More than three hundred years ago, during the earliest years of the Empress's reign...
The young Empress had, in many ways, been forced onto the throne.
The imperial crown had never been meant for her.
A mysterious catastrophe had wiped out every other member of the royal family, leaving her as the sole survivor.
Within the court, countless hyenas circled greedily around the fragile authority of the new Empress, eager to use the glory of imperial power as bricks for their own mansions.
Beyond the court, countless wolves stared openly at the ancient empire that now seemed ready to collapse at any moment. They waited for the chance to leap forward, sink their fangs into the young Empress's throat, and divide the Empire's vast territories among themselves.
Surrounded by endless malice, the young Empress ascended the throne in confusion and fear.
Under the watchful eyes of the pontiffs, she sat upon the imperial seat and forced herself to receive one noble after another.
Among all those distinguished figures, only one left a lasting impression on her.
The Duke of the North, Cromwell.
The very man rumored to have murdered the previous Emperor, her uncle.
Among the many nobles who stood before her, some showed reverence, some suspicion, and some undisguised greed.
Only Cromwell looked at her with sympathy for a lonely young girl and the proper respect owed to his sovereign.
From the very first glance, she knew he could never have murdered her uncle or the rest of her family.
And it was that single meeting that caused her to remember those eyes for centuries.
Now, when she looked at this unfamiliar young man, she felt as though she had seen that same peculiar gaze once again.
But Dawn quickly shook her head.
Cromwell had died long ago.
She had witnessed it with her own eyes.
The calm determination he had shown in his final moments was something she would never forget.
Suppressing those thoughts, Empress Dawn slowly descended before the three of them and raised a hand in a gentle gesture.
"Rise."
Mozo, Audrey, and the knight immediately obeyed.
The three reacted quite differently.
Audrey remained completely bewildered. While keeping her head lowered, she secretly stole glances at the highest ruler of the Empire.
No matter how hard she thought about it, she simply could not understand how she had become involved in such an unbelievable chain of events.
The knight rose but kept her head respectfully lowered.
She did not believe herself worthy of looking directly at her sovereign.
As for Mozo...
He first worked hard to steady his emotions before calmly lifting his head to meet Empress Dawn's gaze.
Their eyes met.
And once again, her heart trembled slightly.
They were clearly two entirely different people.
Yet every time she looked at Mozo, she could not help but think of Duke Cromwell.
Silently adjusting her breathing, the Empress finally suppressed the strange flutter in her chest.
At the same time, another possibility occurred to her.
Looking around the chamber, Empress Dawn spoke.
"People of Lorraine, tell me what happened here."
Mozo bowed slightly, one hand over his chest.
"Your Majesty, nothing particularly serious occurred."
"We merely dealt with a traitor."
Dawn lifted her chin slightly.
"A traitor to the Empire?"
Mozo shook his head.
"To the Formless Court."
Understanding immediately dawned on the Empress.
White Mask had lied.
Green Mask truly had betrayed the organization.
"The Green Angel?"
"Indeed."
After nodding, Empress Dawn asked another question.
"Then... are you one of my subjects?"
Mozo answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Of course."
Mozo understood the Empress well.
Because of his influence in the past, her tolerance and acceptance of unusual things were exceptionally high.
That was why he openly acknowledged his "identity" before her.
Hearing that, Empress Dawn smiled happily.
"Then, as a hero who protected the Special Zone, you shall receive the reward you deserve."
As she spoke, she extended the back of her hand toward him.
It was also part of her verification.
Without thinking much about it, Mozo lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand.
He completely failed to notice the look of shock in the knight's eyes behind him.
In this world, kissing a ruler's hand was simply a matter of etiquette.
Normally, there was nothing unusual about it.
The Lorraine Empire, or rather, the current Empress, was the exception.
The Empress occasionally allowed her subjects to kiss her hand as well.
However, she always wore gloves.
Today, Mozo had just kissed the bare back of the Empress's hand.
For a moment, the knight had no idea what she should do.
Should she stop Mozo?
Or should she remind the Empress that she had forgotten her gloves?
The worst part was that neither option seemed correct.
Stopping Mozo might offend the Empress.
Reminding the Empress might cause trouble for Mozo.
Caught in hesitation, she missed her chance.
Everything was already over.
In the end, the knight could only lower her head even further and pretend she had seen nothing.
At the same time, she silently prayed to Goddess Havis, hoping the Empress would simply forget the incident.
Otherwise, things would become very awkward afterward.
Meanwhile, the Empress calmly withdrew her hand.
Then, unnoticed by anyone, she lightly brushed her jade-like skin where Mozo's lips had touched and thought to herself:
Not unpleasant at all...
Outwardly, however, she simply smiled and said:
"I must return to the Imperial Palace."
"It is inconvenient for me to remain outside for too long."
"I will leave the detailed investigation entirely in Earl Hearn's hands."
"You may trust him."
With that, Empress Dawn departed the underground hall directly, transforming into a beam of radiant light as she returned to the Fog Capital.
After the Empress left, the Earl was assisted by the Chief Captain and the Trench Coat Man as they finally released the seal of the Mirror World Candle.
Outside the mirror realm, the real world remained peaceful.
People everywhere were celebrating the arrival of the Holy Night Festival.
None of them knew that, beyond their awareness, nameless heroes had already fallen.
The laughter and joy of ordinary people were often built upon the sacrifices and dedication of those whose names would never be remembered.
After returning to the surface, Mozo and the others were quickly escorted back to the Bureau of Investigation.
Soon afterward, however, they were transferred to the mayor's residence.
That greatly relieved Audrey.
As an unaffiliated Beyonder, the Bureau of Investigation felt little different from a prison to her.
Unfortunately, that relief did not last long.
Because the three of them were brought before Earl Hearn alone.
And Hearn was a Sequence Three demigod.
The pressure made Audrey extremely uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the Earl merely asked her a few questions before allowing her to leave.
After Audrey, it was Mozo's turn.
Unlike the Empress, Mozo knew Earl Hearn would likely be much harder to deal with.
After all, he knew the Empress extremely well.
But he knew absolutely nothing about the Earl.
Meanwhile, after returning to the Imperial Palace, Dawn raised a hand and manifested an illusion of Mozo before the attendants waiting to receive her.
"I want a complete record of this man's background."
"Focus especially on investigating his family history."
Then she lightly bit the tip of her finger and added:
"And if possible..."
"Get me a drop of his blood."