After finding his brother in the office, the black‑eyed man sat down opposite him.
"We should wait for her here," he spoke calmly, though his brother could tell he was disturbed by what was going on.
It could be seen in the ever‑so‑slight tightening of his jaw.
"Why don't we just go to her when we know where she is?" the silver‑eyed brother asked with a tilt of his head.
It would be faster, and he was already itching to see the girl and the mark on her hand.
He didn't need to think hard to know she was definitely angry about it.
The black‑eyed man shook his head.
"We don't yet know to what extent the Soul Bind can affect her. Depending on how long it takes her to find us, we can guess the effect it has on her."
The silver‑eyed man rolled his eyes at his brother.
"Scheming even in a situation like this…"
Still, he didn't go against his brother's words, and they both remained in the office, waiting.
Both were silent, but the silver‑eyed one was clearly restless, his gaze locked on the door.
On the other hand, his brother was calmly sitting with his back toward the door and eyes closed.
It didn't take long, just a few minutes, until someone knocked on the door.
"Enter!" the silver‑eyed brother responded instantly.
The door opened and the girl stepped in.
Before she could even open her mouth, the black‑eyed brother beat her to it:
"Weren't you supposed to be resting?"
He didn't even turn to look at her.
He was sure it was her, although he couldn't see her and she moved silently.
The girl clicked her tongue and walked into the room to step between the brothers.
"What did the two of you do?" she asked, her voice colder than ever before when she had talked with them.
"What's the mark on my wrist?" she added.
The black‑eyed man didn't bother answering, just watching her closely.
His brother also didn't answer, but for a different reason.
The moment the girl mentioned the mark on her wrist, his gaze sharpened.
Then, when she went silent for just a moment, his hand flew out and grabbed her hand.
He pulled her close so he could twist her hand a bit and see the mark on her wrist.
"How so very cute…" he chuckled.
The mark on the girl's wrist was smaller than the marks he and his brother had.
The three marks were proportional to the wrist size, so naturally, since the girl was a teenage child, her wrist was smaller and thus the mark was also a smaller version.
That also meant that (if the mark remained there) as she grew into a mature woman, the mark would also grow with her wrist.
The girl tried to pull her hand back, but the silver‑eyed brother tightened his grip, not letting her.
Also, he started continuously (though slowly) tightening his grip, making the girl frown.
After just a few seconds, her hand started aching under the pressure.
"Don't break her wrist!" the black‑eyed man's voice brought the silver‑eyed one out of his trance, and he released the girl.
"The mark looks nice on her wrist," the silver‑eyed man looked at his brother.
The girl frowned, clearly annoyed.
"What is the mark all about?" she demanded an answer.
Finally, the black‑eyed man started saying something that seemed to hold at least some information.
"The mark in itself is quite meaningless. It just shows what kind of creature you are bonded to."
He said all that casually, but it just gave the girl more questions.
"What kind of bond are you talking about?" she glared at the man.
"Why would I be in a bond with anyone? I don't remember entering one!"
The response she got from the black‑eyed man was quite shocking:
"That's because you never entered a bond. You got tied into it the very first time you used your power."
"What does that mean?!" the girl was so annoyed and confused at the same time that she started to raise her voice.
The silver‑eyed man was much more impatient than his brother, so he answered instead.
But before that, he stretched his hands out, grabbed the girl, and pulled her to him.
"That means that when you become an adult, your soul will get connected to the two of us. And it's impossible to break even through death."
When the silver‑eyed man pulled the girl to him, she caught sight of the mark he had on his wrist, just the same as the one she had on her wrist.
Instantly, she pulled away from the silver‑eyed man and went over to his brother.
He just stared at her with those deep black eyes like he knew what she was about to do.
And he probably did, because he wasn't the least bit surprised when the girl grabbed him by the hand and twisted it to look at his wrist.
Seeing the same mark there, she felt like breaking something.
"What kind of bond is it?" her gaze was locked on the black‑eyed man, her voice cold for someone her age.
The black‑eyed man didn't answer, so the girl turned to the silver‑eyed one instead.
"What kind of bond is it?" she repeated, her voice going even colder.
The silver‑eyed man shrugged at her.
"What's the point of asking when you will experience it first‑hand?"
The two brothers had no plans of explaining things to her.
She had to figure things out on her own.
Realizing that, the girl's frown just deepened.
"Since that's the case, you probably won't have any problems if I leave now. One night has already passed since you said I have to stay here, so I can leave now."
Instantly, the two brothers frowned, but their reaction was much milder than the day before when the girl tried to leave.
The girl was actually prepared for extended claws and pressure on her shoulders, but nothing like that happened.
The pair of brothers just stared at her, their gazes colder than her voice.
The girl wasn't really intimidated.
She had been expecting worse.
"Don't glare at me. You both made it sound like I was free to leave if I still wanted to once the night passed. You said that after yesterday, I wouldn't want to leave, but you never said anything about leaving if I still wanted to."
The silver‑eyed man was about to stand up and argue back when his brother swept his gaze over him, making him stop.
"Go ahead. Leave if you can."
Hearing that, the girl knew something was off, but she twisted on her leg and turned to leave.
She walked out the door and walked to leave the building.
But as she walked, she felt strange tightness in her chest.
It felt terribly wrong.
For a moment, she stopped, placing her palm over her chest.
Her heart was beating harder than usual.
It was just a slight difference, one that she would normally overlook, but along with the tightness in her chest, she knew something had to be wrong.
For a moment, she looked back before proceeding with her leave.
With every step she took, she could feel her heartbeat get ever so slightly more intense, but it was bearable.
The girl, being stubborn, annoyed, and angry, pushed through the discomfort, determined to get back to the tavern she worked at.
And once she decided on something, she would reach her goal.
So, even as her heartbeat got so strong in her chest she could feel it up in her throat, down in her stomach, and even in her fingertips, she didn't stop.
After some time, the girl reached the tavern, feeling terrible.
She felt her heart hammering in her skull and teeth, and basically in every single bone in her body.
But she refused to go back to the Alley of Silence.
Initially, she had gone there to vent her anger; but at the moment, she was stubbornly determined to never set foot there again.
When the girl entered the tavern, she went straight to the staff area to show herself to the owner and tell her she was able to work again.
So, in that quite terrible state, she actually went to work.
She wouldn't be the one to give in to the bond.
If she was feeling the discomfort, the brothers had to be feeling it too.
So, things had turned into a battle of stubbornness.
The girl wouldn't return to them.
If they wanted the discomfort gone, they had to come to her themselves.
The girl's guess was right.
Both the brothers were still in the office, going through the same thing as the girl.
"Why did you let her leave?" the silver‑eyed brother asked with a frown.
The black‑eyed brother glanced at him.
He was clearly in the same condition as his brother, but he was still calm, his expression unchanged.
"Let her experience the discomfort. Then, she will learn to stay around naturally."
"You know she is stubborn!" the silver‑eyed man protested.
"And I'm not a patient man," he added.
"But I am. You aren't going after her."
The black‑eyed man's voice was absolute.