Thanks to the papers we found, the Guard Captain and his people arrested more than forty people in the next few days and freed over two hundred illegal slaves, dismantling the whole smuggling ring from the root up. They weren’t able to find out if it was a part of some bigger organization or not, but they were pretty sure that they managed to root out the whole thing.

  Handling Baron Gobley in front of the Guard Captain had a side effect: it boosted my reputation even more. Firstly, the guards didn’t hesitate for a second and spread the word through the entire city like wildfire. Just a few days after the incident, everybody in the city knew about how I was able to see through the Baron’s bullshit. Secondly, the Guard Captain started calling me for important interrogations, adding more personal requests to the already big pile of personal requests.

  But sadly, not everything worked as well as my relationship with the guards and their captain. The feeling of being watched didn’t go anywhere; instead of getting better, it got even worse. Now I started to feel it even at home—it was infuriating. I had my maids and servants all checked out twice by the Captain of the Guards; everyone showed up absolutely clean, and I even personally went to check all the doors and windows before going to sleep to make sure everything was locked. No matter where I went, no matter how fast I went, I could not shake that feeling. It was eating me alive. And every time I turned, there was nothing.

  I decided to go and relax at lunch with the twins. I arrived, greeted them, and sat down.

  “So how was the interrogation gig?” asked Cora.

  “It was fine. The suspect turned out to be innocent and knew nothing about the crime.”

  “Not sure if that is good or bad!” Juliet responded absentmindedly. She looked like she was on her last leg, her usual spark nowhere to be found. The dark crescents under her bloodshot eyes could not get any deeper, and her eyelids hung heavy and puffy. Her face looked drawn, cheeks slightly hollow, and unless she was spoken to, she simply drifted into a thousand-yard stare.

  But the longer I looked, the more signs appeared. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her white knuckles from gripping her coffee cup too hard pointed to the fact she wasn't just lacking sleep—she was worried about something.

  “Juliet, are you okay? Did something happen? You look worried.”

  She sighed heavily before answering slowly. “It’s nothing, Victor. Just the investigators are pressing too hard. I am forced to stay at work late into the night because of them. Plus, even when I get home, I can’t really get a proper sleep. I have too much on my mind to sleep well.”

  "I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like you are going through hell in there."

  As the words left my mouth, the air in the restaurant seemed to turn ice-cold. It wasn't just a feeling anymore—it was a sharp, targeted gaze that felt like a physical weight on the back of my neck. My skin prickled. I didn't just turn—I whipped around, chair scraping loudly. I caught the tail end of a dark cloak disappearing through the door.

  "Victor?" Juliet’s voice was small, cracked with her own fear, but I couldn't stop. I reached the door in three strides, pulse pumping in my ears. I scanned the bustling sidewalk, looking for that specific void of light, but the street was crowded with ordinary people going about their day. The figure had vanished into thin air once again.

  “Fuck!” I whispered under my breath as I returned to my seat. The twins were staring at me, their faces filled with a new kind of worry. I realized my outburst hadn't helped. If anything, I'd made things worse—piling more tension onto Juliet's exhaustion and the unspoken strain that had lingered since Selah's drawing.

  I just forced a smile and shook my head. “Sorry, maybe I am getting paranoid from all those bounty hunter requests. Maybe I need to go clear my mind in a dungeon.”

  “You weren’t in a dungeon for quite some time already,” spoke Cora, trying to ease the tension.

  “Yeah, too many requests. Before that, I just mindlessly grinded that angel dungeon. I should find a better balance between the dungeons and bounty hunter requests,” I answered, picking up on what Cora was trying to do and helping her as much as I could. The rest of the lunch was still tense; considering everything that was floating in the air, it was no surprise. The lunch left me more worried about them than relaxed.

  I pushed through it and went to clear my mind in a dungeon. I headed straight to the dungeon I never visited until now. It was the largest Rank C dungeon in the city, called ‘The Crypts.’ The dungeon was rather unusual; you could see the boss room the moment you entered, but couldn't enter it. It was protected by six colorful barriers. In order to enter the room, one had to dispel all of them.

  The boss room was the central room of the Crypts, with the rest being a ring around it. There were eight hallways connecting the outer ring with the boss room, one every forty-five degrees. The safe room was to the north, straight above the central room, so from the moment you arrived, you saw the boss room through one of the connecting tunnels.

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  The walls, floor, and ceiling were made out of coarse yellow rock and the whole dungeon stunk of death and embalming fluid. As you'd expect from a place called the Crypts, it was filled with undead. As I stepped out to the outer ring, I could see a blue barrier to the left, six barriers blocking my way inside, and a free path to the right. I turned right and walked forward. Soon a group of ghouls ran up to me, trying to attack.

