Cain dragged his heavy shadow across the throne room, taking a few steps before stopping quietly beside Abel.
Endi's breath caught in his throat as he stared, paralyzed by tension.
The air in the chamber shifted—cold, taut, and charged like static crawling beneath the skin.
"Cain… what the hell are you doing?" Endi's voice quivered with shock.
Cain did not answer. He simply stood beside Abel in silence.
"Heh… earlier you called him 'brother,' didn't you? Are you two siblings?" Valentino asked calmly, his gaze measuring them like a warrior sizing up an enemy, though his expression betrayed no emotion.
"That's right! We're twins! Not that we look much alike." Abel's smile was childlike, but void of warmth.
"Don't tell me… you two are Yudra?" Ponaparto's sharp question weighed down the air further.
Instinct told him—this reeked of war.
"Yudra… Azbal mentioned that once, didn't he?" Endi muttered, while Lamia's face stiffened.
"Correct."
Cain's voice finally cut through the silence—cold, dry, sharp as steel.
"Melrose. That's our family name."
At Abel's words, Ponaparto's brow furrowed deeply.
Esta, Jessica, and Moene froze in bewilderment.
"Well, well… the Melrose family? Among the Yudra, that's a name of the highest aristocracy, isn't it?" Valentino's voice carried quiet dread.
"Believe it or not, that's the truth. We're here today to declare war—upon all of you who are already fated to die."
Cain's words struck the throne room like an icy wedge.
Endi's spine froze. For once, "choking on one's breath" was no metaphor.
"W–wait! What the hell are you all talking about!? Cain! What kind of nonsense are you spouting!?" Endi's cry was the desperate struggle of his reason against chaos.
"Nonsense? Your lineage is no less prestigious than ours, you know. Really, amnesiacs are such a pain… right, brother?" Abel sneered, while Cain remained silent, his silence all the heavier.
Moschino narrowed his eyes, probing.
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
Endi moved to press him, but Lamia gently seized his arm.
"Endi, calm down."
Her voice was gentle, yet firm, enough to quell his frenzy for a moment.
"Think back, Endi. You were taught as a child, weren't you? That both my clan and yours swore eternal fealty to the house of Remsophia… and bathed the world in blood."
Cain's voice was unnervingly calm.
That very calmness made it terrifying.
Then—
A flash burst across Endi's mind.
A man's voice. A girl's scream.
"Endi, nothing lasts forever."
"Murderer!!"
The images blurred, the voices remained vivid.
Whether memory or illusion, agony tore through Endi's skull.
"Uwaaahhh!!"
He clutched his head and collapsed.
Jessica and Moene gasped in horror, while Valentino and Esta stood frozen.
"What's wrong, Endi!? Get a hold of yourself!" Ponaparto roared.
Lamia rushed to him, kneeling and pulling him into her arms.
Her embrace was firm, warm, enveloping.
"Endi, calm down. It's okay."
Her voice bloomed like a flower in the battlefield, offering true solace.
"It's okay. I'll protect you."
Her whisper smoothed the turmoil in Endi's heart.
"…Lamia, sorry… it came out of nowhere."
"Phew~ that's hot stuff, you two." Abel's playful remark twisted the air.
"So? Did you remember anything?"
Cain's piercing gaze made Endi flinch.
"You don't have to force it, okay?" Lamia's words shielded him once again.
"All right, enough of this farce!"
Moschino clapped his hands. His grin warped instantly into madness.
"Oi, Yudra—did you kill the king? Where is Prince Rose? Answer me before you die!"
Murderous intent crackled in the air. Even the throne room itself seemed to tremble.
"Don't look him in the eye, or his bloodlust will knock you out." Esta's warning made Jessica and Moene shiver.
"Back off, Moschino! Don't steal the show! These Yudra brats are mine to crush!"
"Heh… Yudra, noble, whatever you call yourselves—it doesn't matter. If you're picking a fight, I'll gladly buy it. In fact, maybe I'll go seize your so-called holy lands myself."
Ponaparto and Valentino stepped forward.
"This is getting insane…" Endi muttered, unable to stop himself.
But Cain did not move.
"Scary, scary. Even for us, facing all three Marshals is a bit too much, huh, brother?" Abel's carefree tone only stoked Ponaparto's fury.
Then—
The grand window of the throne room shattered inward as if it exploded.
"What the hell!?" Endi cried.
Countless white blades—no, feathers—shot into the room like bullets.
Valentino moved without hesitation, his sword cleaving the air like wind, slicing them all into nothingness.
The feather blades clattered to the floor.
Outside the window hovered a massive, pure-white bird, radiant and divine, its wings spread wide as it stared into the chamber.
Endi was struck speechless.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
"Fufufu… now this is a surprise."
Even Ponaparto and Valentino were shaken.
Moschino stood petrified, trembling lips fixed on the bird.
"…Margiela?"
His voice was soft, yet unbearably heavy.