——Julius, I need your help.
"What?"
If there was a top five list of things Julius never expected to hear in his lifetime, this had just shot straight into the top two. His brother, Jeremy, the cold and disciplined heir of the Schneider family, was voluntarily calling him for assistance.
——...Check on Sabine for me.
Julius almost dropped his phone.
Jeremy? Asking him to check on his wife? In what universe? In what timeline?
Certainly not the one Julius had lived before regression. In that life, Jeremy had never once broken character until his dying breath. A man who pushed Julius away to keep him far from the Schneider curse by treating him coldly.
Of course, Julius now knew the reason behind it. Jeremy had always treated him harshly to keep Julius from becoming another cog in the Schneider machine. But hearing Jeremy speak so openly worried was new.
If he had to pinpoint what changed the course of this timeline, the answer was obvious.
During the anniversary banquet, Julius had shown sincerity. Jeremy had most probably noticed. The older brother was just as sharp as the younger. He must have wanted to acknowledge Julius’s effort, to bridge the awkward, strained bond between them.
It made sense.
But it didn’t mean Julius liked what came next.
"I’d rather die," he said.
Because checking on Sabine... was a punishment.
She might have been pregnant now, but far from the point where she showed it, she was very much still Sabine. Whatever "checking on her" entailed, Julius knew for certain it would end with him suffering one way or another.
——That project you’re working on. I’ll invest in it.
"I don’t need your help."
——Me personally. Not as a Dream Executive, but as a Schneider!
"Even more so. I’m hanging up."
——Lady Aiseline’s new address. I’ll give it to you.
"...."
Julius’s heart shook. If he claimed he didn’t want to know Aiseline’s whereabouts, he would be lying. But that door in his life had already been shut, and reopening it was the last thing he needed.
"How desperate are you?"
——Very!
"Never bring up Miss Aiseline again. Goodbye."
——Julius! Wait!
"Tsk."
——Fine, fine! I’ll give you something else! A trade!
Julius’s thumb hovered over the screen. Jeremy never offered anything unless he was truly at the brink.
"...What now?"
——I have two passes to the Helios Orbital Habitat VIP Voyage.
The Helios Orbital Habitat. The luxury solar-ring cruise that orbited Earth. A floating palace in space. A retreat reserved for heads of state, foreign royalty, and only three corporate dynasties across Europe.
Even the Schneiders, for all their power, had always been waitlisted behind the World Council delegates.
——You won’t get another chance for decades. I’m on the diplomatic committee that approves visitation for foreign medical delegates. You’re close to one, aren’t you? Your business partner, Doctor Heinrich? With her credentials, you’d both qualify as a "medical-diplomatic party group."
Julius’s grip on his phone tightened. Jeremy had done his homework.
"And you’re willing to give me those passes?"
——If you check on Sabine. Just once. Make sure she’s resting. Make sure she’s eating. Make sure she hasn’t climbed onto the roof pretending she’s testing gravitational tolerance for future Schneider children.
"...She did that?"
——...That’s what the maids told me
Julius massaged the bridge of his nose. Sabine. Of course she did.
"And the passes?"
——Yours. All yours. Full access. Private cabin. Zero-gravity suite. Aurora-view deck. Bring that doctor with you.
Julius closed his eyes. Isolde had mentioned the Helios Orbital Habitat once in passing, but he had caught the spark in her voice. She had called it a childhood dream she would never expect to reach.
And now Jeremy was offering exactly that.
Julius exhaled in defeat.
"...Fine. Where’s your house?"
* * *
Julius had an ominous feeling even before he stepped out of the car. By the time the servants greeted him inside the Schneider estate, that feeling solidified even further.
"Wow, Juli?! Is that you?!"
Sabine came barreling toward him like an overexcited toddler. She stopped in front of him, eyes sparkling with an enthusiasm no adult woman, let alone a Directorate commissioner, should reasonably possess.
"I can’t believe it! Are you really Juli?!"
Julius stared at her, then slowly turned his gaze toward the two servants desperately trying to pamper her. One was holding a tray of sliced fruit. The other was noticeably sweating.
"...How long has she been like this?"
One servant bowed helplessly. "Since this morning, sir."
"Lady Sabine refused to rest unless we tucked her in again. This is our fifth attempt."
Sabine puffed her cheeks. "They’re lying! I was being good today. I only threw one pillow."
Julius rubbed his temples. "Fantastic. Pregnancy has turned you into an overgrown six-year-old."
"It has not! I’m perfectly stable!" Sabine announced, right before tripping over her own blanket and falling onto the couch with a dramatic flop.
The servants rushed to catch her from both sides, clearly used to this by now. Julius only let out a long exhale, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stared at the scene.
