On the tiny balcony of the master bedroom, Klein stood behind a railing in the form of Dwayne Dantès. He silently watched Baron Syndras's luxurious carriage depart.
His mind was still resonating with the conversation he just had. He believed that there had been a secret plot behind the acquiring of the Coim Company's shares from the very beginning.
According to Syndras, although the Coim Company has great potential and bright prospects, its current value is only limited to Backlund. It's constrained by many conditions, making it not worthy for a powerful banker to place such great importance on it that he had to take on a stance of being hell-bent on acquiring it. After all, even if he didn't succeed, it would only be a difference in monetary profit. It wouldn't result in any losses.
For the seller, Cuarón, it's very normal to be under external stress to sell his shares for cash. It's also very normal for him to be unwilling to see "Moneybags" Baron Syndras from the Conservative Party. But herein lies the problem. As a businessman, faced with a deal that isn't considered important, the political inclinations are something to be considered when prices are similar. There's no reason to reject the possibility of receiving an extremely high premium. Yet, he had deliberately rushed to close the deal with Dwayne Dantès before Syndras could make his final offer. It's as if he has a grudge with money or views the Conservative Party with extreme prejudice. And this doesn't match the current political climate. The Loen Kingdom's internal politics hasn't reached such a splintered state.
From the looks of it, someone is forcing Syndras to do this, and someone had designed a trap, using Cuarón's 3% shares as the bait and me as the cover to lure Syndras into the trap, wishing to achieve a certain goal... Klein looked at the street lamps under the night sky as he sighed poignantly.
Based on my assumption, if I hadn't discovered the problem tonight and hadn't sent someone to Syndras, the subsequent developments would definitely have me crushed by all kinds of seemingly incriminating evidence. And when the military or the Church of Evernight intervenes, there will undoubtedly be a twist in the evidence, incriminating Syndras.
During this process, just a tiny misjudgment on Syndras's part will result in him treating Dwayne Dantès as an accomplice of the mastermind behind this ploy. He would use a rather intense method in response, hammering the final nail in my coffin.
As for who the mastermind was and their true goals, Klein had no idea. All he could do was confirm that Ma'am Mary likely wasn't aware of the truth. She was only used due to her anxiousness to preserve her control over the Coim Company. In short, she wasn't qualified to be deeply involved in the mastermind's ploy.
Environment protection... New Party... Conservative Party... Bankers... Acquisition... Framing... One word after another surfaced in Klein's mind, seemingly allowing him to see through the present calm in Backlund. He saw the dangerous stirrings that were hidden beneath the surface.
They existed for a long time and hadn't been quelled because of the Great Smog. It was even possible that it was just an extension of the tragedy.
When all of these meshed together, mixed with the tense international environment, Klein suddenly thought of a word: "Revolution!"
In that second, Klein seemed to catch a whiff of the impending storm.
Together with the prophecy of the apocalypse, I wonder how much chaos and madness are brewing in secret... Currently, my main goal is to start from the military and investigate the truth behind the Great Smog of Backlund. If I were to get caught up in this maelstrom, there's a high chance I'll get involved in unnecessary trouble. Perhaps it might expose my Sequence powers, preventing me from continuing my act as Dwayne Dantès... Klein retracted his gaze, having made up his decision.
It was to quickly extricate himself from the matter!
As for Syndras's safety, he wasn't too worried. First, the former had the Conservative Party backing him, and he had his own faction. With him on alert, it would be difficult for him to suffer any further harm. Second, Klein didn't have any deep ties with him; thus, providing a warning had already spoken volumes of his character.
As for the truth behind Cuarón's death, he had no right to carry out any investigations. All he could do was trust in the Nighthawks' rich experience and the myriad of means to have a chance of finding the real clues.
How should I extricate myself? As long as the shares are with me, it implies that I'll ultimately remain center stage... Get Ma'am Mary to acquire it ahead of time? That will be very difficult. She likely doesn't have the funds... Sell it to Syndras? That will be in violation of the contract... Amidst Klein's flurry of thoughts, he gradually had an idea.
His facial muscles twitched a little for some baffling reason before they relaxed. This was because what he wanted to do was something he had planned on doing but lacked the ability to do so. Furthermore, it would also benefit him by establishing an image, bettering his chances of entering high society.
...
In the room adjacent to the balcony, Xio and Fors were observing the streets and garden. One of them was looking at the crimson moon that was half-hidden behind the thick clouds. There was a prolonged silence.
Only when Dwayne Dantès's lights were extinguished did Fors turn to look at her friend. She said in excitement and clear poignancy, "Being a tycoon sure isn't easy...
"If you were him, you might've gone bankrupt in three days and be sent to jail."
Xio shot her a glance and said, "I can hire a powerful butler, a professional lawyer, and a capable business secretary to help me."
