Chapter 188
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 188
Creeak—
A heavy door groaned open, and a long sliver of light pierced the gloom, cutting through the darkness.
Mana-powered lights flickered on automatically, illuminating the vast, empty space. In the sudden silence, Rebecca stepped onto the red carpet of the audience chamber.
This was the Panopticon Central Headquarters—the very chamber where Big Brother and his inner circle had once held their meetings.
Thud. Thud.
Rebecca walked forward, her steady gaze fixed on the throne at the end of the long carpet.
“…”
The seat where he—now dead—had always sat with such suffocating authority. Her grandfather, a man who had never removed his mask in his entire life. Rebecca realized she could no longer even remember his face.
She slowly picked up the mask lying on the table and stared at it in silence.
Rebecca hated masks.
She hated that the outsiders of the underworld wore faceless visors. She hated that her own family wore them, hiding their features from one another under the paranoid pretext of avoiding assassination.
But the deepest root of her hatred was the memory of her parents being slaughtered by masked assailants right before her eyes.
People spoke of it as an event lost to the shadows of the past, but for her, that day remained as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. From that moment on, Rebecca never trusted anyone in a mask. Beneath a mask, anyone could become as monstrous as they pleased.
After that day, Rebecca grew to loathe her grandfather for failing to protect her parents. She despised her relatives, who circled the throne like vultures.
The only person she could truly trust was Alfredo.
She hated the underground city and the sordid affairs of the underworld, so she ran. She refused her lessons in succession and avoided all contact with others. The only thing she showed any passion for was revenge.
She spent her days hunting down the fiends who had killed her parents, torturing them for every scrap of information. Those were the only moments Rebecca felt truly alive.
But even that would end today.
“…”
Rebecca quietly sat upon Big Brother’s throne.
She looked down at the carpet beneath her feet and the towering pillars lining the chamber. Though she had never coveted this seat, it was a position established through the sacrifices of many. This throne represented a dangerous power that could not be entrusted to anyone else.
If she had to do it, she would do her best.
It was the proper courtesy to those who had trusted and followed her—and the least she could do to thank the boy who had given her this new opportunity.
Rebecca raised a trembling hand and placed Big Brother’s faceless mask over her features.
Click.
Her vision narrowed as the mask locked into place. The weight of the mask was the weight of a crown.
‘The all-seeing eye that watches over everything.’
The source of that great fear, dreaded by all, lay in the power of concealing oneself. Now, it was her turn to become Big Brother.
*
It felt like I’d been drifting through a long dream.
It began with a hazy memory of being entrusted to someone's warm embrace on a cold winter day. Then came memories of playing with familiar faces beneath the Great Wall. And finally, the incident with the monsters that had attacked the academy's grand auditorium.
As if in a fever dream, fragments of Roen's memories surfaced and seeped into my mind.
In a daze, I slowly forced my eyelids open.
An unfamiliar ceiling met my gaze. However, I didn't feel particularly anxious. Ciel was sitting by my side, silently reading a book.
Flip—
The sound of the turning page was a comforting white noise. After I listened to the rhythm for a moment, Ciel finally spoke.
“You're awake.”
“How long was I out?”
“Four days.”
“Longer than last time.”
When Amur beat me up, I was unconscious for three straight days. Now it was a day longer. I thought I'd grown a little stronger since then, but had I actually gotten weaker?
I let out a deep sigh and looked at Ciel, who was watching over me.
Ciel, the one who was always by Roen's side. She had been there when Roen was bedridden for weeks in the past, and when I, as Roen, had collapsed. For more than a decade, Ciel had protected Roen.
How much did someone like her know about Roen's true identity?
I asked her in a low voice.
“Ciel, how much do you know?”
“…”
Instead of answering, Ciel lowered her head. Her eyes remained fixed on her book as she replied calmly.
“I am simply here to protect Lord Roen.”
Right.
Ciel was the same age as Roen; how much could she possibly know about the secret of his birth? She had likely just been ordered to attend to him and ensure his identity was never compromised. It didn't seem like she would say more even if I pressed her, nor did I want to, so I changed the subject.
“I see. What's the current situation?”
I had been unconscious since the fight with Carmilla, so I was completely in the dark. In fact, I couldn't even clearly remember the latter half of the battle after it intensified. My entire body had been corroded by demonic energy, pushing me into a state of near-unconsciousness.
My memories were fragmented, like a cut film. A few words from my conversation with Carmilla came to mind, but even those were hazy.
“It would be best for you to see for yourself. I will guide you.”
Ciel stood and offered to help me up, but I waved her off.
“It's fine. I can walk on my own.”
I threw off the blanket, got up, and left the room with Ciel.
*
“You've come?”
Alfredo, who had been buried in paperwork, sprang from his seat the moment I entered. I raised a hand, gesturing for him to sit back down. I sank into the plush sofa, practically reclining, and asked Alfredo for a briefing.
“What's the status?”
This wasn't the Western Branch office Ciel and I usually visited. It appeared to be the Panopticon Central Headquarters. Seeing Alfredo working here, I could guess how things had turned out.
“Well, seeing as I'm still alive and well, I assume things went smoothly.”
Alfredo smiled and nodded.
“Yes, quite a lot happened while you were unconscious, Lord Roen.”
Alfredo explained the situation in detail.
From Carmilla leading her subordinates out of the underground city and into the uncharted territories, to the Western Branch forces seizing control of the Panopticon headquarters.
The enemy remnants had technically outnumbered our forces, but with their leaders—the branch chiefs—held hostage, they couldn't mount a proper defense. They were subdued or surrendered one by one.
It was a war without a just cause from the start. Once Carmilla, the heart of the rebellion, was gone and Rebecca was revealed as the rightful heir, they lost the will to fight.
