Free Web NovelAs Adelaide's voice fell, a suffocating sense of pressure permeated the air.
This didn't come from any one specific person.
Rather, it came from the entire room.
From those writhing lines on the floor.
From those beings, human or otherwise, seated in the chairs.
From the twisted, impossible shadows cast by those thirteen candles.
"Since everyone is here."
The fourth voice from before spoke again.
It was just as deep and calm as before.
Like the echo of a massive boulder sinking into an abyss.
The speaker sat in the head seat and was slowly standing up.
He was tall, and his black robes fluttered gently in the windless room, as if something invisible were tugging at them.
He did not remove his hood.
But the darkness shrouding his face was deeper and thicker than that of the others.
So deep it seemed like a portal to the void.
"Lord Peter."
The woman with the cloyingly sweet voice spoke.
There was a hint of respect in her tone.
"Since you've personally convened this meeting, I presume you have something important to announce?"
Peter did not answer immediately.
He merely turned his head slowly.
That mass of darkness swept across everyone present.
Some bowed slightly under his gaze.
Others simply remained silent.
And the figures in black robes in three of the chairs remained motionless.
Then, Peter finally spoke.
"Liselotte is dead."
These words were like a stone dropped into calm water.
Ripples spread in all directions.
Gregor's brow furrowed.
The young man stopped his hand movements.
The sweet-voiced woman's laughter came to an abrupt halt.
And in the corner,
a figure in black robes in one of the chairs finally moved.
It was only a slight movement.
Almost imperceptible.
But Adelaide saw it.
It was the second chair.
The chair of the woman known as Andrea.
"I believe many of you should know her,"
Peter continued.
His tone remained calm.
As if he were stating an inconsequential fact.
"Andrea's most prized disciple, Path of the Empress, Sequence V. Her mission was to assassinate Doctor Lovelace's daughter, Victoria von Hohenheim."
"And then, she died."
Silence.
No one spoke.
Even Gregor, who had been arguing incessantly just moments ago, now kept his mouth tightly shut.
They all knew very well what that name meant within the Secret Party.
Sequence V of the Path of the Empress.
A manipulator of life.
In the Secret Party, she might not have been the strongest in terms of combat power.
But she was certainly one of the most difficult to kill. ƒrēewebnovel.com
A woman who could turn an entire forest into her weapon.
A woman who was almost impossible to kill as long as her feet were on the ground.
Dead.
"How did she die?"
Gregor's raspy voice broke the silence.
His expression was grim.
Tinged with a certain... unease.
"Unknown,"
Peter said.
These few words were even more shocking than "Liselotte is dead."
"We only know that on that day, an extremely fierce battle took place at the Rosenthal Manor."
"The manor's master, Viscount Rosenthal, has disappeared; his daughter has disappeared; and Victoria von Hohenheim, whom he kidnapped, has also disappeared."
"And Liselotte's Soul Mark vanished completely shortly after the battle occurred."
Soul Mark.
That was the method of contact the Secret Party established for every high-ranking member.
A resonance carved into the soul that transcended distance.
When a Soul Mark vanishes, there is only one possibility.
That person's soul no longer exists.
However, even death cannot achieve this; death only causes the Soul Mark to grow weak.
But this complete disappearance...
"That's impossible."
The young man's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
"Liselotte was a Sequence V of the Path of the Empress. Killing her is hard enough, but to completely erase her soul..."
"Unless there's something that can devour souls and block perception."
The sweet-voiced woman's voice rang out.
Her tone was playful.
"Like... the soul-eater sword?"
This term caused several of the figures in black robes to shudder slightly.
They were no strangers to this term.
"But the soul-eater sword should be in Yana Lovelace's hands,"
Gregor said.
His brow furrowed even deeper.
"If that woman is still alive..."
"That is the second thing I wish to discuss."
Peter's voice showed no fluctuation.
"According to our investigation and speculation, Yana Lovelace is indeed still alive."
"You should all be aware of the incident not long ago where Yana Lovelace met with Duchess Erwina and was then killed by the so-called Ghost of Caldberg."
"This matter had nothing to do with the Secret Party."
"Furthermore, it had nothing to do with any Wayfarer organization we can contact."
"In other words..."
Several figures in black robes exchanged glances.
"You're saying this was a self-directed performance."
The young man frowned.
"That cunning woman just used the legend of the Ghost of Caldberg as a cover to hide herself?"
"Not only that,"
Peter said.
"Now, she has likely formed an alliance with Duchess Erwina."
This sentence caused the temperature in the room to drop several degrees once more.
"With Duchess Erwina?"
Gregor's voice became sharp.
"Has she gone mad?"
"Yana Lovelace is a supporter of the Peace Party."
"Duchess Erwina is the leader of the Pro-war faction."
"How could they ally?"
"If Duchess Erwina is indeed still alive, then she likely hasn't gone mad."
The sweet-voiced woman's laughter rang out again.
"At most, she has... discovered some of our little maneuvers."
Silence.
This time, the silence was even heavier.
Duchess Erwina.
The leader of the Pro-war faction and one of the Empire's most powerful nobles.
Strictly speaking, she could be considered a "partner" of the Secret Party.
After all, war is beneficial to the Secret Party.
War means more death.
More souls, more experimental subjects, more opportunities for advancement.
In this regard, their demands were consistent with those of the Royal Research Institute.
But Duchess Erwina could never be considered one of theirs.
This old woman had no interest in power.
No interest in longevity.
No interest in sequence advancement.
In the eyes of the Secret ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Party, this woman was almost incomprehensible.
She could not be bought, tempted, or controlled.
Her only interest was victory in war.
The glory of the Empire.
Those things that, to them, were meaningless, illusory, and destined to perish.
Thus, they turned to infiltrating her subordinates.
After all, it was impossible for every noble to be as strong-willed as she was. freёwebnovel.com
Someone would always be seduced by power.
Someone would always be attracted by longevity.
Someone would always choose to bow down when they ought to have died.
And the fire at Eisenburg was the best proof.
But now...
"She must have discovered it."
Peter said.
"She discovered that we've infiltrated her subordinates."
"So she chose to ally with Doctor Lovelace."
"An old fox who controls the war machine, and a madman who holds the Empire's most advanced technology."
"Two people who should have been mortal enemies are now joining forces to deal with us."
"And Liselotte's death further proves that they already possess sufficient power to do so."
