Chapter 13: From Five to Seven Thousand
Elsa sighed in a wave of disappointment and frustration. Her impatience and quick loss of interest got the better of her when she and Irene tried to get a word with the mayor today.
"That bastard!" She complained in a loud grouchy voice.
As childish as it may have seemed, Irene simply smiled as she took a slow sip of her tea. "Come now sister. It's nothing to be too angry about"
"What do you mean angry!?" Elsa replied in return as she stood up, slightly slamming her hands on the table. Quickly realizing that she was making a commotion in the restaurant, she sat back down, speaking in a lower tone, "How can I not be angry?"
"You could try to be a tad bit more patient" The First Crime Lord leisurely said,closing her eyes for a moment.
Irene's second in command wasn't as amused as she was, scoffing a bit, "Patient? You honestly think anyone would have the patience to wait a month just to speak with the Mayor?"
"Now now Elsa, just because he's on vacation on the inner wall doesn't mean that we can't do anything productive in the meantime. Think of the opportunities that this might open for us"
With a curved eyebrow, Elsa inquired, "What do you mean by that?"
Irene opened her eyes, her bleak brown pupils shining with the candle light, "This gives us more time to recruit more members into the squad, thus, increasing our ability to fight back. It provides more time for a plan to formulate."
"A plan?"
"A combat plan." She replied, gazing down at the reflection of herself in her tea, "It might not seem like it now, but there will be fighting, and killing. Not only from the Paramount Elsa, but from him."
Elsa slightly gasped when Irene mentioned him, "You mean the Fourth Lord?"
Irene nodded, folding her hands, "He's very treacherous. I worry that he might try to kill Liette, even without giving her a task."
"Couldn't we simply interfere?" The lofty spy asked.
"I wish we could, but the Paramount made it clear for me not to directly interfere. I can support them, but otherwise..." Shaking her head, the First Crime Lord cleaned back in her chair, crossing her legs. Oddly enough, her dress was not her revealing slit skirt one, instead, a simple purple skirt that dropped down to her ankles sufficed in public.
Even with the eerie silence that was brought upon between the siblings, Elsa couldn't help but feel the anxiety build up inside. She knew her sister was hiding it; Irene was planning something. It wasn't just revenge against the Paramount, it wasn't just aiding Liette to finding out about herself, it was something more.
Again she wondered, are Irene's intentions sinister? Or sincere?
ooo
"You two brats show up here, in the middle of my busy schedule, and ask me if I'm in some sort of corrupt gang?!" The scolding voice of Jourdan Huson rang through Peter and Kristell's frightened ears.
"N-No sir!" Peter objected, trying to defend the both of them, "We just wanted t-to know if you had anything to do with underground activities!"
Huson slammed his hands on his desk, "You think that anyone who's into that kind of stuff would just blurt it out like that?! People aren't that stupid you know" He yelled, rubbing his face. Sighing out of frustration, over a simple question, he added, "Look. I don't know what you brats are doing, snooping around in this neighborhood, but the only wrong I did was that last business trade I made with the Mayor. I'll tell you that much"
It sounded as if he was deep in regret, saddened almost, but that quickly faded away as he yelled at the two again, "Alright! I told you what you wanted, now get out! My moneys going dry cause of that stupid mayor, and I don't have the time to talk to brats like you!"
After a bit of shooing and yelling from the rude produce merchant, Peter and Kristell both sighed out of relief the moment they stepped back onto the street.
"Thank god..." Kristell murmured, rubbing her aching stomach, "I didn't know how much longer I could have held it in"
Peter nervously smiled as he rubbed her back in comfort, "I would rather have Urdin yell at me. At least I know that he has good intentions behind that loud voice of his."
"HEY!" A loud, gruff voice yelled from behind Peter, "Who you callin' loud cadet?"
Peter yelped as he quickly turned around, knowing that voice like the instinct of an animal, "N-No one Urdin sir!" he saluted.
Urdin was grinning with good intent as he planted his hands on his hips, "Hahaha! Relax relax Cadet. From now on, we're comrades on the same squad" He said, patting Peter's shoulder.
"Com...rades?" Peter asked, lowering his hands in a slightly confused 'huh?'.
"Sure! I talked to Liette earlier about it and sent a notification to the higher ups." Urdin laughed cockily, standing over Peter's head, rubbing his hair.
"Wait, so that means you're gonna be one of us?" Kristell asked, unusually feeling not much nausea in the presence of Urdin.
