Chapter 858: Generous

On the tiny balcony of the master bedroom, Klein stood behind a railing

in the form of Dwayne Dantès. He silently watched Baron Syndras's

luxurious carriage depart.

His mind was still resonating with the conversation he just had. He

believed that there had been a secret plot behind the acquiring of the

Coim Company's shares from the very beginning.

*According to Syndras, although the Coim Company has great potential and

bright prospects, its current value is only limited to Backlund. It's

constrained by many conditions, making it not worthy for a powerful

banker to place such great importance on it that he had to take on a

stance of being hell-bent on acquiring it. After all, even if he didn't

succeed, it would only be a difference in monetary profit. It wouldn't

result in any losses.*

*For the seller, Cuarón, it's very normal to be under external stress to

sell his shares for cash. It's also very normal for him to be unwilling

to see "Moneybags" Baron Syndras from the Conservative Party. But herein

lies the problem. As a businessman, faced with a deal that isn't

considered important, the political inclinations are something to be

considered when prices are similar. There's no reason to reject the

possibility of receiving an extremely high premium. Yet, he had

deliberately rushed to close the deal with Dwayne Dantès before Syndras

could make his final offer. It's as if he has a grudge with money or

views the Conservative Party with extreme prejudice. And this doesn't

match the current political climate. The Loen Kingdom's internal

politics hasn't reached such a splintered state.*

*From the looks of it, someone is forcing Syndras to do this, and

someone had designed a trap, using Cuarón's 3% shares as the bait and me

as the cover to lure Syndras into the trap, wishing to achieve a certain

goal...* Klein looked at the street lamps under the night sky as

he sighed poignantly.

*Based on my assumption, if I hadn't discovered the problem tonight and

hadn't sent someone to Syndras, the subsequent developments would

definitely have me crushed by all kinds of seemingly incriminating

evidence. And when the military or the Church of Evernight intervenes,

there will undoubtedly be a twist in the evidence, incriminating

Syndras.*

*During this process, just a tiny misjudgment on Syndras's part will

result in him treating Dwayne Dantès as an accomplice of the mastermind

behind this ploy. He would use a rather intense method in response,

hammering the final nail in my coffin.*

As for who the mastermind was and their true goals, Klein had no idea.

All he could do was confirm that Ma'am Mary likely wasn't aware of the

truth. She was only used due to her anxiousness to preserve her control

over the Coim Company. In short, she wasn't qualified to be deeply

involved in the mastermind's ploy.

*Environment protection... New Party... Conservative Party... Bankers...

Acquisition... Framing...* One word after another surfaced in

Klein's mind, seemingly allowing him to see through the present calm in

Backlund. He saw the dangerous stirrings that were hidden beneath the

surface.

They existed for a long time and hadn't been quelled because of the

Great Smog. It was even possible that it was just an extension of the

tragedy.

When all of these meshed together, mixed with the tense international

environment, Klein suddenly thought of a word: "Revolution!"

In that second, Klein seemed to catch a whiff of the impending storm.

*Together with the prophecy of the apocalypse, I wonder how much chaos

and madness are brewing in secret... Currently, my main goal is to start

from the military and investigate the truth behind the Great Smog of

Backlund. If I were to get caught up in this maelstrom, there's a high

chance I'll get involved in unnecessary trouble. Perhaps it might expose

my Sequence powers, preventing me from continuing my act as Dwayne

Dantès...* Klein retracted his gaze, having made up his

decision.

It was to quickly extricate himself from the matter!

As for Syndras's safety, he wasn't too worried. First, the former had

the Conservative Party backing him, and he had his own faction. With him

on alert, it would be difficult for him to suffer any further harm.

Second, Klein didn't have any deep ties with him; thus, providing a

warning had already spoken volumes of his character.

As for the truth behind Cuarón's death, he had no right to carry out any

investigations. All he could do was trust in the Nighthawks' rich

experience and the myriad of means to have a chance of finding the real

clues.

*How should I extricate myself? As long as the shares are with me, it

implies that I'll ultimately remain center stage... Get Ma'am Mary to

acquire it ahead of time? That will be very difficult. She likely

doesn't have the funds... Sell it to Syndras? That will be in violation

of the contract...* Amidst Klein's flurry of thoughts, he

gradually had an idea.

His facial muscles twitched a little for some baffling reason before

they relaxed. This was because what he wanted to do was something he had

planned on doing but lacked the ability to do so. Furthermore, it would

also benefit him by establishing an image, bettering his chances of

entering high society.

In the room adjacent to the balcony, Xio and Fors were observing the

streets and garden. One of them was looking at the crimson moon that was

half-hidden behind the thick clouds. There was a prolonged silence.

Only when Dwayne Dantès's lights were extinguished did Fors turn to look

at her friend. She said in excitement and clear poignancy, "Being a

tycoon sure isn't easy...

"If you were him, you might've gone bankrupt in three days and be sent

to jail."

Xio shot her a glance and said, "I can hire a powerful butler, a

professional lawyer, and a capable business secretary to help me."

