They traversed a corridor so eerie it could have been a dark cave leading to a secret meeting, and then a banquet hall so different from the rest of the world greeted me.
Whoa, is this even possible?'
Count Hardenfork had been remodeling and expanding the ballroom for his nightly socializing.
The feast of glittering decorations as if coated with greed, was so blinding that it hurt my eyes.
'Yes. Added the charge of challenging the Emperor's authority.'
Originally, a person who was annoying and hateful would always want to find fault with something more.
Apart from the beautiful and splendid appearance of the banquet hall, the contents of the banquet hall were nothing short of ugly. The aristocrats were creating the appearance of a depraved and promiscuous banquet.
The aristocrats ate, drank, smoked cigars, played dangerous games, and gambled. The prizes for the bets were large sums of money or their own bodies.
As if the decorative drapery hanging from the ceiling were a partition, they were boldly stuck everywhere. Naked silhouettes could be seen in the distance, sometimes not two but many.
'Oh my God.'
But that wasn't the end.
The organizers committed various atrocities to liven up the banquet.
They set up nearly naked dancers on the center stage to perform masked dances, and they even served a special dessert, a human body decorated with cream, on the table.
Of course, the dancers didn't enjoy this behavior. They weren't even professional dancers from a troupe.
I, who noticed this, tightly held onto the railing on the second floor.
'There is no such thing as a devil's gathering.'
As if to answer me, the man who passed by to carry the liquor wore a grotesque mask with ram's horns. He looked like the devil's minion.
He offered me a drink, too. But all the drinks here were either strong or laced with drugs, so I wouldn't touch any of them.
'Let's go upstairs.'
First, I needed to move to a less conspicuous location. I had no intention of hunting or being hunted like the rest of the nobility.
So I sought out a dark stairwell. In my haste, I bumped into an opponent as I rounded a corner.
"Ouch."
It was only a slight jolt, but he was startled enough to freak out as soon as he saw me, and he immediately dropped to his knees in a crouch.
I was surprised too. The other person's voice was so familiar.
From the deep-set crown to the curly black hair, I was familiar with it.
When I didn't answer, the other person slightly raised his head with a look of fear.
She was wearing a formal mask that covered only the rim of her eyes, not a half-mask, so I could recognize her immediately.
It was Limona Lund.
'Why? Why are you here, Limona?'
It's obvious that singing in the social circles of the nobility will enhance her reputation as a singer. But the Pegasus Troupe was supposed to be cracking down on invitations to obscene and dangerous societies.
'Did the troupe push Limona into these places because they were blinded by money, or was Count Hardenfolk blackmailing her?'
Whatever the case, I was blindsided by my friend's situation. I had to chew on my lower lip to keep from asking Limona how long she had been invited to these banquets.
But Limona, who misunderstood the sight, lowered her head again.
“Lady, I am truly sorry. Please calm down and have mercy.”
"..."
“I’ll be more careful in the future. Please forgive me, lady.”
I was unintentionally scaring Limona with my appearance. We were in the middle of a banquet hall where the nobles were unabashedly displaying their perverted and sadistic side, and in Limona's eyes, I was one of the demons.
“I’ll be more careful in the future. Please forgive me, lady.”
I was unintentionally scaring Limona with my appearance. We were in the middle of a banquet hall where the nobles were unabashedly displaying their perverted and sadistic side, and in Limona's eyes, I was one of the demons.
“... It's done, you can go.”
I, who spoke softly, almost inaudibly, was the first to turn away.
"Uh..."
Left behind, Limona watched my back for a long moment, dumbfounded that she hadn't gotten a spanking, let alone a whipping, until she heard someone calling urgently for her.
A moment later, as I stood on the railing of the fourth floor, the sound of singing reached my ears. It was a melody and a tone far too dainty for such a depraved banquet.
As I was looking down at the banquet hall with dark eyes, lost in thought, someone approached.
“It’s a refreshing autumn night. Would you like a drink?”
“...It's a night when the mooing of fattened cattle reaches high into the sky. I'll have a drink, please.”
