A moment later.
Sulga’s figure appeared at the courtyard entrance like a ghost.
She had clearly received Tiana’s hurried instructions beforehand and rushed back before she could even leave the city.
She walked up to the small house and saw the Queen sitting directly on the edge of Sylvie’s simple narrow bed.
Her posture was elegant, legs gracefully crossed.
Pale fingers tapped lightly against her knee.
The air pressure around her was suffocatingly low.
“Your Majesty.”
Sulga knelt on one knee and respectfully lowered her head.
Klal did not look at her.
Her gaze remained fixed on the empty wall opposite.
She spoke, coldly uttering only two words.
“Where is she…”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, ever since you left the city this morning, Sylvie departed this house and has not returned.”
Sulga’s voice was flat and emotionless as she reported truthfully.
“Now… it is already deep into the night.”
Klal spoke in a low voice, her tone laced with danger.
Her pale fingers continued their rhythmic tapping on the bed board, one sound after another.
“And my dear little one still hasn’t shown herself.”
Tiana stood silently to the side, head lowered, eyes fixed downward in a perfect “don’t look at me, I know nothing” posture.
When the Queen was angry, she was truly terrifying.
“Even when her master is not home, as my exclusive blood servant she should know how to behave herself and please me, instead of taking advantage of my absence… to indulge her wild nature.”
Klal’s voice was low and cold, seeping into the silent air.
The tapping fingers stopped.
She slowly turned her head, and her crimson eyes finally settled on Sulga.
“Supervision? Letting my toy wander the city like a stray cat for an entire day without a single trace? Sulga, is this what you call supervision?”
Sulga froze for a moment.
She knew full well that supervising Sylvie was not part of her duties, but of course she dared not say it.
Because whatever the Queen said was law.
She simply lowered her head even deeper and answered respectfully.
“This subordinate has failed in her duty.”
“Heh.”
Klal gave a cold snort and lightly shifted her crossed legs.
Was the impact and torment from before still not enough?
Was her training still insufficient?
That night she had crushed every one of those precious little trinkets of hers right in front of her eyes, and the light in those eyes had already gone out…
Was that level of discipline still not enough to make her remember the lesson?
A trace of icy confusion flashed through the depths of Klal’s crimson eyes, quickly swallowed by even deeper displeasure.
In her view, Sylvie’s disobedience and dereliction of duty was nothing less than another challenge to her authority — proof that the training had failed.
But in truth, had Sylvie really done anything wrong?
…Of course not.
Because before leaving, Klal had indeed given the order: “During the time I’m away, she may freely manage her own time.”
Yet in Klal’s logic, that had never been true permission.
It was charity.
It was a test — a test to see whether her little pet would grow arrogant with freedom and therefore require timely correction.
She granted freedom precisely so that when the pet overstepped, the next round of training could be carried out with perfect justification.
In Klal’s heart, even if she allowed Sylvie to manage her time, it never meant the pet could leave her control.
This had never been a question of right or wrong.
It was a question of control and ownership.
Sylvie’s very existence was part of Klal’s possessions.
Her time, her actions, even her thoughts were all supposed to conform to her master’s expectations.
Any tiny deviation was disloyalty and had to be corrected through training.
She did not care what she herself had said before leaving.
She only knew —
She had returned.
And her little Sylvie… had not come to welcome her.
“Truly… disappointing.”
She murmured to herself, the force of her tapping fingers growing heavier.
“It seems the last training was still too gentle.”
“Where did she go?” she questioned again.
Sulga’s expression turned troubled.
“This subordinate… does not know. But judging from this subordinate’s speculation, Sylvie likely went to the residences of those blood livestock she once cared for — the ones who are now dead.”
She spoke in a low voice.
She did not understand how human emotions worked, but she knew those delicate feelings were fragile yet stubborn.
Even if the object of attachment had vanished, died, or left in some other form, those “threads” — even when broken — still left remnants behind.
Humans called it longing.
Then, as if a thought had struck her, Klal frowned and asked coldly.
“Where is Utia?”
Sulga thought for a moment.
“In the Western District. No sign of her.”
She answered truthfully.
“Western District…”
Klal repeated the words softly, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly.
Utia was working, and Sylvie had gone to the Western District as well…
“Truly… diligent, Utia.”
Sulga spoke in a low voice.
“This subordinate will go find Sylvie at once. Please allow Your Majesty to—”
“No need.”
Klal spoke slowly, the displeasure in her tone already turning into clear anger.
“I will wait right here.”
“I want to see exactly when this little wild cat who dared to run out and play while her master was away… will remember to return to her cage.”
Sulga remained kneeling, her blood-red eyes showing no ripple.
She knew the Queen was truly furious now.
At times like this, staying silent and awaiting orders was the wisest choice.
“Withdraw.”
Klal ordered indifferently.
Only then did Sulga rise, still keeping her head lowered so as not to meet the Queen’s eyes.
She answered “Yes” and left the room, carefully closing the door behind her.
“Um… Your Majesty, I shall also—”
Tiana forced a flattering smile onto her face and pointed toward the door.
Yet before she could take more than a few steps, Klal spoke without even glancing at her, her voice cold.
“You will wait here with me.”
The smile on Tiana’s face froze instantly.
Her footsteps halted.
She cursed inwardly but dared not show the slightest defiance.
“Yes… Your Majesty.”
She reluctantly withdrew her hand and obediently retreated to an inconspicuous corner of the small house.
The little room fell into deathly silence once more.
Only the never-ending, moaning wind of Eternal Night City echoed outside.
Klal said nothing else.
She simply sat there quietly.
Her posture remained elegant, yet the chill radiating from her body was enough to freeze the air itself.
Only she didn’t know —
At this moment, Sylvie was still being held in the arms of a certain woman, sleeping soundly.