The Villainess Returns with a System-Chapter 118: Involved

"I am sorry, Lady Vivian, but Lady Agatha can’t see anyone at the moment."

"Are you kidding me? I made an appointment with Lady Agatha and was told to come today."

"I understand your frustration, my lady. But Lady Agatha woke up rather unwell this morning. For your sake as well as hers, we can’t risk any infection in times like these, my lady."

Vivian was denied entry to Lady Agatha Moore’s manor. Speechless and stunned by the discoveries she had made yesterday, there was nothing she could do but confront the woman who had led her on this path of grim discovery.

Agatha Moore wasn’t just any member of House Moore; she was a Moore through and through —a competent woman who wasn’t married off, unlike many other Moore women. Instead, she entered a maternal marriage, becoming the matriarch of her own household.

As the most senior member of the Board of Directors and head of Imports and Exports, she inherited a very sensitive position—so sensitive that if she were discovered to be a revolutionary insurgent, the name of House Moore would be dragged in the mud.

But not only was she an insurgent, Catelyn Moore was also one, and she may have met her demise because of it. This also went for James Moore, who was currently in Avalon, doing the work of the Kabal to cultivate the seed of a new empire in the New World.

Vivian’s world was shattered overnight. On one hand, her entire family—except for her father—was revolting against the Empire; on the other hand, her father was always loyal to the King and would never risk his house for such a dream.

Vivian felt both betrayed and torn between the sides her father and mother had taken.

She was supposed to be the princess consort of Elgard! She was to be a future queen, and her mother was acting in such a way. What would have been her fate if the Moores were to revolt and she was a queen by that time?

Did her father know? It is impossible to keep the Count in the dark. After all, he must have known about the situation regarding his son James, and James had to escape to Elgard in order to stay away from his father’s influence.

Was that everything all along?

What about the Royal Family? Did they know as well? Why else would they be causing constant trouble for House Moore despite the loyalty of Count Julian?

And what about the colonies of Avalon? Vivian heard that problems were brewing between the main colonies belonging to the Crown and the frontier colonies belonging to House Moore.

And her engagement annulment wasn’t a mere consequence of a commoner girl charming the Crown Prince of the strongest Empire on Albion; was it merely an excuse to withdraw favor from House Moore under the pretext of young love?

Vivian’s reality was being reformed right in front of her very eyes at the moment. She stood in the street amid her knights and guards, with Agatha’s Manor behind her, and she was leaning against her carriage.

All these thoughts were rushing through her head at the same time, and her stress was reaching its limits.

One last thing almost made her rage.

Her mother...

Was she killed by the Royal Family?

Was she killed by House Black?

What was the truth surrounding her demise?

Her father couldn’t be ignorant of the matter. That is impossible.

No man would let the love of his life go unavenged!

There was more to this, and her father’s side of the story was something she had to know.

Wait!

Was that the same realization James Moore had arrived at?

Did he fight with his father because of what Vivian had just realized?

So this was it!

Everything fell into place too fast for her heart to allow her to calm down gracefully. Vivian found herself sitting on the steps of her carriage and covering her face with her hand, surrounded by her knights and servants who kept asking if she was all right.

No, she wasn’t! She can never be alright.

She couldn’t return home now. If she were to see her father, she would ask him about the situation, and even if, by some miracle, she managed to conceal it, he would see it on her face and make her speak.

He was very ill at the moment; if he were to exert himself, the Blackthorn would devour him alive, and his life would be at risk.

Vivian was now trapped on all fronts. She was so overwhelmed she started to sniffle and cry as her carriage moved.

Logan tried to comfort her, but this morbid knowledge she had gained, she couldn’t even share with him.

It was all too much for her.

He didn’t understand how to soothe her or why she was like this after being denied a meeting with Agatha Moore, so the only thing he could do was embrace her as she cried her eyes out.

The girl... she could be demonic and kill whoever attacked her with clear murderous intent, but in moments like these, she was just a normal girl with too much on her plate.

As the city tore itself apart with famine, disease, and disorder, Vivian’s carriage drove through, seeking shelter far from everything horrible in this world.

— — —

Vivian’s orders were clear: she didn’t wish to return home. Rather, she headed to House De Clare and asked to stay with Isabella for a few nights.

Isabella was rather taken aback, as she was the one frequently coming and going to the Moore Manor recently to meet with Morris De Brosa.

Vivian’s state felt rather odd to Isabella as she tried every trick in the book to make Vivian talk. However, Vivian requested to be left alone to rest and contemplate her current dilemma.

By the next morning, Vivian met Isabella in a secluded place in the De Clare Manor and had a conversation.

"You told me Mama Claudia belonged to your so-called secret society. That she was higher than you in the chain of command." Vivian decided to continue the conversation from that night at the De Clare party she had attended the last time.

"Damn it, Vivian. Why are you bringing that up again?" Isabella became instantly nervous at what she heard.

"Do you have knowledge of any other higher-ups in that organization?" Vivian asked.

"No way! Knowing what I know alone is enough. Plus, I shouldn’t tell you a thing even if I knew."

"Was my mother and brother a part of it too?"