Fors didn't continue putting her down as she said with a smile, "If I were you, I would change all of it to cash, bonds, and property. I'll use the annual income they bring about to maintain a decent life."
Just as she said that, she saw Xio frown slightly. She cast her gaze towards the first floor.
"What happened?" Fors tensed up.
Xio observed for a few seconds before saying, "My spiritual perception tells me that an item or matter related to black magic has appeared."
One of the biggest advantages of a Sheriff was that when they were close enough, they could sense matters related to evil, chaos, and madness that weren't screened.
"Black magic?" Fors was considered a senior Beyonder, so she wasn't unfamiliar with that.
Strictly speaking, anything that didn't pass through the seven orthodox deities was considered as black magic. It included ritualistic magic that prayed to secret existences.
In the typical sense, black magic referred to the use of flesh and blood, hair, and all kinds of strange items to cast strange spells. It partially involved evil gods, one's Beyonder powers, the spirituality of the materials used, and the correct symbols and magic labels.
Xio nodded heavily and said, "Yes, it's on the first floor. I plan on taking a look. Stay here to protect Mr. Dantès."
Fors kept silent for two seconds and nodded without wasting any time.
"Okay."
After Xio left the balcony's half-open room, Fors took out Leymano's Travels from a hidden pouch, prepared to immediately take action if anything amiss happened.
Elsewhere, Xio nimbly and briskly arrived at the first floor. Following her senses, she arrived outside a room.
After confirming that the target was inside, Xio was surprised as her expression gradually darkened.
If she didn't remember wrongly, this room likely belonged to Butler Walter who had hired her!
During her momentary daze, the black magic item or matter which triggered her spiritual perception vanished. Calm returned to the room as though nothing abnormal had happened.
Xio hurriedly pressed her ear to the door and carefully listened, confirming that there was the breathing of a human inside.
After waiting for a while and seeing that Walter wasn't doing anything else, she returned to the third floor with a look of suspicion. She recounted her findings to her friend and finally said, "Do we feign ignorance, or think of a way to remind Mr. Dantès?"
Fors thought and said, "Perhaps the butler doesn't have any ill intentions?
"Let's keep observing."
After deciding on their stance, she tsked in wonder.
"I have to say that Mr. Dwayne Dantès is a really pitiful person. Not only was he used by others to harm Baron Syndras and get framed, nearly throwing him into jail and losing his reputation, but he also has a butler who researches black magic with an unknown motive. Sigh, I hope he doesn't lose his life because of that. On this front, he's only a helpless commoner."
Xio nodded in agreement.
"If we're unable to determine the butler's intentions after three days are over, we can leave a slip for him to warn him."
...
The next morning, Klein glanced at Walter in a normal fashion after having breakfast before leaving home with Richardson. He rode a cathedral to Saint Samuel Cathedral.
After the preaching and prayers, Klein didn't make any donations. Instead, he directly came to Bishop Elektra.
"Is there something?" Although this bishop was under immense stress due to the infiltration of Chanis Gate, he was still rather friendly when dealing with the faithful.
Klein smiled and replied, "I've recently been involved in certain matters and have come to recognize my true self."
Without waiting for Elektra to inquire, he continued, "I wish to establish a foundation that targets the poor. I hope that they can receive help from the Church.
"I will place the Coim Company shares I have on hand into this foundation, so as to kickstart this initiative using all the funds obtainable from the contract.
Elektra was nearly stupefied by what he heard because it was definitely a sizable sum.
Although it wasn't public knowledge how much Dwayne Dantès spent on acquiring the 3% shares, just from the relevant sources of information, it was estimated to be over 10,000 pounds. Furthermore, the future returns were nothing to scoff at!
And back then, Ma'am Mary had been pursued by many men of status who had wealth in the range of tens of thousands of pounds.
Therefore, for Dwayne Dantès to suddenly donate more than ten thousand pounds was definitely considered a generous move. In the whole of the Church of Evernight, apart from donations from a deceased's will, there were only a handful of one-time donations that exceeded this amount!
"This is an act that deserves all kinds of praise," Elektra said from the bottom of his heart. "However, I have the obligation to remind you that you shouldn't do something that exceeds your reach."
Klein smiled and replied, "This isn't a small sum for me as well, but it's still acceptable. It wouldn't affect my life and business."
Elektra's smile gradually turned warm as he said with a nod, "The Goddess will definitely watch you."
Upon hearing this blessing, Klein's expression nearly froze.
Elektra continued, "I will report the matter to His Grace and try to organize a charity party for this foundation. When the time comes, I'll invite the Goddess's faithful from different domains. They will include powerful aristocrats and their families. Let's see if there are more people who are willing to participate."
He knew very well that Dwayne Dantès was attempting to enter high society; therefore, he had deliberately made mention of powerful aristocrats.
