Late that night, before their escape, in a luxurious suite on the top floor of Azure Wind.
"If we're leaving separately, why do we need to swap identities?"
Klein asked with a frown.
It wasn't that he doubted Angel's intelligence, but her proposal left him uneasy. He remembered how, two months ago, she had made plans on her own to raise the bounty, intending to keep everything "for herself."
"Because they're clearly after you."
Angel sat cross-legged in an armchair and explained patiently.
"On Oravi Island, the Naturism Sect's plot targeted you. The Mother Tree of Desire's corruption targeted you too. And the 'qualities you possess' that Orange Light Hilarion just mentioned—that was mostly about you, wasn't it?"
Klein had no answer. He held many secrets, and even setting aside his identity as the Fool, the Gray Fog that could block a god's counterattack, pierce interference with divination, and shield his fate was enough to attract the Mother Tree of Desire's attention.
Of course, that was only his guess. Perhaps the Mother Tree of Desire meant exactly what She said and merely wanted Her followers to have a child with him?
He smiled wryly, conceding that there was something unusual about him.
"So tomorrow morning, when we flee, the Admiral of Blood and the Rose School will go after you first," Angel continued when he said nothing. "That gives us a chance to deal them a serious blow."
"Deal... them a serious blow?"
Klein struggled to follow her thinking. Until now, he had been focused entirely on escape: using the copper whistle to ask Mr. Azik for help, signing a contract with the headless Messenger Miss and offering her ten thousand gold coins for her assistance, or even contacting the Red Haired Woman through Danitz, the Fool's newest follower, who