Chapter Sixty-Five: The Day of Death

To reduce suspicion, after passing through the back alley of the Rowed Hotel, Villac and Daniel took another half-hour detour outside before finally heading back, arriving at the mansion at 5:51.

They had returned slightly later than the previous day, but fortunately, no major issues arose.

"Be careful when Fletcher questions you. For the near future... I probably won't be going out again." After instructing Daniel, Villac entered the mansion, went back to his room, and stood by the window, gazing at the front entrance.

Fletcher remained cautious; it took a while before he returned to the mansion's gates. Upon arrival, he looked up toward Villac's window. Villac sidestepped out of view, and when he looked again a few seconds later, he found that Fletcher indeed had not come straight upstairs to see him, but instead approached Daniel to begin questioning him.

Villac crossed his arms, standing in silence as he watched Fletcher and Daniel far below at the mansion's entrance. Because of the distance, he couldn't make out their expressions, but judging by their body language, Fletcher's interrogation was not going smoothly.

After just a few minutes of questioning, Fletcher impatiently waved his arm to dismiss Daniel, then walked into the interior of the mansion while once again looking up at Villac's room.

This time, Villac did not hide; he stood there upright.

Taken aback, Fletcher momentarily halted his steps.

One stood at the entrance while the other remained in the bedroom, gazing at each other across the pane of a window.

Villac knew Fletcher was tailing him, and Fletcher knew that Villac was aware of it. Neither of them had ever entertained the thought of peace; they merely maintained a facade of stability while secretly probing for each other's weaknesses, waiting to deliver a fatal blow at the critical moment.

This was a war that demanded a winner, a conflict that could only be terminated by the death of one side. In this first round, Fletcher had lost.

Villac pushed open the window, extended his left hand, gave a thumbs-up, and then turned his thumb downward.

It meant that it was useless.

Looking up, Fletcher gradually revealed a grim and terrifying smile, then pulled the brim of his hat down slightly and strode into the building.

Villac paid him no further mind, and Fletcher did not come looking for him.

Now that the adversaries were practically at daggers drawn, even if Fletcher came to Villac, he would extract no useful information and would only risk suffering another beating. All he could do was strive to defeat Villac in the next game of chess.

Villac was ready at all times.

For the next few days, Villac did not step outside.

Now, whenever he went out, Fletcher would personally tail him. Under such circumstances, he could neither visit the Rowed Hotel nor easily make contact with others, so he simply chose to stay put in his room.

However, he no longer passed the time by picking fights with Fletcher; the two had entered a brief truce.

Both of them knew well that this truce was not a compromise, but rather a sign that they were brewing a much larger plot—much like the quiet night before a storm.

August 15th.

Exactly one month after Villac left Czwort, Chloe had Daniel deliver the most comprehensive intelligence regarding the Pyromon Corporation. This batch of information had taken several times longer to gather than previous ones, and its breadth and depth were naturally far superior. Chloe had even thoughtfully bound it into a thick volume. No one would ever guess that this bulky dossier contained detailed intelligence on the Pyromon family, one of the Thomas family's mortal enemies.

Carmine had yet to lift the restrictions on Villac's house arrest, so Villac spent his time thoroughly studying the dossier.

Starting from the simplest core members—their hobbies, personalities, experiences, social circles, and scandalous secrets—as long as the Equality Society could uncover them, Chloe had recorded them all according to Villac's instructions.

After all, Villac had no way of knowing which piece of information might eventually prove useful; having a surplus of intelligence at his disposal was the best way to secure options for himself.

Time flew by, and it was August 21st.

Villac had fully digested the intelligence on the Pyromon Corporation and had already formulated a plan. However, since the plan involved numerous personnel and factions, multi-party communication was required before it could be officially put into execution.

Coincidentally, without any prior warning, Carmine restored Villac's freedom of movement during lunch today, permitting him to move about freely. This provided Villac with the opportunity to implement his plan, but operational duties had already been handed over to Chris's sister, Kellerman. This meant that the fake Chris played by Villac had been completely marginalized, proving Villac's earlier speculation that Carmine might heavily employ him to be entirely incorrect.

Fortunately, Villac had never counted on Carmine letting him off or promoting him anyway, so being marginalized did not bother him in the least. Yet, upon learning that he could move freely again, he was not as overjoyed as he might have expected.

Because of a single unexpected miscalculation of his own, he had been placed under house arrest for as long as three weeks.

In Villac's view, since they had locked him up for so long, they could just as well have kept him confined indefinitely. Now that he had been released, it wasn't because Carmine suddenly felt enough time had passed; rather, some catalyst must have occurred to prompt this decision.

He needed to figure out what that catalyst was. Only by understanding that could he grasp the true purpose behind Carmine's decision.

After lunch, Villac did not rush to take advantage of his recovered freedom to leave the mansion.

Since Carmine's actions undoubtedly had a hidden purpose, maintaining the status quo and staying indoors without knowing the truth was the best choice. That way, whatever plots or conspiracies they harbored could not be smoothly executed.

Besides, the ones who would lose their patience first were bound to be Carmine and his people. Waiting patiently for them to reveal their true colors was the wisest course of action.

To Villac's surprise, Fletcher eagerly sought him out by the afternoon.

"Weren't you always eager to get out? You didn't hesitate to negotiate and fight with me just to slip out for a little while every day. What's wrong? Now that Mr. Carmine has finally loosened his grip on you, you suddenly don't want to leave?" Fletcher sneered as soon as he stepped through the door.

Unfazed, Villac sat at his desk, flipping through the daily newspaper. "How is it that you seem even more anxious than I am? Do you want me to leave that badly? Does my going out benefit you in some way?"

"You have no choice, Villac." Fletcher sat down on the sofa, looking in quite high spirits as he picked up a piece of fruit from the table and began eating it. "I know you've sensed something is off, but I also know that you will definitely go out."

"Why?" Villac put down his book.

"If you don't go out, how can you push your plans forward? You didn't come to Leysin with simple intentions, did you? I know that staying cooped up here will never make things go your way," Fletcher said.

Villac experienced a flash of realization: "I... see."