Trudge, trudge. It was just another day during an LCB team mission... or so it seemed. During the battle, an attack aimed in the wrong direction and its very form was your intentional act of betrayal. Blood splattered from the other Sinners who had roamed the same battlefield.

...Actually, he knew.

He knew it all too well, and that was the problem. He knew that one day, you intended to betray the entire bus team and seize the Golden Bough. He didn't know the reason.

But the funny thing was, having been betrayed like that in that damn mansion, in the Dead Rabbits, and in those damn Backstreets, it would be normal to stop it more than anyone else... yet for some reason, he didn't want to report it.

If he spoke up, and if evidence came out, you would likely be kicked out... and then... he'd never see you again.

When that thought crossed his mind, he got goosebumps. Why? As soon as he imagined you leaving, memories of that day flashed back. No, he couldn't witness that sight again. He didn't know why he saw you and her as the same. You were clearly different people; Catherine was a part of his life, and you were essentially just a coworker. But... but...

Since the day he noticed you were going to betray them, he started pretending not to know. Whenever you were within earshot, he leaked timings when the Guide—a Color they couldn't possibly defeat—would be absent. In a way... he was practically complicit in the plan.

Perhaps due to a weak heart, he helped you indirectly like that. He told no one and kept his mouth shut. Acting as if he knew nothing. Right, the others would just see him as a moron anyway.

And now—this mess had happened. When they went to collect the Golden Bough, while the Guide was away.

You had secretly struck down all the other Sinners. Even the Sinners' Manager. But, perhaps because you saved his turn for last... he wasn't dead yet.

He stared at the blade of the weapon you held, from which blood dripped, drop by drop. He already knew it would come to this...

...So why does his heart feel so heavy.

"...Ha, fuck... seriously... Hey. Let me ask you one thing."

"Did you really not feel any regret while doing this? Honestly?"