Chapter 181 – Playing Along

"Me? Spying on you? Of course not." The man let out a laugh, as if being accused had somehow amused him. He gave his head a slight shake, voice still slippery and insouciant. "It's just that… a few of the so-called 'leads' in your expansion project happened to be old friends of mine—people I planted there years ago."

He leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers absently on his knee—like knocking on the door of a secret chamber about to open.

"They were in early, long before you even joined the expansion effort. So when they heard something interesting in your meetings, they naturally told me right away. I was just gathering a bit of intel, that's all—trying to feel out how solid Marcellus's ground really is."

Eryx's expression darkened. His eyes locked onto the man with a cold, unblinking stare.

"Oh, don't ask me who they are," the man said, raising both hands with a mock gesture of sealing his lips. "This is how I make my living—if I tell you, how am I supposed to survive?"

Eryx said nothing. He slowly lowered the gun in his hand. He didn't press the question further, but inwardly, the waters grew deeper.

To have someone embedded among the core leaders of the expansion project…

This man was far more dangerous than he had first imagined. Behind the guise of a gaunt, careless drifter was a mind that read the board with unnerving clarity—and worse, held unseen strings in his grasp. He wasn't an ally. He was a threat in disguise.

But it was precisely because of that, Eryx knew, he had to squeeze every ounce of usefulness from him while he still could.

His tone shifted.

"Then why are you here tonight?"

"Why else?" the man replied with a sly grin, though his eyes glinted coldly beneath the surface. "I was afraid you'd fallen for their trick. I'm guessing that right after the meeting ended, you realized what Livia and Elias did—claiming the zones most likely to contain the treasure for themselves. Right?"

Eryx gave a slight nod, neither confirming nor denying.

"That was my initial assumption," he said calmly.

"Thought so," the man sighed, his voice still soft, but every word striking with certainty. "But that… is exactly what they wanted you to think."

Eryx narrowed his eyes, a faint crease forming between his brows.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," the man drew a circle in the air with his finger and let it fall onto the map, tapping precisely between the two regions "assigned" to Eryx, "the place most likely to hold the Grail… is probably in your sector."

Eryx froze for a heartbeat, his expression turning grave.

"…Keep talking."

"Marcellus and Elias aren't fools," the man leaned forward slightly, as if about to share a secret—or reveal the final twist of a long-laid plot. "They've known for a while that you're after the treasure. And you know they're after it, too. With everyone so clearly aware, do you really think they'd be stupid enough to assign the Grail's location to themselves?"

His voice paused deliberately, then dropped into a low, mirthless laugh.

"You guessed what they were planning. But they also guessed what you'd guess. So they used your 'reasonable assumption' against you—and flipped the game."

His fingertip slid across the map, stopping atop a building marked with Marcellus's family crest.

"Did you notice? Your zone includes the old castle of House Marcellus."

Eryx's pupils contracted.

"They gave up the castle…? Then—"

"Exactly," the man nodded. "That was the nail they drove in. On the surface, it looks like they're giving up their roots in pursuit of the treasure. But in truth, they've planted that nail right inside your territory. One, it leads you to misjudge their intentions, thinking they've sacrificed everything. And two… once your focus shifts entirely to their side, they'll have every excuse to send people into your land under the guise of 'maintaining' the castle—and secretly investigate what you have hidden."

At that moment, Eryx's heart sank fully into the abyss.

He recalled Livia's calm, decisive demeanor during the meeting—her composure, her firm commands. And now, it all made sense. That hadn't just been a power move—it was a trap laid with chilling precision.

His jaw tightened. His eyes turned steely, dark as iron. A moment later, he spoke in a low voice:

"…Then what should we do?"

The man's lips curled into a sharp, predatory smile.

"Play along," he said, as if the board was already set. "Keep sending troops—more, if anything. Make it look like you've taken the bait. Stir up chaos on their side, so they believe their plan's working. It'll lull them into a false sense of security."

Then, his tone sharpened, his gaze glinting like a blade.

"Meanwhile, you send your most trusted men—and mine too—to quietly fortify your own area. Especially around the castle. Set traps. Ambush points. Surveillance. The moment they try to slip in under the 'castle maintenance' excuse, we'll be ready."

"And when they finally dig up a lead," he said, eyes gleaming, "we strike first—and take the treasure before they even know what hit them."

Silence blanketed the room.

Eryx didn't reply immediately. He stood there, still as a looming storm, his mind already racing ahead.

At last, he spoke. Just one word:

"Good."

A single syllable—but it rang through the room like a war drum.

And in that moment, the entire board seemed to tremble.

A turning point was taking shape—one that could shift the balance of the entire game.