Kazius would be lying if he said he had not thought about getting rid of Egil. Still, he had stopped such thoughts on principle. Doing such things would put him as no better than The Church… But perhaps he had crossed that line a long time ago. He had come to terms with the fact he was terrible for the things he did and would do… But he would do such things with the intention of what was best for the world as a future hero.

Still, to think Alice would say such things, Kazius felt responsible. He had wanted to protect her to stop her from facing such things… And he still wanted to protect her. He did not want to change Alice and influence her for the worse… But at the same time, he felt like her current state was not his doing. This had been something boiling over for some time now.

To some extent, he had failed her. He was there for Damon and Azanor because their problems were things Kazius was not a stranger to. Other than knowing what The Church was like… Kazius could not understand what it was like to lose your family… He had been betrayed by his former friends… But it wasn’t because of something he did. He had no parents or anything of the sort either.

Alice smiled and acted like she had moved on, but he should have realized it was not that simple.

Kazius looked at Alice with guilt, her words were as if they had been ripped out of his darker subconscious and presented to him wrapped up with a bow.

‘She has such a lovely expression on her face… Isn’t it about time you listen to reason and stop delaying what is inevitable? You should listen to her.’ The distinct voice chuckled out in delight.

Kazius was not sure about how he felt about Alice being complimented by The Shadows. It made him uneasy. Alice was very caring towards him and the others… But it seemed there was an obsessiveness to her care and affection due to what she had gone through.

“Don’t you think if we did that it would be a bit… Rash? Egil has been useful… And if we start getting rid of people like that… I think he deserves another chance.” Kazius began, not prepared to discuss this out in the open in such a matter. The Shadows pressuring him to kill Egil was one thing… But now Alice too?

Alice’s expression only darkened further, her frown growing even larger.

“Another chance? His other chance was when we freed him from Luna’s control. Then the moment we returned when he heard about the Vind statue… His first instinct was to confront us and blame Damon. He is not a work dog, he is a wild mutt that will bite us at the first chance he gets, Kazius!” Alice insisted firmly, her hands forming fists as she shook with anger.

“He grabbed Damon by the collar! If he… The moment something goes wrong, he will hurt you… He never suspects our enemies, he suspects us. We shouldn’t give him a chance to do that again. You have to see that much.” Alice continued. To think she was this angry and had hidden it so well until now… Then again, considering the politics of royalty and nobility… And the kind of place Ratier was, such a skill was necessary for survival.

Kazius frowned, realizing that she did have a point. With his words, Egil seemed like he wanted to make things up to Damon for how things had unfolded… But whether it was from distrust caused by the fact Damon had appointed an outsider as Chief… Or good instincts about what was going on… Through his actions, Egil acted like someone who was loyal as long as things went well…

On the surface, he was a loyal and pious man… But did he have loyalty to anyone other than Vind? Or if his instincts were good… While that could come in handy… It was a liability to them.

Kazius had a pensive look on his face, truly considering Alice’s words. She was not wrong, neither were The Shadows… He just did not want to admit it.

“He might have good instincts… So, it is almost a pity…” Kazius began with a sigh before looking Alice in the eyes, his own gaze reflecting his sadness at seeing Alice like this.

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“But you are right.” Kazius continued as he went to hold Alice’s hands gently.

“Thank you… I… I don’t want to take any chances, Kazius. If you are worried, I could-” Alice began, light returning to her eyes as her gaze softened.

“No, no. It won’t come to that. I will handle it, Alice. Don’t worry. I have an idea. I will get my hands dirty, please don’t dirty yours.” Kazius pleaded, gently squeezing her hands a little.

“Am… Am I that unreliable?” Alice asked in dismay, taking things the wrong way. Then again, considering what happened with her family, it was likely her own insecurities spilling out.

“No! I mean, of course not, Alice. You are the most reliable person I know… I wouldn’t be able to run Vargstam without your help. I hope you know that… You… You are…” Kazius began, practically swallowing back his words towards the end. He did not acknowledge how he felt out of fear. This included to himself… Much less to tell her such a thing out loud. He also did not want to speak about such things under such circumstances.

‘No, not like this.’ Kazius told himself.

“You are incredible… And I do not wish for you to dirty your hands with such tasks. I can handle it… I promise. The moment I feel like I can’t, I will tell you… But…” Kazius trailed off, taking her hands into his, leaning down and gently kissing them.

Seeing Alice saddened like that… It broke his heart. It almost reminded him of the look she had in the parade when he first laid eyes on her. Unlike at that time though, this time he could comfort her.

Alice’s cheeks gained a light dusting of pink before she seemed to shake her head a little, taking a deep breath. It was as if she was snapping herself out of something… Or pushing something away.

“Alright… I… I will let you handle it.” Alice agreed, though it was clear she was not necessarily overjoyed either.

“Thank you, Alice… I promise I will handle it… I know you don’t like lies… So, I will have it so you won’t have to lie… And I promise that even if I have my secrets… I will never lie to you.” Kazius promised as he gazed into her eyes directly. It was as if he was worried that look would return to them again.

“I will hold you to that. If I see you are struggling, I will help you. Whether you want me to or not.” Alice stated firmly before smiling at him. Her smile was warm with no sign of the face she made before.

“Then I will hold you to that too.” Kazius responded with his own smile, letting go of her hands.

His happiness was short lived though.

As he spoke, he could hear them. The Shadows were laughing…

They sounded pleased…

Was he really doing the right thing?

With things sorted out, all that was left for the rest of the day was to attend the funeral of the scouts. By the time the event started, it had grown dark. No one seemed to wear any particular attire, but everyone was wearing one of their nicer outfits.

The funeral itself was an emotional event for Vargstam. Some of the scouts had kids and wives. Now they were left behind.

Kazius did somewhat regret sending the scouts out… They were rather unnecessary when The Shadows were around… But at the same time, he had told himself he would use them sparingly… But some people would still be alive if he had just relied on The Shadows from the beginning…

He only felt more guilty about it when Egil came out along with some other townspeople who came out with the bodies of the scouts. They were wrapped up in cloth, likely it was Alice’s idea. It seemed it was meant to hide the gruesome sight of what happened to the scouts considering they were crushed to death.

As the bodies were brought out and placed onto the rafts, Kazius could hear even more crying from the families and loved ones of the scouts.

It was strange seeing Egil place the bodies on the raft. He was a useful man, so it was a shame… He supposed Damon would have to be the one to load him on when his time would come. He would get treated with respect, he was owed that much… Though it felt odd to look at a man who was still breathing while planning his funeral in your head…

Shaking away such thoughts, Kazius realized the rafts had been set on fire before being pushed out into the water.

At first, the smoke went straight up; the rafts slowly being moved away by the wind.

But before long, the wind picked up, carrying the bodies further out. It was then that the smoke began to behave strangely.

Nothing about the wind was normal...

'It is almost like-'

‘Looks like a certain goddess is still around… All it would take is a little sign from her... A message that shows her displeasure... And you’ll lose control of Vargstam within seconds… If only we would help you… If only…’ The distinct voice snickered out mockingly.

‘So Vind isn’t dead after all…’ Kazius thought to himself in concern, realizing that The Shadows were angry at his attempt to keep a distance. He had only been ignoring them for less than a day and yet he already needed them…

They wanted him to respond…

Or they might not help him…