It was late at night.

The house of Serendis.

Rosen awoke instantly, pricking up his ears to listen.

'Squeak~squeak~clack!'

An imaginary scene appeared in Rosen's mind.

Someone had pulled open the window latch, pushed open the window, then closed it again before pushing the latch back into place.

"Why is Master still awake so late?" Rosen wondered curiously.

But this was Serendis' private life after all. Opening the window could just be for letting in some fresh air, nothing too unusual about it.

Rosen didn't dwell on it further.

However, now that he was awake, he couldn't fall back asleep. He continued reviewing his magic knowledge instead.

About half an hour later, there were sounds coming from upstairs again - the opening and closing of a window, followed by a woman's voice.

Muffled by the thick wooden floorboards, he couldn't make out exactly what was said, but he could discern two different voices, one of which seemed to be complaining.

Rosen's mind stirred: "Is the madness acting up?"

He pricked up his ears trying to listen more closely, but the voices didn't continue and no more sounds came after that.

But now Rosen was completely awake, with all kinds of thoughts running through his head.

Soon, he thought of a possibility.

"Did Master leave the room the first time the window opened? And the second time was when she came back?"

As this idea occurred to him, another thought followed closely after.

"The gruesome murder in the South Market happened near Serendis' cottage. And Master's appearance matches Shapolai's description of the murderer almost perfectly. Now she's secretly going out at night..."

"No, that's absolutely impossible, unless Master has a crazy third personality hidden that I don't know about. There's no way she could be the killer."

After observing her closely while living together for over a week, her every move and smile kept appearing in his mind.

He didn't believe anyone could conceal themselves so deeply as to completely fool his eyes.

But with so many coincidences stacking up, it did seem suspicious.

To those close to her, this little suspicion was nothing of course. But to strangers, like the constables, it would be more than enough to make her a prime suspect.

Another thought suddenly jumped out -

"Could someone be trying to frame Master?!"

If that was the case, then her abnormal behaviors would have a reasonable explanation.

She probably sensed something wrong too, so went out at night to investigate the truth.

The more Rosen thought about it, the more likely this seemed, much more likely than Master being the killer herself.

"Someone's trying to frame Master, what should I do?"

"Master is far more powerful than me, her opponents must be strong too. Since she's already noticed something off, I'll just pretend I know nothing for now."

"Should I tell Uncle Shapolai?"

"Doesn't seem necessary either. Master had plenty of chances to tell him herself, but didn't, so she must have her own considerations. I shouldn't meddle unnecessarily."

After weighing it over, Rosen chose to remain silent.

He cleared his mind and tried not to think about anything.

Soon, drowsiness washed over him again, and he fell deeply asleep.

The night passed uneventfully.

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The next morning, Rosen got up as usual. After a busy morning, he had breakfast with Serendis.

During the meal, Rosen took the chance to observe her carefully. She looked bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, in excellent spirits, without any signs of sleep deprivation.

"Maybe she didn't go out at all, just opened the window for some fresh air."

He decided to put aside his doubts and act as usual.

After breakfast he went to the Hound's House to paint and collect payment for his paintings.

Lately he'd been able to sell at least one painting every day, each earning him a huge income of 10 to 25 crowns.

According to Harryk, at least half the paintings were bought by the same wealthy merchant.

The man ran a shipping business, with dozens of large ships under him, and was filthy rich.

He was obsessed with beauty, but had very particular tastes that real women couldn't satisfy. So he channeled all his passion into the imaginary world of paintings.

Rosen listened with half an ear, not thinking too much about future developments for now.

It wasn't that he didn't want to think about it, just that he didn't have time.

Recently, his mind and soul were almost completely immersed in the world of magic.

When Rosen was painting, Shapolai came back.

By the time Rosen finished the painting and went downstairs to rest, he saw Shapolai sitting alone at the table drinking, a gloomy look on his face.

"Uncle, what's wrong?"

Shapolai had been repressing his anger and immediately slammed the table, looking furious.

"Just when things finally calmed down for a week, there was another incident last night! Two more killed, in an extremely gruesome manner!"

More murders last night?

Rosen's heart skipped a beat, and the abnormal sounds from the second floor last night came back to him.

He hurriedly asked, "Any clues about the killer?"

