Chapter 344

Chapter 344

We were at the tea terrace where Vertus and I occasionally chatted.

Vertus was trembling as he poured tea, and I was similarly shaking so much that the tea spilled over as I drank.

I kept my head down, unable to look at Vertus.

I wanted to die, and Vertus probably wanted to kill me.

“... Why... Why did you do that?” Vertus asked quietly.

“... Because of money.”

“... Money? What does cross-dressing have to do with money?”

“Well, there was this... cross-dressing contest...”

“Cross-dressing contest? You mean during the festival?”

“... Yeah.”

It seemed Vertus didn’t even know about the existence of the cross-dressing contest.

There was no other excuse I could give.

“... Hasn’t your situation improved recently?”

“Having more money... isn’t a bad thing... ”

“...”

I sat there with my head down, speaking in a barely audible tone, explaining why I had cross-dressed.

‘This must be the punishment I deserve, right? This feels like the climax of my suffering.

‘There can’t ever possibly be a more difficult situation in my life than this, right? Now that I’ve received all my punishment, I can believe that only happy things will happen from now on, right?’

Vertus’s hands were trembling so hard he barely managed to take a sip of tea, and then he set the cup down on the table.

“What, I mean... No. No, what... this is just...”

Vertus seemed at a loss for words.

It was as if Vertus had been unmasked, but in a different sense than usual.

“N-No, seriously. How am I supposed to... uh. Huh...” Vertus stuttered.

“...”

It seemed like memories of seeing me in my cross-dressed state were flashing through Vertus’s mind.

The sight of me confronting the knights.

The sight of my trembling hands.

The moment I spouted nonsense about being an alcoholic.

All those images.

All those moments.

They were all me.

“...”

“...”

In the midst of my self-loathing thoughts, I silently listened as Vertus muttered a curse under his breath, feeling like a criminal.

“Ugh... shit.”

“... I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“Sorry for what, you bastard! You... If you say sorry and then... damn it. What am I supposed to... Ugh! No! No! I just! Uh! I thought you were... uh, siblings! Uh! Just, just out of goodwill! Ugh! This, damn it, really!” Vertus eventually exploded.

“Wh-who said anything about...?!”

I got scolded even more for apologizing unnecessarily.

***

Vertus’s view of me had completely changed.

Vertus now saw me as a lunatic who would do anything for money.

He also seemed to have the preconceived notion that I was a madman who had willingly chosen the cross-dressing contest instead of the more sensible Mister Temple even if I needed money.

Fortunately, Vertus didn’t seem to harbor any grudges over this, nor did he seem intent on spreading rumors about me.

It felt like even mentioning or thinking about that incident would contaminate his mind. He staggered back to his room with a soulless expression.

I always thought there would be a chance that my participation in the cross-dressing contest would be discovered, but I never imagined I would end up confessing to it myself.

“...”

I felt like I was in hell, but more than that, my heart sank.

That chance encounter with Vertus had veered off in a strange direction and led to an investigation into me.

If he started probing into my origins, hometown, and detailed past, he would find holes in my excuses, no matter how well-prepared they were.

No matter how well I handled it, the fact that I had suddenly appeared only the year before wouldn’t change. And once someone started digging seriously, it wouldn’t be hard to figure that out.

Vertus could have discovered my true identity from an entirely unexpected angle.

Confessing about the cross-dressing contest and making Vertus psychologically repulsed by the whole issue was a relief. Even if he was angry, Vertus wouldn’t dig deeper into this matter.

‘The cross-dressing contest event...’

The reward had been great, but it could have screwed me over from an entirely unexpected angle.

“Indeed. I honestly didn’t expect it to turn out this way either.”

Sarkegar seemed satisfied with how things had gone better than expected.

“But we must be cautious. I don’t know much about the Vampire Lords, but from what I’ve heard, that Antirianus seems particularly dangerous.”

“True. But we can’t afford to be picky about our allies right now.”

We were in no position to be choosy, so we had to be willing to join forces even with suspicious characters as long as they were willing to support us.

“As for Cantus Magna and Akasha... aren’t they excessively dangerous?”

“Indeed. But it’s highly likely that what I seek is in their possession. It’s clear that the artifact itself holds immense power.”

“It seems ideal to pit the Black Order against Cantus Magna and reap the benefits. However, the uncertainty of what Akasha truly is remains a concern.”

‘Is provoking Cantus Magna the right move when we don’t even know what Akasha is?’

