Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 997: The Dead Will Talk - Part 2

At the back of Charlotte’s mansion, Raven sat on a wooden stool admiring a pair of big white cats with dark stripes and ribbon-like feathers flowing from the back of their ears. Scratching under their chin, he watched as the grizzly beasts purred and nuzzled up into his touch. Their noses flared up to his scent, and the hair on their skin was alarmed; yet the act of being docile was unlike any other beast the hero had come across.

Despite their fear, the cats stayed close to him as if in his commanding presence they somehow found comfort. Numerous other beasts crowded the back end of the mansion as well; surprisingly, even red-feathered Coppelicans were present.

"What are you doing here?" The razor tone of the mistress of the house severed the hero’s connection with his thoughts. Dressed lavishly in her house, Charlotte waved at the hero with her hammer while a cat similar to the ones around him was on a leash and being led by her. "The Selias have taken a liking to you, huh? It’s said they feed on their prey’s fear. Not surprising, you managed to tame them–you tried to ruffle my feathers too, after all."

"Selia, is that their name?" In no mood to indulge her ego, Raven kept the conversation confined to the beasts.

Charlotte’s right eye twitched at his attempt, but she didn’t let it show for more than a second.

"Carati Selia, long ago Siglania brought these beasts with her from another world. We’ve kept them in our arsenal since; their eyes reflect our enemy’s greatest fears, paralyzing them in battle, but it wasn’t always this easy to tame their beastly instincts."

"No wonder, I’ve never seen anything like these creatures." Scratching their chin some more, Raven finally pulled his hands off the beasts.

"Carati aside, why are you here?" Standing right next to him, Charlotte let go of her beast’s leash, and the cat instantly began rounding the free creatures back into their pens.

Keeping his eyes on the duchess’s pet, the hero noticed a flare of pink at the end of the flowing ribbons coming out from the back of the beasts’ ears. Marking it as an alpha of their group, hence the compliance of the rest of them.

"Your group’s scattered outside the city walls, and the Valkyrie and her daughters are busy with the ritual. Aren’t you gonna attend? What is your plan exactly?"

"Plan?" Leaning back, Raven wound up his shoulders and looked up at the duchess. "Not much of a plan, more so a vague strategy. If it works, it works; if it doesn’t, all we can do is use our fists to settle the problem."

"And what about your absence from the atrium?" Charlotte’s eyes narrowed.

"That...I assumed it was best I gave Helga and her daughters time alone with Andre. A lot is going on with me and her family, and I’m not too sure if Helga can face him without at least some form of regret. I’ll stay out of it and talk to her later. Being present won’t solve anything, only add more reservations about what those three may wanna ask."

"Hmm...quite the empathetic approach for a killer." Glancing around, Charlotte waved away at the stable hands, brushing them off. As they rushed away, she took a seat beside Raven with her hands folded on her legs. "But truly, what are you planning? An army marched through my streets, and the least I can expect is some answers."

The smile on Charlotte’s face masked something far more knowing, and having read people for years at this point, Raven knew exactly what she was doing.

"You already know what we’re doing, so why bother pretending?" He asked, and she chuckled.

"Because I wanna make sure that I’m right. Cutting off my connection with the rest of the empire, I can only imagine what your intentions are."

"And yet you’re allowing us to march through; why?" He pressed, turning his body to face her directly.

Leaning forward, she placed her chin on top of her hammer. A smile kept flashing across her lips as she mused over something–something that was both a secret and threatening to come out at any second.

"I saw someone in my dream a while back. The man had a mask of a jester and smiled like a madman. He told me that Aurum will bend its knees to Athenia, and the emperor would send his cronies to jeopardize an alliance between them." Looking into Raven’s eyes, a flash of Charlotte’s true personality reflected through the lens of her eyes. "Melodia and Malice, my maids. I’m sure you’ve met them already. They think I do not know, but I do. Jestrus speaks to them, and I decided to follow his warning the one time he spoke to me."

"The god of chaos talked to you?"

"I suppose he did. I was already losing faith in the emperor, and abandoning Hamleth only made sense. Although, as the sole ruler of this land, I do not have the privilege to make a decision like that on my own and still retain my standing as the duchess." Shrugging her shoulders, Charlotte got up and stretched her arms backwards. "If I defected, the empire would become my enemy, but if I didn’t help you get through this place, then you would’ve surely killed me or at least tried to get rid of me in some way. There was no way for me to win, and despite having a sweet tooth for battle, I am well aware of my limits."

"So...what do your people think about the enemies marching through the streets? Didn’t you already blow your cover by allowing us through?"

Shaking her head, Charlotte explained further.

"As far as they’re aware, I overpowered your army, and under our god Hamleth’s blessing, you’re being taken to the emperor’s domain to receive divine punishment. Some may doubt that claim, but you’ve already isolated all information to and fro from the kingdom, so it doesn’t matter what they think. In the end, when the emperor falls, they’ll have to find something else to place their faith in. Ideally, themselves–I’m not too fond of licking gods’ boots."

"As long as we can work together, I don’t care who you worship."

"Neither do I."

With those few last words shared by the two, Charlotte collected her pet and took her leave. Leaving Raven with a lot to think about, especially how wrong he’d been about the duchess’ personality. Pretending to be a fool to conceal her true plans, having someone like her on their side would be a great boon. Granted, she goes along with their plans.

Brushing past those thoughts, however, Raven looked at the sky above the atrium as it began to glow with a deep violet light. Sparkling brights emerged right after, letting him know exactly what was going on.

’I hope everything goes well, Helga.’ And thus, he returned to the beast, for the talk between Helga and her family was not his place to intrude upon.