Chapter 63

Chapter 63

“We meet again, Mr. Joseph.”UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

The moonlight shone gently, and under its silvery radiance, raindrops pattered on the windowsill, like a soft nocturne slowly playing.

A figure bathed in the moonlight, with raindrops rolling off the surface of an umbrella.

The invisible rain curtain in the world opened the stage curtain, and the man under the black umbrella seemed like a musician walking calmly in the rain, entering the stage composedly at the moment the curtain opened.

“!!!”

Joseph suddenly stepped back, looking at the man on the balcony with uncertainty and surprise.

He instinctively recalled a night over a month ago that also had a faint scent of rain, that piano piece played in the Beiyuan Building. Remembering it now, this memory was tinged with a deep shade of blood.

The culprit was the man before him.

Joseph Houston, a member of the Imperial Parliament and administrator of the King District, lived in a heavily guarded community, in a villa with over ten floors.

Now, he stood shocked in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor, facing the man on the balcony just a few steps away. The closed glass window gave him no sense of security.

The thick night painted the world before his eyes. The visitor, steeped in the night, leaned casually against the railing, his light golden hair tinged with moisture.

The black long coat fell from his side, and the shadow cast by the black umbrella covered the man’s handsome features. His beautiful deep green eyes smiled slightly at Joseph.

This smile was so perfect it seemed artificial.

Joseph was dazed for a moment, with an indescribable discomfort welling up in his subconscious.

He had met this man codenamed K three times.

Strictly speaking, it could only be counted as twice.

The first time, he didn’t even see the man’s face. The most vivid impression was being startled awake at three in the morning in his mistress’s bed by a glass of cold water splashed on his face, the cold and stimulating sensation, and the hard, heart-trembling feeling of a gun muzzle pressed against the back of his head while he was in a daze.

Someone behind him let out a soft laugh.

He still remembered that gentle, elegant voice, like that of a young noble, and the unreasonable words.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Joseph. Pardon my abrupt visit, but I’d like to discuss the ownership of the King District with you.”

The second time they met, or rather, the first time he actually saw this face, was on that blood-stained night, at the banquet in the Beiyuan Building.

This mysterious “pianist” left everyone with an unforgettable farewell gift, which made the seed of fear planted in Joseph’s heart quickly germinate and grow rapidly in just a few days.

This fear overwhelmed everything, all principles and morals, making him start to consider agreeing to the other’s demands, rather than blindly following in the footsteps of Sir Leonardo.

Just when he was about to succumb to fear, the Parliament seized the opportunity of Sir Leonardo’s assassination to strike at the royal family, achieving remarkable results with a thunderous blow.

In this, the sudden assassination case served as the fuse for everything, and one of the important clues used by the Parliament against the royal family naturally played a significant role.

This mysterious assassin, who inadvertently assisted the Parliament, was naturally used by them.

While the royal family wanted to cut this person into a thousand pieces, the Parliament began to consider whether they could further utilize him to deliver an even greater blow to the royal family.

This gave the struggling Joseph a glimpse of opportunity–

A chance to neither betray the Parliament nor violate his principles, while also not having to worry about losing his life for rejecting the mysterious person’s demands. Moreover, he might even receive praise from the Parliament’s higher-ups and possibly climb even higher!

The flames of greed and ambition burned fiercely in his chest, making him throw caution to the wind.

As expected, when the higher-ups in Parliament learned that he actually had a way to find the mysterious assassin and reach an agreement with him, they were all pleasantly surprised.

While the assassination of a marquis certainly damaged the face of the Chenxing Empire, the royal family was also embarrassed. They were just collateral damage.

If this could be used as a starting point to strike a heavy blow against the royal family, Parliament would gain even greater benefits.

This would require the cooperation of that assassin.

If possible, they would love for this killer, whom they had packaged online as a “righteous person serving justice” and “an unnamed hero walking in darkness”, to strike again a few more times, killing more members of the royal family and thoroughly disrupting the situation.

After receiving instructions from the Parliament’s higher-ups, Joseph sent messages through those few dogs in the King District that should have belonged to him but had already been subdued by someone else, attempting to contact their new master.