Sarkegar seemed to believe that since I was seeking power, I had every reason to covet Akasha, regardless of what it was or how it could be wielded.

Sarkegar flashed a sinister smile. “It feels like things are starting to take shape, Your Highness.”

We had gained the power of the Vampire Council, and the head of the house of Wednesday had joined us in the capital to provide aid.

Sarkegar was genuinely pleased that our group, which was once merely four remaining individuals of demonkind, was now coalescing into something that could be called a faction.

‘That aside... Please, don’t smile like that while wearing such a pretty face! Seeing such a composed face smile like that is really messing with my mind!’

Of course, that wasn’t the only issue at hand.

“Have you made contact with the Revolutionary Forces yet?”

“We are proceeding cautiously to avoid making any mistakes. However, while we haven’t identified the entire leadership structure, we have managed to compile a list of confirmed participants.”

Sarkegar handed me a list of several names.

Names I recognized, including Oscar de Gradias, were on that list.

Most were officials of commoner background, but there were also some nobles.

“In particular, there seem to be many illegitimate children who have been abandoned by noble families.”

“That makes sense.”

Illegitimate children of noble families often hid their surnames and enrolled in the Temple. They could have been admitted to the Orbis Class.

Children who inherited noble blood but were abandoned... Their resentment could easily turn into a desire for revolution. Most of the names had likely been well-vetted by Sarkegar, which meant the members of the Revolutionary Forces were not to be trifled with.

In the end, though, the small fry didn’t matter.

What I needed to know was who the key figures were. My task was to contact them and establish a framework through which they could cooperate with the demon forces.

From the list Sarkegar had compiled, I recognized the name of someone whom I knew, but was not well-acquainted with.

I pointed to that name.

“This person may not be part of the leadership, but he is certainly a very important figure.”

“Indeed.”

Owen de Getmora...

He was the guildmaster of the Merchants’ Guild.

The guildmaster of the Merchants’ Guild had provided a substantial amount of research funding to the Magic Research Club, as a means to foster ties with the imperial family.

Since then, there hadn’t been any particular requests or interactions from the Merchants’ Guild, but the guild itself was currently raking in money, since they supplied all the goods for the magic train shop business. Thus far, I hadn’t had any particular trouble with them.

No news was good news; the arrangement we had was a mutually beneficial one.

Sarkegar’s investigation confirmed that the guildmaster of the Merchants’ Guild had ties to the Revolutionary Forces.

“The guy who gave me money to foster ties with the imperial family is secretly supporting the Revolutionary Forces...”

It was unclear whether his true intention was merely to make money or if he genuinely dreamed of a revolution.

Even if he wasn’t part of the leadership, though, he would be closely tied to the flow of funds.

Whether or not he was part of the leadership, he was still crucial because he could lead us to the leadership.

“Alright. Make contact with Owen de Getmora. If necessary, you can approach him as a representative of the Dark Land. And depending on the situation, I might have to meet with him personally. Keep that in mind.”

Sarkegar looked troubled. “You must consider the possibility that they might be too frightened by the mention of the Dark Land to ally with us, Your Highness.”

I was somewhat skeptical of Sarkegar’s pessimistic outlook. “Hmm, I doubt they can afford not to. Once they realize we’ve caught onto them, they’ll know that if we report them to the empire, they will face disastrous consequences. Once they know we’ve got evidence, they have no choice but to ally with us or face death.”

The Revolutionary Forces would have to make a choice the moment we approached them as representatives of the Dark Land. They would have to understand that if they didn’t ally with us, we could destroy them in other ways. We wouldn’t even have to do it ourselves.

We could simply hand the list of names to the empire.

They might try to dismiss it as information from demons, but who could say what would happen? The empire was in a very precarious position because of the friction with the Order of the Holy Knights. If they perceived that these Revolutionary Forces were an additional threat, the imperials would do everything in their power to eradicate them.

Therefore, despite their fear or reluctance, they wouldn’t be able to ignore us.

“Your insight is impressive, Your Highness.”

I entrusted the contact with the Revolutionary Forces to Sarkegar.

“If necessary, get help from Lucinil,” I commanded. “You’ll likely need her magic more often than I will.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

For the time being, Lucinil would assist Sarkegar.

Things were progressing, step by step.

As these tasks carried out in the name of Baalier continued to unfold one by one, I would gradually distance myself from the identity of Reinhart.

I watched quietly as Sarkegar transformed into a sparrow and flew away.