She is not an investigator.

Isabella thought to herself with a touch of happiness, but unconsciously reached out her hand, wanting to touch something.

Slowly, her hand landed on Igris's face.

But they found nothing.

"..."

hallucinations.

Igris isn't here; there's nothing here.

It was all her illusion.

Everything she heard, everything Igris said to her, even the hand that was tightly holding Igris's, was still an illusion.

Her gaze was fake, her touch was fake, her concern was fake.

Only death is real.

The despair is real.

"...I don't want to die..."

Perhaps no one will ever hear her lament. In this illusion, everything is so blissful, yet so unreal.

She never had everything, and now she has lost everything.

Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision.

The warm sunlight streaming through the window, accompanied by the clear chirping of birds, created a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

Inside the window was a cold, white light, reflecting her broken body and that shattered dream.

Isabella has almost forgotten why she became like this.

Perhaps it was that clock tower? Or that torrential rain?

That fake hug, or those...meaningless words.

It could also be her death, her sudden departure, that made her unable to suppress the hesitation and regret that arose in her heart.

So when she saw Igris again, she could no longer suppress her feelings.

Is that so? Is that all?

She didn't know; she felt like a headless fly, completely losing all ability to think, becoming utterly ignorant.

In the past, she could single-handedly outmaneuver everyone in the city, stealing anything she wanted and taking away any treasure, and no one could stop her or hinder her progress.

Even the shackles of prison could not bind her, allowing her to escape countless times and regain her freedom.

But slowly, she seemed to be locked up again.

He was huddled in the stairwell of that clock tower, in those almost comical handcuffs.

She thought she had broken free from that constraint, but it seemed that it had always been there.

That was the real prison, the real deadly trap.

But when she came to her senses, she was already deeply involved and unable to extricate herself.

even…

Even now, on the verge of death, in the realm of the soul, in the dream of endless reincarnation.

She still didn't escape, and she still didn't want to escape.

She was... a crow who willingly allowed herself to be bound in chains, and a foolish bird who died because of it.

He is also... the most pathetic person in the world.

“Igris…”

She gently opened her mouth, calling out to the untouchable phantom before her, uttering her last words at the end of her life.

"I love you.

The Gods' Folly - Regret: Chapter Thirty-Three, The Curse

“Igris…”

In the white hospital room, Olivia, who had returned, pushed open the door again and looked at Igris sitting by the bedside.

In her eyes, Igris was now holding Isabella's hand tightly and pressing it against her face.

Even when Olivia called out to her, she only glanced at her slightly, expressing her confusion with her eyes.

Regardless of who the other party is... Igris's actions were somewhat inappropriate.

Olivia wasn't the type to be jealous or competitive, but when faced with such obvious favoritism, she couldn't help but complain a little.

At least in her opinion, Igris didn't need to be taken care of so meticulously here; the nurses and doctors would take good care of her.

There's no need for her to stay here and by her bedside. After all, she only suffered superficial injuries and doesn't have any emotional issues that need stabilization or comforting.

In short... Igris herself seemed to be in a very bad situation, but she still had to distract herself by caring about others.

This annoyed Olivia, but she couldn't use it as an excuse to do anything about it.

Because she was Olivia's assistant, she had no choice but to support everything Igris did, even in this situation.

Even she herself felt unhappy.

“I have to talk to you, Igris… about what happened last night.”

Olivia tried to make her expression look serious, which would make her seem more like she had something important to discuss with Igris alone, rather than that she was trying to get Igris away from here, away from this hospital bed and the person on it.

Igris rarely paid attention to such reasons, so naturally, she was unaware of Olivia's little scheme. She released Isabella's tightly held hand and stood up.

Olivia succeeded; her little trick went undetected, and she achieved her goal.

Most importantly... she didn't really call Igris out for no reason; she did have some things to tell her.

“Igris, you saw that madman last night, right? I heard about it in their eyewitness testimonies.”

When questioned by the police, the witch would not hesitate to implicate Igris, even though it wouldn't cause her any trouble.

Igris nodded, her brows still bearing a faint sadness, along with a strange sense of coldness and desolation.

If she had said something, this sense of distance from within would probably have dissipated, but she didn't. She remained silent, offering only the simplest response.

Olivia felt a little uncomfortable. Igris seemed too unfamiliar to her, as if she and Igris had a conflict for some reason, which prevented them from fully reconciling.

But no, Olivia never had any, and there would never be any conflict between her and Igoris, so naturally, their relationship should not be affected, for whatever reason.

But now, every action of Igris is unintentionally distancing herself from Olivia.

She did nothing wrong, so she shouldn't be treated this way.

“…Igris, do you know what we found on him?”

Shake head.

Iglesias remained silent, even though she appeared to be listening to Olivia recount what happened last night, her thoughts had already wandered off somewhere else.

She wasn't listening to anyone, and her expression was somewhat dazed, carrying a hint of confusion and unease.

…That's right.

Perhaps Olivia misunderstood Iglesias; all of Iglesias's actions were probably not her fault, nor anyone else's fault.

She should have realized it sooner: Igris' mental state was no longer as strong as it used to be; she was the patient, the one who needed the most care.

So she began to feel fear and confusion.

This is the time when she is most vulnerable and needs companionship the most, so what Olivia should do is not blame her or shift the blame to anyone else.

She should... stay by Igris's side and give her some warmth.

Instead of doubt and questioning.

“We found something familiar on him…it was a museum piece, the bone flute you’ve seen before.”

Igris remained silent, but Olivia didn't seem to mind and continued talking.

"After investigation, his original identity was also discovered... It's strange, he was my uncle's man, which probably explains why he was able to take the bone flute, but after he took that thing, he never seemed to go back."

William ultimately couldn't fully trust Igris, or perhaps... there was something wrong with the collection itself?

In short, he chose to have his men sneak into the museum and bring it out, but what happened afterward seemed to be completely beyond his control.

The person carrying the bone flute left the museum, disappeared into the streets, and unknowingly made his way to the vicinity of the academy, where he began his massacre.

His massacre was astonishing; perhaps he had lost his mind, yet each of his actions seemed to be the execution of a meticulously planned, swift, and deadly scheme.

In this massacre, four police officers were killed on the spot, two were injured, and a witch was also injured.

His true purpose remains unknown, but after infiltrating the witch academy, he did not act rashly again until Igris arrived nearby and encountered him.

He then voluntarily gave up resisting and allowed himself to be captured.

It's hard to say how normal such a person is. In subsequent questioning, he couldn't even utter a single normal sentence. But just a day before, he was an ordinary, normal person, friendly and gentle.

"Afterwards, the bone flute was returned to the museum and sealed away... but the case itself is disturbing enough."

What's unsettling is that he was just an ordinary person, yet he was able to commit such a heinous and horrific act.

He should have been insane, but when he took action, he seemed to be more lucid than anyone else.

It would be quite difficult for an inexperienced person to kill even one on-duty police officer, let alone four.

“To be honest, Igris… I think there might be something wrong with that flute, but I can’t be sure…”

"you're right."

Igris finally spoke, but her expression made it hard to believe it was good news.

Her eyes were closed as she savored the indescribable chanting and the feelings she had experienced.

Igris probably couldn't understand what he was saying, but she kept feeling that he was calling her.

It could also be that it's not him, but some more distant being calling out to her in this way.

Regardless of who the other person was, Igris's illness was indeed greatly alleviated during the chanting.

"He... was a lot like me back then."

Conscious or not?