Chapter 18: CH 17 – The Ball (Part 9)

I was still awaiting the gossip regarding the waiter from Natalia Ashford. However, I still had plenty to do in the meantime.

To start with, I needed to loop in Micah. Natalia was right. Of the two of us, Micah had the actual brains and was the victim in all this, so it was only suitable to bring him into the fold.

Knock. Knock.

I tapped his study's door. This was where I could typically find Micah working on some paperwork on behalf of the Frey Merchant Guild.

"Micah, it's Luca.” I pulled open the door without waiting for him to respond.

"Ah, come in! I was wondering if you would drop by; Henry had brought a pastry to me on your behalf." Micah lifted up a thin pastry with pistachio nuts on top. It already had a few bites in it.

His table was covered in paperwork and scrolls, and yet somehow it looked organized. There was order to the chaos.

He motioned for me to sit in one of the armchairs by a large window and stood up to join me on a twin armchair right beside it.

I plopped down and felt like I might never stand up. It was soft and cushiony. I moved my hands down the soft green velvet covering. In my original life, these were equally soft but made of supple red leather.

"What brings you about?" Micah smiled.

"Say, you know how this morning after breakfast, you said that if I ever need any help with something, to come to you?" I asked.

"Yes." Micah's expression turned serious. "What do you need help with?"

I tried to pick my words carefully to avoid telling too much. I couldn't exactly tell him that I had lived through today already.

"It's actually regarding you," I said. "I just came across some information that you and Princess Evelyn may be in danger at the ball tonight."

Micah blinked in surprise. Then nodded.

"Ah, that makes sense," he said.

He folded his arms and leaned back in his armchair. He looked practically relaxed.

"What?? How does that make sense?" I gaped at him.

Micah laughed and winked.

"I'm used to assassination attempts, remember?"

I felt my stomach drop.

Used to them, my ass. You died two times in a row because of them. Within the same day.

"Oh, don't give me that look." Micah smiled. "Don't worry. It's good you told me. Do you have any information on how, when, and who is behind the plot?"

"Yes," I said. "Your champagne at the start of the ball will be poisoned. I suspect the waiter that hands you the flutes is being blackmailed. I am currently waiting for information on who they are and their motivation."

Micah nodded. "Aren't you a resourceful one? And any other pieces of information that could be helpful? Or are you waiting on those as well?"

"I do have more." I sat up in my chair slightly. "Detective Gavin Graves is involved. And there are two guards at the palace that are in on it. One is a big beefy guy with a large scar on his face, and the other is skinny as a twig."

I pulled out my poor drawing and handed it over to him.

Micah took the drawing and rubbed his chin in thought.

"Are you able to share how you found out about this?" he asked.

I shook my head.

There was no way he'd believe me if I actually told him. And I didn't want to lie.

I'm lucky that he's even taking me seriously now.

In the past, I had played quite a number of pranks on him, and like a fool, he fell for every single one of them. It was a miracle he didn't laugh off my warning now, given all that.

"No worries, I won't press." Micah smiled. "We all have our secrets. But I hope you'll feel comfortable opening up to me in the future. Like I said, if you ever need any help, I'll always be here."

I remembered something.

"Micah, they seem interested in a locked scroll of yours," I said.

A grin spread across Micah's face. "Oh, are they now?"

"What's inside the scroll?" I asked.

Whatever it was, it was valuable enough to kill the heir of a powerful merchant guild and the kingdom's crown princess.

"Like I said, we all have our secrets." Micah winked. "I'll tell you if you tell me how you know all about the assassination attempt at the ball."

"Fine, don't tell me.” I stood up. "I'll let you know when the information on the waiter comes in."

"Good." Micah stood up as well. "I'll set a few pieces in motion in the meantime."

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***

I leaned back against the bathtub and felt refreshed in the warm water.

It was nearing lukewarm at this point, to be honest. Remlend took a while to find me within the manor and let me know the bath was ready. However, I preferred this temperature. It felt cool and refreshing.

I gazed around the blue and white quartz bathroom. I wasn't sure if I preferred it over the black marble from Round 5. However, I seemed to equally like both. It was funny how the setting changed each time in this so-called "game," but the emotions surrounding the visual elements didn't feel all that out of place. Each round, my bedroom was always styled in a way that matched my 19-year-old's personality.