Was this really a pregnancy symptom?
"Sister-in-law..."
"Sabine!" she snapped, pointing at him like a house cat demanding attention. "Call me by my name!"
"S-Sabine... go and rest."
"Okay, I will," she replied sweetly, immediately switching moods. Then she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward with a grin. "Only if Juli tucks me into bed."
"...."
Julius looked at the servants. The servants looked at him. Sabine looked like she might launch herself onto his back if he refused.
He sighed. "Everyone, clear out. I’ll take her."
"Yes, Lord Schneider," the servants said, bowing before retreating from the room. Sabine, now emboldened, lifted her arms like a toddler waiting to be carried.
"Juli~ carry me."
"You can walk."
"No, I can’t. The baby is making me heavy," she insisted, even though Julius knew for a fact she weighed exactly the same as usual.
Still, he didn’t argue. Julius put an arm behind her back and gently escorted her toward her room. Sabine clung to his sleeve dramatically, humming some nonsense victory tune as they walked.
"Honestly... you’re a damn handful."
"I know," Sabine said proudly. "That’s why Jeremy married me."
"I’m starting to believe that was a tactical mistake on his part."
Sabine gasped. "Rude! I’m a national treasure!"
Julius gave her a flat look but said nothing. When they finally reached her bedroom, he helped her onto the bed. Sabine immediately burrowed under the blankets like an overexcited mole.
"Tuck me in."
He tugged the blanket up to her chin.
Sabine beamed. "Thank you for coming, Juli."
Just as Julius was about to leave, he paused. The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold. He turned back slowly. Sabine, still tucked beneath her blankets, no longer looked playful or dramatic.
"What’s all this about?" he asked.
"I needed to speak to you in person without Jeremy questioning it."
"...."
Of course. Sabine never wasted effort. Every ridiculous act earlier had been a façade to get him alone. Julius exhaled, pulled a stool beside the bed, and sat, waiting for Sabine to continue.
"I heard you’ll be taking part in the Glassheart escapee case."
"Yes."
"Don’t."
"...What?"
"Joachim Pascal Beißwenger," she said. "Withdraw from the case immediately. Under no circumstances are you to involve yourself in any capacity."
Julius held her stare. "Explain."
"The concentration camp in Braunfels is no ordinary camp, Juli. The Warden there was a retired Revenant Knight Brigadier General. If he’s escaped, then something is fundamentally wrong."
Sabine’s tone darkened, becoming more serious than Julius had ever heard from her.
"And I believe you should, by any means necessary, withdraw."
"Sabine—"
"No." Sabine cut him off. "Listen. Braunfels holds the most volatile class of detainees. The ones that aren’t in the system. The ones even the Directorate doesn’t openly acknowledge."
"...."
"That camp was designed for enemies of the state who cannot be processed through normal channels. Criminals whose existence itself is a classified threat. I believe Beißwenger is not an escapee, but a breach. A breach of internal security that should be impossible unless someone orchestrated it from the inside."
Julius’s eyes narrowed. "Are you implying conspiracy?"
Sabine met his gaze. "What else could it be? Do you think just anyone can escape German concentration camps?"
Julius thought back to the concentration camp in Lichterfelde. Indeed, it was impossible, unless the Warden was in on it. Julius was very well aware of this.
"That gives me more reasons to—"
"Juli!"
"...."
Julius exhaled a sigh.
"Sister-in-law—"
Sabine pouted. Julius cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Sabine. Do you know why I chose to join the Directorate?"
"No. But I’ve always wanted to ask."
"Because I know exactly what kind of rot will eventually fester in Germany."
"...."
"And this," Julius continued, "what you just told me, this is exactly the kind of rot I intend to excise. So don’t obstruct me. Retire safely. Live the life you deserve, a peaceful one with my brother."
"Juli!"
"You’re family. Your health concerns me. Jeremy concerns me. And Father... well, Father is Father. But I am not oblivious to how I’ve been perceived. For years, I was regarded as the Schneiders’ failure."
"That’s not true—"
"There’s no need to sugarcoat it, Sabine. I’m aware of the criticism. And I don’t deny any of it. It doesn’t matter to me."
"...."
"But right now, this is my responsibility. If stepping into this means preventing a war, then I will not hesitate. I will stake my life on it. That is what it means to serve Germany."
His voice lowered, resolve evident in his eyes.
"I’m not asking for your approval. I’m telling you my answer."
"...."
"If the Warden is an enemy," Julius continued, "then I will kill him. I’ll kill every single traitor involved, Sabine. I will make their crimes look insignificant compared to the judgment that awaits them."
To the point that even the painter’s war crimes will look like child’s play.