Fors didn't continue putting her down as she said with a smile, "If I

were you, I would change all of it to cash, bonds, and property. I'll

use the annual income they bring about to maintain a decent life."

Just as she said that, she saw Xio frown slightly. She cast her gaze

towards the first floor.

"What happened?" Fors tensed up.

Xio observed for a few seconds before saying, "My spiritual perception

tells me that an item or matter related to black magic has appeared."

One of the biggest advantages of a Sheriff was that when they were close

enough, they could sense matters related to evil, chaos, and madness

that weren't screened.

"Black magic?" Fors was considered a senior Beyonder, so she wasn't

unfamiliar with that.

Strictly speaking, anything that didn't pass through the seven orthodox

deities was considered as black magic. It included ritualistic magic

that prayed to secret existences.

In the typical sense, black magic referred to the use of flesh and

blood, hair, and all kinds of strange items to cast strange spells. It

partially involved evil gods, one's Beyonder powers, the spirituality of

the materials used, and the correct symbols and magic labels.

Xio nodded heavily and said, "Yes, it's on the first floor. I plan on

taking a look. Stay here to protect Mr. Dantès."

Fors kept silent for two seconds and nodded without wasting any time.

"Okay."

After Xio left the balcony's half-open room, Fors took out Leymano's

Travels from a hidden pouch, prepared to immediately take action if

anything amiss happened.

Elsewhere, Xio nimbly and briskly arrived at the first floor. Following

her senses, she arrived outside a room.

After confirming that the target was inside, Xio was surprised as her

expression gradually darkened.

If she didn't remember wrongly, this room likely belonged to Butler

Walter who had hired her!

During her momentary daze, the black magic item or matter which

triggered her spiritual perception vanished. Calm returned to the room

as though nothing abnormal had happened.

Xio hurriedly pressed her ear to the door and carefully listened,

confirming that there was the breathing of a human inside.

After waiting for a while and seeing that Walter wasn't doing anything

else, she returned to the third floor with a look of suspicion. She

recounted her findings to her friend and finally said, "Do we feign

ignorance, or think of a way to remind Mr. Dantès?"

Fors thought and said, "Perhaps the butler doesn't have any ill

intentions?

"Let's keep observing."

After deciding on their stance, she tsked in wonder.

"I have to say that Mr. Dwayne Dantès is a really pitiful person. Not

only was he used by others to harm Baron Syndras and get framed, nearly

throwing him into jail and losing his reputation, but he also has a

butler who researches black magic with an unknown motive. Sigh, I hope

he doesn't lose his life because of that. On this front, he's only a

helpless commoner."

Xio nodded in agreement.

"If we're unable to determine the butler's intentions after three days

are over, we can leave a slip for him to warn him."

The next morning, Klein glanced at Walter in a normal fashion after

having breakfast before leaving home with Richardson. He rode a carriage

to Saint Samuel Cathedral.

After the preaching and prayers, Klein didn't make any donations.

Instead, he directly came to Bishop Elektra.

"Is there something?" Although this bishop was under immense stress due

to the infiltration of Chanis Gate, he was still rather friendly when

dealing with the faithful.

Klein smiled and replied, "I've recently been involved in certain

matters and have come to recognize my true self."

Without waiting for Elektra to inquire, he continued, "I wish to

establish a foundation that targets the poor. I hope that they can

receive help from the Church.

"I will place the Coim Company shares I have on hand into this

foundation, so as to kickstart this initiative using all the funds

obtainable from the contract.

Elektra was nearly stupefied by what he heard because it was definitely

a sizable sum.

Although it wasn't public knowledge how much Dwayne Dantès spent on

acquiring the 3% shares, just from the relevant sources of information,

it was estimated to be over 10,000 pounds. Furthermore, the future

returns were nothing to scoff at!

And back then, Ma'am Mary had been pursued by many men of status who had

wealth in the range of tens of thousands of pounds.

Therefore, for Dwayne Dantès to suddenly donate more than ten thousand

pounds was definitely considered a generous move. In the whole of the

Church of Evernight, apart from donations from a deceased's will, there

were only a handful of one-time donations that exceeded this amount!

"This is an act that deserves all kinds of praise," Elektra said from

the bottom of his heart. "However, I have the obligation to remind you

that you shouldn't do something that exceeds your reach."

Klein smiled and replied, "This isn't a small sum for me as well, but

it's still acceptable. It wouldn't affect my life and business."

Elektra's smile gradually turned warm as he said with a nod, "The

Goddess will definitely watch you."

Upon hearing this blessing, Klein's expression nearly froze.

Elektra continued, "I will report the matter to His Grace and try to

organize a charity party for this foundation. When the time comes, I'll

invite the Goddess's faithful from different domains. They will include

powerful aristocrats and their families. Let's see if there are more

people who are willing to participate."

He knew very well that Dwayne Dantès was attempting to enter high

society; therefore, he had deliberately made mention of powerful

aristocrats.