98

The eagle masked man was Hurelbard. Elena received two invitations for the loss in preparation for this situation. One was given to her and the other to Hurelbard to cope with an unexpected situation.

"U-uuup!"

As the bear-like man flailed, Hurelbard repressed him so that he could not move in his hands. The strength of the force caused the man to shake his huge body and not even flinch.

"If you answer my questions, there will be no more pressure."

The figure that had tried to force Elena in front of Hurelbard's power disappeared without a shadow of a doubt. The man meekly turned into a gentle bear and obediently wiped away his liver and gall.

(T/N: bravery/courage.)

"The heavenly powder, where did you get it?"

"U-upstairs… End of hallway… Room."

Perhaps because one side of his face was crushed by the wall, the man's words were dreary. But that was enough to get the answer Elena wanted.

"Sir."

Hurelbard, who understood the meaning of Elena's words, let go.

"Huh, Hyuk."

When the man in the bear mask, could barely support himself, Hurelbard turned his head, and shed his killing intent.

"Gasp!"

The man who was so frightened by the intimidation that his spine shivered and all the hairs on his body twitched fled without even looking behind him. He didn't even know that the blood on his forehead was dripping.

"Shall we go up then?"

Elena smiled faintly and walked ahead, and Hurelbard silently followed her.

***

At that time. There was a man staring at Elena and Hurelbard, who were in a scuffle. It was a man wearing a wolf mask with eyes redder than wine.

"Why did she come here?"

The wolf masked man that couldn't keep his eyes off Elena, the stranger's true identity was Ren. After the shock of his defeat in the final of the Swordsmanship Festival, he had been confined to the barracks and devoted himself only to swordsmanship training, but he had made some progress, and a little while ago he had begun to act in earnest as the successor of the Bastasche family. Of course, his activities had been done so secretly that few people knew about them externally.

"What's wrong?"

Majesti's head Mel, wearing a hyena mask, asked, looking at Ren, who couldn't take his eyes off Elena.

"Thinking of this and that. And it's not like she came to see me. Why did she come? Should I go out there and pretend I know or not?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about… She's here?"

Mel already had a history of investigating Lucia under Ren's orders, mobilizing the intelligence organization Majesti. He also knew that Ren would react like that when she was mentioned.

"It's not Lucia. She's similar, but not quite the same today."

Ren chased away the man in the bear mask and looked ruefully at Elena as she disappeared down the hall stairs. It was luck that he had noticed Elena. Even if Ren was as observant as a hawk, it was not easy for him to recognize her behind the mask.

At first he was puzzled, but when he saw the way she walked, which was not appropriate for such a lowly ball, her blond hair that could not be hidden by the mask, and her sea-blue eyes, he was convinced. Then he witnessed the man in the bear mask excitedly go over to Elena. He was about to puff out his chest, thinking, the heavens had given him another chance to step up, when the eagle-masked stranger, who seemed to be the escort knight he once saw, overpowered the man a step ahead and sorted out the situation.

'Completely annoying.'

"I don't understand any of what you're saying. Please tell me more clearly."

"I don't want to."

Ren's decisive answer made Mel look at him, wondering if there was a deeper meaning.

"What do you want to know so badly about? I love it when I'm the only one who knows."

"…"

Mel was silenced by the brazenness with which he spouted his ridiculous reasons.

"Oh! Today's meeting is canceled." 

"What do you mean by that?"

He always felt that he didn't know where Ren was going. He still didn't. It wasn't definite yet, but if he looked for clues that would shake the pillars of the Grand Duchy to their roots, he would come to the masquerade ball, but he wanted to go straight home.

"It means we're not the only ones who smelled it. If we move too, they'll get suspicious."

Mel was a quick thinker. Sometimes he rattled off a long list of nonsense that he didn't understand, but more often than not, Ren had a bone to pick with his words.

"By any chance…"

"Shh."

Ren put his index finger to his lips and motioned for him to be quiet.

"Who are you to speculate on your own?"

"I'm sorry."

Mel was quick to admit his mistake. The most alarming thing for someone who handles information is to speculate on a situation without context and evidence.

"Put Majesti on Veronica."

"Lady Veronica?"

Mel did not know that Lucia and Princess Veronica were the same person. As he did so, he felt that it was an outlandish order.

"And put them on L, the mistress of the Secret Salon."

"And L?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Mel thought the three were completely unrelated. However, he accepted the order without question. There had to be a reason.

Ren nodded and gestured.

"Go ahead. I'm going to play."

"I'll leave first."

Now that the planned meeting had been canceled, Mel had no more reason to be here. After a brief silent bow, he disappeared among the people enjoying the masked ball.

"What happened, the kid can't stay still. It's dangerous."