“Have all the dangerous elements been dealt with?”
“Yes, those who led the rebellion have all been publicly executed. However, to avoid a total collapse of the chain of command, essential personnel were imprisoned rather than killed. We plan to properly persuade or brainwash them for future use.”
The chilling report and future plans flowed out of him with practiced ease. In truth, executing traitors was common practice in this world, so it wasn't that shocking. There were plenty of cases where entire bloodlines were wiped out; this was mild in comparison.
Still, it wasn't a pleasant business, so I decided to stay out of it.
“Well… I'll leave that to you.”
“We only secured the central headquarters a few days ago, so this is all I have to report for now. On the other hand, the pile of issues we need to handle is mountainous. We are severely short on manpower.”
Alfredo sighed, a deeply troubled expression on his face.
The commander-level personnel at Central Headquarters who had been loyal to Big Brother—those who remained neutral until the end of the civil war—had all been executed by Carmilla. It made managing operations a nightmare. With all the loyal and competent commanders dead, only opportunists and low-level administrative staff remained.
“You'll have your work cut out for you.”
“Yes, but it's a happy problem to have. Just a few weeks ago, we were worried about losing our heads. I am truly grateful to you, Lord Roen.”
Alfredo chuckled heartily as he expressed his gratitude.
“No need to thank me. I'll be counting on you in the future as well.”
The underworld was a capable partner. It seemed we would have much to do together. Besides, I'd grown fond of him; Alfredo now felt like a friendly neighborhood grandfather.
As we were chatting over tea, the office door burst open.
“Ah! You're really awake!”
Rebecca and Lize appeared. Lize tried to rush toward me, but she must have missed a step; she stumbled badly, nearly face-planting. Rebecca, who was beside her, caught Lize under the arms to steady her.
“Hey, you, stop messing around and stay still. You were just laid up with mana exhaustion yourself.”
“Ehehe.”
Lize sat down quietly on the sofa with Rebecca. I'd heard Lize had a rough time after being kidnapped by Carmilla and forced to replicate mana stones, but I was relieved to see she looked fine.
Rebecca, who usually had her hair disheveled like tangled seaweed, was now dressed in a crisp formal uniform with her hair tied up neatly. Was it because she now occupied the seat of the Panopticon's leader... Big Brother? She seemed like a completely different person.
As I was looking her over, she grinned.
“What, falling for me?”
“…Just thinking you clean up nicely.”
“Tsk, I'm a beauty by any standard.”
Rebecca clicked her tongue, rummaged through her pocket, and handed something to me.
“Here, take it. It's what I promised.”
What Rebecca gave me was a black card embossed with an all-seeing eye. On it was written: Panopticon Western Branch Chief, Roen.
“It's yours starting today. This is the 30 percent I promised you.”
“…”
I stared silently at the card in my hand.
‘Western Branch Chief, huh.’
The position of a branch chief wasn't just handed out to anyone. Just as kings and emperors always did, rulers tended to give positions to trustworthy relatives to manage their vast territories. In fact, Big Brother had given a position to each of his relatives.
For Rebecca to give this position to me was akin to accepting me as a member of the family. Moreover, the Western Branch was the largest and wealthiest of all the branches. It was a hub for logistics connecting to Stella Port and the Union, and it included several key districts of the underground city.
This territory generated wealth exceeding that of most great lords. It was a tremendous practical advantage—a gift that far exceeded the 30 percent share of the underworld I had requested.
However.
“I appreciate the gesture.”
I handed the card back to Rebecca.
“What, you don't like it? I thought you'd be happy.”
“I am. But I have neither the ability nor the time to lead the Western Branch.”
I was already so busy with various matters I could barely breathe. If I had to manage the Western Branch on top of that, I might actually die from overwork. I could just put my name on it and act as a figurehead, but I'd rather not do it at all if that was the case.
As if on cue, Rebecca suggested just that.
“Then just put your name on it. I'll send my subordinates to manage it.”
“I refuse that as well.”
Roen, ruler of the underworld? I'd just managed to shed my notoriety; was there any reason to max it out again?
As I kept refusing, Rebecca pointed a finger at herself and asked, “Then what do you want? Me, by any chance?”
I furrowed my brow. “You're persistent. I told you, I don't want it.”
She's pretty, but not my type.
Anyway, judging from the situation, if I had accepted the position of Western Branch Chief, Rebecca's side might have proposed something like a political marriage. If not by blood, the only way to solidify the alliance was to form a new bond. That's what being accepted into the underworld family ultimately meant.
At my refusal, Rebecca smacked her lips and slumped back on the sofa.
“A shame. I had everything prepared.”
“Indeed. We'll have to cancel those plans.”
Rebecca and Alfredo both looked genuinely disappointed.
“…”
Hearing their exchange, it seemed my guess was correct. Ciel, having roughly grasped the situation, wore a sullen expression, while Lize just blinked blankly, not understanding the subtext, and sipped her tea.
Rebecca took back the card, sighed, and asked, “Then what do you want? Just say the word. I'll grant it as best I can.”
“What I want… is cash.”
“Cash?”
“Yes.”
I didn't need a cumbersome position like branch chief. Of course, a territory generally yields far greater long-term benefits than its cash equivalent. Accepting the position, marrying Rebecca, and living as a ruler of the underworld would be the more "efficient" choice.
The master of the back alleys, ruling over a vast territory and its subordinates, dominating the underground world of the Meteor Archipelago with wealth and power—it was a truly attractive proposition that came with a loyal butler and a pretty, if somewhat foul-tempered, wife.
But it was a suit of clothes that didn't fit the current Roen. Therefore, what I wanted right now was the liquid capital.
“Give it to me in cash.”