The latches on the suitcase clicked open under Rose's fingers.

She lifted the lid slowly.

Inside, nestled on dark velvet, wasn't a "weapon" in the traditional sense...

It was a simple, ornate crown made of a dull, brassy metal.

It looked old and tarnished, not shiny or grand.

Seth felt an odd kind of pressure push against his mind...

Like a silent and mocking voice that seemed to say "Look at me. I am better. You are less."

It was a faint feeling, but it was undeniably there, seeping out of the crown.

'The Sin of Arrogance...'

"It's genuine," Rose said, her voice heaving a relief.

She didn't touch it and just observed.

"What were the buyer's instructions?"

"Wear thick gloves lined with lead wool when handling. Never make direct skin contact. Do not speak to it or acknowledge the things it says to you..."

Darius recited.

"Standard procedure for an Arrogance artifact. Probably at the third or second circle..."

Rose nodded, satisfied.

She closed the lid, cutting off the oppressive feeling.

"Good. Your payment."

She pulled a heavy envelope from a hidden pocket in her jacket and handed it to Darius.

"Half now, as agreed. The rest when the buyer confirms safe delivery."

Darius took the envelope, thumbed through the bills quickly, and tucked it away.

"Pleasure doing business. I'll be in touch about the drop location."

He turned to leave, walking straight towards the door—and towards where Seth stood invisible against the wall.

Darius passed so close that Seth could smell the man's cheap cologne and the scent of old paper.

Darius didn't pause as he did not seem to notice Seth.

He opened the door, stepped out into the hallway, and was gone.

The door shut with a soft click.

Seth was now alone in the room with Rose.

For a long moment, Rose just stood there, one hand resting on the closed suitcase.

The business like mask she wore with Darius slipped away.

She looked tired and her demeanor now looked quite young.

She walked over to the wall where the dozens of "SECRETS" papers were plastered.

With a sigh, she reached out and carefully peeled one off the window, crumpling it in her fist

Seth had a choice.

He could slip out now and report to Miss Brown that the broker had delivered a crown of Arrogance to a girl named Rose.

That would complete his job...

But he couldn't just do that...

This was Rose, the original Seth's sister.

And she was neck-deep in the very thing that might have killed him...

He needed to know more before doing anything else...

As Rose peeled off a second paper, Seth made his decision.

He took a quiet, deep breath and deactivated [Null Presence].

Just as Rose crumpled a second paper, she suddenly froze as she felt the barrel of a gun press against her back...

"Don't turn around," Seth said.

He kept his voice low, altered slightly from his normal tone.

It was the voice of "Mister Black."

Hearing the threat, Rose didn't move.

She stayed perfectly still and asked calmly.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"I want to know about every demonic artifact transaction you've made in your entire life," Seth said.

"Tell me the dates and the specifics. The circle level, the type of Sin, the form it took."

He paused, then added a lie to make her talk.

"My ability allows me to detect lies. If you're skeptical and want to test me, you can try. But for every lie you tell, I will remove one of your limbs."

He let the threat process in her mind before continuing.

"I'll give you five minutes to recount everything. Five minutes starts now."

Rose didn't hesitate.

She began speaking immediately, her voice tight but clear.

"I only started a year and a half ago. My first transaction was a First-Circle demonic artifact from the Sin of Coldness. It was in the form of a preserved, frostbitten finger."

As she said this, Rose felt a strange sensation, like an invisible pressure brushing against her mind.

It felt like her entire self were being laid bare, like something was scrutinizing her very existence.

Seth didn't actually have a lie-detecting ability.

But he could use [Fate Consumption] to look at the "past fate" lines of a person.

He couldn't see details, but he could see vague images of that certain time frame in fate...

If she lied about it, Seth would be able to notice the differences such as the appearance of the demonic artifact.

More importantly, from his experiments, he'd learned that ordinary people felt a vague, unsettling wrongness when he used the ability on them secretly.

He wanted Rose to feel that so she wouldn't doubt his "lie detecting" ability...

'Those experiments were worth the time...'

He thought, grateful he hadn't been lazy in testing his powers.

Rose felt that invasive scrutiny.

Convinced the man behind her could truly see her lies, she didn't dare test him.

She kept talking, faster now.

"Two months later, it was another artifact. This one was from the Sin of Arrogance at the first Circle. It took the form of a brass thumb ring..."

"Four months after that, I handled a Third-Circle artifact from the Sin of Coldness. It was a silver fork that was always cold to the touch."

She continued, listing transaction after transaction.

A pattern quickly became clear.

Every few months, there was a new delivery.

The artifacts always came from one of five Sins: Coldness, Arrogance, Sorcery, Filth, or Hoarding.

Seth listened, memorizing.

After she continued a long list, he cut her off.

"Why mostly those five?"

"Because of the covens..."

Rose explained, her tone factual, like she was reciting a lesson.

"Most witches in Matamisan and the cities around here belong to one of two big covens. The Coven of Solace has the Sin of Coldness as its main Sin. Its subsidiary Sins—the ones they recruit for or work with—are Sorcery and Arrogance."

"The Coven of Abomination is the other power in Matamisan. Its main Sin is Filth and its subsidiary Sin is Hoarding."

She took a shaky breath.

"The artifacts in circulation usually come from witches who died, or from old stockpiles. They almost always trace back to these covens. That's why you only see those five. No one is trading artifacts from the other sins here unless a stray witch is found... Most of the other covens don't really interfere in this city."

'Main Sin and subsidiaries…?''

Seth turned the concept over in his mind.

It made a kind of sense.

A Progenitor of a major Sin, like Coldness or Filth, couldn't do everything.

By allying with Progenitors that had useful Sins... like Sorcery for spells, or Arrogance for mental influence, or Hoarding for storage and protection, they could build a more complete, powerful organization...

Their coven would become a full toolkit instead of just a single weapon...

'I wonder if that means certain Progenitors have formal agreements,' he reasoned.

'Do they cooperate to make their covens stronger by combining different abilities or is it for deeper reasons...'

The thought sparked a flicker of ambition.

As the Progenitor of the Sin of the Meaningless, perhaps he could form such an alliance in the future.

His abilities were indirect and quite interesting... stealing purpose, hiding, consuming fate.

Pairing with a Progenitor whose Sin offered direct power could make both of them far more dangerous...

'Of course, there's a lot to consider...'

He immediately cautioned himself.

'Why do some Progenitors not work together? What are the prerequisites for an alliance? And most importantly, which one could I even approach?'

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