The smell of fresh-baked bread and sizzling meat filled the air of Priestella’s bustling morning market. Stalls spilled over with fruits, fish, sweets, and trinkets, their vendors singing out prices to entice wandering customers. The bright river channels shimmered under the sun, and between the noise of coins clinking and the low rumble of boat traffic, it was hard to hear any single voice.

But Subaru did catch one voice—boisterous and teasing, belonging to Lachins, the former bandit and now, against all odds, a familiar ally. The man laughed loudly as he handed Subaru a bundle of supplies, joking about the ridiculous prices they’d paid. They were just about to head back to the others when a shadow fell across the plaza.

"Attention, my cute, darling audience~" The voice rolled through the air like a theatrical wave—silky, unsteady, dripping honey and venom in equal measure.

Everyone stopped. Faces tilted upward. And there, high atop a leaning stone bell tower, was a figure wrapped in ash-gray bandages and purple attire. Her arms spread wide like a conductor before her orchestra.

Sirius Romanée-Conti. Sin Archbishop of Wrath.

The temperature seemed to change at the sound of her name, though perhaps it was only Subaru’s blood running cold. Beside him, Lachins swore under his breath, one hand drifting to the hilt of his blade.

"My loves, my lambs! Today I bless you with a performance," Sirius crooned, shifting her voice tone from sultry elegance to sudden screech to trembling, needy plead in the span of seconds. "Won’t you… won’t you watch me? Acknowledge me? Love me?"

The fearful whispering died away as something strange crept into the square. Laughter. Agreement. The crowd's eyes brightened, smiles widening unnaturally. Murmur became cheer. The air shimmered with an unseen pulse.

And then Sirius lifted her "prop" for this twisted theater.

It was Lusbel Kallard.

The boy dangled in golden chains tangled with hooked thorns, every movement biting into his skin. A chain gag bound his mouth, cutting his voice to muffled whimpers. The cruel metal wound around his chest, waist, arms, and ankles until he looked more bound ornament than boy.

His green eyes leaked tears—of pain, of terror. Down his legs was a telltale stain; humiliation mixing with helplessness.

The crowd roared with ugly glee. Even Subaru felt laughter rising unbidden in his chest, his own lips curling—a wrongness he couldn't fight. His eyes locked on the boy, and yet… something in his soul screamed against the emotion flooding him.

"Do you love him as I do?" Sirius asked sweetly, then hissed: "Do you love him enough to see him break?"

Shouts rose: “Drop him! Drop him!”

Sirius gasped in delight, clutching her own cheeks with quivering fingers. “Ohhh, you’re making me feel sooo—ahhhh—alive!” She leaned forward, eyes fever-bright. “Then BEHOLD!”

She let go.

Lusbel’s muffled scream tore through the air as he fell, hair whipping around his face, the world dancing madly in his upside-down vision. The plaza’s brick floor rushed to meet him—every heartbeat an eternity.

And then… it stopped.

Only inches from the stone, Lusbel hung upside down—frozen in the air. His tear-streaked face tilted slowly, confusion mingling with fear. A shimmer of black mist snaked around his body, caressing the chains as if tasting them, and then, with a sound like a sigh from the bottom of the ocean, he vanished through a portal.

In the next instant, Lusbel woke up in a massive grand chamber, Thorned chains gone, and comfortably sprawled in a massive giant god like king sized bed.

He tried to sit up but found himself sinking into the soft, silky sheets of the bed. It felt luxurious, as if he was lying on a cloud. Lusbel had never felt anything so comfortable before in his life. He tentatively wiggled his toes, feeling the smoothness of the fabric under his skin.