Noticing Evelyn's distracted state, Alice and Kate had repeatedly asked her what was wrong, but of course, Evelyn couldn't tell them. It wasn't only her friends who picked up on her strange mood—Daniel noticed it too, but assumed it was just because of the thieves in the forest.

After school, Daniel called out to her from behind.

"Evelyn, wait up."

Evelyn turned around in surprise. What could Daniel possibly want to say? After all, they had just been together in the club. Daniel approached her with a slight smile.

"Would you like me to walk you home today?"

"...huh?"

Actually, the day after the incident, Daniel had offered to walk her home, but Evelyn had, of course, declined. He hadn't brought it up again since, so his sudden offer now surprised her. Sensing her hesitation, Daniel quickly continued,

"I mean... it's getting pretty late, and it's nearly dark. You had to stay because of me, so I can't just let you go home alone."

"No, it wasn't because of you. Everyone in the club gets out this late, so you don't need to worry."

"I know, but those thieves who attacked you still haven't been caught. So I can't let you go alone!"

Evelyn hesitated, unsure of what to say. She hadn't known Daniel for very long, but normally, if she said no, he'd never insist. Yet this time, something was different. What was she supposed to do? She didn't want to say yes, but she didn't want to be rude by saying no either. After all, Daniel was still kind enough to care about her, despite getting hurt because of her.

As Evelyn was caught up in her thoughts, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She flinched and turned around.

"There you are, Evelyn. I got worried since you were taking so long."

It was Marcus. He was exactly who she needed right now. Marcus smiled at Daniel.

"Thanks for the offer, Daniel, but you don't need to go out of your way—I came to pick Evelyn up."

"Oh...alright..."

Daniel looked a bit disappointed. He didn't even know why himself, but he had really wanted to walk Evelyn home. However, there was nothing he could do now.

"Oh, by the way... have they still not caught those thieves?"

"Unfortunately, not yet."

"I see... well, see you tomorrow, Evelyn."

"Yes... see you tomorrow."

As Daniel walked away, Evelyn and Marcus started heading home.

"Looks like I showed up at just the right time, huh?" Marcus said with a grin. Evelyn let out a deep sigh.

"Yes, if you hadn't come, I wouldn't have known what to do... normally Daniel never insists on anything."

"Really? So he must have actually wanted to walk you home. Did you hear the disappointment in his voice? Seems like he was pretty upset," Marcus teased.

"Really? Of course not! Why would he be upset? I mean, he's just a nice person who was worried about me, that's all... he would have done the same for anyone in my place."

"Hmm... doesn't seem that way to me, but whatever you say. Tell me, would you have wanted him to walk you home?"

Evelyn blushed and immediately started to deny it.

"What?! Of course not! Where do you get these ideas from?"

Marcus smirked. He loved seeing his sister like this. He was willing to do anything to make sure he'd never see her cry again.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Marcus's spine, as if someone were behind him. He quickly turned around but saw no one. Evelyn looked at him in confusion.

"Is something wrong?"

"No... it's nothing... don't worry about it."

Marcus and Evelyn continued on their way. Throughout the walk, Marcus kept glancing around, but he never saw anyone.

A few hours later, the men assigned to watch over the siblings received a phone call.

"Have you found out anything? Do those kids really have powers too?"

"We're still not certain. We haven't seen any of them using any abilities. The only unusual thing is that a group of kids is living on their own in a forest area."

"Then hurry up already! How much longer do we have to wait? The boss is expecting answers!"

"Understood."

After hanging up, one of the men nearby asked,

"So what's the plan now? They told us not to draw too much attention."

"...didn't that guy mention that the girl's brother has ice powers?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Then bring gasoline. If we start a fire, the kid will have no choice but to use his powers—if he has any."

Following the man's instructions, they quietly poured gasoline around certain areas. Since this was a forest, they didn't need much to start a fire. Once they were done, one of them lit a match and tossed it to the ground, stepping back to watch the flames grow.

Lucian, as usual, had gone to his room right after dinner. As he looked out the window, he noticed a faint glow outside. Pulling the curtain aside, he saw flames rising in the forest, spreading dangerously close to the house. Panicked, he ran to the others.

