Constant knockings on the door took Darius out of his sleep. Someone was calling his name, telling him to come out. Darius wasn’t sure on how long had the person outside screaming his name. But the man was screaming. Screaming was reserved for dire circumstances only during quietness of midnight.

Did they find Saer's corpse? Darius planted his feet on floor and unlocked the door.

Jehaule - a guard, was standing outside the room. There was no one else accompanying him in the entire passage.

"Anything wrong?" asked Darius.

"Did you send any letter outside few days ago informing no one in the palace?" Guard said.

How does he know I wrote to Wernh'An? "No. I did not."

"This is supposed to be the answer for your last letter." Guard held a scroll, "Someone came at gates and told us to give you this."

Darius refused to touch the letter.

"Are you sure this is for me?" Darius said.

"Your mother has written so." Jehaule unrolled the letter infront of his face.

"Ah. My mother, yes. She missed me."

"You are not allowed to invite anyone to the wedding without King Lacroix's permission."

"My old mother had a dream to see inside of this palace." Darius could not believe he had gotten a reply from Hilcastle.

"Then she shouldn’t have bore a child who would go on to become a servant." Guard said.

"I am sorry. I shouldn’t –"

"Your mother will not be allowed in. She can come after the wedding, though, to see her son getting whipped." Guard tossed the scroll at him and stormed away.

Picturing himself being flogged didn’t scare Darius. He couldn't care less about it. He locked the door and lit the lamp on his table with a grin carved on his face.

He read the letter several times, but the excitement was the same as reading it for the first time. Owning a letter written by Lord Wernh'An himself was an honor. The letter even had his name written on it at the bottom.

Darius got restless for the wedding day more than Prince Tudor.

Knocks on his door brought him down off his thoughts. But his smile was never-ending. Wearing the same expression, Darius opened the door.

Saer booted him back inside the room. Darius slumped on the floor, lurching to minimize pain on his abdomen. Saer shut the door close while Darius was struggling to breathe. The kick had always done the job for Saer whenever he wanted the victim to not make any sound. He put his bag on a table near bed and removed the thin blanket from Darius' bed.

He punted Darius him to knock him out. The trustable kick didn’t meet his expectations. It incapacitated him, but did not drain his consciousness. Listening to his grunts, Saer rolled the blanket into a rope.

Saer pulled his head backwards and sat on his spine. He wrapped the blanket rope around his neck twice, then tightened it, pulling Darius' head along.

Darius attempted to scream, but every bit of breath he had was confined under his throat. What came out of his mouth were whimpers.

"You sent a doppelganger." Saer frowned.

The voiceless spy swam on floor. He scuffled for air as Saer prepared for nailing the coffin. Saer let the tension loose for a second and pulled the rope hard for breaking his neck. Darius' movement fueled his strength.

Snap!

Darius wouldn’t stir. Saer left the grip and Darius' skull collided on floor. Saer leaped over the corpse and opened the drawers of the small cupboard alongside his bed.

Some dried birds slid to his sight. He picked each of them, then threw it on Darius' corpse. In the second drawer, he discovered some jars filled with smoke.

Saer sniffed it with its lid on. He had to be careful with those, so he placed it near the body. No matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find dolls. He just discovered an empty jar which he did not need to smell in order to know what it was. They were all going to be buried.

He opened peeked under the bed where he found a small box. Its size alone was keeping Saers' expectations grounded.

Needles, threads and a scissor.

He was making dolls. He closed the box and tossed it at the corpse.

Saer got off his knees then only he saw scroll lying on the table. He read top to bottom from where he was. Lamp on the table was bright enough for him to do so.

My eyesight is miserable. Saer read, My bones have tarnished but I still possess strength to come there and see what you want me to. I will be in the palace, my son....

Saer could not keep reading it. He felt gutted for killing the son of a near blind mother even though he was in Wernh'An's side.

He dumped the blanket on bed and took out the vessel from his bag. Darius, and the things he owned, turned into dust and flew towards the vessel. Saer closed the lid when vessel sucked in the last wisp of smoke. He put the vessel back in his bag and left the room.