The Villainess Returns with a System-Chapter 97: Agents of Night

While it seemed like a lovely evening, the precious moments between the lovebirds—as Morris started to call this gathering—had to come to a closure as everyone went on their way. Each of the birds had a lot to prepare for, most of all, Oscar and Jane, who were advancing their lives towards a happy marriage.

Jane was eighteen years of age, and Oscar was five years older than her. While still young, the two were considered at the right age for marriage by the standards of that era. As their employer, Vivian was happy for them and promised to provide them assistance the moment they asked for it.

They were also invited to the gazebo, and everyone shared a round of Hopps. After that, Logan guided Morris into the mansion, Oscar and Jane left, and Esmeralda and Oliver went back to their work.

As for Vivian and Isabella, they still had things to do for the night.

The two of them took a night stroll into the garden until they arrived at a gardener’s post that was fairly lit. Right beside the post was a knight from House De Clare, one of Isabella’s escorts, and beside him was a familiar Maopi woman.

"Lumi, nice to see you so soon." Vivian approached the Maopi singer and greeted her intimately.

"My Lady." Lumi bowed respectfully to Vivian and then to Isabella before replying, "I am still unable to thank you enough for yesterday."

"It was all rushed, believe me. Wait until I send you a word; we’ll record as much as you can sing."

"I’ll be honored, my lady."

Vivian’s choice to record the first vinyl record with Jade-Eyed Lumi and Theodore Nightingale caused controversy. Lumi, known for unofficially having the most beautiful voice, is a Maopi singer and not human. Many believed that Vivian had overlooked many talented human singers in favor of Lumi, but this controversy was what Vivian aimed for. The more they talk about it, the more it sells, after all.

Lumi was one of the low-key guests at the party, as she arrived late and left early, but she was still flocked by her fans, who ignored the views of the hardline aristocrats about associating with Maopi. Still, Lumi was hanging around the mansion, waiting for her secret meeting with Vivian and Isabella.

"So, you have news for me?" Vivian asked.

"I had my assistants snoop around, and it was quite the lucky find, my lady. Most of the information you wanted, all in a single night," Lumi replied.

"Music to my ears." Vivian sat on a wooden stool and looked at Lumi, "Well, tell me what you found."

Lumi cleared her voice and spoke:

"First, regarding young Lord Valentine’s expenditures. I followed my gut and attended a gathering yesterday where young Lord Valentine was. He met with quite a number of people that deal in real estate, but one of them was not. He appeared like a ragged man wearing a large coat and a hat large enough to keep him concealed. Still, he smelled like the bad parts of the city," Lumi said and pointed at her nose.

"Which part?"

"I can’t say. Fishy and humid. Waterlow is the first that comes to mind because of the fish market, but I am still not sure. My eyes reported that he dissolved into the streets as if he is familiar with every nook and cranny."

"What about his interaction with Valentine?" Isabella asked.

"He was handed money like the others, albeit the transaction was subtle. Thankfully, I entertained Lord Valentine afterward, and he was saying he is ready for something delicious to happen," Lumi reported. "The other gentlemen with him spoke of a delivery that will happen in a few days, and his package would be on it."

"I see..." Vivian nodded and turned to Isabella, "Is he eating snacks behind Mama Claudia’s back?"

"He’d do that from time to time, but he has grown quite good with his habit," Isabella replied.

"How so?"

"You know Valentine; he has a taste for rarities, but he doesn’t eat the same thing twice. So, he imports rare ingredients and consumes them without anyone knowing."

"Nothing out of the ordinary, right?"

"Yes, yes, that’s not the part we should be wary about," Isabella nodded. "As for his transactions though, I am a bit worried."

Vivian nodded and let that part go, then turned to Vivian.

"I want details about the delivery, especially on who is transporting it. If it was someone ordinary, don’t bother with it. However, if it was someone shady..."

"You mean criminals, my lady?" Lumi asked.

"Yes. Criminals and Blackguards. If Valentine’s delivery is done by either, then it is worth looking into."

"Yes, my lady. About the other matter you asked for."

"The Natasha Ivanov matter?"

"Indeed. She has completely disappeared, but I managed to hire a tracker, and her last trace was in the Waterlow district."