"Fire! There's a fire outside!"

Serena and Marcus quickly rushed out when they heard him. Lucian was right; the forest was on fire. Evelyn stared at the flames, confused.

"What? How could a fire start here?"

Seeing the children's fearful faces, Serena tried to calm them down immediately.

"Don't worry, kids. It's just a small fire. Marcus can put it out in two seconds, right, Marcus?"

She looked at Marcus, but he seemed lost in thought.

"MARCUS!"

"…DAMN IT!"

Marcus shouted angrily, then used his ice powers to extinguish the fire in an instant. The children sighed in relief, but Serena was left surprised by Marcus's reaction. Without dwelling on it, she turned back to reassure them.

"Alright, kids, problem solved. You can go back to bed now."

"But… what if people in town saw the fire?" the twins asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. It was just a small fire, and we put it out before the smoke even spread. There's no way anyone noticed; even we wouldn't have if Lucian hadn't told us."

Marcus turned around, his expression serious.

"Serena's right. Go to bed now and get some rest."

The kids, still praising Lucian, headed back inside without overthinking it. Once Serena was sure they were in their rooms, she turned to Marcus.

"What was that all about? Why did you react that way?"

"Serena… someone started this fire on purpose…"

Her eyes widened at his words. She didn't know how to respond.

"So… you think someone was trying to… kill us?"

"No… if that were the case, they would've started a bigger fire, not just this."

"Then why—"

"Someone wanted to make me use my ice powers…"

Marcus clenched his fists.

"What do we do now?" Serena asked, concerned.

"…First, we need to find Shin… Damn it, he doesn't even have a phone!"

"…Then we'll use the twins to reach him telepathically."

"You're right; we can try that. But for now, they're exhausted. They shouldn't go to school tomorrow."

"I know… but Evelyn and Lucian still need to go. Maybe it's all just a misunderstanding. Let's not stress them."

"Alright… I'll take them to school tomorrow, and I'll bring them back too. I doubt anyone would try something in the middle of school."

"Fine."

Meanwhile, the 'Bloodline' men left the forest, speaking on the phone as they went.

"It's confirmed. They have powers, too. Tomorrow, we move to the next step!"

Morning came, and as planned, Evelyn and Lucian were taken to school, while the twins stayed home. By the time Marcus returned, Serena had already explained everything to the twins.

"Got it, sis. We'll use telepathy to find Shin."

"Smart kids."

A few hours passed, but despite their efforts, the twins still couldn't locate Shin. Serena would stop them every half hour to make sure they took breaks.

"You two tracked Evelyn down to the smallest details once before. What's different now?"

"It's because we followed Evelyn with telepathy from the moment she left the house. This time, it's different…"

"I see… Just keep resting for now. I'm going to get Lucian."

Marcus checked the time. Middle school should be letting out soon.

Unaware of everything, Evelyn was outside the school, taking photos of flowers. It was only a break, and she still had two more classes left. Suddenly, a strange-looking man began approaching her. Noticing him, Evelyn tensed up, thinking of running.

"If you care about that gray-haired boy, don't even think about running away"

Evelyn froze. She realized he was talking about Lucian, and she couldn't move.

"Smart girl."

One of the men handed her a note and whispered in her ear.

"Give this note to the boy with the ice powers. And if you don't want that little boy to get hurt, do exactly what it says."

As the man walked away, Evelyn immediately called Marcus. At that moment, he was on his way to pick up Lucian from school. He answered her call instantly.

"What's wrong, Evelyn?"

"…Lucian… Lucian's in danger…"

Marcus felt his blood run cold as he slammed the brakes and stopped the car.

"WHAT?! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!"

Through tears, Evelyn explained what had happened. Marcus felt a tightness in his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm.

"Get inside the school… I'm coming… and don't hang up…"

Marcus hit the gas, speeding towards Evelyn's school as fast as he could. He couldn't even begin to imagine the fear Lucian must be feeling right now. Clenching his jaw, he raced to get to Evelyn.