When the group finally arrived at the Cinder of Dusk, the sky was already turning orange. For a moment, everyone fell silent, their attention drawn to the view outside. Even after everything they had been through, the sight was enough to make them pause.

Alyssa stopped crying. From the window of the jeep, she stretched her hand out, letting the gentle wind brush against her fingers as her eyes widened in quiet wonder.

"Wow... I’ve never seen the sky this orange before," she said softly. "Are we almost there?"

Gideon was in the same jeep, sitting with the four men and Alyssa, the only ones left from the traveling group that had been destroyed in such a brutal way.

He gave her a small smile. "Yes. It’s still under construction, but... it’s beautiful, right?"

Alyssa nodded quickly, her mood lifting just a little. "It is! Are there other kids there? You said some of them want to be my friends."

Gideon reached out and gently ruffled her thick, dark purple hair. "Of course. You won’t be alone there. Everyone’s like family."

"Is it really okay for us to stay there?" One of the men spoke up.

It was Lakias, the one who had not said a single word the entire time, not even during the burial. He had not cried either, but the way he kept staring into nothing made it clear he had not processed anything yet.

He had lost his lover there.

He was still young, around twenty-five, with dark blue hair and grey eyes, someone who would have stood out under normal circumstances, but now he looked distant, as if part of him had been left behind.

"Of course," Gideon replied, his voice steady. "You can stay there. Most of my residents used to be part of traveling groups like yours. They were known, in a way. Even the newspapers talk about it."

"Newspapers?" one of them asked, confused. "We still have those?"

The others looked just as puzzled.

Gideon paused for a second. Of course they would not know. The "newspaper" he referred to came from the Epheim Dove faction. He had assumed it was common knowledge, but it clearly was not.

He let out a small breath. "It’s more like shared information. Reports about aberrant movements and things like that."

That reminded him. He had not checked the latest issue, or even the older ones. There might be information about the Eagle Union or Edelweiss Town, especially now that some of the survivors were from there.

’I should ask them later.’

The jeep suddenly came to a stop.

They had arrived.

Their vehicle was in the second row, following behind a military truck driven by Elaine, which was leading the group. Piggy was still sitting in the passenger seat, her hands tied again, this time with a fresh rope.

Gideon stepped out of the jeep as soon as it stopped, followed by the others.

A few of his residents were already waiting. Aria and Daphne approached first, welcoming them with bright expressions that stood in sharp contrast to the mood of the newcomers.

Beyond them, the construction had already begun. Even from a distance, Gideon could see heavy machinery at work. An excavator was digging into the ground to level the area, while materials were being transported by workers and dump trucks. The entire place was active, filled with movement and purpose.

Even as night began to fall, the site remained alive under the glow of floodlights, pushing back the darkness as if refusing to let it take hold.

"Boss! You brought new workers with you?" Aria exclaimed, her eyes widening as Gideon approached.

"Well... sort of." Gideon leaned closer and lowered his voice, briefly explaining what had happened.

As he spoke, Aria’s expression slowly drained of color, her body going still as the weight of it settled in.

"Oh my God... God, have mercy..." she muttered, her hands coming together as she whispered a short prayer before letting out a shaky breath. "I... I’ll prepare proper rooms for them first. They can’t work in that condition."

Daphne, standing beside her, tilted her head slightly, clearly confused but choosing not to ask. Whatever it was, she could tell it was serious enough not to pry into.

Gideon nodded. "Don’t tell the others the details yet. Just say they’re survivors who need rest."

He then turned his attention toward the women stepping out of the second jeep and pointed them out. "Those ones are different. They were lured in with promises of a better life, something like a job offer, but ended up caught in human trafficking."

He paused briefly before continuing. "As far as I know, they haven’t gone through the worst of it yet."

"You can assign them to the food supply team as soon as possible. And if you can, try to ask about their lives before all this, especially anything related to Edelweiss Town."

Aria nodded quickly. "I understand. I’ll ask carefully and not pressure them. And... about the other group, can we move them to the wounded tents? I think that would be more suitable for them."

