Chapter 97

I walked over to them and stared at the map with chess pieces. It only looked weird to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked confusedly.

"I am checking every place that rats like to hide, my lady." Klaus answered. "Have you ever tried to catch a rat?"

I shook my head at his question, showing him a disgusted look.

"You see, my lady, you would need to set up a trap to be able to catch a rat alive." Sebastiene answered.

"So you are making a trap?" I asked staring at the map again but still not getting it.

"Not yet, my lady." Klaus answered with a smile as he pointed at the pawns he placed all over the city. "I am still trying to locate the areas that are most probably be used by the rat to escape."

I nodded and pointed at the king piece.

"This is where the rat is?" I asked.

"Yes, my lady. As per your informant's report, this is the exact place that the rat stays." He pointed to the pawns again. "These are the places that the rat has access to." He pointed at the bishop, and the queen. "These are the places he frequently visits."

I nodded at his explanation.

"What about these?" I pointed at the knight pieces who were placed far from each other.

"Those are his men, my lady." Klaus answered. "He has two types of fighters, one are the ones he hired or blackmailed to join him, and two, the Black Circle."

I nodded and pointed at the knight piece close to the king. "These are the Black members, they protect him from harm."

Klaus shook his head lightly.

"No, my lady, those are his men." He answered. "He keeps them close unlike the Black Circle which he only summon for important matters."

"He is being hunted by House Castellan, he would have called them all back." I reasoned with a frown.

"As per the report, it doesn't seem to work that way, my lady." Klause smiled and patiently explained to me. "The Black Circle are under his control but the members are mostly blackmailed to be in it. So if he indeed get into a tight spot, do you think they will help him? No. They would most likely be happy to watch him die. Thus, having them protect him is highly unlikely."

"I see." I nodded. "You do have a point."

Klaus continued to place other chess pieces on the map and I returned to my desk to continue reading the reports. Sebastiene stood together with Klaus and they started sharing ideas and information. With Klaus's brilliant mind and Sebastiene's experience in battle, I bet they would come up with an incredible plan.

The next report was about the new hires, or the background or the new hires. In the report, Miss Blooms background was there, as well as the siblings, Elaheh and Aspez. I started reading the reports.

Miss Bloom was actually a daughter of a noble born from a mistress. She and her mother entered the noble's house as a concubine and a bastard. Their life was not filled with hatred from the legal one and were treated fairly. She was even close with her half siblings and was taught by the same tutor as her brother and sister. Her mother, though a concubine or a mistress was still living quite well in the estate and was even welcomed by the main wife. Unfortunately, her mother ran away with another man and left her there. Her father's family accepted her without complaints.

The problem happened when her mother took her back to her side. The man her mother was with tried to rape her and beat her mother regularly. She ran away when she couldn't handle it anymore and that is how she got connected with Karciel who picked her up and showed her love.

As for the siblings, they were orphans who got kidnapped by human traffickers. When Karciel found out that Elaheh was gifted poison maker, he blackmailed her with her brother's life while he used Elaheh's life to control Aspez. Everything the siblings told us were the truth.

I read the other's background but did not find anything wrong with it. I'll just pass the files on to Athy for further check.

I picked up the next file, but glanced at the two men who were speaking in hushed tones while moving the chess pieces around the map.

'Are they playing chess?' I tought to myself but still decided to ignore them.

I read the paper in my hand and my eyes narrowed at the title of the report.

I did not ask for this but I guess Sebastiene thinks that it is important for me to know.

A power darker that the God of Death, Sidapa.