Avril seated herself and focused on the chessboard. In the meantime, the pleasant conversation between Wallace and Kathy continued.

“If the face of that infamous villainess were to be revealed, there’ll be a major uproar.”

“No way. I mean, what if she’s ugly? So far, we’ve only seen her mask and hair.”

Feeling their gazes on her, Avril twitched.

Corinna, just what on earth did you do while using my name as your alias…!?

Avril simply couldn’t imagine it. Again, towards those gazes, she could only smile. Meanwhile, the crowd only grew larger.

“Is the face of that villainess going to be revealed?”

“Wow, I heard about her. Apparently, it only takes a single night of dalliance with her for you to surrender your wealth. In fact, there’s this terrible story from long ago. An acquaintance of mine gave her an heirloom jewel. Well, he snapped out of it, but it was too late…”

“…So, he gave her an heirloom only for it to be sold right away? That’s something.”

“No, I wasn’t referring to the jewel, but my acquaintance. No one has heard from him since.”

“What? Seriously? What kind of woman is she?”

R-really…?

Also, please don’t look at me.

Avril nonchalantly and slowly turned her back to the crowd. Perhaps terrified by Corinna’s extreme deeds, they fearfully stared at her.

This is my first time hearing specifically about Corinna’s reputation. I see, no wonder she’s disdained everywhere…

Kathy, who seemed to be misinterpreting Avril’s awkward blinking as nervousness, drew her flaming red lips closer.

“I pity you. It’d be unfortunate for reveal your face in a place like this, so I’ll give you larger handicap than planned. Here, I’ll remove some pieces for you.”

! Oh, thank God! I was planning on accepting their offer to avoid causing any trouble, after all. I have to make sure I win and not expose my face!

Remembering the situation she was in, Avril made an offer.

“Thank you very much… Then, would it be fine if you let me choose those pieces?”

“Eh? Okay, then.”

When Avril smiled at her, Kathy tilted her head, genuinely curious.

　◇

Meanwhile, Dylan was approaching the key person in another room. Alone, he listened to the conversations around him. With a poker face, he brought the glass to his lips.

“It seems there’ll be a bidding for infrastructure development in the Pecchia territory soon.”

“Oh, how about adding 50% to the market price?”

“…50% huh?”

“Of course, that’s not all. There’s another catch, as well. Isn’t that just great?”

There was a dubious conversation of sorts going on behind the scenes, but Dylan stayed unfazed.

…I’m glad I found this room. Now I can gather information without talking to anyone.

Dylan attended the masquerade ball because he received a request from Lawrence to investigate the illegal bids allegedly being arranged by the Ashfield family.

Originally, he intended to gather information with Avril, but the appearance of Corinna’s former lover made that impossible.

Fortunately, he came across such a conversation in another room.

The two men continued their shady conversation as they left. Dylan didn’t even look at them, only catching a glimpse of their features.

The man with the mustache should be the head of the Ashfield family—the host of the party. But who’s the other man donning the black mask and keeping his reddish blond hair tied up? The Childe family? The Edgar? …Even if I managed to catch a glimpse of him, there are too many houses that match the description, so I can’t decide…

When he searched his memory, he felt like he recognized the man from somewhere. Dylan downed his drink. Without that mask, he’d have been able to pinpoint his identity.

I’m able to roam freely because I’m wearing a mask. Well, I obtained the crucial information, so that’s all for my report to Lawrence.

However, he had to admit that he was more distracted than usual because he wanted to return to Avril’s side as soon as possible. But when he was about to leave the room and make his way back to the hall, he noticed a commotion was unfolding.

What is happening?

A crowd had gathered at a certain room at the end of the corridor, the second room from the back to be precise. Although he was worried about Avril, making sure that nothing serious was unfolding was also part of his duties.

Thus, Dylan stepped into the room.

---

***T/N: It has become a 4d chess tournament

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