"Waterlow again? What’s with that cursed place?" Vivian asked.

"Well, it is home to all the city’s notorious criminals and killers, as well as the best hiding hole for anyone. It also has the old docks, which means smuggling is the backbone of society in that place," Isabella briefed.

"So... the city’s underbelly."

"It’s the place where the unfortunate end up, so yes, the worst place ever. Believe it or not, many nobles tried to fix the place, but it ended up ruining them."

"Anyway. If Natasha is in Waterlow, there is no way to track her out then," Vivian said.

"Not quite, my lady." Lumi shook her head, "The old port only receives ships, but for them to sail out, they must travel to the new port through the old canal. The ships are searched thoroughly by the guards during that process, and they are notorious for their inspections, so it is highly unlikely that Natasha would take a ship from the old docks. She’d need to cross the city all the way to the new docks, where the officers can be easily bribed to get her on a ship."

"And with the agents of House Moore inspecting every part of the new dock, she needs to move in the cover of night," Vivian added.

"That is right. The best way is to watch the new docks, but I don’t have much manpower, and House Moore is way more efficient than us in this operation." Lumi then continued, "If you wish to get information on all the deliveries between Waterlow and the new docks?"

"No. Only the ones that are being conducted by the Blackguards," Vivian replied. "Natasha has been dealing with them in their Bliss operation. I don’t know the scale of her involvement, but this would save you a lot of manpower."

"True. Thank you, my lady. I know some of the ladies who run the brothels that deal with the Blackguards; getting this type of information is easy," Lumi said.

Vivian thought to herself and became happy that she hadn’t harmed those prostitutes from the night she hit the Black Market.

"Well, that’s Valentine and Natasha." Vivian stood up off the stool and thought for a while before turning to Lumi, "What about this Mrs. Becky? Have you found anything?"

"Wait! You asked her to look into Mrs. Becky’s disappearance?" Isabella asked with eyes wide open.

Vivian rolled her eyes before nodding with a tired face; this made Isabella charge at Vivian and hug her tightly.

"Oh, Viv. I always knew you were a good person after all."

"Oh, God!"

Isabella immediately let go of Vivian and turned to Lumi, speaking urgently:

"So... tell us."

Lumi cleared her voice and spoke:

"I am not sure still, but I have my best man looking into the matter himself."

"How fast will we get news?"

"My brother is a member of the shadow guild. Unless the Underking was the one to have Mrs. Becky, he would soon find out," Lumi replied.

So far, that was all the news Lumi could provide. To thank her, Vivian was about to grab a hefty purse of coins, but Isabella stopped her.

"The first round is on the house. I got this one covered," Isabella said.

"Well, who would say no to free stuff?"

After obtaining this crucial information, Vivian bid Isabella goodbye, offering a polite nod and a small wave and so to Lumi. Then, Vivian retraced her steps, leaving the location behind and returning to a deep spot in the garden.

However, she still hadn’t headed directly towards the imposing mansion. Instead, she took a deliberate detour off main path and deeper into the verdant expanse of the garden. She was heading to a specific, pre-arranged meeting spot, a secluded corner amidst the flowers and foliage, to a place where a girl was patiently waiting for her arrival, sitting on a stone bench.

"I trust Robert was looking after you well."

Vivian spoke to the girl, who stood up for her the moment she realized her presence.

"Lady Vivian. Thank you for your concern. Young Lord Robert has always been a gentleman," the girl replied.

Vivian snorted and looked around before sitting down opposite the girl on a stone bench.

"Don’t fool yourself, Matilda. My little brother is the worst brat there is."

Matilda Ambrose returned to the stone bench opposite Vivian, gracefully meeting her gaze. The Heroine and the Villainess confront each other in a solo 1v1 for the first time since Vivian’s transmigration.

"If you are here for Lady Saskia, I can safely say that she is out of the dangerous phase. Yet I know that you quite dislike your stepmother," Matilda said while keeping a casual tone that was unlike her.

"It is hard to do so when she has given me so many reasons not to dislike her," Vivian replied sarcastically, then looked at Matilda with a piercing stare, "I suppose that you two had quite a lot to complain to each other about dear old Vivian."

