Chapter 281

Where Victor finds out some very disturbing news and Hans...

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Episode 281. About 5 Months (4)

Victor's ears perked up as he made his way through the milling crowd, pouring wine and collecting empty wine glasses.

Still unsure of the purpose of their gathering, he filed away what he heard in his head and swallowed hard when a nobleman spoke up.

“They say there aren't many comrades here, just a hasty gathering, but there are many more across the border.”

“That's right. The Principality is full of our comrades. They're gathering now, so let's get ready to cross over at the crack of dawn.”

‘Damn it. Crossing the border? And in a group? Why?’

That route wasn't on Logan's itinerary at all. And he wasn't traveling alone, but with a group of noble sons from the Empire's most prestigious noble families.

‘The nobility of the Ocerian Empire traveling to the Principality in such a large group? For what purpose?'

What's more, the Elias Family was completely unaware of this schedule.

As far as he knew, crossing over to the Principality would be recorded in Oceria’s Military records.

Going there? in such a rush and with such a large group of people would surely reflect on Elias in some way.

Hopefully, it would be positive, but traveling there like this without House Elias' knowledge was bound to reflect poorly on them.

Furthermore, Logan was due to take command of the Joint Knight training in ten days.

‘Is he just leaving for a short while?'

Victor's questions were quickly answered by the man's next words.

“As you know, he said that the wave that begins in the Principality would turn the tide of the Imperial Family once and for all.”

"That's right, if officials from the Capital participate in the first wave, we’ll gain recognition for it afterwards. It's time to clean up the Empire! Let's get everyone on board!"

All of it was suspicious, but the most alarming part was 'clean up the Empire'.

As a longtime member of the Black Society's intelligence gathering unit, Victor had experienced plenty of unusual situations while spying on a lot of different people.

Based on experience, plots like this gave him a bad feeling, it never ended well.

‘This is why the disciple ordered me to do this!'

[It's suspicious that he left a ten-day gap and didn't tell us the exact destination when he said he was traveling, instead of going straight to the training grounds.]

After thinking for a while, the disciple had given Victor this order.

[If Logan deviates from his itinerary, meets suspicious people, or travels to strange places, I want you to follow him immediately, and if you think he's going to get involved in something illegal, trigger the Black Society's client protection protocol.]

Triggering the 'client protection protocol' meant completely removing the client from a dangerous situation, such as being involved in a crime, being assaulted by criminals. or any other life-threatening perils.

‘Is this why the Master chose her? How could the disciple have predicted such a situation just by seeing a ten-day gap in his schedule?'

But Victor soon gave up on trying to understand the disciple, the same way he did with Master Andrei.

He preferred to think of them as a different species.They were always thinking ahead, beyond normal people like himself.

From that point on, Victor identified Logan as possibly in need of the 'client protection protocol' and began to watch him much more closely.

Logan was actively engaging in conversation with the group. His expression was full of anticipation.

An hour or so later, Logan was on the Club terrace, smoking a cigarette and pouring out his heartfelt ambitions to his club-mate.

“Everything He said was true. I tolerated that half-breed kid, and she offered me a very beneficial business plan.”

"Oh, you mean your fat half-sister? Wasn't she recently fired after being the Second Prince's Aide? How could the Second Prince treat one of your siblings so poorly after your family sided with him?"

"That's right. We shouldn't have sided with the lowly Second Prince who looked down on my family in the first place. I’ll go to the Principality and do my best to fulfill His will, and my family will no longer be played by him anymore."

"Yeah, your family’s been forced to play the Emperor's game and now you have to deal with that bastard prince's threats."

"There are different levels of inferiors. Some of them are useful, such as Tara, and some of them are useless, like the illegitimate Second Prince, who keeps disrupting the Empire."

"By the way, what are you going to do about the Joint Knight training if we move today? Won't your father be furious?"

"When have I ever been absent? I've instructed the Vice-Captain to take care of it. It's just as well since Master Spencer was pestering me to keep him informed of all the preparations. My father will consider it a great blessing to know that I have helped start a new era in the Principality. You can't compare that to training knights now can you? Hmph."

Immediately after hearing this, Victor left the club. He borrowed a horse from the nearest stable and rode to the lodgings where the other members of the Black Society were staying.

“Let's move. We've got a client protection situation. It's serious.”

The Black Society members who had been waiting in the porter's accommodations, instantly transformed from porters into agents ready for action under Victor's command.

