The long hours of the afternoon drifted by in complete silence as I continued to pore over the dense contents of the dossier. To fully track Vanessa Katt down and pin her precise movements, I knew my next step had to be a trip to the Bureau to cross-reference their local intelligence reports. But before I could even think about stepping onto a battlefield against her napalm magic, I desperately needed to get my crimson trench coat ready. That meant venturing out to secure the rare Neospider silk Olive required for the resizing… a long, arduous road of preparation lay ahead of me.
After sitting on the sofa for so long that the room's shadows began to lengthen, a sudden, firm knock on the front door shattered the silence.
I immediately stood up, leaving the heavy cream folder open on the coffee table. Moving quickly and silently, I grabbed my canvas cloak from the rack and threw it over my shoulders, pulling the deep hood over my face and tucking my blood wings away. In this city, you could never be too careful, it could easily be a stray Knight patrolling the neighborhood or an inquisitive neighbor, and I couldn't risk exposing my identity.
I approached the entrance and cautiously pulled the heavy oak door open. Standing on the porch, bathed in the fading afternoon light, was Evelyn.
"Big sister, I'm home!" she announced, a brilliant, tired smile lighting up her face.
She was dressed in her brand-new, official Luminous Knight uniform… a striking combination of pristine white and scarlet fabrics, complete with a polished silver breastplate, a pleated tactical skirt, and elegant long heels. Interestingly, blending her down to a still-impressive F-cup that fit seamlessly into the rigid structure of the uniform.
As she stepped past me and entered the warmth of the living room, my heart skipped a frantic beat. For a split second, a surge of adrenaline had hit me, a lingering worry that some high-ranking knight had followed her home or spotted the silhouette of my wings through the doorway. But I quickly realized I had completely mistaken the situation, it was just my sweet baby sister, safe and sound.
Once she was fully inside, I closed the door tightly behind her and locked it. Turning back toward the living room, I wanted to properly acknowledge her successful return. I walked over to the wooden banister near the stairs and called for her attention by making a specific, rhythmic knock, five evenly spaced, deliberate taps followed by a brief, meaningful pause. It was our private, unspoken code, a silent expression of relief and celebration indicating that my sister was finally right here, safe at home where she belonged.
Evelyn blinked in slight confusion at my rhythmic tapping, her large eyes darting from my hand to my hooded face. Seeing her puzzled expression, I quickly reached into the pocket of my maid dress, pulled out my notepad, and scribbled down a clear instruction:
Follow the pattern, Evelyn. It's our security code from now on.
As she read the paper, a look of sudden, sharp realization washed over her beautiful face, replacing her cheerful smile with a serious nod. She understood exactly why I was being so incredibly cautious. Even though she was only technically six years old, she possessed deep, strategic knowledge derived from two distinct sources: the stolen memories of the knights she had encountered in her past as a core, and the highly confidential intel she had just gathered inside the CKBA during her official recruitment interview.
She knew with absolute certainty that her older sister was the legendary Crimson Phantom… the high-ranking, fifteen-gold bounty target, the blood-sucking winged demon that the entire capital's military was actively hunting down right now. If anyone followed her home, it would mean a death sentence for us both.
But once she confirmed the perimeter was entirely safe, the heavy tension vanished from her shoulders. Evelyn let out a joyful squeal and jumped backward onto the large sofa, tossing her pristine white-and-scarlet knight boots into the air.
"I passed, big sister! I passed the interview! I'm officially a Luminous Knight!" she cheered, kicking off her long heels and sinking into the soft cushions.
Seeing her celebrate with such pure, unbridled happiness, I felt the lingering paranoia melt out of my chest. I unclasped my heavy canvas cloak once again, tossing it over the arm of the chair to free my massive, midnight-black blood wings. I let them stretch out fully into the dim room, the feathers rustling softly as I relaxed.
But before I could even write down a congratulatory note, a loud, sharp, and incredibly distinct gurgling sound echoed through the quiet living room.
Evelyn froze mid-cheer, her face instantly turning as scarlet as the trim on her uniform. She wrapped her hands over her silver breastplate, looking up at me with an embarrassed, sheepish grin as her tummy let out another desperate rumble. It seemed all that intense testing and interview stress at the Bureau had left my newly minted knight completely starving, and it was a good thing I had a pantry newly overflowing with canned meats downstairs.