As he left, Ren drank the wine in his hand. Then he looked down at his glass and saw Elena's face floating in the clear white wine.

Ren had a sneaking suspicion as to why Elena was acting this way. Now was the time to enjoy the many benefits of being Lady Veronica's substitute, but she didn't know how long that would last. A substitute was just a substitute. They couldn't be the real thing. If, indeed, Lady Veronica should return, she would inevitably meet with a disastrous end.

"Well, I think you're doing a good job. But aren't you being too aggressive? Where are you going."

Ren was convinced that she was L. With the status of "L", the mistress of the Secret Salon, who was noted as an intelligent person and the modern woman, she had watered down the Grand Duke's projects several times and caused enormous damage. It was too early to say for sure, but the Secret Salon and the basilica under construction alone seemed to be aimed at Noblesse Street, which the Grand Duke was preparing with ambition.

Yes, L knew exactly what she was doing. She knew that the only way for her to live was to bring down the Grand Duke. Still, this was too reckless, no, too dangerous. Where was she coming from? Of course, Hurelbard was a reliable knight. But sometimes things happen that are beyond the control of the individual.

"You don't know how to do it, kid. You're making this brother want to get involved."

Ren couldn't stand to watch her act so dangerously anymore, so he put Majesti on Elena. It was nominal surveillance, but he had even thought of shutting it off in advance if a dangerous situation arose.

"Then shall the villain of justice come forward?"

Ren's head turned. A young lady, wearing a colorful peacock mask on the opposite terrace, was staring at a person who was wearing a rabbit mask and retorted something.

Tak. After drinking the wine at once, Ren put the glass on the table next to him and walked over there.

"Hey, Avella."

"…!"

Ren made sure that everyone could hear the name of the peacock-masked lady. All eyes were on her, as no one didn't know Lady Avella, a noblewoman and a member of the Reinhardt family. When her identity was revealed, her face, which had appeared in glimpses between her mask, turned white. As she was aiming to become the Crown Princess in the future, her reputation would be seriously damaged if it became public knowledge that she had been in and out of such a place. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, the man in the rabbit mask approached Ren intimidatingly.

"How will you clean after carelessly speaking… Hyuk!"

When the rabbit masked man went, his other words could not continue. In the blink of an eye, Ren kicked the ground, suddenly narrowed the distance, and thrust his fist into his abdomen. After the rabbit mask had fallen helplessly without any time to deal with it, Ren approached Avella in a hurry.

"D-don't come!"

Scared, Avella stepped back. Her head that had been scheming did not play its proper role at this moment. It wasn't like the man in front of her was a man of common sense. He was a madman, and madness was the word that comes to mind.

Duk. He stopped only after Avella's back hit the wall of the ballroom. When there was nowhere else to go, Avella went into a rage.

"I-I warned you not to come near me."

"You don't like it?"

Ren went up to her nose. Then he reached out and stuck his face out, wallowing over Avella's ear.

"I told you. Don't touch anything I take. Don't you understand?"

"S-senior."

"That kind of prank makes my cousin uncomfortable, doesn't it? Don't you think so?"

As Ren passed his murderous intent, Avella trembled like an aspen. There was no point in catching him since he already knew everything.

Ren whispered in her ear with cold eyes.

"What happens when this story reaches the Grand Duke? It's going to be fun, right?"

"…"

"Let's do well."

Ren patted Avella on the shoulder and went back. Avella managed to lean against the wall as her legs were weak.

***

"Here it is."

Elena stood in front of the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor as the bear masked man told her. Compared to other rooms, the purpose of the marble door seemed to be significantly different.

"What's the matter?"

A square-faced man wearing a bizarre fur mask asked.

"I want to buy heavenly powder."

The man looked over Elena and Hurelbard. Then he knocked on the marble door with the back of his hand. Before long, the door that had been closed opened about a snake, and a beautiful woman protruded her face.

"Who? Customers?"

"Yes, there are customers."

The woman who quietly appeared through the doorway was dressed vulgarly. Her thighs and pelvis, minus the major parts, were exposed intact, as were her breast bones. The woman stole a glance up and down at Elena, then turned her gaze to Hurelbard with disinterest. She licked her tongue as she stared at him with a sticky gaze.

"Oh, there's a wonderful brother, too. Come on in."

The woman sidestepped and beckoned Elena and Hurelbard into the room. What caught their attention the most were the taxidermy and decorations made from the hair and skins of various animals. It was so bizarre and disgusting that they could guess what the master of the house would like.

"You have customers?"

A man wearing a strange mask with horns walked out from behind the curtain to divide the area. He looked at Elena and Hurelbard alternately with blurry eyes and laid down on the wide couch. Elena's gaze sank coldly.

'The center distributor who deals with opium.'