"That's right! I dunno how I feel relying on you to watch my back, but, I'm counting on you alright Cadet?" The Squad Leader requested, holding a thumb up.
Peter nodded, still a little bit in shock and awe that Urdin joined the Private Investigation Squad.
"You too Kristell!" He replied, patting both their shoulders. Strange was a word that would describe Peter and Kristell's situation at hand right now. Urdin usually would yell and ridicule them, calling them dirty mouthed things which usually gets on their sour sides.
This was like meeting a whole new person, something that they were quite eager to proceed forth with, getting to meet the real Urdin Bachmeier.
ooo
One person was already recruited, but it was a pleasant surprise to Liette when Zackley approached her later that day that he wanted to join her squad. She hadn't even told him about it, and yet he knew. She figured that rumors of the new squad were spreading quickly through the ranks of the Stationary Guard and Scouting Legion.
"So you honestly want to join us?" Liette asked, gesturing by holding her palm out close to her side.
"If it's not too much trouble Commander" Zackley said in his ever polite tone. "Tell you the truth, I hate my position right now. And that ass hat Oswin can go to hell" He couldn't help but chuckle nervously in hint that one of his peers might hear.
Rivaille eyed Zackley quietly before speaking up, "Oi, don't talk like that about your superiors"
Momentarily forgetting that Rivaille was a high ranking official, Zackley bowed to apologize, "I'm sorry, but the man clearly knows not how hard we actually work, neither does he care. I'd rather be in the face of danger than to admit I work under a soulless man."
"First, don't call me commander Zack. Those times have past." Liette said placing a hand on his shoulder as they stood on the road. "We've been through a lot of hell together. I'll be glad to have you with us through some more"
Zackley's face lit up as he saluted to both of them, "I thank you for this opportunity to to serve!"
"Drop the formalities, you're not going to need them when you're in my squad" Liette smiled.
Rivaille shook his head, "Ignore her, formalities are the core of our-" He was subtly interrupted by a flick to the side of the head by Liette.
"Oh quiet Levi! You're not the leader of this squad"
"Hey!" He complained rubbing where she hit. Within the moments he rubbed, his mind quickly realized how accustomed he was to Liette's presence. If anyone else did that to him, he would beat the crap out of them immediately. The only people he stayed passive to were Liette, Petra and a select few others. As much as he didn't like certain parts, or most of Liette, he couldn't help but feel attracted to her in a way.
Rivaille didn't know what that feeling was, and as he stared at her face, talking to Zackley, he saw something in her that caught his attention those many years ago when they first met. It tugged at his heart, and it felt so nostalgic, yet, he couldn't figure out what it was.
"H-hey mister..." The voice of a girl murmured, still terrified of the most recent event that occurred to her. "T-thank you..."
A seventeen year old Rivaille glared at her, her frightened eyes stared back at him. "Just try not to get into trouble again." The poor girl was attacked by thieves in the alleys. It seemed that she was lost, roaming the slums.
"W-wait!" The called out to Rivaille, not wanting him to leave.
"What?" He was getting rather annoyed, he had already saved the girl, what more did she want?
She timidly twiddled her thumbs before holding up the basket she was carrying, "A-are you hungry?"
To her, Rivaille looked like a common thug and lowlife in the slums, tattered clothing, depressed expression with no hint of hope for the better. Yet, he kept a rather clean hygiene for such a filthy environment, and he didn't look intimidating enough to defer her away.
The young man sighed, shrugging, "I suppose I can accept a meal, if you insist. But here's not safe. Follow me."
"M-my name is T-Tori by the way..." She replied, following his stride cautiously.
Rivaille wasn't too much in the mood to say anything else, but it was courteous to introduce himself, if only slightly. "Rivaille"
He led her to a small worn down house. It was less like a house, and more of a shed if said so. Though dilapidated and aged on the outside, the inside was rather clean, tidy, if above all else, very plain and worn. A table with a few chairs was planted in the middle of the one room "house". A wooden bed with a somewhat uncomfortable mattress was pressed up against the wall towards the back.
A stove was near the bed, but it seemed largely unused since it was so clean. The pantry was also quite empty, save for a few vegetables and some bread.
There was also a small nightstand and a shelf alongside the foot of his bed. A few books and an oil lamp were on each respectively.
"Please, have a seat" Rivaille said dully, "I'll make some tea"
From the cupboards below the table next to his sink, he brought up a small tea kettle and two cups. The kettle itself looked very rusty, while the cups on the other hand, looked very clean, but showed signs of age and weariness.