I gestured with my right hand toward the dining table, silently telling Evelyn to go sit down for dinner. She nodded eagerly and trotted over to the dining room, the heavy fabric of her pleated uniform skirt swishing with each step. Since I hadn't had time to cook a proper hot meal today amidst all the chaotic chores, I reached into our newly replenished pantry and grabbed two tins of the premium canned meat the merchant had gifted me.
With a tight grip from my single hand, I pierced the tin and peeled the metal lid back with my bare fingers, using raw bounty hunter strength. I handed the first open can to Evelyn along with a silver spoon. She dug in immediately, her eyes lighting up as she happily shoveled the savory meat into her mouth.
I picked up my own tin and began eating it in one go. Because my tongue was completely nonexistent… ruined along with my vocal cords in the past… the process of eating was a slow, mechanical chore. Months had passed, I had adapted my jaw and throat to chew and swallow safely without a tongue, but it meant I could barely taste the food, and what little flavor did register wasn't particularly pleasant. Still, it was pure fuel, and my battle-hardened body needed it.
Once Evelyn finished her canned food, she set her spoon down with a satisfied sigh. She leaned her chin on her hands and stared across the table at me. I stared back, the dim candlelight catching the fabric of my black-and-white Victorian maid dress and the slow, rhythmic flickering of my massive dark blood wings behind me. Despite my monstrous appearance, she looked at me with nothing but pure, sisterly adoration.
Remembering her first day out in the world acting like a proper human, a bright smile broke across her face.
"Big sister, I made a lot of friends today! Especially a lot of boy friends, and a little bit of girl friends, too."
I offered her a knowing, slightly protective glare from beneath my brow. I didn't need to be psychic to understand what had happened at the Bureau. With her strikingly beautiful face, slim hourglass figure, and the way her massive bust strained against her silver breastplate… even compressed down to an F-cup… every single young male recruit in the Capital Knight Bureau Association had undoubtedly been staring at her. But looking at her radiant expression, I kept my protective instincts in check. She was just genuinely happy to finally have human friends, after all, for her entire life up until a few weeks ago, her only companions and siblings had been mindless slimes deep within a dark core cavern.
Then, Evelyn leaned in a bit closer, her voice tingling with excitement.
"And guess what, big sister? I was ranked third in the entire Luminous Knights!"
Her words made me freeze. I pulled out my notepad, my single eye widening slightly. I honestly had no idea the Luminous Knights even utilized a strict ranking system. But drawing from the tactical intel Evelyn had absorbed during her testing, she quickly explained that the order maintained a precise hierarchy based purely on individual magical strength, combat prowess, and overall threat-handling capability.
Out of all the 132 officially recorded Luminous Knights currently stationed in the capital, my baby sister had just been placed at number three.
A heavy, sinking feeling formed in my stomach. Standing at the absolute apex of the military order meant one terrifying thing: Evelyn wasn't going to be patrolling quiet city streets or handling basic security. As the third strongest knight in Caria, the Bureau was going to throw her directly into the most volatile, high-fatality, and dangerous missions the kingdom faced. She was going to be sent to the front lines of brutal conflicts, all to fulfill the innocent, noble promise she had made to protect this country and save human lives.
I set the empty tin down on the wooden table, the metallic clink echoing softly in the quiet dining room. Reaching for my notepad with my right hand, I quickly scribbled a final message for my sister, the ink flowing smoothly under the dim candlelight.
I stood up from my chair, my black-and-white maid dress rustling as my massive, dark blood wings folded tightly and neatly against my spine to avoid knocking over any of the dining room furniture. As I walked past her side of the table, I paused for a brief moment. I reached out with my single right hand, gently stroking her soft hair with a maternal tenderness, letting her know that no matter how powerful of a knight she became to the rest of the world, she would always be my baby sister here at home.
I set the folded note down right beside her empty food tin. Evelyn picked it up and read the silent words I had left for her:
Get some rest, Evelyn. You have a long, hard day of work ahead of you tomorrow.
Leaving her with a final, reassuring nod from beneath my brow, I turned away from the table and proceeded to walk toward the stairs. My boots clicked softly against the wooden steps as I headed upstairs to the quiet sanctuary of my master bedroom, ready to wash away the exhaustion of the day's chores and mentally prepare myself for the dangerous hunts that awaited us both in the capital.