Chapter 31

The next evening, I was invited to a palace.

It wasn’t the royal palace but a small villa across the river named Cielo Palace.

It had once been built as the private residence of a once-prominent prime minister, but after the prime minister passed away, it became the property of the royal family.

Though it was outwardly lavish, the building was practically useless. It was a white elephant in every sense. The royal family had begun renting it out to private citizens as a source of income.

The excessively high rental fee was essentially a form of lobbying; most of those who rented the place were politicians seeking to gain influence at court.

And tonight, the one who had paid a hefty sum to lease Cielo Palace was none other than Baron d’Alembert.

In high society, Baron d’Alembert was known as a young nobleman with a love for the arts. He had invited the kingdom’s distinguished figures to Cielo Palace under the pretext of unveiling his collection of antique artworks.

I was among those who had received an invitation.

Thunk.

The carriage I was riding came to a halt.

“We’ve arrived at the main building of Cielo Palace. Was everything to your satisfaction during the ride, sir?”

“It was fine.”

“I’ll be waiting in the carriage house, so please call for me when you’re ready to leave.”

“Very well.”

I gave a brief nod and stepped down from the carriage.

In the dusk that had just begun to fall, Cielo Palace glowed gently under warm lights.

From the windows drifted the sound of soft instrumental music and genteel conversation.

Beneath the porch, two royal guards stood alert, controlling access to the entrance. I walked toward them.

The moment they saw my face, they stepped aside at once.

Normally, they should have been strict about security and identity checks, but for someone like Winter Winslet, fame alone served as identification.

However, as soon as I stepped into the lobby connected to the entrance hall, I began to suspect that the guards weren’t just being lenient….they might simply be incompetent.

Because right in front of me, a suspicious-looking woman was making a scene.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. What kind of party has no booze? Hey, you! Yeah, you. Come over here.”

A tall woman with wild black hair stood in the center of the lobby. She was picking a fight with every waiter who passed by.

It was Monastrell.

“You called for me?”

“Didn’t you hear me say to bring me a drink?”

“I’m sorry, Lady, but due to safety concerns, alcohol is prohibited at today’s exhibition.”

“And who decided that, huh? Wait a minute…. what’s that you’re holding? Hand it over.”

“Just a moment. This is…”

“Don’t be stingy. I said give me the whole thing!”

The woman snatched the tray from the waiter’s hands.

On the tray were several small, elegant glass bottles filled with a clear liquid. She picked one up and, with a snap, broke off the neck of the bottle.

Then—gulp, gulp.

She downed the contents in one go and let out a loud burp right in the waiter’s face.

“Buurp. Now that’s booze. Tastes like I just drank perfume. What kind of liquor is this?”

The waiter watching nervously from the side broke into a cold sweat.

“L-Lady, that really is perfume. I brought it to set out as samples…”

“What?! And you tell me now? Are you trying to die?”

“I-I didn’t mean—”

That was when I decided to step in and rescue the poor waiter.

“Shameless, as always, Monastrell.”

Monastrell.

The official recognized crazy bitch by the Candela of Judgment fandom turned to look at me.

She must have noticed me long ago, because she didn’t bother with any lines like, “What are you doing here?”

She just scowled and growled in a low voice.

“What are you staring at? You’re ruining my buzz. Say another word and I’ll kill you.”

I casually ignored the threat.

“What are you doing here?”

“I go where I want. What, do I need your permission now?”

“You may not need my permission, but you do need the host’s. Just so you know, you need an invitation to get in here.”

“So?”

“You’re not a noble. Where did you get an invitation?”

“Didn’t need one.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I threw about a dozen guards onto the roof, and the host came out personally to let me in.”

.“……”

So she got in through violence and protest.

Classic dragon behavior. She was practically a thug.

But even so, I still had questions.

“Invitation aside, someone as uncultured as you wouldn’t care about art. What are you really here for?”

“For free booze.”

“……?”

Monastrell picked up another perfume bottle she’d stolen from the waiter and snapped off the neck.

Then took another swig.

“Damn, this stuff’s kind of addictive.”

“…So you came to the exhibition just to mooch alcohol?”

I wanted to sneer and ask if she was crazy. But Monastrell was actually crazy, so I couldn’t really argue.

Still, I couldn’t shake my suspicions.

Because to me, Monastrell was a potential threat.

[Notification]

[A death flag has been raised by this character.]

A death flag. Not by a human, but by a dragon.

Josephine’s was due to infidelity, Shannon’s to vengeance, and Dalia’s to karma.

But this lunatic dragon….why does she want to kill me?

From the very start, it was suspicious that a dragon would be working as a fellow teacher at the academy.

It was hard to chalk it all up to just a dragon’s twisted idea of fun.

That’s what makes Monastrell so unsettling.

She was, at her core, a crazy bitch—

—but a crazy bitch full of mysteries.

There were two main opinions that Candela of Judgment fans held about Monastrell:.

First, that she was suspiciously powerful.

Second, that for someone that strong, she has suspiciously little screen time.

Monastrell’s true nature was revealed only on a specific route in the main story of Candela of Judgment.

It was the infamous hidden route considered by players to be the hardest of all where you face off in a boss battle against “Winter Winslet who gets demonic power”.

In that route, Monastrell suddenly joins the player’s side as an ally and engages in a life-or-death fight against Winter Winslet.

It was also the first and only time her identity as a dragon was revealed.

What this tells us is simple.

Monastrell was deeply hostile toward Winter Winslet.

No one knows why.

Which meant Monastrell was hiding something.

Something that had to do with me.

“If you’ve got something to say to me, say it now.”

“Something to say? Like what?”

“Didn’t you follow me here because you had business with me?”

“I followed you? Please. I was here first. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Monastrell waved a hand dismissively, like she was shooing away a fly.