"T-thank you" Tori replied, opening her basket. It was a few sandwiches and some pastries she had packed for a picnic by herself.
Bringing the now lukewarm pot of tea, Rivaille poured one for her and himself, "Try to drink soon, it will get cold fast." Unfortunately, he did not have much coal to spare on a few cups of tea.
Bit by bit, Tori began to realize the poverty Rivaille had been living in by merely looking at his lifestyle. Without saying anything, she took out a napkin and placed a sandwich on it, sliding it to Rivaille.
Before anything else, Rivaille began to devour it, taking large bites, savoring the taste no matter what it was. He closed his eyes, relieved that he had something to sustain himself for another day.
Tori didn't know what to say for the moment, and sat silent, sipping the watery and bitter tea.
"You're the daughter of those nobles aren't you?" He asked wiping his mouth with the napkin she provided.
Nervously, she nodded. "Y-yes. H-how did you.. know?"
"I've heard from a few sources" Rivaille said, drinking his own tea. He then reached his arm out to tap the basket, eying her dully with his fish eyes to ask her for some more food. She nodded. "It's dangerous around these parts. I dunno what you were doing, wandering around there. You could have been killed"
"S-sorry..." Tori looked down at her knees, scrunching up the ruffles of her dress, "I-I don't go outside my family's estate very much. Mother and father were out today, so I took the opportunity to explore."
Rivaille scoffed, "Are you stupid?" he asked bluntly.
"Eh?" Tori responded timidly to the sudden question, "I-I don't know... maybe...?"
He sighed, taking another bite of his food, "Never mind. I suppose that the yearning to explore the outside world is in everyone" He said, making an allusion to mankind's desire to explore the world outside the walls. He had no interest in joining the military, neither did he care much. It wasn't like he would make a difference, as he would put it himself.
"Umm..." Tori murmured, trying her best not to look directly at Rivaille's intimidating glare. She wanted to keep talking, the frustration and loneliness was biting her from the inside.
"I'm not going to bite you know" He told her, reassuring that he wasn't purposely trying to make her scared.
She looked up at him, blinking a few times before speaking, "I-I'm so lonely at home. No one wants to talk with me. It's depressing"
Rivaille crossed his arms, "It's not much different here" He said, listening to her talk, and helping himself to some more food. She did not mind at all, since she wasn't a very big eater.
After about twenty minutes of chatter, Tori stood up, "U-Um... I think it's time I go home."
"Levi" nodded as he stood up also, holding the basket up for her.
"Oh, y-you can keep that." She replied, slightly bowing to show her thanks, "T-thank you, it was nice, talking to you today" With that, she left without saying another word.
ooo
"Wait, Nelson. What do you mean you've found the Crime Lord?" Liette asked as everyone assembled for an emergency meeting called by Nelson.
"I think I have" He replied, eying the two new people that had joined their ranks.
"Ahem, everyone, before we begin" She said, calling to everyone's attention, "I would like to introduce our two new members. Zackley Kelsin and Urdin Bachmeier."
After a few comments of welcome and induction, they both took this time pay attention to the details of the meeting that was called. Liette had already explained to them her situation at hand and the reasons as to why the squad was created in the first place, so they should have an easier time understanding.
Nelson took out a few papers that were folded in his pocket, "From my investigation with the Merchants Guild, I found the highest incomes and most wealthy individuals in the Trost District."
"Really?" Elsa asked, showing her surprise as, she had always thought that Nelson was the sort of useless one in the group, aside from Peter and Kristell. This actually made her think differently of him from now on.
"Yes" Nelson replied, reading over the notes he wrote down, trying to be one hundred percent sure that he was correct.
"Well?" Rivaille said, impatiently waiting for Nelson to reveal who it was, "Tell us already"
"The richest person in the Trost District, and assumed to be the Second Crime Lord is..."
ooo
"Rivaille...Rivaille...wake up..." A quiet voice said, echoing in the lapse of Rivaille's sleeping consciousness. His opened slightly, only seeing a faint image of a girl. She was so beautiful, yet, painful to look at. His heart ached, "Tori...?" He murmured. Her hazel eyes stared at him in a gentle gaze, looking into his heart. He felt the pain buried under his emotions be lifted. Her golden hair streamed with the wind, clean and pure, just like he remembered her.
