Leopold arrived at his wife's side, his face flushed with anger. "Where is that creep?"
Before she could answer, his eyes darted to his daughter, Veronika. His tone softened with immediate concern. "Are you alright?"
"I am fine, Dad," Veronika reassured him. "Mom helped scare them off."
"Good." Leopold looked toward the crowd, his knuckles whitening, and he wasn't the only one ready to teach them a lesson. Alexander, Elias's father, and a few of their old friends had already converged, their expressions equally dark.
Leopold stepped forward, but his wife, Helena, caught his arm.
"Don't," she hissed, pulling him back. "Do not create a scandal that lands us on the front page of the morning news."
"Sister-in-law," one of Leopold's friends chimed in, a cold smirk playing on his lips. "If anyone is making the front page tomorrow, it's going to be them."
Alexander's eyes narrowed as he scanned the room, zeroing in on Caelub and his entourage.
"Well, look at that," Alexander said, his voice dropping to a dangerous purr. "They just handed us the perfect excuse. The kid in the blue shirt just spiked a glass of Krug, and it looks like they're taking a tray of drinks over to those girls."
Alexander glanced at Leopold, a sharp, knowing smile breaking through his anger. "Shall we?"
Leopold tilted his head, his grim expression instantly shifting into something almost jovial. "Just like the old college days. Except Marcus is carrying a bit more belly now."
"Oi!" Marcus protested, though he couldn't hide his own eager grin at the familiar ribbing. The group of men shared a dark laugh, stepping in unison as they marched toward the pack of overconfident boys for a very 'friendly' chat.
Inside the game, Vera's consciousness returned, and as she sat up, her mind was still tethered to the real world. The gala had been an absolute circus. She had always known people tried to spike women's drinks in those circles, but for someone to try that on her? The sole heir of Veyr? The sheer audacity of it.
She looked around the room, spotting Adrien, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, staring intently at a massive conspiracy wall, with crimson threads and scattered notes spanning the entire space.
"You're back," Adrien said.
His voice was low, his eyes never leaving the wall. "How was the gala?"
Vera raised an eyebrow. "How did you even notice I logged in? You're staring a hole into your wall."
"The bed creaked when your avatar moved," he replied, finally turning his head slightly. "So, how was it? Did you have fun?"
"Oh, plenty," Vera said dryly. "Someone tried to spike my drink."
Adrien whirled around, shock instantly replacing his intense focus, and in two strides, he was by her side. "What? How? Are you alright?"
Vera rolled her eyes. "Of course I am. Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting here."
"Thank God," Adrien breathed, though his hands clenched into fists. "But who is that idiot? That gala was meant for high society. Who let that kind of riff-raff in?"
"Remember that Tech Exhibition I went to? The one where my team took first place, but the win was ruined by those frauds who bought a ready-made Chinese robot off an e-commerce site?"
"Ah. The ones who made you furious."
"Exactly. The team leader, some guy named Caelub. He and his pack of dimwitted friends thought it would be a fun joke to spike the girls' drinks. I happened to be on their radar."
"What?" Adrien's voice shook with sudden, lethal fury. "How dare they?"
Vera let out a cold, deprecating laugh. "Do you know what kind of drug they used? The type that leaves you barely conscious. You wake up the next morning, wondering what happened to you."
"Those absolute bastards."
"Oh, don't worry," Vera said, a satisfied smirk playing on her lips. "As we speak, they're being thoroughly dealt with, and by the way, your dad has a really impressive left hook."
A small smile broke through Adrien's lingering anger at the mention of his father.
"Alright, fair enough," Vera said, gesturing to the clutter. "Now, what is with this conspiracy wall? What have you been up to?"
Adrien's expression instantly shifted into a smug, incredibly proud grin. "This? This is the product of hours of meticulous labour. The magnum opus of my investigation."
"Oh, really? And what exactly did you discover?"
"Prepare to have your mind blown, Vera," Adrien said, executing a highly theatrical flourish with his hand.
Vera chuckled, crossing her arms. "Then please, do the honours, detective."
