Vanitas was onto something big, something beyond chasseur politics and war conspiracies.
The more he read, the more certain he was. Although there were zero records on 'Charlatan', he was able to dig up files on Jeanne and her masters. From there he got to the conclusion that Jeanne is the exact person he should be keeping an eye on.
Sentenced to serve as a bourreau for her parents' sins, Jeanne had worked for the Senate until the Gévaudan incident. She has been under August Ruthven's commands ever since, with rumours of a possible placement to Lucius Oriflamme.
Lord Ruthven and Grand Duke Oriflamme. Vanitas was no expert in vampire hierarchy, but he'd read enough to know the two were noble and held a great deal of power. By sending their personal bourreau on the case, it was no difference to royal involvement.
What interest did Ruthven have in the case? Was he acting on behalf of Lucius and if he was, why would a curse-bearer become the Queen's advisor's responsibility? Judging from Jeanne's reaction, she was either oblivious to the existence of 'Charlatan' or not informed. It was unclear whether Ruthven knowingly put her on the case, Vanitas would need to look into that.
And the church, the trickiest part of all. Secrets were never documented, what was meant for the leaders were either encoded or discussed in person. He'd learnt of this from personal experience.
Did the chasseurs know about Charlatan? Having exposed their secrets once, Vanitas was confident in doing it again if he had to.
"Should I know why you developed a sudden interest in... The Exposition Universelle?" Looming over Vanitas, Olivier took a double take at the papers he was flipping through.
"Because I'm young and eager to learn, captain." Having heard Olivier's footsteps, Vanitas managed to tug away the files he had gathered prior to his arrival.
"Right." Olivier didn't even try arguing with him. He could smell something was off, Vanitas was acting the exact way he did while he was investigating Dr. Moreau. He scanned the pile of books laying on Vanitas' desk and noticed some misplaced documents.
"August Ruthven and Lucius Oriflamme." Olivier snatched the papers and held them high, out of Vanitas' reach. "I'm your captain for a reason, Vanitas. Now spill, what aren't you letting go?"
Although Vanitas appreciated the fact that Olivier, for most of the time, left him alone to his own business, he was too smart for his own good. Olivier could have played innocent and claimed he knew nothing of Vanitas' wrongdoings if it came down to that, but he probably just ruined the possibility of doing so.
It wasn't as if Vanitas cared for him, he simply needed someone sane to stay in power in case he was brought down, to stand up against another Moreau or Gano.
"I'm educating myself on the Hellfire Witch." He gave Olivier part of the story, hoping he'd take it and leave.
"Is that 'education' related to an apartment blowing up last week?" Olivier countered.
"... I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
Rolling up the papers in his hand, Olivier smacked Vanitas in his head, fed up with his sugar-coated explanations.
"Just so you know, I disposed of the shell you left behind. I reported that you were in bed the whole day recovering from the fight." Olivier poked at Vanitas' chest, right above his cross pendant. "You'd better tell me what I'm covering for."
He was making a mistake, he knew from the bottom of his heart. It was wiser to leave Olivier out of this, especially when he wasn't even sure what he was against.
"Charlatan." The truth slipped his tongue anyway, and he was able to confirm a theory: Olivier was indeed not part of this conspiracy, judging from his blank face.
"The gang causing all these." Vanitas never imagined it would come a day where he would need to explain this to someone, causing him to trip over his words.
"By 'these'... you mean the confrontation between Jeanne and the chasseurs?" Olivier, clearly lost in his words, asked for clarification.
"No. I meant the vampire incidents, the origin of curse-bearers." It must be too much for him to process, as the captain was silent for nearly a minute.
"How?" He finally managed.
"I don't know." Vanitas replied sincerely but earned a glare from Olivier. "For real. It was what twisted those vampires, and that's about all I got at this moment."
"It's like... the point of no return. Nightmare itself manifesting. Something you just know you shouldn't touch at first sight." Vanitas continued, providing the closest description he could. "Especially for vampires, for some reason."
"The Hellfire Witch was a part of that explosion?" Vanitas not being a person to show his weakness, that explanation was more than enough for Olivier to trust him.
"I guess you can put it that way." Vanitas answered vaguely, not wanting Olivier to know he was saved by a vampire. "She seemed to be there on orders."
"I know I've said this before, but you really are walking on a dangerous line, Vanitas." Olivier settled down on a chair, lowering his voice so he could whisper his next question. "The church?"
Vanitas shrugged as his response. Had he known the answer to that, he wouldn't have stayed up late mulling over it.
"I'll... think about this." Surprised by his ability to find trouble, Olivier pinched the bridge of his nose, considering ordering him to stay out of it. Knowing Vanitas, he decided on saving his speech. "Don't get caught."