Of course, neither of us even wet our tongues with our drinks. We greeted each other with a nod and then got straight to the point.
“Alben, report the situation.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The sight of his grim smile, unmasked by his mask, made me feel a little cleansed of my earlier anger.
“We've infiltrated the Intelligence Organization, and we have people on our side, not just among the nobility, but among the users of Hardenfolk. It's not as easy as it sounds, as the golems and artifacts are heavily guarded. We'd have to manually move them.”
“I feel secure because Your Highness is here.”
The intelligence organization infiltrating the mansion was divided into three teams, each tasked with rescuing a victim of human trafficking, uncovering an inventory of narcotics, and searching the books that would provide hard evidence of the first two cases.
“Not yet.”
“Are you sure it’s not the main house but a secret mansion?”
“Yes. I'm pretty sure it's here. The secret mansion was converted not only to host the nightly society, but also to hide Count Hardenfork's secret wealth, which is probably stored in a secret location known only to him, along with his black money and ledgers.”
I just needed to be sure it was here. I smiled and opened my mouth.
“Yes.”
“Tell Team 3 to secure the trafficking victims and keep an eye on Count Hardenfork until we find the drug warehouse. When Teams 1 and 2 are done, we'll head to Hardenfork. I want you to pursue the Count and watch wherever he goes.”
“Ugh, is this a rat hunt in a poisoned cage? It would be a shame to just watch such a fun game. I’ll take care of it myself.”
“Then there is no mistake, you are my trusted servant, and I will be sure to spread the word. I who has Alben Redmon shall have the empire.”
Today too, I and Alben showed off our close relationship as we gave each other a thumbs up.
At that time, a thud was heard from below the fourth-floor railing.
It seemed like someone was being harassed again at the banquet hall. As I watched, my gaze darkened and the air became heavy.
Alben stopped what he was doing and asked, observing my expression.
“How do you feel about it?”
“There are now two buildings I want to blow up instead of one.”
“Hoo, what’s the first one?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Yes, please let me know. As a token of my loyalty, I, Alben Redmon, will remove all that is offensive to Your Highness.”
“That sounds believable.”
The first target of the bombing was a homunculus breeding center in the polar regions, so this made me smile bitterly.
It would be a tremendous boost to have Alben on board, not only for the succession, but for the liberation of Homunculus as well, but that was unknown for now.
“That's not all, I suspect there are even more heinous acts going on in the basement. As you can see from the plans, the underground structure here is as bad as Chansley's bathhouse.”
“Sir Agneto is doing well.”
“Yes. Keep up the good work.”
You've been briefed, you've been told. It was time to move separately so as not to arouse suspicion. We wished each other well.
“Oh, dear. Thank you for your concern. Please, Your Highness, protect your precious body by repelling the insects that are troubling you.”
“Ah, don’t worry about me. I have a special spell I learned from Master just for today. I hope I don’t use it.”
“Hoo, what could it be?”
“Are you curious?”
I smiled mischievously, extending my hand as if to cast a spell. Alben instinctively wrapped his arms around his shoulders and shrank back.
“Oh, no. It looks dangerous.”
“Yes, I thought about it carefully. I don’t want to block your path to eternal life.”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, keep up the good work.”
“Oh, yes! I will give you a satisfactory result.”
I, who had broken up with Alben, came down to the second floor.
Cold, amber eyes studied the obscene society.
Among them, some behaved shamefully without even realizing that their masks had been taken off.
Those tied up behind the curtain over there, screaming for more spankings, are the three young lords of Count Cermund, and those dancing naked over there are the Baron and Baroness Andant, and those showering in that wine over there are the Viscount and Countess Pelam and Amates...'
Ha... recognizing the faces of each and every one of the tangled individuals only added to the sense of decadence.
It was when I swallowed a sigh and turned my gaze.
The dark world of society could not possibly leave a pretty woman wandering around alone.
Suddenly, a seemingly normal man boldly approached me.
“No, the beautiful buds have been left alone in this place; and how is it that you should learn the joy that blossoms beneath me this night...?”
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