Isabella’s large, beautiful eyes became wide suddenly—which made her expressions both beautiful and scary at the same time. It seemed that whatever Vivian had said had shocked her to the core.

"Shit!"

"So you know."

"I don’t... Seven Bloody Saints! I think..." Isabella hesitated a bit before answering, then looked at Vivian meaningfully, "Tell me what you know, and I’ll tell you what I make of it."

Vivian wasn’t fully sure if it was wise to tell Isabella, but even she needed someone to talk to at a time like this; otherwise, she might explode from stress, or even worse... implode.

Vivian told Isabella that Agatha Moore had given her a message that she had to decrypt; it was from Catelyn to James, and it spoke of a secret society that intended to oppose the Crown by controlling Avalon. Vivian’s words were carefully chosen not to let out any more than what Isabella needed to know.

Surely Isabella wasn’t as shocked as Vivian at first, but the more she started analyzing it in her head, the more she felt something terrifying was at play.

"You may be right." Isabella said, "Before he left for Avalon, James stopped by to see Mama."

"What did they speak of?"

"Nothing I knew of. It was a private meeting. He said he wanted to collect something that belonged to Mama Catelyn before leaving. Mama Claudia said it was something private to your family, and I shouldn’t get involved."

"How subtle! She made you keep a secret without explicitly telling you to."

"That’s Mama Claudia for you."

"Do you remember how he looked when he left?"

"That was a few years ago, Viv. And you knew how James was; even though we were friends, he wouldn’t look a girl in the eyes even if it was me."

"But that was not enough evidence by itself."

"Mama Claudia and James weren’t that close. Why would he come to visit her and then leave for Avalon the next day?"

"Here’s the thing, Bella. In my mother’s message, she told James to trust only Agatha Moore and someone called Bloodkeeper. Mama Claudia was her best friend, but she didn’t mention her."

"And I had spent ages in your house as a kid. I had never seen your mother with Agatha Moore."

"Does that mean my mother and yours were in two separate organizations?"

"No. I don’t think so. If I were to analyze the information we were gathering for our higher-ups, there were indeed things that could be used against the Crown. Scandals regarding royal courtiers and the like, the sort of things one would use to gain leverage over someone."

"You raise a good point."

The two friends looked at each other and seemed reluctant to continue as their worries had now combined.

The game they found themselves playing was bigger than both of them and worst of all, their home ground was fractured. Vivian’s father wouldn’t approve of these kinds of conspiracies against the Royal Family; Isabella’s brother was already on the side of the Royal Family; their mothers had joined forces with the insurgents to oppose the Royals; and they were now just small fish in a large shark tank.

"So, what is our next move?" Isabella asked.

"I have to meet the secret society higher-ups," Vivian said.

"Are you daft? Even I, a lower-class member, couldn’t do that."

"Along with the message Agatha Moore had given me, there was an invitation."

"Goodness! I’d prepare then."

"It was the ’come alone’ type of invitation."

"I wouldn’t let you walk into the viper’s pit alone."

"I’ll go armed."

"Me too!"

"Can you kill?"

Vivian’s question stunned Isabella for a second.

She might be older than Vivian, but that killer resolve Vivian possessed was no joke. Could Isabella kill? Of course not; she couldn’t harm a bug. She should learn to do so, but right then, she couldn’t do much.

"Who are you taking with you?"

Voros would drive her. Romeo and Juliet would watch her flanks, Long John Silver would be her front man, and if she needed real backup, she’d introduce them to... Dante.

As Vivian said so, a musket-sized firearm appeared in her hand from her storage bag. Jane and Voros appeared to have completed the definitive edition of a bolt-action rifle, significantly smaller than the Big Gun, which fired metal cartridges—the latest and most reliable ammunition available. Furthermore, the rifle featured an experimental long-range scope and a unique two-compartment chamber instead of a magazine. The lower compartment held five bullets, while the side one stored the spent casings, all designed to protect the new ammunition technology from public exposure.

"I see you are prepared. All that training lately made me hope to be of use, but... I guess I am far from being fit." Isabella said with a depressed face. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"I wouldn’t risk anyone but myself in this sort of situation. I am walking in a wolf’s den, but don’t worry, I’ll have backup."

Isabella sighed, knowing that she could do nothing in this sort of situation other than pray for her friend’s safety. But still...

"There should be something I can do."

"Hmmm..." Vivian thought for a while before finding something that she was worrying about in the back of her mind, "I want information on someone. Heavy surveillance if possible."

"Oh! I can get that arranged. Who’s the lucky bastard?" Isabella asked with a cheeky smile.

"Robert."

"Bleh!" Isabella made a disgusted face, "That teenage brother of yours is doing nothing but philanthropy with that commoner girl these days. The whole city knows about it."

"Well, that’s all nice and dandy, but knowing Robert, there is something else he’s playing at. He’s up to something. I can feel it."

"If that’s the case, I’ll take your gut feeling for it." Isabella said and decided to start moving her people to monitor everything Robert Moore did right away, "But what about you? What will you do now?"

"Me? I’ll go meet that secret society of yours." Vivian had a grin on her lips as she seemed ready for whatever came.

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