Chapter 242: Prank (4)

Harold’s hand, hidden beneath the table, clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

So… it really was you?

Unlike the others, Harold’s expression remained rigidly fixed, unreadable. Fortunately, most eyes were focused on Aileo, so no one noticed his frozen features.

Meanwhile, Aileo surveyed the room and asked, “Does anyone have any objections?”

As his gaze swept across the assembled crowd, Aileo’s demeanor appeared calm, almost serene. If one didn’t know better, they might have dismissed it without a second thought.

But Harold, having already glimpsed Aileo’s true nature, could detect the faint tension hidden within that seemingly placid gaze. Anxiety, impatience, and anticipation—a peculiar blend of emotions swirling in his eyes.

When no one spoke for a long moment after Aileo’s question, a flicker of relief crossed his face. But it didn’t last.

Swoosh.

The rustle of fabric accompanied the gentle rise of a woman’s hand.

Aileo was momentarily taken aback.

”…Laura?”

Laura smiled softly at Aileo, who was staring at her. “I’d also like to recommend someone,” she said.

”…”

“May I?”

”…Of course.”

Though he spoke the word casually, Aileo’s voice was noticeably lower than before.

Ignoring his reaction, Laura flashed a mischievous grin. “As the new Lord of the Tower, shouldn’t we prefer someone with fresh blood? I recommend Meister William.”

Laura winked at William, who returned a polite smile and lowered his head slightly in gratitude.

Aileo’s brow furrowed at the sight.

Harold’s eyes flickered with amusement as he observed the scene.

Heh… the Tower Lord’s insight is truly remarkable.

Not long ago, Louis had said…

“There’s a traitor within the Labyrinth—or more precisely, a group of traitors. The mastermind behind this scheme and his followers are likely aiming to fill the vacant Tower Lord position with someone from their own faction. William must be one of them. But if my hunch is right, that bastard William… he’s harboring his own ambitions.”

All the evidence Louis had gathered so far pointed to this conclusion.

William had discovered Victor’s Legacy.

He smuggled it out of the Labyrinth.

And not to another faction within the Labyrinth, but to Syron, an external power.

If the traitors’ goal was simply to install their own candidate as Tower Lord, why would they need to collude with an outside force?

“That bastard William doesn’t want his comrade to become Tower Lord. He wants the position for himself. And he likely enlisted Syron’s help in achieving it.”

Initially, William had likely supported Aileo as well.

But greed must have taken root.

He wanted to become the Lord of the Tower himself, not Aileo.

That was Louis’s theory: that William had betrayed Aileo, colluding with Syron and striking a deal behind his back.

And the situation was unfolding exactly as Louis had predicted.

Aileo’s discomfort flickered across his face, though he tried to hide it.

William, on the other hand, wore a smug smile, flaunting his triumph.

Perhaps even Aileo hadn’t anticipated William’s betrayal.

“If things go according to plan that day… you’ll be the stone I throw, Harold.”

Recalling Louis’s words, Harold suddenly raised his hand sharply.

As all eyes turned toward him, Harold carried out Louis’s instructions.

William and Aileo.

I was about to throw a massive boulder between them.

“Speak your mind, Harold,” I said.

“The position of Tower Lord… I’m thinking of challenging for it myself.”

Before the words had even left his mouth, both Aileo and William’s faces flushed with simultaneous shock and dismay, as if they hadn’t anticipated this at all.

The Masters’ conference had concluded, and the Tower Lord election was scheduled for two days later.

In the interim, news of the meeting’s proceedings spread throughout the Labyrinth.

“I heard they’re finally going to elect a Tower Lord this time.”

“What? A Tower Lord? But it hasn’t even been that long since the Grand Masters’ funerals…”

“Well, since the Grand Masters are gone, we have to elect one. What kind of tower doesn’t have a Tower Lord? It’s been strange operating without one for so long.”

“True… Still, it feels a bit… strange to hold an election so soon after the Grand Masters’ passing.”

“If the Grand Masters had simply passed on the position of Tower Lord to their successors in the first place, none of this would be happening.”

Whenever two or more trainees from the Tower of Wishes gathered, the conversation invariably turned to the upcoming Tower Lord election.

“I heard there are three candidates running for Tower Lord this time?”

“Three?”

“Mr. Aileo, Mr. William, and Mr. Harold, I heard.”

“I can understand Mr. Aileo and Mr. William, but Mr. Harold? That’s quite unexpected.”