Before long, this elusive new master indeed appeared before Joseph.

— This was their third meeting.

Unlike the previous two times, this time they were partners, and Joseph was just a messenger, while the real mastermind simply couldn’t appear in person.

The agreement they reached was simple.

Unfortunately, the only audience present didn’t cooperate with his performance, just nodding lightly. “I see.” As for whether he believed it or not, that was another matter.

Joseph felt the conversation couldn’t continue.

He simply threw out his purpose, getting straight to the point. “Mr. K probably doesn’t know, several members of Parliament have expressed their admiration for you, asking me to convey it to you on their behalf. If Mr. K is willing, we can establish a new relationship, having a more intimate friendship.”

Joseph tactfully extended an olive branch.

“K” certainly understood.

After all, this purpose was glaringly obvious.

First, he explained the results of Parliament’s great victory this time, even the emperor could only retreat step by step, being played like a puppet, this was to show off their strength;

Then, he explained Yao Country’s relentless pursuit of him, not to mention the deep hatred of the Chenxing Empire’s royal family towards him, only Parliament could protect him under the pressure from the Chenxing Empire’s royal family and Yao Country, this was both a crisis and a threat, while also demonstrating Parliament’s great strength and human touch;

Finally, he pointed out the admiration of Parliament’s higher-ups for him, subtly extending a recruitment offer.

This series of combined tactics, if “K” were truly just an ordinary employee of the Shadow Council, would likely have moved him to bow down on the spot and accept the recruitment offer.

Then, he might have become Parliament’s pawn within the Shadow Council, an underground force. Even if the Shadow Council continued to expand and develop, it would always be under Parliament’s control, preventing it from growing out of control.

Of course, it’s possible that Parliament didn’t even take a small organization like the Shadow Council seriously. The reason for recruiting him might simply be because they valued his skills, wanting to find a useful blade.

Whichever it was, he wasn’t interested.

Although agreeing to the recruitment and becoming a double agent seemed like an interesting approach, such an idea belonged to Bai Yi or the Puppet Master, not the rebellious K — his willingness to join the Shadow Council wasn’t out of being convinced, but because he wanted to rise to power himself.

Given K’s character, he naturally wouldn’t agree to Parliament’s recruitment.

“— A more intimate relationship?”

The man pushed himself off the railing, standing steadily on the balcony, looking at the expectant Joseph.

His smile was impeccable.

“One is Parliament, which openly dominates the Chenxing Empire, the other is the Shadow Council, which secretly dominates the dark world. Between dawn and reflection, there is naturally an intimate relationship.”

“— I look forward to that day’s arrival.”

Joseph: ???

At this moment, his face was full of question marks, probably thinking: What Shadow Council? What obscure organization dares to compare itself to Parliament, truly believing there will be a day when both sides can be mentioned in the same breath, equally dividing the world?

“K” didn’t care what he thought and continued, “I came today just to remind you to remember to keep your promise.”

As for other matters, he wasn’t interested.

Joseph was stunned, not yet having reacted.

The man’s deep green pupils seemed to become even more profound for a moment, but his smile remained gentle. “The King District is already my territory. It seems you’ve left some garbage there, so I took the liberty of cleaning it up for you.”

Joseph’s pupils contracted sharply.

Parliament had been treating the other party as a mere tool from beginning to end. Even though they had agreed to cooperate, they couldn’t resist doing some underhanded things. But the implication of these words was that their planted personnel had been dealt with?

This evening, first being ruthlessly rejected, and now being warned like this, anger rose in his heart, and he couldn’t help but frown heavily. “You!”

The man gave him a light glance.

The aura of death seemed to hover around him. Those bloody scenes from before suddenly flooded back into his mind, and Joseph instantly deflated like a punctured balloon.

He moved his lips.

“You... take care...”

“Well then, until next time, Mr. Joseph.”

...No, let there not be a next time. I never want to meet you again in this lifetime.

Amidst Joseph’s enthusiastic fake smile, “K” politely bade farewell, then turned and leapt down from the balcony.

The night was deep, and his figure disappeared into the rain.

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