In Clovis' group, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes.
"!!!"
"Clovis? What are you saying?" Christina frowned. They had just been betrayed, so why would Clovis remain calm?
"Well, what are you trying to say? I know that you predicted the attack, but what's actually going on? Is there something you haven't said?" Eid crossed his arms.
"You guys know about this attack?" Nart's eyebrows twitched. "Shouldn't you tell me about it?"
"As much as I want to, it's better to not let anyone know about it. The only ones who know about it are me, Clovis, and Melody. This way, we can draw everyone's pure reaction. Those people shouldn't know that we are already aware of them."
"Is that the case?" Christina still couldn't believe it.
Clovis nodded his head. It was indeed his plan.
"Still, something is weird. I mean, we're talking about betrayal. Why do you say you have gotten rid of the competitor to Vina?"
"That's something I'd like to know as well." Vina stepped forward. "This whole time, I have been wondering what you have been doing. I believed you were betraying me, but it wasn't the case, right?
"Their plan must be to conserve their energy by following our trails and using all that energy to head straight to the cave. In that cave, they could set up an ambush to take us down or capture me before making an agreement. This way, they will be the biggest factor in deciding this battle."
Clovis smiled wryly. "No. You are only half-correct. They will most likely set up an ambush in the cave. They might be the biggest factor, but they're not the decider of this battle."
"What are you talking about? Stefany betrayed us by using a tracker to let them know and backstabbed us. That was like what you had done!" Vina gritted her teeth. "I don't like puzzles, Clovis!"
Even Eid was wondering what had happened. Clovis scratched the back of his head. Seeing how people were demanding an answer from him, he said, "They are a third party, but as I said earlier, they're not the decider of this battle… They are the decider of the bigger battle.
"This succession battle… Do you really think this is only about you and Stefany?"
"!!!" Vina felt chills down her spine the moment he asked that question. There was something she didn't want to believe, but if this was actually true, it would mean she hadn't realized everything had been compromised from the very beginning. "Don't tell me… They are from…"
Clovis nodded his head. "You might have a suspicion in your head already. Before making my appearance, I had done something."
…
A few days ago.
"Oh my. My prince. You are finally calling your queen." Aisha, Clovis' mother, playfully answered his call.
Clovis smiled wryly. "I'm glad you're doing fine, Mom."
"No, I'm doing better now that you call me. But I don't think you're calling me because you are just checking my condition, right?"
"I got busted." Clovis looked away. "I really do have a request."
"Just tell me, honey. Your father and I have been on the run for the past decade. We owe you a lot."
"..." Clovis hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can you find out the information about the R.A.I.D., Mom?"
"It looks like you have an interesting situation over there." Aisha smiled. "It looks like your grandfather has told you about the previous Hacfield family, how it was formed and how it was disbanded, right?"
"Yes."
"Although we are disbanded, there is still one thing that we retain. Do you know what that is?"
"No."
"Do you know we have been monitoring you? Changing things to make it convenient for you?"
"!!!" Clovis widened his eyes. "You are retaining your information network?"
"Ping pong! Correct!" She imitated the ringing sound of a correct answer in a quiz game. "Once you reach Tier 7, you will inherit this network from us. But before that, we want you to build everything by yourselves so that you know how you can utilize it when you inherit it from us.
"Nevertheless, what do you want to know about R.A.I.D.? It looks like you are participating in the succession battle…"
"Yes. Since I have to pay what I owed to Vina."
"Then, I will tell you about two things. First of all, the succession battle is a battle royale."
"A battle royale?" Clovis raised his head, feeling something amiss.
"Yep. And this is the second piece of information." Aisha grinned playfully. "R.A.I.D. already had a contract before coming into the city."
"!!!" That second piece of information had confirmed his doubt.
After recalling that conversation, Clovis muttered, "The reason is simple. The R.A.I.D. doesn't work for Stefany."
"What?" They couldn't believe it. They moved according to Stefany earlier, so it was hard to believe Clovis' words.
"The R.A.I.D. is working for the third successor of the Dark Moon Mercenary."
Vina dropped her jaw as she muttered a single name. "Albert?"
Clovis raised one finger with a smile. "I bet this is what is happening with her right now."
…
"Good work! I can finally escape from that group." Stefany nodded, satisfied. "I should have done this from the beginning. With this, we only need to get the next mission to win this succession battle."
Mr. K looked at her with a mysterious expression.
"What?" Stefany frowned. "Do you have something to say? If you are worried about the Hacfield family and the Elseingarde, as long as we adhere to the rules, there's no need to worry about them. If they're going to show their pettiness, they will make a lot of enemies."
"No, I'm just thinking…" Mr. K paused for a moment. "...how foolish you are."
"Wha-?!"
Someone snuck up on her and covered her mouth and nose with a cloth soaked in chloroform.
"Mmhh? Mmfff!" Stefany struggled, trying to break free. However, her strength was incomparable to that of the man behind her.
Her consciousness gradually faded. The last thing she remembered was Mr. K saying, "Take a good sleep, little princess. By the time you wake up, it will be all over… both for you and the other princess."