"Everything was quiet. Phoenix didn't appear, and the Night Watch Bureau didn't intervene. The workers there built a few new schools, but now it's hard to say."
Elliot narrowed his eyes slightly.
He could find no flaws in what Conrad said, and for the moment, he found it difficult to judge.
Aside from his subordinates in the Hearthfire District, he barely dared trust anyone now, including the Old Butler before him.
The Sacred Blood Nobles had managed to conspire together to kill Michel and drive Victoria mad, even presenting a harmless front at the beginning to make Sidney sacrifice himself.
They had clearly figured out exactly what choices the others would make.
Elliot could guess the reason-Tobias. This believer of the [Prophet in the Urn] had the power to foresee the future.
But was that power really so formidable? It had toyed with them all, leaving them unable to resist.
If he truly knew everything about the future, then whatever Elliot did would be futile. That sense of oppression was suffocating.
So after returning to the mansion, he had ignored even the Old Butler and gone straight back to his bedroom to use [Dream Entry].
When he could believe nothing else, the only thing he could trust was the Difference Engine.
Fortunately, the Difference Engine had still answered him.
In the courtyard, he had quickly given the believers their assignments, then had some of them leave the dream and return to the Hearthfire District.
He had already prepared for the worst. He might have to abandon the Hearthfire District entirely and find a way to flee.
Sidney had sacrificed himself, Michel had been killed, and Victoria had fallen into permanent madness. He no longer had any allies in the Imperial Capital.
Perhaps even his own survival was only because he