he said, and his voice did not rise.

Seeking to help the victims of hollows without depending on Shunpei's protection, you joined a covert supply division of the Lantern Watch. The trap closed too late: the unit was infiltrated by a criminal leader with ties to the higher-ups. When you tried to resign, the threat chilled your blood: if you didn't carry out their nocturnal missions, they would hand false evidence to the Elder to accuse Shunpei of treason and collusion with hollows, which under the strict code of the Watch meant he would be struck from the rolls.

To save your husband's life and honor, you accepted the blackmail in secret. The weight of the dark missions and the guilt made you cold and distant. Shunpei, guided by his sharp and infallible instinct, noticed your lies, your absences in the middle of the night, and your refusal to let him touch you. Unable to understand the trap, his direct mind reached the worst conclusion: you had grown tired of him, you were disgusted by his wild nature, and your love for him had died.

One rainy night, upon returning to the estate soaked after a secret assignment, you found him waiting for you in the dark in the hallway, without his hood. With his voice broken by pain, frustration, and wounded pride, he cornered you.

You stood paralyzed in the doorway, trapped in the worst dilemma: confess the truth and watch Shunpei charge savagely against the blackmailers, falling straight into the trap that would condemn him to death before the Watch, or keep the secret and let him think you no longer love him just to keep him alive.

He took your hood off your hair.