"Quite the opposite, actually. Your stepmother thinks so highly of you," Matilda said.

"The way you keep lying with a straight face like that..." Vivian’s expression turned to disgust.

"I am indeed wrapped with too many lies, but I only tell the necessary ones. I am confident that you, who live a straightforward life, find my methods revolting, but we are what fate shaped us to be."

"Fate?" Vivian arched a brow at Matilda was boiling anger from deep within, "You are aware that I share your convictions. I, too, am a believer in Fate, but are you even aware of the difference between our perspectives?"

"Enlighten me, my lady."

"To you, Fate is something set in stone; you surrender to it; you make yourself a slave to a lie. As for me, Fate isn’t the future; Fate is the present, the choice, the things in my power to achieve whatever my choice may be."

"Funny! Unlike you, Princess, some of us have no choices left."

"You always do. You just don’t look at the hard choices or make daring moves."

Vivian and Matilda clashed in ideology, but it was Vivian who said the last sentence, as Matilda chose to look away.

"You want to see how others make hard choices?" Vivian asked, and as Matilda looked towards her, Vivian took out a glass vial and extended her hand to Matilda, "Take it."

Matilda looked at the vial, shocked at first, but she realized it was some sort of a trick. This is the type of thing that is too good to be true, after all.

"What is the meaning of this?" Matilda asked.

"I am honoring my end of the bargain," Vivian replied. "As promised, the Spirit Lotus seeds that we got from Natasha’s cellar. Since they became tainted with chemicals, I understand that you, a competent botanist, have the ability to purify the seeds."

Matilda looked at Vivian with doubt. She feared the chance that Vivian may be involving her in something troublesome, but to her, the temptation was too much. Still...

"Do you know what you’re doing or how expensive those things are?"

"Do I look like I am some kind of a fool?"

"You actually do."

"Your manners, commoner girl."

"Then do you realize the potential of a single seed?"

"Something is telling me you know more than anyone else."

"..."

Seeing Matilda’s silent reaction, Vivian could tell how highly she thinks of those seeds.

"Are they enough to alter the course of Fate?" she asked.

Matilda looked at her, and without saying anything, she nodded.

"Then it is settled." Vivian stood up and tossed the vial to Matilda, who immediately stood off her seat to catch it.

"Careful!"

"Here’s how this will happen. Three contaminated seeds are to be purified. If you succeed, one seed will be your prize," Vivian said.

"The Count has agreed to that?" Matilda said with obvious shock.

"Foolish girl! Everyone thinks that Natasha has escaped with the seeds. As long as two of them return decontaminated, you will be graciously rewarded."

A look of understanding was exchanged between the Heroine and the Villainess. Their eyes had a lot to say, but at the moment, the Heroine had a lot of work to be done.

Without knowing, Vivian has caused a butterfly effect that would alter the fate of the world itself.

°°°

During midnight, Morris looked around from his room’s balcony at the Moores mansion with a wine glass in his hand. The man was in his night robes, but as soon as he started to feel the chill of the Arcurian air, he covered himself in a dark cloak, as his skin wasn’t used to the cold like most Albionese.

He made sure that the guards were spread the thinnest, and as soon as he found an opening, a faint hint of golden aura appeared behind the soles of his feet before nimbly jumping off the balcony.

The aura behind his feet absorbed the fall as he landed, then he canceled all traces of his aura immediately. Mr. Red was right; the security of House Moore was designed to detect Aura and Mana; to infiltrate in and out, he needed to rely on a very minimal amount of aura, preferably none at all.

Luckily, he was a Gold-ranked Knight, a level not anyone can simply reaches, not even in a lifetime of struggle. Among those he met, only Count Julian and Count Alexander were of that level. Luckily, his magic ring kept his aura from leaking, and those who saw him would think he was either high bronze or low silver.

His purpose of the night was to check the routes marked by Mr. Red for retreating and invading.

But just as he was retracing his steps back to the mansion, Morris almost ran into someone he couldn’t see well, but strangely enough, that someone was taking a route similar to his to avoid the mansion’s guards.

Morris didn’t want to get curious, but the moment he saw the face of that person, things started to get interesting. He then decided to follow along and see what this is all about.