“Right? I never imagined he’d be interested in the Tower Lord position. I always thought he’d dedicate his life solely to research.”

“We weren’t the only ones who thought that. Everyone assumed the same.”

“Who do you think will become the next Tower Lord?”

“Well, based on seniority and traditional legitimacy, Mr. Aileo and Mr. Harold seem like the most likely candidates. They’re both disciples of Grand Masters, after all.”

“But if we consider the Labyrinth’s long-term future, Mr. William might be a good choice too. He’s one of the younger Masters, isn’t he?”

“Well, what’s the point of us talking about it? The Masters will decide anyway. It wouldn’t be surprising if one of them became the Lord of the Tower.”

As the entire Tower of Wishes focused on the upcoming election for Lord of the Tower,

On a peaceful afternoon, someone visited Harold’s mansion.

“Long time no see, Aileo. What brings you to my home?”

“Indeed, it’s been about five years, hasn’t it?”

Harold and Aileo sat across from each other at a table in the reception room.

“So, what urgent matter brings you here?” Harold asked in his low voice.

Aileo studied him intently. “I’m curious about your intentions.”

“My intentions?”

“Why did you decide to run for Lord of the Tower?”

“If you and William are both going for it, why shouldn’t I?”

“Weren’t you originally uninterested in such things?”

At the question, Harold straightened up from where he had been leaning back in his chair.

“I could ask you the same thing, Aileo. Weren’t you the one who had no interest in the position of Tower Lord?”

”…”

A brief silence followed.

Then Aileo answered with a faint smile, “That was true once… but people’s hearts aren’t always constant.”

Harold sighed softly, realizing the true depths of his old friend’s heart after decades of friendship.

“So… there must be a reason you’ve come in the dead of night. Speak quickly and be on your way. I’m tired and need to rest.”

”…Help me.”

”…”

“If you support me, I can become the Lord of the Tower. As the rightful heir, I should be the one leading the Labyrinth, not William, an outsider.”

“Heh… Have you forgotten? I also declared my intention to become the Lord of the Tower.”

“I haven’t forgotten. That’s precisely why I’m asking you this favor. Withdraw from the Tower Lord Election and support me. I’m begging you.”

Harold stared silently at Aileo, his mind a tempest of conflicting thoughts.

How shameless… Utterly shameless.

If he had remained ignorant of the truth…

If that were the case, he would never have applied for the Tower Lord Election in the first place, and might even have voted for Aileo.

After all, regardless of who became the Tower Lord, Harold could simply focus on his research. And if tradition mattered, Aileo, the rightful heir to the Labyrinth, might indeed be the better choice.

Now that Harold knew everything, his old friend’s request sounded as treacherous as a serpent’s whisper.

Suppressing the bile rising in his throat, Harold asked calmly, betraying no emotion, “Even if I were to help you, you’d still need the votes of the other Masters to become Lord of the Tower. What difference could my support alone possibly make?”

“You underestimate your own worth,” his friend replied. “As Lord Douglas’s disciple and the candidate with the clearest legitimacy, your endorsement alone would be enough to sway the other Masters to my side.”

”…”

Afraid his churning thoughts and emotions might betray him, Harold closed his eyes.

“I’ll consider it… I need to rest now, so you may leave.”

”…I hope you make a wise decision.”

With that, Aileo departed from Harold’s mansion.

But Harold couldn’t rest. Another visitor had arrived.

”…So, you’ve come seeking my support as well?”

“Ah, it seems Mr. Aileo beat me to it,” William replied with a smile.

Harold casually tossed out the words Louis had instructed him to say beforehand:

“Tch, why did you start such a reckless fight?”

“Reckless fight? What do you mean?” William asked.

“I heard it from Aileo. You… you originally promised to support him, didn’t you?”

William’s face stiffened slightly at Harold’s words.

”…Mr. Aileo actually said that?”

“He came here, raged for an hour, and stormed off, accusing you of betraying him after promising to support him.”

Of course, Aileo had never said any such thing. Louis had simply ordered Harold to say it, to probe the relationship between William and Aileo.

Unaware of this truth, William cursed inwardly.

That damn old fool! Did he really spill even that secret?!

The fact that William and Aileo had been in cahoots from the beginning was a secret known only to a select few. From William’s perspective, Harold’s knowledge of this could only mean one thing: Aileo had betrayed their confidence.

“Hah…”

William let out a small sigh, smoothed his momentarily frozen expression, and began to speak.

“Yes, I won’t deny it. For a time, Mr. Aileo and I shared the same ambition.”

