READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 129
After Barugore left, Charlotte returned to the Lieutenant’s Room to resume her study of the Necronomicon with Estizel.
“I’ve worked so hard all this time on my own! It was only two days, after all!”
“I’ll make sure to teach you properly from now on.”
Knock, knock.
Just then, a knock echoed through the room, causing her to turn her head.
Even though I didn’t ask to come in, Cecilia walked through the open door.
“Is it okay if I come in?”
“…You’re already inside, aren’t you?”
Cecilia glanced sideways at Estizel.
“Could you possibly move over a bit? We have some things to discuss together.”
“Uh, yes, of course! Just don’t fight, okay?”
Contrary to my worries, it didn’t seem like they held any hostility, but thinking about the past made me extremely uneasy.
Estizel earnestly pleaded with them not to fight before leaving.
Naturally, the awkward silence was palpable between just the two of them.
Cecilia leisurely sat down in the chair across from Charlotte.
So they faced each other across the table.
“See? I told you. They said they forgive you.”
Cecilia’s tone was surprisingly calm.
“Unlike us, the Master thinks nothing of it. You were the only one suffering alone.”
“That much is true.”
Charlotte felt a bit embarrassed recalling that time.
To her, it was a secret she could never speak of, while to the other party, it was a past they hardly cared about.
Leaving that aside, there was the final moment they had shared as well…
She shook her head hurriedly to dispel the thoughts.
“You know, honestly, I don’t want to get along with you.”
“I see.”
They were the only uneasy rivals in the Mausoleum of Faith.
Recently, they had even fought for their lives against each other, so things had to be complicated.
“But the Master wants us to get along. Well… we should at least try.”
She came over putting her feelings on the back burner just by looking at his face.
It was a pretty significant decision for her.
Realizing this, Charlotte inwardly respected her intention.
“…But how do we get close?”
Cecilia awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, looking genuinely clueless.
In response, Charlotte fell into a lengthy silence.
She knew how to kill humans, but she was utterly clumsy with human relationships.
Even when Cecilia was the Empire’s rising star, she couldn’t feel intimacy with anyone.
They only had a public relationship with basically no private ones at all.
Just as they were lost in this silent contemplation…
“You need to have common interests!”
Estizel suddenly popped out from outside, shouting.
Both of their gazes snapped towards her, their stares piercing. Even though it was just a gaze, a chilling aura filled the air.
Estizel, scared out of her wits, swallowed hard.
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“I just… happened to overhear. Uh… actually, I was worried you might start fighting…”
“Please leave. Don’t eavesdrop.”
“U-Um, good luck getting along!”
With her last annoying remark, Estizel ran off.
Charlotte sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose, and Cecilia murmured softly.
“Common interests… common interests…”
Surprisingly, she seriously considered Estizel’s words.
What could they possibly have in common? As she pondered, one shared interest came flashing to her mind.
“Shall I tell you about Lucas?”
“…Huh?”
“About Lucas. We’ve known each other for a long time, so I know a lot. We’ve seen everything that we shouldn’t have.”
Charlotte swallowed hard without realizing it.
In fact, she had been curious about Lucas for a while now.
How could one not be interested in the past of that person?
Yet Barugore himself didn’t even know his past, with only Cecilia being the sole keeper of such knowledge.
And because her relationship with Cecilia was atrocious, she never thought to ask her.
But now, the other party offered to tell her directly?
“If you’re curious, I’ll share. If not, then it can’t be helped.”
“I’m curious.”
It was an instant response without the slightest hesitation.
“Uh… it doesn’t sound like you’re curious.”
“I’m very curious! Please tell me!”
Her tone was flat, and her expression was neutral, but her eyes were shining brightly.
Seeing that, even Cecilia, who had been playing hard to get, raised both hands in surrender.
“Alright, I’ll tell you.”
Then Cecilia began to speak, and Charlotte listened attentively with sparkling eyes, occasionally asking questions when something intrigued her.
While they were usually quiet, that night, their conversation flowed endlessly.
***
“Ba-betrayer?”
“Bellevar…?”
The surrounding Lords whispered among themselves, only expressing confusion. Not a single person denied it.
The insight of the Undead Lair Lord could be deemed absolute when it came to living beings.
Only Roseha observed from a distance with an expressionless face.
“Ugh…”
Nervously trembling pupils and lips.
I pulled out a blade from Bellevar’s shoulder and aimed it at his neck, ready to strike.
Bellevar flinched like a drenched dog.
“I’ll give you the chance to confess with your own mouth.”
From Bellevar’s perspective, it was unclear whether I was reading his thoughts or merely assessing the courtroom.
If it were the former, he would know who his instigator was, but with the latter, he wouldn’t know.
If Bellevar had sworn loyalty to the Old One, and if that Old One had silenced him through some trick, he’d rather die than confess.
