Johan's cheerful smile was usually a magnet for people to follow him. Nevertheless, Johan was aware he was not smart or strategic enough to be a leader. That was why he had easily accepted Shiki's invitation to collaborate. Johan knew Shiki was sharper, possessed resources, and had a vision far clearer than his own.
However, Johan's popularity among the Nagawira had become a threat to Shiki. That was why she had intentionally suppressed his fame, placing him in the Spring Division—the division filled with delinquents, tasked with carrying out the darker side of the Four Seasons.
Ironically, Johan had instead turned that division into the most disciplined one, proving his capability despite being in an environment that didn't suit his personality. And now? Shiki looked at Johan with a mixture of confusion and deep pain, both physical and emotional. She had never imagined a man with a sense of honor as high as Johan's would be capable of stabbing her in the back, both literally and figuratively.
"Johan… How? Why?" Shiki's voice trembled, reflecting her unutterable shock. However, Johan's usually warm blue eyes now only radiated a piercing coldness.
"How? That was easy." A thin smile curved on Johan's face—not the warm smile Shiki once knew, but a cold, emotionless arc. He thrust his sword into the ground beside Shiki, as if the wound in her thigh was enough to ensure the leader wasn't going anywhere.
He crouched down, bringing his face close to Shiki, who knelt weakly. His gaze was sharp, pressing.
"We are no longer in Ignisira. If the Guide's words are true, we are now in another world—the Procession Tower." His voice was low and controlled, but every word felt heavy. "That means the power of the Ganko Family cannot reach you here. In Ignisira, you could walk in the most dangerous places without fear. Even the most reckless criminals wouldn't dare touch you. Not because they respected you—but because they feared your family."
He paused for a moment, looking around. Dozens of members from the Spring Division stood in a circle around them. Not one moved. Their gazes were fixed on Johan, not Shiki.
"But here, everything is different," he continued softly. "No titles. No family emblems. No protection." He looked back at Shiki. "Perhaps in the Four Seasons, there were some acting as your personal bodyguards or spies planted by your family to protect you. But after we entered the Procession Tower, all of that became useless. I hold full control over the Spring Division. Even the spies from noble families bow to my command—or they 'happened' to fall victim to our dangerous missions."
His tone remained flat, yet the coldness was biting.
"The result? Simple. Aside from a few people still enchanted by your face, no one else is willing to risk their life for you. That's why I could walk up from behind without a single person stopping me." He touched the hilt of the sword planted in the ground. "In the Procession Tower, only strength is respected. And in the Four Seasons, that strength lies within the Spring Division. They respect me more than they fear the name Ganko."
Johan let out a long sigh, his face becoming more calm. However, Shiki caught something in Johan's gaze—a flicker of doubt, a faint hesitation.
"He's still the same," Shiki thought. "He's still the same naive Johan, even if he tries to show this cold face. If I can exploit his weakness, I might survive."
Shiki gritted her teeth, enduring the pain and trying to think fast. Whatever happened, she had to survive. She would not let her second chance in the Procession Tower be ruined just like that. Not before she achieved her dream of becoming a Dragon Bride, climbing the highest peak of this tower, and finding that purple-eyed man.
"Joha—"
"As for why!" Johan cut Shiki off with a sharp voice, full of rage. Instantly, the hesitation in his eyes vanished, replaced by a coldness that chilled her to the bone. "Shiki, I am so disappointed in you!" Johan nearly shouted.
"You knew something. Somehow, you knew we would be here. And what did you do? You didn't prepare us for survival. You didn't calm those who panicked. You didn't protect us." Johan clenched his fist. "Instead, you pushed us into that hellhole. You chose the fastest path, not the safest one. You let casualties fall as if it were a reasonable price."
Those words hit Shiki like a crushing blow, rendering her speechless. Johan's eyes were now full of anger, burning with a disappointment he could no longer hide. Shiki opened and closed her mouth like a fish choking on land. Johan's words had struck her so hard that she was lost for words. Even the pain from her thigh wound seemed to fade, enough to allow her to push her body backward, away from that cold gaze full of disappointment. However, her leg remained numb, causing her to fall into a sitting position on the ground.
"Ho—What—Haaah... Johan, what are you saying?" Shiki finally managed to speak, though her tone was stuttering. Her face flushed; she looked so angry, yet only she understood how terrified she was in that moment. "How could I possibly know we would be teleported to this place? Are you hallucinating?"
The thing Shiki feared most was not a strong enemy, but her secret being exposed. She was someone who had returned to life after death—a concept impossible for common sense to accept. If anyone discovered this secret, they would likely think her insane, or worse, they would believe it and start hunting her down.
Even in Ignisira, where her family held great influence, no one could fully protect her if this fact got out. The nobles, with all their ambition and greed, would do anything to exploit or destroy her.
Johan's sharp gaze, full of conviction, made Shiki's body feel as cold as ice. She hoped Johan was just talking nonsense, but the look in those blue eyes said otherwise.
"Shiki," Johan said slowly, his voice heavy and firm. "Do you think we are all fools? I may not know how you knew about this place or that we would be teleported here. But I am not blind. There was a very clear strangeness in your actions from the very beginning."
"Strangeness?" Shiki tried to deny it, even as her voice trembled.