"Escape, pursuit, hiding my identity... until I escaped to the Lily Kingdom, where the Holy Light Church's control was stronger and where the evil cult was lurking, I barely managed to evade their sight.

"I thought... I had long since severed ties with the past. Unexpectedly, just stepping into this city, smelling the air here, that mansion... was like a nightmare that haunted me all over again."

She paused, as if trying to calm her surging emotions.

"That's why I'm like this in the capital of the Kingdom of Karl. That mansion is one of the Bellucci family's assets here, and it's also where... everything began."

Monica picked up the water glass and took a big sip, as if to suppress the bloody smell in her throat.

"I'm sorry for affecting the team's performance. Before entering the swamp, I must deal with this... ghost from the past."

As she finished her words, the small lounge area fell into a heavy silence.

The air seemed to still linger with the cold lights in front of the noble mansion last night and the bloody smell from distant memories.

Mark knew that Monica's story was just the tip of the iceberg.

The pursuit behind the brand, how she struggled to survive, how she became the appraiser and assassin she is today... every detail is soaked in blood and pain.

And now, the heavy shackles of "responsibility", along with the appearance of the brand on her neck, once again tightened around her soul.

Mark listened to Monica's story in silence.

In the humid hotel air, the suppressed hatred and the cold shackles of responsibility almost solidified into substance.

He understood where the soul-tearing wave outside the Falcon Mansion last night came from. It was the ghost of the past gnawing at her sanity.

"You don't need to apologize." Mark's voice was low and firm. "We got here together. Your past is our present. What do you need to do?"

The last trace of fluctuation in Monica's eyes completely subsided, and she returned to her usual calmness and sharpness, but beneath this calmness lay a determination colder than the Eternal Silence Abyss.

"Confirm. Confirm what happened to the Bellucci family after I left, and...what exactly was the cause of my father's death!"

If there is any real thought about the Bellucci family.

Monica felt that these were the only two things she cared about.

She doesn't need any nobles or clan leaders.

But she didn't want the family to become something her father didn't want to see after he left.

She stood up without any hesitation.

"I need an 'identity.' I'll go to Grey Squirrel Alley and get something before Enzo comes back. I'll be back before dark."

She didn't explain her plan, but Mark understood it instantly.

It was an underground area known for its chaos and forged identities. This was the information I had gained from occasional casual conversations in the caravan.

Of course, it is also possible that Monica originally lived in this city, and she might know this royal city better than those traveling merchants who have been doing business all year round.

Monica is going to create a disguise that is enough to fool ordinary guards and conduct close-range investigations.

Mark nodded.

"Be careful. Anna, Enzo, and I will prepare the supplies for entering the swamp. Xiaomu," the inconspicuous slime at his feet squirmed a little, "follow Monica and hide well."

Her pink eyes flashed, and Xiao Mu slid silently towards Monica's chest. The color of her gel-like body quickly darkened and turned gray, perfectly blending into the dark shadows of her collar folds, and her breath was completely restrained.

…

At the same time, deep in the Bellucci mansion, in the "Jianzhen Hall", the core of the family.

The candlelight flickered in the silence, illuminating the portraits of legendary ancestors of the appraisal profession on the walls and the rare specimens displayed in the crystal cabinets.

The air smelled of old parchment, rare spices, and a subtle hint of magic dust.

The current head of the family, Monica's uncle, Leonard Bellucci, was wearing a priceless dark-patterned velvet robe and standing in front of the obsidian altar in the center of the auditorium.

A heavy metal tome is enshrined on the altar.

The core of the Bellucci family's inheritance, the "Universal Appraisal Code" contains mysterious power.

He routinely performed his daily "resonance" ritual, placing his hands on the cover of the code, closing his eyes and sensing the faint connection between his family bloodline and the code.

This was supposed to be a calm, routine moment.

However, just as Leonard's mental power was about to complete a smooth cycle with the code, a certain ancient forbidden core inside the code that had been silent for many years suddenly trembled extremely weakly!

The feeling was like an almost inaudible pulse coming from deep within a dormant volcano.

Leonard suddenly opened his eyes, his gleaming pupils instantly filled with surprise and suspicion.

He shouted harshly: "Who?!"

The empty auditorium was filled with only the crackling sound of candlelight.

The guard stood outside the heavy door, motionless.

wrong!

Leonard's expression suddenly changed, and he poured all his mental energy into the code once again.

This time, the fluctuations of the restriction core were clearer, like a string plucked by distant fingers. What was transmitted was not power, but a kind of... triggered induction!

He is too familiar with this feeling!

That is an ancient forbidden reaction that will only be triggered when an individual who has been branded as a traitor and has the blood of the main branch of Bellucci approaches a certain range of the code!

"Monica..." Leonard almost squeezed out the name from between his teeth, and the surprise on his face was quickly replaced by gloom.

He turned abruptly and growled at the empty shadows, "Shadow Guard!"

A figure so blurry that it almost blended into the intersection of candlelight and shadow appeared silently five steps behind him and knelt on one knee.

"She's back! In the royal city! Even close to the mansion!" Leonard's voice was filled with suppressed anger and a hint of subtle fear. "Find her! Use all your hidden channels! If she dares to come back, she must have some ulterior motive! Before she sees someone she shouldn't see or hears anything she shouldn't hear... make her disappear completely!"

"Yes, sir." The shadow guard's voice was like a cold wind blowing over dry bones. His figure flashed and merged into the shadows again, disappearing.

Leonard stood alone in front of the code, his face livid.

He stared at the thick tome, as if he could see through it the cold and mocking eyes of his niece, whom he had long since declared "dead".

He is the head of the Bellucci family, and no one can interfere!

He would never allow any accidents to happen, especially at a critical and delicate moment when the "deals" between his family and the Karl royal family, and even... those existing ones, were at a critical and delicate stage!

…

A corner of the bustling market in King Karlstadt.

A tall and thin figure wearing ordinary mercenary leather armor, his face covered with a thin layer of dust and some camouflage herbal juice, and his hair color slightly changed, was squatting in front of a stall selling swamp-specific herbs.

Twisting a piece of "dirty moss" between his fingers, he bargained with the stall owner in a hoarse voice.