They immediately put their heads together to plan the operation.

***

Hans Button's residence in the capital. Same night.

[Do you really think I'm going to give you this much money just because? Do you think I'm crazy?]

As usual, the indolent aristocrats were busy shouting their haughty disapproval. At first, of course.

Their attitude was short lived as soon as he shoved the corruption filled documents he got from the Treasury vaults in their faces.

The moment he showed them the records of their or their family members’ corruption with evidence to back it up, they would immediately start begging and pleading.

That was how he started receiving regular funds from prominent families in the Capital.

The investment funds he collected by extorting the nobles over the crimes they knowingly or unknowingly committed and covering them up amounted to hundreds of thousands of gold coins.

To top it all off, a phantom branch was set up in the Toulouse family business and the funds were being funneled through it.

Interestingly enough, Joseph wasn’t interested in the funds. He was an imperial idiot, born and bred in the Palace who thought he could make money just by ordering his subjects around.

All of the funds were raised in Joseph's name but were going to be Hans’s in the end.

"Kekekeke. It's so easy. Too easy?."

He stirred the powder into the lemon iced tea and gulped it down.

Knock, knock, knock.

“It's me, Master.”

The person who knocked on the door was Harold, a knight with a black eye patch who had followed him from the Button estate.

“...Come in....”

Harold rushed in, looking embarrassed, and ruffled his hair.

"I had no choice but to come here, Master."

"What brought you here unexpectedly?"

“I apologize, my lord. Something urgent has come up.”

“... What is it?” Hans shouted sharply.

For some time now, Hans had felt his patience wearing thin with his stupid subordinates.

They frequently reacted nervously in his presence, so he had been forced to restrain himself lately.

Right now, he was very annoyed with Harold for showing up unannounced and disobeying his order to stay put for a while.

If Harold had done this a mere month ago, Hans would have immediately reprimanded and questioned him. But now that he had increased his intake of psychedelic drugs, he wasn't as sharp as he used to be.

Unaware of his altered state, Hans believed Harold wouldn't behave like this unless it was important.

When Hans stared at Harold with a look of intense irritation on his face, his subordinate wiped sweat off his brow as he explained.

"Black Crown villagers in Knox have fled from Count Knox’s work assignments.There are twelve of them in all. I have come in haste to ask your permission to organize a pursuit team, my Lord."

It wasn't very important, but it wasn't something he could ignore either. Even so, it didn't justify Harold's haste. The man could have organized a pursuit party at his own discretion.

"You can organize it yourself. Did you interrupt me in the middle of the night just because you couldn't decide that yourself?"

"Well, I came here on purpose, my Lord, because you told me a while ago to be cautious about using our manpower."

Harold was right. They needed a lot of men for the upcoming operation, and Hans had ordered him not to recklessly assign their forces to other tasks.

Only then was Hans satisfied that Harold’s visit was necessary and he personally ordered him to select a few of his men.

Harold bowed politely and stepped outside.

***

Under the bright moon, Harold stood still for a moment in front of Hans's iron gate, as if he had lost his way.

In reality, no one had escaped.

Instead, four days ago a report had been sent to Hans in the Capital stating that a suspicious presence had been detected in the Black Crown villages within the Empire, including Knox, but no specific orders had followed.

Today, Harold understood why as soon as he saw the mountain of sealed reports on Hans's desk and the clouded look in his eyes.

His eyes were glazed over from the effects of psychedelic drugs.

About a month ago, Harold had noticed something suspicious around the Black Crown villages, and only a week ago he sensed an operation was underway.

Two days ago he realized that he was being followed. So Harold had deliberately chosen this moonlit night to come here.

Even now, he didn't bother to hide himself even though he was clearly visible under the moonlight. After a few more moments, he slowly took off his eye-patch, wedged it into the corner of the sharp iron gate and quickly disappeared.

***

"Hmmm... Foolish pawns running in circles... How stupid... Kekeke... Even if they try to run away they're all in the palm of my hand... Why do they invite such hardships..."

Leaning heavily against the couch's backrest, Hans sang his made-up lyrics while humming a tune. He then drank the rest of his spiked iced tea and raised his glass high, as if to toast the gods.

“At least he obeys me like a dog since he's a vassal from the main house...!”

Hans suddenly leapt to his feet, eyes wide.

"That bastard. He had a different look in his eyes."

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