Her lips moved, but said nothing, and when Rivaille spoke to ask, nothing came out of his lips either. He looked at Tori's image, then blinked, and suddenly, she was gone. Only the image of Liette, standing in front of him, was visible, and the scenes of the streets of Trost around her.
"Rivaille, wake up." She said.
The Lance Corporal blinked a few times again, realizing that he had fallen asleep while waiting for everyone else to meet up at their designated spot. The image of Tori he saw just then, was only a dream.
"Awake sleepyhead?" Liette asked blowing smoke from her cigarette into his face playfully.
He frowned a bit before coughing and waving the smoke away with his hand, "Shut up" he responded as he leaned back against the wall.
"Well, you're lucky everyone else is just arriving" Liette said as she waved to the multiple parties that were converging at their rendezvous point. "I think people would make fun of the fact that humanities strongest soldier was sleeping on the job"
It had been a little over a month since Liette and her squad relocated to the Trost District in search of the Second Crime Lord. With Nelson's discovery of the identity of this mysterious figure among their list of suspects, they were disheartened, especially Liette. They found out that the Second Crime Lord was none other than the Mayor of the Trost District himself, Thames Verdalt. Unfortunately, at the time he was taking an unprecedented "vacation" in the inner wall.
"Couldn't we just go to the inner wall and talk to him ourselves?" Liette pleaded, as desperate as she could ever be.
Irene shook her head, "I'm afraid that the conservatives in the inner wall are still advocating the lock down of the central district in response to the fall of the Wall Maria. No one except high ranking officials can go in or out with valid verification. I can't even get my spies inside." She regretfully said.
Liette moaned in disappointment, murmuring in a low sad tone, "Irvin is still in the Central District also..."
"Cheer up" Irene subtly said, smiling at Liette. "Try not to dawdle over it."
"Dawdle" Liette sounded in her head. The word was extremely reminiscent of Norma, as, she would always used to say that to Liette. Before she departed from Irene, Liette turned to ask, "How did you meet Norma?"
The enigmatic figurehead smiled before chuckling quietly to herself, "That is a story for another time"
Through previous interaction between Irene and Verdalt a few days before, they arranged that they meet him at his estate. With marveled expressions of awe and wonder, they each were amazed at how luxurious this mans assets were. A large mansion sat in the middle of a sea of green grass and flowers. Gardens were sewn about around with hedges that concealed the wonders of nature behind them.
A servant greeted them at the front of the large polished wooden doors. "Lord Verdalt is awaiting your presence"
Inside was a grand display of glassware and sunlight as a chandelier dangled from the ceiling, reflecting the colors of the sun as if it were diamonds.
The large stairs went up about 10 steps before reaching another platform which split into two slightly spiraling stairways onto another platform above. On that platform was another pair of large polished doors.
Past those doors was a hallway, decorated with exquisite pots and vases with colerful bouquets of flowers. Along the walls were paintings made in fine detail and technique. Full sets of knight like armor were put on display, keeping their "guard" over these luxuries that were so lusted after.
After a while, they reached another split in the hallways with the same styled double doors at the end. The servant knocked, "My liege, the guests are here"
Following after a bit of delay, a voice called from inside, "Ah! Please let them in!"
The mayors office was nothing to scoff at in terms of how gluttonous it appeared. Fine sculptures of human busts made from an extremely rare rock known as marble were placed on stands. About three red linen fabric chairs were planted in front of a large desk with a clear glass window in place of a wall behind it.
Peter, Kristell and Nelson were all quite amazed at the displays, examining them and marveling over them.
Zackley on the other hand was quite interested in what the contents of the library of books were.
Large bookshelves encompassed both sides of the walls to their left and right as they entered, filled with books upon books, most likely unread, which was a complete shame to Zackley.
Sitting in his massive chair, Thames Verdalt was enjoying a very savory meal of seared meat soaked in a brown sauce, potatoes covered with that same sauce and a glass of wine. He smirked at their admiration to his prized collections.
"Ah! So you must be Liette Herrman!" Thames said with his mouth full of food. His voice was pompous and slightly croaky. He was a plump man, round cheeks, a short mustache and receding hairline indicated his aging factor. His round belly gave away his indulging nature and his clothes were of fine taste. "You''re as beautiful as the Paramount says."
Liette frowned a bit, crossing her arms at the ill placed compliment.
"Quite a large group you have here. I'm sure you have been anxious to be in my presence today no?" He asked cockily while gulping his wine. "You can admire all you want, but please refrain from touching anything."
