Otto half-turned and shot Kole a glance.
An equally enigmatic smile appeared on Otto's face, "I heard Heir Akerse is quite close to my brother's… sorry, my late brother's fiancé."
A meaningful glint appeared in his deep blue orbs, "Must be nice to have a love rival accidentally vanish…" his voice trailed off as he smiled mysteriously.
Of course, these facts weren't hidden from the public. And with facts, came the hustling rumors!
However, nothing was proven yet. The Police had no clue about the original killer.
Indeed, Kole was a suspect, but he had kept his distance from Alice for the past week.
He had thought he would be able to court Alice openly, but only when Caroline mentioned how the Police were assessing this case, he grasped it was better to rear his distance for some time.
With narrowed eyes, Otto said austerely, completely unbothered by their earlier bout of words, "Praise the Tempest."
Otto didn't seem the least bit bothered by what Kole said. If Kole wanted, he could've alarmed the Compass of Justice. But he hasn't, despite locking arms with one—Caroline.
This signified Kole had ulterior motives. Otto's churning mind grasped this point.
Kole merely smiled inexplicably and replied, "May the Goddess grace you with whatever you desire."
With a nod, Otto disappeared into the hallway.
After welcoming more visitors for a while, Kole and Caroline retired.
In these banquets, the hosts would give the guests a set time beforehand for their expected arrival. And only during that duration, the hosts would be at the gates.
If the people were late, then, they will be directly led to the ballroom.
Instead of going to the ballroom, Kole went deeper into the manor while Caroline separated from him, to keep the guests from complaining about the lack of hospitality.
Walking through the Gaslamp-lit bright corridors, Kole stopped in front of a wooden doorway.
Turning the knob, he glanced inside and looked at his mother wearing the same long black complicated dress, gazing outside the window as silver moonlight shone upon her visage.
Letting out a turbid breath, Kole stepped inside and closed the door behind him unhurriedly, "Mom, I have something to talk to you about…"
"Hmm?" Faneia raised an inquisitive eyebrow without turning around.
Deliberating for a brief moment, Kole exhaled lightly as his expression hardened, "I think Otto Moore is the Gradoz Cultist I met that day…"
Kole was disappointed when he didn't see any ripple of surprise in her.
Watching and scrutinizing her reactions, Kole's eyes narrowed into slits as he said somberly, "Did you, by any chance, know already?"
Again. No reactions.
"Has this all been your plan, mother?" Kole asked thoughtfully.
"You could've solved Alice's issue without any damage done to Moore's, but you forced me to kill Mark. Now, the next person I already planned to target because of an irreversible grudge is a cultist, making it easier for me to make that decision." Kole concluded.
Pressing his temples, Kole sighed grimly, "Not to mention, none of this would've happened if you didn't let Alice enter our manor in the first place. If only I never met her—my choices and decisions would've been much more different!"
"Just what are you playing at, dear mother?"
Finally, half-turning, she craned her neck and looked at him impassively, "Heir Akerse, clowns are stupid, and you are not a clown."
Startled, Kole shot her an uncertain glance.
"Hence, don't act as one, and stop letting your delusions run amok."
Kole opened his mouth to say something, but the words got caught in his throat.
Briskly walking toward her son, Faneia locked arms with him elegantly and said strangely, "Let's go. It's about time for your show to start."
After a brief pause to think over her words, Kole muttered with a nod:
"Riighhttt."
Then the mother and son, arm in arm, strode toward the buzzing ballroom.
…
A beautiful crystal chandelier attached to the ceiling, shone brightly, illuminating the massive banquet hall.
Nobles, Rich Businessmen, and Influential Powers throughout the entirety of Stormwatch chatted lively as expensive drinks, and light snacks were being served.
Despite the liveliness and costly gentle mask, they put on, most, if not all, had ulterior motives hidden beneath the calm façade.
Part of the reason for their growing cautiousness and apprehension was the gorgeous woman wearing an elegant gothic dress while sitting in a corner of the lobby.
Caroline silently drank wine from her glass, unbothered by the gazes on her.
The recent events, even though things have calmed down on the surface, have given the aristocrats of Stormwatch a sudden scare.
Perhaps the Church had plans to seize the authority of the nation.
If yes, then, how should they continue forward to retain as many benefits as they could?
While thinking, planning, and using their conversational skills to the extreme, the people had hearty laughs.
One of the most prominent youths in the entire hall was walking side by side with an equally gorgeous woman as they made chats with other circles of influential people.
The man who had turned 21 this year was Otto Moore.
Not only he claimed to be a powerful Ascendant, but a tall, robust man like him would definitely catch the eyes of ladies, who were interested in those musclemen.
By his side was a stunning woman, his fiancé—Constance Houston, daughter of Duke Houston.
She had arrived the last in the banquet. From Houston's house, she was the only guest who came, and that too, late.
In fact, the only reason Constance even came here was because of her fiancé. He'd be alone without a partner, and that wouldn't look good for him, even after having such a beautiful fiancé.
Constance held her sleek chin high. Her eyes were sapphire blue, and her hair blonde.
Having an amazing physique, she attracted more than one pair of eyes on her all the time.
Her gait was light but carried a hidden proudness, while her long blue dress was embedded with expensive gems, displaying the aloofness of her attire and heart.
Suddenly the lights dimmed in the broad hall.
The knowledgeable ones could tell it was a magical spell because of the fluctuation in Spirit Energy. They relaxed when they noticed what was going on.
From the entrance of the ballroom, a dark shadow extended, covering the entire hall in a matter of seconds.
!!!
Despite the ever-increasing trepidation, the guests kept their quietness, which slowly became the cause of a pin drop of silence.
Suddenly the shadows receded, but the silence remained like a lullaby leaving a child entranced.
Cough!
The room fell quiet despite being loud with anticipation as their eyes followed the cause of the sound.
Kole appeared in an elevated gallery that required one to climb stairs to reach with a bright sunny smile.
He wore a dark suit. With his equally dark short hair and eyes, the impression he gave was elegant yet bizarre, at the same time.
Seeing his top-tier physique and highly handsome face, even the proud Constance got stunned.
A gulp. No, many gulps resonated in the hall, all at once.
The men gave their women a condemning look while Kole received a dreadful glance.
But a few rare men had gulped too, that fortunately, wasn't noticed, by their women, because they were too entranced in their own dreams.
Many expressions ranging from intrigue to malevolence possessed the nobility as they eagerly waited for his words.
Clearing his throat, Kole rang the wine glass three times with a spoon producing a ringing sound to pull the audience in his rhythm.
Looking around, Kole slowly exhaled and said in a deep magnetic voice, "Growing up, I always wondered what my purpose in life was?"
Saying so, he started strolling through the gallery while gazing down for a moment.
"…I wandered aimlessly with the morning breeze. I tried what others did." He said ambiguously.
Kole continued in the same enigmatic tone, "I followed in the footsteps of the successful ones because it was the easiest path—a path that has numerous spikes, but because people have run through it many times already, they created a trail of bloodied footprints and broken spikes... allowing the younger ones to live a life of ease."
"Though it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I realized it wasn't just me who was either clueless or following the successful ones,"
"We all are…" Kole chuckled and repeated, "… We all are…"
Kole's eyes curved in glee with a clown-like smile stretching over his lips, "...We all are clueless—Till we die... Hahaha."