Everything was back to square one... no, actually, it was worse.

Eight people stood in a circle, with "Anhans" lying upside down in the center, face up.

I examined the doll’s face carefully.

This doll was a masterpiece—even its eyelashes and skin pores perfectly mimicked a real person. That was one hallmark of a true puppeteer’s skill. Anhans’s talent shone through this flawless decoy; his usual self-proclaimed genius wasn’t entirely exaggerated.

Yet this genius had already been declared missing.

“Let’s sort out the situation...”

York covered his forehead, looking utterly fed up. First his father, then two Shadow Attendants, and now Anhans—this string of crises had worn him down completely.

“To clarify: about two minutes before we returned, you found ‘Anhans’ collapsed on the floor. Who spotted him first?”

Nia, pale as paper, and Liliana, sobbing uncontrollably, raised their hands. They’d discovered him simultaneously.

“Before that, did anyone notice what he was doing? Or while waiting, did you watch his every move?”

Silence hung for a moment. Then several heads shook in unison.

“Sorry, York,” Lux sighed. “I’m ashamed to admit I was pacing anxiously and barely noticed others. For Anhans, I only recall him saying ‘Don’t worry’ and ‘Leave it to me’ at first. Then he stood silently at the back. No idea what he was up to... York?”

We all turned to our eldest brother. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his expression growing increasingly unsettled.

“York, what’s wrong?”

“...Nothing. Just tired. Let’s summarize.”

He raised one finger after another—

“First, while we were gone, no one paid attention to Anhans’s actions.

Second, two minutes before our return, Liliana and Nia found him collapsed.

Third, we came back, leading to this.

The biggest mystery is Anhans’s whereabouts. Lux, your thoughts?”

“Well... bluntly, the obvious possibility is murder—”

“IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!”

Ellen cut Lux off violently. Her usual cool composure was gone; she radiated fury like a raging lioness. Beside her, Chloe stood dazed, eyes hollow, staring blankly at Anhans’s decoy doll on the floor.

“Impossible! Anhans... he’s so talented! And smart! He’d handle any crisis instantly! Someone like him, just... just...”

“Quiet, Ellen! Stop babbling!”

York asserted his authority as heir and elder brother, silencing her again.

“Ellen, Chloe, I know you’re unstable. Rest on the sofas and calm down.”

“............”

“...Alright.”

As the two quieted, Lux cleared his throat. “Murder’s one option. But only Anhans himself could’ve left that decoy doll earlier. So...”

“...Anhans might’ve gone somewhere. He left the decoy to hide his absence from the killer.”

————————————————————

Guess away.

Go ahead and guess, fools.

Watching their grim faces, “he” found it painfully hard to suppress a laugh.

Where did Anhans go?

As if it needed saying?

That arrogant fool’s already reported to Death. You won’t find his body—give up.

That makes two. Despite minor hiccups, things are proceeding smoothly.

One crucial target remains. Rushing now would be fatal. Someone might’ve already seen through the clues.

Calm down.

Stick to the plan.

————————————————————

“So two possibilities,” York nodded, glancing at Lux and Nerlis.

Ellen and Chloe were listless from grief. Liliana and Nia looked deathly pale. Molly, huddled in a corner, seemed ready to faint. Only York, Lux, and Nerlis could still think clearly.

Lux eyed Nerlis’s calm demeanor with slight suspicion, but York waved him off—trusting their third sister.

“Share your thoughts.”

“First possibility: Anhans is the mastermind. He slipped away when you four—especially the two strongest—went upstairs, to set his next move,” Lux said.

“Unlikely,” York shook his head. “If he were guilty, his earlier actions make no sense.”

“Second possibility—” Nerlis interjected, “—Anhans found clues. He left alone to investigate, hiding from the killer. The decoy was meant to confuse whoever’s among us.”

The three exchanged glances.

Such recklessness... incomprehensible for most, but Anhans? His arrogance might drive him to it.

The possibility felt surprisingly high.

“Then... what next?” Nerlis asked.

“...”

York frowned, then sighed. “If Anhans has vital clues, we confront him. If he’s guilty, we expose him.”

“But Anhans is probably already...” Lux turned away, unable to finish.

Silence fell again.

Controlling dolls or insects both fall under familiar magic. A familiar’s state mirrors its master’s—especially for puppeteers like Anhans.

When a puppeteer dies, autonomous dolls stop after their last command. Directly controlled ones halt instantly.

Either way, a doll freezing means its master has met misfortune.

Anhans’s chances were slim.

“I know... alive or dead, we must find him!”

“But how? This mansion’s huge. The killer’s likely still here. Splitting up to search is risky, yet...”

“Magic is our only option. Leaving the hall or splitting up is too dangerous.”

“But Chloe’s state...”

They looked at Chloe. She crouched on the floor, dazed, long hair half-covering her face. Her mental state was terrible—search magic would be unreliable.

Among the three thinkers, York knew magic theory but wasn’t a mage. Lux was the same. That left only—

“Nerlis, can you control insects to search?”

“If I limit it to under twenty bugs, I can track scents precisely enough.”