With saying that, Zackley yelped while quickly sliding a book back into it's shelf.
"Yes, quite anxious... "Liette replied, unamused by his attempts at a joke.
He noticed Liette's tension, "Well, I guess without further delay..." He said dropping h is napkin over his empty plate, "In accordance with what was first designated by the Paramount, I, Thames Verdalt, mayor of the Trost District and Second Crime Lord, the Lord of Greed shall bestow upon you my task."
He sat up in his chair, folding his chubby fingers together. "I would like to ask of you to do the following-" He stopped talking at first glance of a small sparkle of light that was flashing from the corner of his eye. It was coming from the girl who was leaning forward to examine one of the sculptures. "Young lady!" Thames called out.
"W-who me?" Kristell asked, pointing to herself.
"Yes you! Come over here please"
With an uneasy feeling growing in her stomach as usual in a situation like this, Kristell obeyed. "Y-yes?"
"That necklace. How much for it? It must have been expensive for you to get it! I'm not sure what a Scouting Legion soldier would be doing with that much money in the first place but never mind! Five.. no... six... no still not enough... seven thousand! I'll give you seven thousand for that necklace!" Thames actually sounded quite desperate for it.
"Th-this?" Kristell asked, pulling the necklace over her head, "Umm..."
"If that isn't enough, how about this, if you sell me the necklace, I will give you the information that you need to move on." The Mayor negotiated.
Kristell nervously look at Liette, and then at Peter, whom bought her the necklace in the first place. Liette nudged her head towards Peter, indicating that she ask him instead of herself.
Peter smiled and nodded his in, recognizing that what they would get in return would be much more worthwhile. "O-Okay. Deal"
"Splendid!" Verdalt cried out, taking the necklace gently in his hands. "This will make the perfect gift for my daughters wedding!"
Rivaille raised an eyebrow, and suspiciously asked, "Hoo...? With your massive wealth, couldn't you have gotten her a gift instead?"
"Oh Lance Corporal my boy, this is an emerald. A rare gemstone indeed. Things like these are at the top of the luxury chain. Haha... I don't think I would have found one, even if I poured in all my assets into finding it!"
"You mean the resources you've been siphoning from circulation from the district?" Rivaille implied an accusation to the Mayor.
"Resources? What do you mean?"
"Cut that crap!" Elsa waved her outward, "We know it was you taking money from the tax revenue towards your own bank!"
"I have done no such thing!" The Mayor replied, "I haven't been in that kind of business for years. All of this wealth was a result of past events. Not recently. Besides, I would have been caught if I were doing that. Those crazy politicians and religious nut jobs are scanning Trost day and night after the fall of the Maria. They want everything devoted to defending against those titans" He shivered at the mere thought of them. "I don't know what made you think it was me taking resources from the district, but I can assure you that I don't need to."
Piping down from his recent accusation, Rivaille swallowed his ego, murmuring, "I see"
"Hahaha! You're the Scouting Legion, leave these trivial matters to the Stationary Guard" Thames said, standing up. "Now, before I forget. Please everyone, leave the room except Liette." This was personal information he was going to talk about, it was Liette's choice to reveal it after to everyone else.
Before everyone left, he told on of his servants to get the money ready for payment. Even though he was a Crime Lord, he was past the times of corrupt gain and tried to keep a low profile or else it would hurt his reputation as mayor more than it was hurt already.
"Have a seat my dear" He said before sitting back down himself. "I assume that the First Lord Irene had gone over with you a prelude to the man named Roger Dalton correct?"
Liette nodded, speaking up, "She left off, saying that he would steal the reigns of humanity"
Thames Verdalt nodded, "Before I begin, do you have a pip shaped smoking instrument?"
Again, she nodded in reply, reaching into her Scouting Legion jacket to take out the pipe Roger gave her.
"Ah yes." He said, taking the instrument in has hands. "A fine pipe indeed. Crafted by masters, crafted for the rich. Only a noble deserves the right to wrap their lips around this." Giving it back to Liette, he continued, "My dear, this item in your hands, is evidence of a great theft, possibly one of the greatest thefts to ever occur in our history behind these walls. A theft done by none other than Roger Dalton, and his accomplice Norma Koch, in a successful attempt to steal the plans for the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear."
