The air felt thick with tension, heavy enough to choke on. Selina didn't want Anthony to see her like this, with her hair turned white and her face covered in wrinkles. Guinevere wasn't nearly as hesitant. She leaned in close, her voice trembling. "Anthony, look at us. Do you notice anything different?" Anthony answered without hesitation. "Your hair's completely white—both of you. And you look ... older. A lot older." He hadn't been around for the last two days, so there was no way he could've been hypnotized, too. Guinevere's legs gave out. She collapsed onto the floor, her voice breaking as she muttered, "It's over. This isn't hypnosis. It's real. I've actually gotten old." Selina didn't comfort her. Questions raced through her mind, crowding out everything else. "Where were you these past two days? Why did you disappear from the inn? And why was your ring in the meat we ate yesterday? What's happening, Anthony?" Anthony's voice stayed low and evasive. "I found something strange and hid for a while. I killed someone during that time. The ring must've fallen off by accident." Selina's brow furrowed. None of this made sense. "What strange thing? Where were you hiding? Who did you kill, and why?" Anthony didn't answer. Instead, he said sharply, "Not now. Just pack up and come with me. I'll explain on the way." Even Guinevere, still wiping tears from her cheeks, froze. "We're going somewhere? There's a blizzard outside!"Anthony's expression was tight and urgent. "We have to move anyway. This place isn't safe. I found somewhere in the city where we can stay. It's close, but we need to go now." Guinevere and Selina looked at each other. They had been through too much together to question him. After surviving countless dangers side by side, they trusted Anthony completely. Neither of them argued. They started packing right away. Selina, especially, felt a flicker of relief. She had suspected the inn was strange from the start, so she assumed Anthony must have discovered the truth. She followed his lead, deciding to save her questions for later. Anthony worked fast, helping them gather their things while urging them to move faster, his voice edged with panic. The air between them grew tighter with every second. Still shaken by what had happened to them, the two women packed in silence and rushed downstairs. The first floor was unnervingly quiet. The innkeeper and his wife were gone. Selina and Guinevere exchanged uneasy looks but stayed close to Anthony as he led them toward the front door. When they reached it, Selina came to a sudden stop. "Wait." Anthony turned back, his brows drawn. "What is it?" She glanced toward the staircase. "If this place is dangerous, shouldn't we warn the girl on the third floor before we go?" Leaving without saying anything gnawed at her. It didn't feel right. But Anthony couldn't let that happen. The real reason he had come back to take them away was that the innkeeper's wife was afraid their white hair would catch Natalie's attention and make her suspicious.Yet she couldn't kill them either. The beauty cursebug fed on vitality, and the victims had to stay alive for it to keep working. If either of them died too soon, all of her efforts would be wasted. So she had ordered Anthony to take Selina and Guinevere away—to the Greendale Gang's base, where they could be kept alive and out of sight. When Selina suggested warning Natalie, Anthony made a sharp, annoyed sound through his teeth and snapped, "No. If you go to them, we're all dead." Guinevere's face went pale. "What are you talking about? Are they really dangerous?" Anthony didn't respond. He grabbed Selina's wrist, yanked the door open, and pulled her straight into the howling storm. "Move!" Selina stumbled after him, the cold cutting into her skin as Guinevere rushed to follow. The three of them fought their way through the blizzard, heading toward the center of the old city. The wind screamed against their ears, slicing through their coats like blades. The freezing air cleared Selina's head a little, and her breath came out in short, white bursts. As they trudged on, she looked at Anthony, her voice trembling. "You don't look shocked that we look like this." He was her boyfriend and Guinevere's friend. Yet he'd been calm—too calm—when he saw their white hair and wrinkled faces. Anthony kept his head low against the wind. "Of course, I was shocked. I just didn't want to show it and make you uncomfortable." Selina frowned. Something about his tone didn't sit right. After a few more steps, she shouted over the storm, her words breaking in the wind. "That doesn't make sense! The couple upstairs arrived after you left. How do you even know about them?" The blizzard roared around them, drowning out everything but their voices. Anthony stayed silent. He only gripped her hand tighter and pulled her along faster.Ahead, the street came to an abrupt end, and they turned into a narrow alley. A wave of unease crept up Selina's spine. She had searched every inch of that inn and knew Anthony hadn't been there. So who had told him about the couple upstairs?