Even torture wouldn’t change that.
“Confess, and you shall die painlessly. But if you plan to keep your secret, you won’t die comfortably.”
While mere intimidation wouldn’t yield a confession, I had my own methods.
As I subtly signaled, Roseha took a step closer.
“Should I check it out?”
Roseha also possessed a talent for affecting the mind, and she could easily handle someone like Bellevar.
He surely knew that.
“I-I will confess! It was the Old One! I was ordered by the Old One!”
In truth, I had suspected it was the Old One since I had covertly contacted Roxanne.
But the fact that the top-ranking one resorted to such cowardly tricks bothered me.
In an instant, Bellevar’s eyes turned pink and then returned to normal.
“Hmm? Is there some unusual resistance? Must be an Old One’s doing?”
“Ah…”
Bellevar soon returned to his senses, sighing heavily.
Did the Old One have measures in place, but Bellevar simply didn’t know? Or was it that he was too scared to confess?
Whatever the truth, while the Old One was wary of Roseha’s traits, he didn’t seem to recognize mine.
I was reminded once more that the level system was almost as powerful as the Undead Lair’s insight—if not more so.
“Regardless, you’re a dead man, Bellevar. If you want to die comfortably, keep confessing.”
“…Yes.”
Bellevar confessed everything he knew.
I heard that he reported Roseha’s situation to the Old One and sought to assassinate me using the Old One’s power.
He also added that he simply didn’t like me.
After all, there were plenty of reasons for someone to dislike me.
“How do you plan to kill me?”
“That, if the Old One grants me power…”
Does that mean he has the ability to pass power to the Old One?
He continued to confess everything he knew thereafter, but the information was of little significance.
“This is all I know. Please, grant me a quick…—”
Worst case!
Blood gushed forth, and Bellevar’s head rolled to the floor.
I sprinkled the blood on the Holy Sword and sheathed it.
I could have captured him and tortured him further, but I didn’t want to go that far.
There were no particularly valuable pieces of information left.
If this was my version of mercy, then so be it.
As I surveyed the scene, the other Lords looked pale, while Roseha remained darkly composed.
Only she was smiling gently, unchanged.
“Thanks to you, I owe you one. I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
“I was just preoccupied with him.”
Thanks to the level system, I nearly overlooked the signs myself.
This Bellevar issue added fuel to the already boiling factional strife.
If this information spread, even Daron wouldn’t remain indifferent.
“How are the others? Or rather, I’ll check myself.”
Roseha employed her trait powers on her subordinate Lords.
All were thoroughly verified, confirming there were no traitors.
Only then did Roseha breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness it was just one. I didn’t expect the Old One to employ such tricks. Seems he has a more underhanded side than I thought?”
Although she didn’t show it, she was visibly furious.
“Oh, by the way, you also heard about the faction talk, right?”
After I left the Abyssal 10th Layer, Roseha stayed behind to meet face-to-face with Roxanne.
Perhaps they exchanged faction-related discussions during that time.
“This confirms things, doesn’t it? Renlin and Daron as well.”
“Indeed.”
“But you, through your insight, figured it out, right? Does that mean you can read minds?”
“….”
“You know what I’m thinking right now? Wanna take a guess?”
“…Sinister thoughts.”
I didn’t need to see to know what kind of sinister thoughts were flashing through her head.
I figured other Lords would guess it right, too.
“Correct. So far, you’ve read all my thoughts. I never expected you to have such a lewd side.”
I remained silent, allowing her to interpret her thoughts on her own.
Deep down, my wariness towards the Seven Dukes increased.
Since the Old One drew in factional Lords, I now needed to keep an eye on the Seven Dukes as well.
The banquet hall might very well be a trap to eliminate us.
“What about you? Are you going to go?”
Roseha seemed to share the concern, hinting at a question.
While she might not know it, I had a sense of wariness from the outset, which had only heightened with this incident.
“Actually, this might be an opportunity.”
If it truly were a ploy from the Seven Dukes, it might also present a chance to weed out the troublemakers.
Moreover, there was much I would miss if I returned this way.
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t mind either way. It could be dangerous, but I really don’t care about that kind of stuff. And if things go down, well, we might even sweep out the Seven Dukes, right? I’ll follow your lead.”
Leaving potential threats unattended could lead to even greater risks.
However, making a decision immediately seemed risky with the Old One acting as a backing.
According to Bellevar, the Old One possessed the ability to pass on the power.
If powerful figures like the Seven Dukes had inherited that power from the Old One…
After considerable thought, I finally spoke.
“Let’s check it out.”
“I knew you’d say that. After all, a brave heart like yours wouldn’t be scared. Oh, wait, you don’t even have a heart.”
In truth, I was quite afraid.
I had no certainty, and if I let this slide, it could turn into a greater threat, so I decided to march on despite the anxiety.