Shapolai downed a big gulp of wine, frustration evident on his face.

"Yes, and not just clues. I saw the killer herself at the crime scene!"

"She ran incredibly fast, very familiar with the roads around the South Market. I pushed myself to the limit chasing after her, but she still escaped!"

Rosen was surprised. "Uncle, you're a high-level Warrior. How could she be faster than you?!"

Shapolai sighed deeply. "If it was just running speed, she's naturally no match for me."

"But she knows magic, she can fly. Vaulting over a ten meter high wall takes her no time, while I have to climb over painstakingly. Going back and forth like that, I lost track of her."

"She can fly too! Did you get a clear look at her face, Uncle?"

Flight magic takes a considerable amount of mana. To escape Shapolai, her flight must have been very fast, indicating the killer has abundant magical power.

Shapolai shook his head regretfully. "I did see her face clearly a few times, but she had it wrapped in a black cloth, only her eyes showing. The lighting was dim too, couldn't make out any details."

"But the clues left at the previous crime scene were proven completely accurate. She is indeed a voluptuous woman."

"Oh wait, something's not right. Her back silhouette looks kind of familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before."

Shapolai clutched his head, lost in thought.

Just then, a bright and unfamiliar male voice sounded from outside the Hound's House.

"Mr. Shapolai, are you in?"

Shapolai raised his voice in response, "I'm here, come on in!"

Soon, a young man walked into the Hound's House. Seeing Shapolai, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Before Rosen could ask, Shapolai took the initiative to introduce him.

"This is Olek, also a bounty hunter, and a wandering mage skilled in some decent magic. We just met recently, but hit it off right away."

"We've been working together to catch the killer these days."

He then introduced Rosen to Olek: "Rosen, my little brother here, currently a magic apprentice."

Olek gave a cheerful laugh. "I've heard so much about you from Shapolai, I'm honored to finally meet you."

Rosen also stood up to greet him.

"Uncle Shapolai is generous and honest. To have his approval, you must be an upright gentleman too. I'm very honored to meet you as well."

While exchanging pleasantries, Rosen observed the man carefully.

Probably around 25 or 26 years old, half a head taller than Shapolai, with thick, shoulder-length pale blond hair. His eyes were a bright azure, lively and dazzling. His features were chiseled, skin smooth and flawless, none of the weariness that mercenaries often bore.

When he smiled, it was as if his whole being radiated light. Together with his refined manners and gentle demeanor, he exuded an intense charm that made one feel instantly drawn to him.

Compared to him, Shapolai looked like a fat, ugly black rat.

Although Rosen was past the age of judging by appearances, the contrast was still striking.

He couldn't help suspecting that part of Olek's reason for befriending Shapolai was to stand out beside the ugly man.

As it was getting late, and Shapolai and Olek were still engrossed in discussing case details, Rosen bid them farewell after a short while and headed back to Serendis' cottage.

He raced back, started a fire and began cooking dinner, before the passionate Serendis arrived.

After some awkward maneuvers, he finally managed to coax her upstairs to write her thesis, while Rosen began washing the clothes she had changed out of.

This was routine for him now, he was used to it and saw it as daily magical training.

While washing, he noticed an unexpected situation.

On the inner skirt while cleaning the cotton undergarment, Rosen found some inconspicuous black smudges near the hem by the thighs.

'What's this?'

He held up the skirt for closer inspection. It turned out to be the black mud commonly found on the streets.

'How strange!'

If it was from going outdoors, the outer skirt should also be stained, mostly around the hem.

But now, both the inner and outer skirt hems were very clean, meaning she hadn't gone out.

Yet the least likely place to get muddy was stained.

How did the mud get there?

Rosen sank into contemplation, soon thinking of a possibility.

She must have worn practical night clothes for going out last night. After returning to her room, she changed out of the nightwear back into the inner skirt for sleeping.

When changing, a speck of dirt from the outer clothes accidentally rubbed onto the inner skirt, and Master didn't notice.

In other words, Master did secretly go out last night.

And the familiar back view Shapolai saw at the crime scene was very likely Master, who happened to be examining the scene too.

Rosen sighed inwardly.

"Master, Master, please be very careful no matter what."

He had finally found a reliable Master, only been learning from her for two weeks, certainly didn't want any mishaps happening again.