I shall start a bit earlier than this, however. Now, Roger was given an opportunity, like said before, to take the reigns of humanity. A task, given by the First Paramount Lord, of the first Court of the Lords of Corruption. Liette, do you know how your three dimensional maneuver gear operates? Of course not. They develop it, improve it, and keep what they know about how it works in secret. Why? Well, it's quite obvious. To keep it away from the hands of people like me, or the Paramount.
These devices are the only means by which humanity can fight against the monstrosity titans. If the corrupt lay their dirty hands on these tools, they have the ability to produce their own. The Military will have no choice but to bend to the will of these forces, because without it, how else would humanity someday find freedom?
Rogers incentive to agreeing to steal the plans was his unquenchable ambition. He wanted to attain more and more power, wealth. He wanted all to speak his name in reverent tones and terrified whispers.
Through extensive surveillance and espionage, they had discovered the potential lab in which they developed the 3DMG. Shortly after accepting this waver at greatness, Roger was introduced to a lofty thief by the name Norma Koch. She was well known in the world of the underground for her great agility and infiltration techniques. She was the perfect candidate for this operation.
The terms of their agreements was that each of the Lords who contributed money, information, spies and the like towards the operation were each given a portion of a contract. Roger and Norma were given bigger portions because they would be the one's doing the main part of it: Getting in and getting out with the plans. If they were successful, and undetected, they would get to production immediately only their own brand of cheap 3DMG's to drive the Military to its knees. Then raise prices to gain much more profit.
As their portion of the contract, each Lord would be given a percentage portion of the profit and a few benefits based on contributions. However, if a Lord dies due to any reason, their portion of the contract will go to the Paramount. Remember that this took place over twenty years ago, so it only applied to those who were crime lords back then. Unfortunately not to me, since I was only recently recognized as one.
As the day approached were they would commence the operation, they succeeded. They succeeded in stealing those invaluable documents, but their theft did not go unnoticed. Mere days after the Military had already begun an investigation led by Dallas Zackly, the current leader of all three Military Branches. As a result, they deduced that their prime evidence of this theft, was a smoking pipe that was missing.
To little to their knowledge of the importance of the pipe, they had already created a chest to keep the the secrets safe, and a key out of the pipe. The lock on the chest was created using a special mechanism in which the key was one of a kind, and impossible to lock pick.
Roger had anticipated that they would not go unnoticed, but he did not anticipate the pipe. Thus, as the prime suspects, he and Norma went on the run, migrating from district to district before they found a suitable place to hide the plans.
Norma suggested that it was not safe to do any sort of production until the Military's investigation ground to a halt, and thus, they hid the plans somewhere. That chest still lies somewhere, still yet to be opened.
"That is all" Thames Verdalt folded his hands once more, leaning back in his chair, the fat on his chin clumping up.
Unlike Irene's story, Liette was actually trembling as she held the pip tightly in her hands. She was holding the keys to humanity. It felt like such a heavy burden to carry, and it felt as if she were going to collapse if she kept thinking about it.
"Wh-why wouldn't the Paramount have just killed me already to get this?" Liette asked, raising her head, staring with bleak and empty eyes.
The Mayor shrugged, "I wouldn't know, maybe it's because he doesn't know the location of the chest? I've never actually met him in person. The information they relayed to me was in the form of these papers." He said sliding them to her, "You can keep them. I have no further use of them."
Liette took the papers with shaky hands as she slid the pipe back into her jacket. "That's right. Roger and Norma died years back. That must have meant that they never revealed the location of the plans to anyone."
Later that night, Liette thought about it a few hours after as she was lying down on her bed. "Wait... but he said it happened before I was born. But I clearly remember that we were still on the move in the circus. The Military should have given up if they couldn't capture Roger and Norma within a year. So why? Why wait so long to dig up the plans? Why wait until you take the secret with you to the grave?" There was something completely amiss. After more pondering, as she went out for a walk, Liette came to a conclusion.
"The contract... those affected will be given a slice of the cake. If they die... then it goes to the Paramount..."
"Could it be possible that the Paramount was waiting to kill off each of the contract holders until he only remained?" She said to herself out loud.
"Yes" A voice said, while the shadow of Irene faded through the dark streets. "That was how my father died."
A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back with another chapter, more focused on Rivaille's past. Since there wasn't much information about him other than living in the slums for part of his life, I made up a little something to add some depth to him. Don't worry, every character will get significant amounts of screen time (Or at least I hope, but it depends on how everything goes) So as to wrap up this chapter, please don't forget to leave a review, they would be greatly appreciated! All in all, I'll see you guys next time and enjoy the chapter!