I pulled up my stats. I hadn't bothered checking them yet.

[ Strength : 4
Dexterity : 35
Perception : 39
Intelligence : 14
Charisma : 7
Mana : 2 ]

Interesting. Two of them had gone up without any notifications appearing. Perception and Intelligence both had increased by +1.

"System, can you explain what Perception is again? It's my best stat and has recently gone up by one."

[ Hello, Luca! Perception is self-explanatory for most players as they know the definition of the word. Still, I fully understand that given your lack of Intelligence, you may require things to be explained slowly and clearly. ]

Tsk.

This System sure liked to poke fun at me. I wished I could splash some water on the blue floating screen, but I knew it would just go through.

"Self-explanatory, my ass. I've never even played a game in any way, shape, or form similar to this. And I'm trying to understand what it means as far as the game mechanics."

[ Yes, yes. Worry not. I will explain what Perception is such that even you can understand it. ]

[ Perception is a stat indicating how proficient you are in observing your environment and connecting the clues presented before you. You might be able to better perceive someone's emotions, their profession based on their attire, or spot hidden objects that the average person might miss. ]

[ As a note, you are only 1 point away from 40. Once you reach 40, you will have a special skill associated with that stat appear. ]

"What? What kind of skill?"

I was suddenly intrigued.

[ I'm afraid I cannot provide that information as you only have 40% of access to the game mechanics. ]

That 40% thing was coming up yet again.

I smiled.

But it didn't matter. I was only one point away. I just needed to raise my Perception once more, and I would find out what this additional skill could offer.

"Young master Luca!" Remlend called out from the other door. "A bird arrived for you with a message. I left the letter on your table."

I scampered out of the bathtub, barely dried myself off, and put on some undergarments before I ran into my bedroom to read the message.

I rolled out the purple paper, and my eyes flickered through the information.

Apparently, three waiters working in the palace were currently being blackmailed. But only one of them was male and working the night of the ball.

I felt sorry for the unfortunate tales of the two waitresses. Still, my priority was Micah's life and not every single person suffering within my line of sight.

The waiter being blackmailed was a single father with an eight-year-old daughter that he took every day to a neighborhood park. However, neighbors noted that he had not done so in the past three days. They also stated that he gave contradicting excuses that his daughter was home ill or that she was visiting her grandmother outside the capital.

My eyes fell on the faction responsible for kidnapping his daughter and holding her hostage until their demands were met. The Ivory Eel Syndicate.

Damn it.

I knew whichever faction was working to kill my brother and the crown princess must have been quite influential. Still, I somehow didn't expect the third most powerful and dangerous faction to be involved. Or perhaps that was just my wishful thinking. It complicated things.

Every faction working within the capital had its own unique way of running their business, and each had carved out a specific scope that they liked to tackle.

The Ivory Eel Syndicate was annoying because many of the Adovorian nobility were secret patrons. Thus, even when justice was served, Ivory Eels walked free at the last moment because of some error or caveat. Like their faction's animal, they were a slippery bunch. I didn't know about the organization's intricacies, but I knew they had some seriously powerful friends.

"Young master Luca, if you're ready, I'll enter and dress you for the ball," Remlend called out. "I think you have a head start on your brother and mother."

"I'm ready. Please enter," I called out.

"I had picked out an outfit for you already that I think would suit you nicely." Remlend entered and pulled out a pre-prepared suit and accessories from the closet.

I chuckled seeing the outfit.

It was an outrageously bold and eye-catching outfit like in the previous round. It was a black silk suit with the entire right side of it appearing as if a tree of gold had bloomed across the fabric. Fruit made up of gemstones appeared throughout the golden branches.

"You know what? Why not?" I said. "You only live once, technically. Please skip on the hair accessories, however. And bring me some regular shoes that aren't bedazzled in gemstones."

"Certainly, young master." Remlend gave his ordinary smile. "Ah, and a message came from your brother. He wanted you to come to his room once you finished dressing."

I nodded my head.

Now that Micah was looped in, he'd know what to do. Even the Ivory Eels Syndicate had little chance against my genius brother.

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