Science/Magic

After Bloed and Illina left the meeting room, the people in the room kept silent for a brief moment.

Then, under that serious and heavy atmosphere, one of them spoke.

It was the one called Jaden.

"Then, can any of you explain what happened with the group that was killed a few days ago?" Jaden said and looked at Bernard as though waiting for an explanation.

Bernard scoffed. "Why are you looking at me? I don't have any idea about what happened."

"Yeah? But they were your men. If you don't know, who is supposed to know?" Jaden said with an ice-cold smile.

Bernard furrowed his brows, but before he could speak, someone else interrupted.

"Calm down, guys. This is not the time to fight between us."

It was one of the masked people seated around the table.

However, Jaden did not relent under his intervention. "Do you expect that I calm down? We are in a critical part of the operation, and an incident such as this happens. Moreover, that idiot even used the creature! What is one of the attackers suspects something after seeing it?"

Bernard grunted. "You people of the church of slaughter are always so paranoid. How many people in this world can identify that creature? Plus, the city lord took care of the aftermath quickly. Don't worry, I'm confident that the plan has not been leaked."

"I would not be so sure about that, Bernard." Another masked person said. "Although my men took care of the situation quickly, it raised the suspicions of several parties. I received a visit from Moonlight Glow recently demanding all the information about this case. They probably suspect something. Plus, we have not identified the attackers yet."

At that moment, an aged voice spoke with a sigh.

"Things are much more troublesome."

The voice from before wrinkled his brows. "What do you mean, archbishop?"

"… There is a rumor spreading in the churches of the city that this incident is related to the Blight."

*Clank!*

A cup fell to the ground.

"Impossible!"

"Who leaked it!?"

"That is outrageous! Nobody should be able to identify the creature in its current form!"

"It's true." The one called archbishop said in a serious tone. "Although they have not confirmed it, several churches are already suspicious and the way the city lord managed the situation did not help. I don't think I need to say this, but my church can't afford to be associated with the Blight. Thus, if you don't find a way out of this situation soon, we will pull back."

"You hypocritical bastard! Stop making yourself look righteous after being involved in this shit!" Jaden laughed mockingly. However, the archbishop remained indifferent. "Involved? No no, our church has not participated in anything yet. To be honest, I loathe collaborating with people like you."

The comment of the archbishop froze the atmosphere in the room.

Bernard coughed awkwardly and tried to shift the topic.

"Anyway, we will have to be more careful after today and hurry up with the plan.��� Bernard then stared at one of the two people that had not spoken yet. "Kevin, how are the sacrifices doing?"

"We are almost ready, master." The one called Kevin replied respectfully. "Although there have been some small issues, we are confident we will be ready for the next week."

"Sacrifices, huh. That is a nice way to call them." Jaden smirked and looked at one of the masked men. "But who would have thought that the righteous lord of Diadel Duchy would fall so low as to plot against his own people."

"Don't try to make me feel bad, dog of the gods. As the Dieadel's lord, I always have my people as the priority."

"Your people? Hahahaha! Such a funny joke! Is killing your people for your personal benefice the best for them!?"

The city lord just glanced at him indifferently. "When I became the lord of this duchy, this place was completely ruined. People died from hunger, children were sold as slaves, and bandits raided the towns and cities recklessly. But now, this duchy is one of the most prosperous places on the continent. It was me that achieved all of this. However, there is much more I need to do, and for that, this is something necessary."

Jaden smirked condescendingly. "That is the reason I hate sanctimonious bastards like you. The greater good, hahaha, do you think the lives lost for your 'greater good' would think the same as you?

"I'm different, though. What is wrong with enjoying death and slaughter!? Even if I kill, I don't go around looking for excuses!"

"Crazy bastard." One of the masked men said.

Jaden shrugged and swallowed a cup of wine messily. Many of the masked people in the room frowned when they saw that.

Finally, Bernard sighed and looked at the only person in the table that had not spoken until now.

"Envoy, what do you think?"

The last masked man shook his head in disinterest. "I don't care about your plans or plots. My job is just to supply you with the tools, how you use them is your problem."

The other people looked at each other with wariness in their eyes

and the city lord opened his mouth.

"… To be honest, Mr. Envoy, you are the person I trust the least in this room. Your people have never been trustworthy."

The envoy shrugged, too lazy to even answer.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

The people in the room frowned before signaling a bodyguard to open the door. At the same time, every person in the room tensed up ready to fight.

But when they saw a gorgeous woman behind the door, their expressions relaxed.

"Miss Akela, what does bring someone like you here?" Bernard asked curiously.

The gorgeous woman giggled softly and narrowed her eyes. "Nothing, dear customers. I just wanted to know if you are satisfied with our service. After all, not every day we receive so many important customers."

"Hahahaha, satisfied, very satisfied." Jaden grinned while ogling to the beauty in front of him. "The food and the wine are the best I have tasted in a while. Moreover, this place has such a beauty like you. Just being able to get to know such a fairy like miss Akela is worth the price."

Akela frowned briefly, but it was quickly hidden by her usual smiling expression. "Is it so? I'm happy then. Unfortunately, I have to check the other customers, so I can't spend more time here. Enjoy the night."

Upon saying that, Akela left.

And instantly, her expression turned grave.

"Fortunately, they did not notice anything."

"Madam, what should we do?" A strong-looking man asked the gorgeous beauty. "I'm sure the people behind this were targeting that room. Should we tell them about it?"

Akela shook her head. "There is no need. Just find the missing servants and forget everything."

"Madam?"

"Don't you understand, Zaroth? I don't know these people target, or what are these bigshots planning, but my instincts are screaming it's not something we can get involved in."

"Then?"

"Find the missing servants. If they are alright, we will forget about what happened today."

One hour later, the missing servants were found sleeping in a warehouse.

...

P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels