fingers.
"Are you loyal to the Duke?"
When Vladimir had picked her up, he had asked her the same question, also addressing her as "Solomonik" then.
Both of his parents were murderers. His father was an Elite Sneaker capable of assassinating a Formal Wizard, and his mother was a follower of the Black Widow, able to concoct potent poisons; both had innocent blood on their hands.
They deserved to die—at least, that's what Solomonik logically understood.
But having witnessed his mother's murder by enemies and his father's disappearance, he was then chased out of the village by the people… In the howling snowstorm, alone, clutching his father's short sword, he was expelled from the minor protective barrier.
The young Solomonik was filled with fear and unease.
He trekked through the snowy terrain until he reached a great city.