"Go ahead," Gideon replied. "Do what you think is best. I’ll check in with William about the construction progress."

His gaze shifted when he noticed Elaine dragging Piggy toward his house. He paused for a moment, then let out a quiet breath. "Actually... I think I’ll rest first."

"Understood, boss!" Aria saluted him instinctively, her hand snapping to her temple, and Daphne and a few others followed her lead.

It felt a bit strange, but Gideon didn’t have time to think about it. Elaine was already moving ahead.

"Also, there are crates back there. Move them in front of my house if you can," he added, tapping Aria’s arm before turning away.

He quickened his pace to catch up to Elaine and grabbed her shoulder.

"What do you think you’re doing?" he asked.

Elaine turned to him, raising a brow. "What do you mean? You want her staying in a tent with your residents? She could be killed, or worse, she could kill them."

"So your solution is to bring her into my house?"

She nodded without hesitation. "I know you can expand that place. There’s already a bar inside that I’ve never seen before. Just add something like a basement or a holding room." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Gideon let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair before glancing at Piggy. She was still looking down, her expression empty, as if the scene from earlier had drained everything out of her.

Then, suddenly, she lifted her head.

"Let me stay here," she said. "I’ll do anything. Even if it means becoming your slave. You can ask me anything, I won’t lie."

Elaine blinked once, then let out a short, incredulous laugh. "You think that’s how you make up for what you’ve done?"

Her expression hardened. "What is this? You finally saw the consequences of your actions and now you feel guilty?"

"Of course I do!" Piggy shot back, her voice rising. "I don’t expect forgiveness. They can hate me for the rest of their lives. I just want to help them. Is that so wrong?"

Elaine’s gaze turned colder. "You call that helping? You destroy everything, then regret it after the damage is done. Do you really think feeling sorry and playing the hero now will erase what you’ve done? It won’t."

Piggy opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her expression tightened as if she knew Elaine was right.

"...Just let me try," she said at last, her voice quieter, filled with shame. "I kept chasing Victoria’s approval. I kept going further each time. I know that now. Just let me fix it... even if it’s only a little."

Gideon stepped in before the situation drew more attention. People were already starting to look.

"You heard her," he said, his tone firm. "You were the one who wanted to use her, Elaine. Accept it."

He didn’t know if people could really change that quickly, but even he had felt something shift after seeing that scene. Maybe Piggy was going through the same thing, finally understanding what her actions had led to.

Elaine clicked her tongue and shot him a glare. "You’re misunderstanding me. I don’t care about her." She turned away. "Let’s go before your people start crowding us."

Gideon nodded, and the three of them moved toward the house.

As they walked, he shook his head slightly, still trying to make sense of Elaine’s shifting attitude and the way her words kept contradicting her action.

"She’s even more confusing than Delilah," he muttered under his breath as they stepped inside

Delilah was already standing there when they entered, greeting them with a bright smile. The expression froze the moment her eyes landed on Piggy. Her face turned sour almost instantly, and she looked at Gideon in disbelief, as if silently asking why she was even here.

Gideon chose not to answer that yet. Instead, he turned to Elaine. "Just put her in one of the empty rooms. The key should be on top of the door. You can keep it."

Elaine nodded without asking further and dragged Piggy along with her, leaving Gideon alone with Delilah, who was now standing with her arms crossed.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

"What?" Gideon shrugged, pretending not to understand.

Her frown deepened. "You know exactly what I mean. That person is trouble."

"I know," he replied calmly, then added with a grin, "I’ll tell you everything... if you take a bath with me."

He had expected her to refuse immediately. That was the whole point. It gave him an easy way out of explaining things he wasn’t ready to deal with yet.

But to his surprise, Delilah hesitated.

Her face slowly turned red as she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "F-fine... if that’s what it takes to make you talk."

For a second, Gideon just stared at her. Then he grinned, stretching from ear to ear as a quiet laugh escaped him. After everything that had happened today, something finally went his way.

He had only meant it as a joke, but now he was actually getting what he asked for.

Maybe life wasn’t as bad as he thought.