A flicker of interest crossed Harold’s eyes.

William’s admission further solidified the conclusion that Aileo was the mastermind behind this scheme.

“But I don’t see it as betrayal. I simply believed myself equally deserving of the position of Tower Lord as Mr. Aileo.”

“Legitimacy lies with Aileo,” Harold countered.

“I’m aware. It’s his only weapon. But if you were to join our side, Mr. Harold, wouldn’t that issue of legitimacy become irrelevant?”

”…Our side?”

“Ah, my apologies. I forgot to mention that.”

William’s subtle, eye-crinkling smile made it clear he had deliberately used the word “we.”

“We already have comrades who share our vision, and I’m sure Mr. Aileo’s side does too.”

”…”

“Even if Mr. Harold were to run in this Tower Lord Election, securing votes wouldn’t be easy. Wouldn’t it be better to join forces with us and get what you need?”

“What I need…”

“Did Mr. Aileo promise you anything?”

“Hmm… not really.”

“Oh dear… To recruit someone of your stature without offering anything in return? How careless.”

“So you’re implying you can offer me something?”

“Of course.”

”…What exactly can you offer?”

“We’re prepared to offer you anything within reason, Mr. Harold. From full research funding to generous support for establishing your own independent Labyrinth, if that’s what you desire.”

Harold remained silent.

“If you find it difficult to answer now, please take your time to consider it. You still have two days.”

”…I’ll think about it.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

With a respectful bow, William exited the room.

Left alone, Harold sighed softly.

“Did you see that?” he murmured, addressing an unseen presence.

A voice echoed from the void.

“Well done.”

Four figures suddenly materialized in the air and dropped to the ground: Louis, Douglas, Floria, and Erica.

Floria stood behind Louis, her face pale and ashen. With tearful eyes, she lowered her head.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault,” Louis said, uncharacteristically comforting her. “What do you have to apologize for? That bastard who tried to kill our guru is lower than an animal.”

Perhaps because they had witnessed Aileo’s betrayal firsthand, the others also wore heavy expressions. Amidst the tense atmosphere, Harold cautiously spoke up.

“So, what should I do now?”

“You don’t need to do anything more. Rest.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve done your part.”

“M-me?”

All I did was agree to run in the Tower Lord Election, just as Louis instructed.

Or perhaps it was meeting with William and Aileo today and talking to them.

As if reading my thoughts, Louis chuckled. “What you did was throw a sizable rock in front of a smoothly rolling cart. It’s just a rock—easy enough to run over—but it’ll probably make the cart jolt quite a bit.”

”…”

William and Aileo, two men competing, each pulling their own cart.

And inside those carts are the people they’ve won over.

“If the carts jolt violently, won’t the people inside get startled?”

Though the stones themselves posed little real threat, the passengers might panic and leap from the cart, or protest to the driver about its safety.

“Whether it’s Aileo or William,” Louis thought, “they’ll be running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to calm everyone down.”

A prime example was how they had both rushed to Harold’s mansion the moment the meeting adjourned.

By now, Aileo and William were likely scrambling to distinguish friend from foe and rally their allies. Under these circumstances, it was only natural for them to strike a deal.

That was exactly what Louis wanted.

“We’re going to find out who’s riding in which cart and what dirty secrets they spill as those carts rumble along.”

The scum they discard during their dealings.

Louis intended to collect every last bit of it.

Using the Confession Sacred Scripture, exposing their sins would be easy.

But the problem was that it was nearly impossible to uncover even the smallest offenses.

Before he could ask everything he wanted, those subjected to the Scripture would either become raving madmen or vomit blood and die.

Like the squad leader of the Black Gold Mercenaries, who perished under its power.

But Louis wanted every last detail of their corruption, no matter how trivial.

And now, to get exactly what Louis wanted, Fin, a master of infiltration, tracking, and eavesdropping, was diligently tailing them, gathering information.

The information Fin was gathering was meticulously recorded in Louis’s kill list.

“I don’t care who wins the election,” Louis said, his smile widening, his eyes gleaming with a cold, azure light. “I’m going to round them all up and slaughter them anyway.”

He paused, his gaze sharpening. “All I need to do is separate those I’ll kill from those I’ll beat to within an inch of their lives.”

Harold swallowed hard, his mouth dry from the chilling bloodlust that filled the air.

A great bloodbath is coming…

And the day of that bloodbath would likely be the day the new Lord of the Tower was chosen.