  After dealing with them, I came across a red barrier, but on this side of the barrier I could see a door on the outer wall of the ring. I walked up to the door, opened it, and entered a room with a mummy standing in a red magic circle. The moment I entered, the mummy tried to scream something and started casting a spell at me.

  I first counterspelled the spell, then killed the mummy. The moment the mummy turned to particles, the red circle that was around her disappeared, and when I left the small room, the red barrier was no longer there.

  Like this, I progressed across the entire dungeon, killing increasingly larger groups of ghouls as I progressed around the outer ring and mummies in the side rooms. The whole thing took a little more than thirty minutes. As I removed the last barrier, the sound of rock sliding on rock could be heard from the middle of the dungeon.

  When I reached the central room, the boss was already standing in the middle, next to the open sarcophagus, ready to fight. It was a pale humanoid with long hair and very elegant-looking clothing. He looked almost human if you ignored the paleness, the pointy ears, and the two protruding fangs.

  The moment I stepped inside the room, the vampire screeched and jumped towards me, trying to close the distance in one leap. Seeing him fly towards me, not able to dodge, I almost pitied the creature. One quick slash later, and the vampire dissolved into loot. I grabbed what I needed and left.

  The moment I found myself standing in the house with the portal, in front of me was the exit towards the street. The portal back to the dungeon was behind me. I slowly stepped out, wanting to return to the mansion, but the moment my hand touched the door, I remembered the feeling of being watched and turned back, entering the dungeon again.

  Just one more run. Just one more hour where I don't have to think.

  I ended up grinding the dungeon late into the night, pushing the paranoia down for a while. But the moment I left the dungeon, the feeling returned.

  But this time, the person trailing made a mistake. In the corner of my eye, I could see him: an average-looking guy dressed in black. I wanted to be sure the person was really trailing me, so I picked up the pace and turned right at the next intersection, eagerly waiting to see if the person in black behind me would do the same.

  Soon, the person stepped out from the corner and turned right.

  “Finally! We get to squeeze some info out of him!” I whispered, smiling.

  “Finally!” Alrune's voice echoed in my head. She was taking the fact that we were being watched better than I was. What bothered her wasn't the surveillance—it was watching me spiral.

  I kept walking until I spotted a small alley. I turned into it and pressed myself against the wall of the house, blade ready, waiting for the person following me. The moment he turned the corner, I grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall, blade at his throat.

  He froze instantly. Tears welled in his eyes, and the sharp stench of urine hit me. The man just stood there shaking in his own piss, with his hands held high, crying.

  I relaxed a bit and asked, “You weren’t trailing me?”

  The man shook his head vehemently. This time I didn't need Alrune to tell me—the terror in his eyes said everything.

  "I'm so sorry. I thought—" But what could I say? That I was hunting shadows? I just shook my head and handed over a gold piece to the man. He grabbed it and ran, not uttering a single word.

  I stood there, blade still in hand, staring at the wet stain on the cobblestones.

  I almost killed an innocent man because I'm losing my mind.

  “Shit!” I swore under my breath.

  “We need to stay calm, Vic. No worries, we can do this together.” Alrune tried her best to calm me down. I took several deep breaths and spoke.

  “You are right, panicking won’t help me.”

  “You should go report it to the guards!” Alrune proposed.

  “Report what? A weird feeling? People vanishing away without speaking to me? What do you think they will do? Give me a guard to watch me? They have much bigger concerns than me feeling weird!”

  “I was just trying to help!”

  “I know. I apologize, my love. I overreacted. It’s just... this whole thing is stripping me raw.” I leaned my forehead against the damp brick of the alleyway, the cold stone a sharp contrast to the heat of my panic. Even here, in the dark and the quiet, the sensation of eyes on my neck didn't fade.

  “All good, Vic. I know! I love you!”

  I just stood there for several minutes trying to calm my nerves, but it became practically impossible, feeling all the time like somebody was watching me. Eventually I gave up and headed for the mansion, ignoring the feeling, just wanting to get back home. Even if it no longer felt safe, I hoped it would be better than standing in an alley. At least there, I wouldn't mistake a servant for a threat and nearly kill them.

  As I returned to the mansion, I pushed my dinner around the plate and had a quick bath. After that, I went to my bedroom and froze.

  There was a letter in the middle of the bed. I quickly stepped out of the room and called for the butler standing nearby.

  “Arthur! Please come here!”

  A seasoned butler in his late fifties walked up to me and bowed politely. “What can I do for you, Master Shrier?”

  “That letter,” I pointed to the bed. “How did it get there?”

  The butler followed my finger, only to freeze for a moment. “I don’t know, Master Shrier. It isn't from any of the personnel, that I know for sure. The last one to enter your bedroom was the maid that set your bed, and I checked the room after she left.”

  “Truth!” sounded inside of my head.

  “Thanks, Arthur. You can leave now!” I spoke as I slowly approached the letter.