The night descended as if to quietly lock away this mansion alone. The wind, carrying the sound of distant rain, stroked the garden, swaying the flowers that would never wither. The petals glowed faintly in the moonlight, their sweet scent melting into the night air crossing the stone pavement. In the beautifully manicured garden, there was no end to the season anywhere. Only silence accumulated like eternity.

The mansion accepts him along with that silence. A single droplet of rain, etched into his wet jet-black coat, falls quietly onto the polished marble floor. Cassian Lioris did not stop his pace, silently sliding the coat off into the hand extended nearby. The waiting old servant bowed and melted into the darkness like a shadow. Checking the knot of his tie, which was not even disarrayed, he slowly proceeded down the corridor leading further inside.

At the end of the deep, long corridor, he knocked only once. Without waiting for a reply, Cassian quietly opened the door. The room was filled only with moonlight and the faint flickering of a dim lamp. The interior was maintained as a greenhouse where not a single piece of the tragedy of the outside world could reach. By the window, there was the shadow of a person standing, receiving the chilly night air.