Pationa

Once he was sure Han Mingxuan had left, Curze flew into a rage.

"You Xenos bastard! Get out here right now!"

"Who gave you permission to appear before Father? Come out, bastard!"

Curze's room darkened in an instant, and a throne appeared before him. At the same time, the man sat on the throne, wearing a crown.

His back was ramrod straight, his expression solemn and serious. He no longer looked as utterly dejected as he had at first.

"Hey, hey, don't get so worked up, young man. Father has already accepted me. There's no need for this."

"He's my father! What does he have to do with you? You're just a wandering ghost, you're just a..."

"Just a Xenos bastard. Can't you come up with something new? I'm sick of hearing it."

"I heard Father say you're actually only four years old, but I hope you won't take that childish attitude onto the battlefield."

"Even if I really am a Xenos bastard, don't give this Xenos reason to look down on you. At the very least, prove that Father didn't give his love to the wrong person."

"And that you're not a fool who does nothing but shout and rely on Father's indulgence."

"Defeat me with your victories and glory. Prove to Father that he succeeded in raising you, that you're a worthy son."

"Don't disgrace all the effort he put into you!"

Curze looked at the towering figure. For the first time, he saw an unfamiliar emotion in the man's eyes.

In the past, there had been only indifference and numbness in them.

But now he could see a trace of anger in the man's eyes.

Anger at himself.

"I'll take Nostramo and defeat you with my achievements and glory."

"I'll prove to Father that I, Konrad Curze, grand inquisitor of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion, am his finest son."

"That's the spirit. Then... we shall see, grand inquisitor."

The Night Haunter vanished, leaving only a soft chuckle by Curze's ear.

He was laughing at Curze, and at himself.

How had he never noticed this side of himself before?

It really did work.

Though it was a little underhanded to use someone as gentle as Father to provoke him, Father had always been forgiving.

Even if the version of himself in this world turned out to be nothing more than a useless local tyrant, Father wouldn't say anything.

Besides, that yellow-skinned man wouldn't allow his tool to be useless.

Just like his brother, the Angel of Red Sand.

What a pity.

After his argument with the Night Haunter, Curze began preparing for his meeting with the nobles.

The first step in conquering Nostramo was to take complete control of this Hive City.

"Sevatar."

"Boss."

"Investigate everyone who sent Father an invitation or a calling card. Find out everything, no matter how small."

"I need to know every filthy thing they've done before we meet to discuss matters."

"If necessary, we'll put them on trial in court."

"Understood. Give me a week, and I'll even find out what color their underwear is."

"Get to it."

"Calm down, young man."

"I'm perfectly calm. This is necessary."

"All right. Just don't get blood on Father. The rest is up to you."

"I know."

A week later, Curze had all the information he wanted.

Corruption and wanton killing were minor offenses among them.

Some had even gone so far as to form cults and become entangled with Xenos.

"They all deserve to die."

"Should we make our move now?"

"No hurry, Sevatar. We're judges, not killers who murder at will. We follow the law."

"But... what's the story with this one?"

"Pationa Tenpatio, Chris Tempatio's adopted daughter."

"Ever since he rescued her from the Aeldari more than ten years ago, Chris has never let this woman appear in public."

"Only recently did Chris gradually let her start taking over the family's affairs. She's highly capable, and no one in the family, high or low, has objected."

"Is Chris capable of having children?" Curze asked a pointed question.

"Yes, but the children he had in his early years all died young from various causes after the young lady appeared."

Oh?

Curze smelled a conspiracy.

But the information also told Curze that Chris's sons had died of perfectly normal causes.

Yes, their causes of death were normal.

And his sons had already picked up bad habits long before Pationa appeared.

"The biggest problem is that there's no problem. Is she attending the meeting?"

"Yes. Ever since Pationa became active, Chris has withdrawn behind the scenes and hardly ever appears."

"Have the brothers in the Council of the Long Night get to work. Find the old man."

"His daughter is too normal. That's the biggest abnormality."

The Council of the Long Night was an elite force selected from the first eight hundred members of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion.

Every one of them was unquestionably a master assassin.

And every one of them had psychic talent.

"Should we put pressure on her at the meeting?"

"Of course. This time, we'll kill the chicken to scare the monkeys."

It wouldn't do for all the other nobles to be replaced while the Tempatio Family remained untouched.

"Understood."

"Sharp insight."

"Heh. You didn't really think anger had clouded my judgment, did you?"

"Father still thinks you're a little brat, after all."

"That just goes to show love makes people blind, even someone as learned as Father."

"But I'm the grand inquisitor. I stopped being a child the day I awakened."

"I look forward to seeing what you do in the future."

The Night Haunter was pleased with his younger self in this world.

Clearly, the love and education Father had given him hadn't turned him into a blind fool.

In the Tempatio Family, inside the family head's study.

It was as extravagantly luxurious and as glittering with gold as ever.

Pationa sat there handling family affairs, with an enormous oil painting of Chris hanging on the wall behind her.

"Young lady, a notice from the court has arrived."

"A notice from the court? We're not going there to stand trial, Giesen."

The visitor lowered his head, not daring to look at the woman who truly held power in the family now.

She was so perfect, so elegant, that no one could harbor the slightest irreverent thought toward her.

Of course, there was also the oppressive presence that accompanied her, impossible to ignore.

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

"That Eternal Night Bat certainly likes throwing his weight around. He keeps putting off our invitation, yet his notice demands we appear tomorrow?"

"Make the preparations. We leave tomorrow."

"Yes!"

Giesen left the study to prepare for tomorrow's journey. Without even noticing it himself, his back had already become soaked with sweat in that short time.

Pationa picked up the letter sealed with golden wax and opened the door to the secret chamber.

She had once been the one kept inside the chamber. Now it was Chris.

Only, Chris no longer looked remotely human.