"The diary we found in the cavern belonged to Knight Krsto Borisavljević," Adrien began, pointing to a name pinned at the centre of the wall. "He was a knight of the Holy Aslanic Empire, an empire that collapsed five hundred years ago. In fact, the current Hasea Kingdom was born directly from its ashes."
He traced a red string to a sketch of a castle. "According to Krsto's personal journal, he was a commoner who rose through the ranks due to an impeccable service record. Eventually, he was assigned as the personal bodyguard to Danica Lavović, the First Princess and second eldest daughter of the Holy Emperor. The poor guy was head-over-heels in love with her. But he was a realist; he knew a match like that was impossible. So, he chose to suffer in silence, dedicating his life solely to protecting her."
"Hmm. Poor guy," Vera murmured, leaning in. "So, what happened to him?"
"Well, after reading his diary, I had a few burning questions, so I hit the library, and boy, was it enlightening."
"Oh? What did the official history books say?"
"I dug into the records regarding the fall of the Empire and the rise of Hasea," Adrien said, his voice dropping to a dramatic whisper. "According to official history, Knight Krsto Borisavljević is one of the most heinous criminals to ever live. He is recorded as a traitor who led a bloody rebellion and committed principicide."
Vera blinked. "Principicide? He killed the princess?"
"Worse. The history books claim Krsto was dangerously obsessed with Danica. Supposedly, the princess was deeply uncomfortable around him but was too kind-hearted to dismiss him, despite his questionable character. Then, one day, Krsto allegedly lost control of his lust. He and a band of misfits ambushed Danica and her fiancé. The fiancé managed to wound him grievously, but Krsto used a forbidden demonic spell, destroying himself and taking the princess with him."
Adrien leaned against the desk, letting the weight of the story sink in. "The elderly Emperor couldn't bear the grief of his favourite daughter's horrific death and passed away shortly after. With no clear heir, his remaining children tore the empire apart as they fought for the throne. Foreign powers invaded, and the Aslanic Empire was completely wiped from the map."
"I see," Vera said, her eyes scanning the dark history detailed on the notes. "A classic tragic downfall."
"But here is the real twist, Vera," Adrien said, his eyes practically glowing with excitement as he tapped a specific page of the journal. "Krsto's actual diary tells a completely different story."
"How so?"
"From what I gathered, Krsto indeed loved the Princess, but she wasn't the saint history claims. To her, Krsto was just an exotic pet, something unique to brag about, nothing more."
"What about her fiancé?"
"According to Kyros's journals, Miloš von Vane was a pompous braggart and a liar. Apparently, Kyros called him out on his lies once and instantly fell from the Princess's favour."
"Ouch," Vera winced.
"Ouch is putting it lightly. Sometime later, the Empire began to destabilise, and the nobility started vying for power, instigating the commoners. Desperate to suppress the discontent, the Princess caught wind of some ancient ruins and decided to plunder them for power."
"Kyros and a group of her most loyal retainers followed her inside, but by then, the Princess had grown completely paranoid, largely due to Miloš's whispering in her ear."
"The two of them hatched a trap. They sealed the loyalists inside a cavern, one that should sound very familiar to us."
Vera's eyes widened. "So, the Princess's entourage... they became the Strigoi we fought?"
"Exactly, and reading Kyros's firsthand account of them slowly losing their minds was surreal. Once the loyalists were taken care of, Miloš betrayed the Princess, too. He locked her inside the ruin, pregnant and unwed, and tossed the key past the barrier just to taunt Kyros and his trapped men."
"I see," Vera murmured, absorbing the weight of it. "So, what now?"
"Now, we hold that very key, and we know exactly where the dungeon is."
Vera sprang to her feet, her voice cracking with disbelief. "No way."
"Yes way."
She gestured wildly to the room around them. "So this entire conspiracy wall you've been building, and this was all just your research?"
"Guilty as charged, but I stumbled onto something else interesting too, but I need to poke around a bit more first, and if my hunch pans out, you'll be the first to know."