“Get lost already. Don’t ruin my drink acting like you know me.”

“……”

After a moment’s thought, I decided to back off without a fight.

If a mad dragon was willing to behave for now, there was no point in provoking her.

Leaving Monastrell to her perfume-drinking spree, I made my way to the exhibition hall.

The gallery at Cielo Palace was nearly empty.

At events like this, the real purpose wasn’t to view art; it was to make connections.

Most people were probably still out in the lobby, exchanging pleasantries.

Even so, I walked slowly, taking in each piece of art one by one.

To raise what you might call a hidden stat.

In Candela of Judgment, there were hidden stats called Elegance and Charm, and both increased ever so slightly each time you appreciated a fine work of art.

They gave advantageous bonuses during negotiations or persuasion, and since they were difficult to raise by other means, it was best to take the opportunity when it arose.

The only downside was that the higher your existing stats, the smaller the gain.

My guess was that Winter Winslet’s Elegance and Charm were already at least A-rank.

After finishing my appreciation of the old paintings and artifacts, I returned to the lobby.

A crowd had gathered at the exit of the exhibition hall.

That was because the host of today’s exhibition was there.

Baron Keith D’Alembert.

He was an unusual character.

Pale to a pathological degree with a baby-faced look that made him seem like a teenager.

He was undeniably handsome, but more than anything, he simply had a knack for drawing attention.

Even now, he had taken over a piano and was giving an unexpected performance for the exhibition guests.

The problem was…he was playing terribly.

Plunk, plunk-plunk. Bang, bang, bang!

His technique was clearly top-notch, yet he deliberately chose only the most unpleasant chords to play.

The chaotic melody sounded like a rabid pony gone wild, and toward the end, he outright assaulted the keys.

Finally, when the performance ended, Baron Keith D’Alembert stood up and turned around to bow.

“Thank you. That was a piece expressing sex with a wounded doe and the climax of violent orgasm. Did everyone enjoy it?”

“……”

“Oh, of course, it’s not based on personal experience. Surely no one thought that, right?”

A beat later came a few scattered laughs.

Yes.

Keith D’Alembert was already a well-known attention seeker in high society.

And at the same time, he was the Seventh Point of the Heptangam Society and the lord of the vampires operating in Lamberte’s Night.

In other words, a Vampire Lord.

That’s why I came to see him.

***

“Well, well, look who it is! If it isn’t Baron Winslet!”

Keith D’Alembert spotted me and let out a whistle while putting on an exaggerated show of delight.

People turned to look at me at his gesture.

Ladies’ fans fluttered rapidly.

That was because both Winter Winslet and Keith D’Alembert were famously handsome figures in high society.

“To think that the illustrious mage would attend an event hosted by me. Did everyone see that? This is the kind of man I am. Hahaha.”

His tone hovered somewhere between lighthearted and flippant, but one should never judge him by that alone.

Vampires who had hidden among humans for centuries were, in truth, masters of acting.

Foolish behavior was merely a tool to dissolve suspicion and lower others’ guard.

“Seeing Baron Winter Winslet brings to mind a new melody. I’ve been into piano lately, you see. Let’s see… something like a light variation titled ‘That Cold Man Hates Summer’. What do you think? Care to hear a sample?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Oh dear! I’m sure you’d love it once you hear it. Well, it doesn’t matter. I suppose that’s enough of my little hobby for today. Everyone? I know you’re heartbroken that you won’t get to hear more of my stellar performance, but we’ll end here. You see, Baron Winslet is the guest I’ve been longing for.”

Of course, not a soul looked disappointed about the end of his music, but Keith D’Alembert still went out of his way to excuse himself and disperse the crowd.

After that, we made our way to a VIP box on the second floor.

A space physically separated from the rest of the guests, where we didn’t have to worry about being overheard.

Keith D’Alembert who was already seated held up a bottle of wine and offered it.

“Care for a drink?”

“Wasn’t alcohol banned at today’s exhibition?”

Keith D’Alembert scoffed.

“Taboos exist to be broken. Only the powerful can break them…and do you know what we call that power? Authority.”

“Seems a bit grand for just a glass of wine.”

“But it’s the truth. Look down there. Do you see anyone pointing fingers at me for holding this bottle? Not a single one. If anything, they’re probably envious.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Unless you count one very angry dragon upset about not being served alcohol.

“I break the rules and face no punishment. I stand above them. Therefore, I am superior to those who follow them. That, my friend, is the essence of the power humans seek.”

He truly had a twisted worldview.

I had a feeling that the Winter Winslet from before I possessed this body would’ve gotten along just fine with someone like him.

In other words, he was a bastard too.

Keith D’Alembert poured two glasses without asking and handed one to me.

“To us, the superior.”

We drained our glasses in one go and locked eyes.

Even sitting still, he gave off a constant smirking impression—

The classic narrow-eyed character.

He spoke.

“First, let me thank you for accepting my invitation. Do you have any idea how much I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Baron?”

“No clue.”

“If you did, you’d be shocked. So then, what business brings you to me?”

I took a moment to choose my words.

He was the Seventh Point of the Heptagram Society, and I was the Third.

Yet here he was, putting on an act and babbling about mating deer and playing the eccentric noble.

How was I supposed to draw out the real man hiding behind that mask?

The answer didn’t take long.

An eye for an eye.

I layered the mask of Winter Winslet over myself—

Arrogant, brimming with confidence, an island unto himself.

A man who believed nothing in this world could threaten him didn’t beat around the bush.

“I’ve come to make a deal, vampire.”

A silent crack appeared in his mask.

His narrow eyes snapped open, revealing irises as red as blood.

[Notification]

[A death flag has been raised by this character.]

The vampire lord gave a chilling smile.

“Well, well. So you knew?”