A minute later, Morris arrived at a meeting scene at the mansion’s hound house, and he saw the person he was following starting to feed the hounds. A kind gesture that could be done at any normal time of day, but it seemed that this individual had grown incredibly close to the hound.

"You’re late."

A voice came out of nowhere, and all of a sudden, a dark figure emerged from inside the hound house. Strange enough, all the hounds didn’t react to the stranger, as they all seemed dizzy and falling asleep.

It was a cunning move, using the hound house as a place for a secret meeting after putting the hounds to sleep. Hounds have always been humanity’s most effective alert system, and so rather than watching them, most hounds are left alone, as they would bark if an intruder agitates them.

"I am sorry, sir. It was quite a busy day." The one who replied was the one who was feeding the hounds and the one Morris followed here.

His name is Oliver, if Morris’ memory served him right. He is supposed to be Vivian Moore’s errand runner and has quite the crush on her maid, Esmeralda.

Other than that, he appeared to be a typical Elgardish "chap", but the situation suggested otherwise.

"Do you have the report?" The dark figure spoke.

"Yes, sir. This week’s report," Oliver said as he removed his cap, took a paper hidden within, and then put his cap back on his head.

As the figure opposite him received the report, he held it up and down, then turned to Oliver.

"That’s heavier than usual. The master will be pleased." The figure then asked, "Any highlights you want to let me in on?"

"Well, the Moores were quite busy with their annual gathering turning into a party this year, so it seemed to me that they were going to slow down after the party. However, it seems that they are not losing momentum. Both the Lord and the Young Lady are immersing themselves in more work than before."

"What about tonight? I heard Vivian Moore left quite the impression."

"Indeed she did. Unless the Empire is going to war, tomorrow’s gazette will only have her in the headlines." frёeωebɳovel.com

"I’ll look forward to it then. The master will be livid though. You think you can sabotage her work, maybe one more time."

"I’m really sorry, sir. The last time almost got me caught, and the young lady herself stepped in and fixed those electric pulp contraptions. I simply understand nothing, and I’m learning now that touching these contraptions can be quite deadly."

"Will have to confirm that. What about the lady of the house and the Natasha Ivanov situation?"

"I’ve left details about that in the report, sir."

"Good job, then. We’ll pick it up from here." The shady man spoke before asking in a lower tone, "I was thinking that you should be pulled back from this operation, but the master thinks otherwise. He told me to talk to you about it. Do you want to be pulled back and replaced with someone else?"

"Replaced?" Oliver asked with a frown, "But I haven’t asked for a transfer."

"I understand. However, this is not your typical undercover operation. The more you stay, the more you risk being discovered. The Moores are good at picking up on spies."

"That wasn’t the case with Natasha Ivanov."

"Don’t get cocky. Natasha Ivanov was a sleeper agent from a faction even we cannot pinpoint yet. She was literally raised from childhood as a spy. I don’t want you to get stressed out while in a place like this; better men had their covers blown in easier situations," the man said with obvious concern.

"Thank you, sir. However, I am quite relaxed at this operation. I never knew I had a thing for gardening, and truthfully, I almost feel too relaxed in this place," Oliver replied with a cautious tone.

The figure in front of him remained silent for a few seconds before replying.

"It wasn’t the answer I was hoping to hear, but the master will be pleased. Will see you next week."

As if he dissolved back into darkness, the figure disappeared in the garden, and all that was left behind was Oliver, who seemed rather tense about this whole thing.

After a short while, Oliver relaxed his limbs and looked at the hounds that were sleeping in their cages before crouching and patting them.

"I am sorry, guys. You will wake up in the morning without much problems. I added extra medicine, especially for you, Milo, so you can have better digestion."

Oliver finished patting the sleeping dogs, which he had drugged earlier, and after a minute, he took his leave and returned back to the garden, heading towards the servant quarters.

"Interesting! Very interesting!"

Watching all that unfold was Morris, who kept his presence minimal. Knowing that he wasn’t the only spy, Morris was both excited and worried at the same time. Still, this situation left him with quite the curiosity to solve: "Who is Oliver?", "What faction does he serve?", and "What do they want?"

Visit freewe𝑏no(v)el.𝘤𝑜𝓂 for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce