Path of the Demonic Villain

The Spectacles of Truth could reveal hidden magical illusions, or ’disguised identities’ when peered through. And so, the moment Dante had set his eyes on Julian, he could see a Spider on Julian’s forehead, which meant that parasite was inside the man’s head and was controlling him.

’I was wondering why Annabella would take interest in a case regarding a follower of Marion. Turns out, one of her loved ones is a Puppet of an Apostle of Puppets. Heh. I think I have figured out why she hides the fact that she is an Apostle of the God of Dreams and the Astral Plane. Some of the Apostles of this God, especially the Silent Dreamers, can see the astral body of a person. She is not hiding this fact from us, she is probably hiding it from her family, so that the puppeteer would not figure out that she already knows that her brother is gone.’

Dante tossed the cigarette into a nearby brass spittoon. Then he took off the spectacles and put them into his pocket.

As he continued making his way to where his family’s carriage was waiting for him, he continued to piece things together in his head.

’Could this be why Julian tries to kill her? Maybe the puppeteer later finds out that all this while, she already knows about them and so they try to assassinate her. Annabella, on the other hand, is able to kill her brother in good conscience because she knows her brother is already dead.

’Hm. If I look at it this way, that seems to be the case. As for who is manipulating her, I don’t think it’s the puppet Julian. Since Annabella knows her real brother is dead, she wouldn’t trust anything coming from him. I don’t also think it’s any of her other immediate family members. After she kills Dante, that sequence of events causes the Fioravantis to wipe out the Bellinis. Now that I think of it, it’s strange. How did the Fioravantis find out in the first place that it was a Bellini that killed their son when she did it without any witnesses. Hm... I think someone manipulated her into killing Dante, then leaked this to the Fioravantis to have them wipe out the Bellinis. Heh. I might have been right. We really are caught in a crossfire.’

While still in thought, Dante reached where the Fioravanti carriage was parked. The driver opened the door for him with a polite bow, but just before he stepped inside, he halted and arched a brow.

"Oh?"

His sister, Caterina, was already sitting inside, looking utterly exhausted.

Dante climbed inside, and as he settled into the padded velvet seat beside her, he asked, "What are you doing here so early?"

Caterina offered a faint smile and leaned her head back against the cushion. "I’ve got horrible cramps, so I decided to head home early today." She paused for a second and looked at him. "How was your day, by the way?"

Dante ignored her question entirely, leaning over to rest his head on her lap. "Don’t talk to me, I’m tired."

Caterina chuckled softly, then began to stroke his hair, which caused him to close his eyes and relax.

As the carriage began to move, the steady clatter of hooves echoing against the cobblestones, Dante sank deeper into thought. ’There’s something else that bothers me though. If Annabella already knows about her brother, why hasn’t she done anything all this while, like reporting him to their church? Why wait until the Puppeteer eventually finds out and tries to kill her?’

***

Upper District.

Fioravanti townhouse in the Grand Quarter.

——

Some time later, after the siblings had returned to their townhouse, a knock echoed twice on Caterina’s door. After a long moment, she opened it to see Elio standing outside her bedroom.

He held a silver tray carrying a box of dark chocolate truffles and a steaming pot of warm chamomile tea.

Upon seeing him, Caterina arched a brow, but he quickly offered a respectful bow and spoke before she could ask. "These are from Signor Dante. He mentioned you were not feeling well and asked me to bring them to you. He said the chocolates would lift your spirits, and the tea should help ease the cramps."

Caterina’s lips parted slightly in surprise, and then a warm smile slowly spread across her face.

’Goddess. He’s so sweet! How can anyone not love him!’ She thought, her chest swelling with affection as she reached out to take the tray from Elio.

"Give him my thanks," she said in a soft tone as she stepped back into her room.

"Of course, Signorina."

Caterina walked over to her side table and set the tray down, then she picked up a piece of dark chocolate truffle and took a rich bite.

A smile lingered on her face as she felt better already.

***

Elsewhere...

Bellini townhouse in the Grand Quarter.

——

As a noble house belonging to a viscount, the Bellinis maintained a townhouse in the Grand Quarter.

After returning to this townhouse from the academy, Annabella Bellini spent most of her time indoors alone, as she did every day.

It was not that her family was absent, no. In fact, her father, mother, and brother spent most of their time here in the capital rather than their villa in the Municipal District of Cosaria.

Yet, even with them residing under the same roof, it had been a long time since she felt any warmth in this house.

These days, Annabella felt terribly lonely.

Even in a house surrounded by her own family and a staff of servants, she felt alone.

However, truth be told, if it was just the loneliness, it would have been easier to endure. But then, it got to a point where her family had changed, so much so that she could no longer recognize them.

Her father, for instance, would fly into rages for things not within her control.

He would hit her because she was blind.

He would hit her because she stumbled and knocked something over.

Or, he would strike her simply because he had a bad day and needed someone to vent his frustration on.

During times like this, Annabella would come to her big brother, who would shield her from their father’s anger and comfort her until the tears stopped. But as time went by, even he grew distant and cold, looking at her as if she were nothing more than a burden.

Now, with no one to turn to, she would go to her room, sit on the cold floor, and hug her knees to her chest.

This was the reason she began sleeping most of the time.

She slept when it was too quiet. She slept when it was lonely. She slept when her body throbbed with pain after she had just been beaten.

Somehow, that let her escape from the harsh reality of her life.

That was also why her favorite time of the day was night.

At the moment, the pale moon up above cast its soft glow through the arched glass windows of her chamber. Though the light was tinged somewhat green because of the green mist that had slowly begun to drift into the city streets below.

Under this eerie glow, Annabella sat by her grand piano in silence. She still had her blindfold on and couldn’t see a thing, though because she already knew every note and key by heart, she was playing effortlessly.

When she finally stopped, she sighed somberly and raised her head toward the moon. For the next couple of minutes, she just sat there, lost in her own quiet world.

She couldn’t wait to be done with dinner so that she could go to sleep and have a beautiful dream.

While she was still lost in thought, a maid with streaked black and gray hair knocked on the door twice before opening it and walking in.

Stopping a few meters from her, the middle-aged woman bowed her head slightly. "It’s time for dinner, Signorina Annabella. Your parents and brother are already waiting downstairs."

As she spoke, Annabella slowly turned her head toward the sound of her voice. Then, she murmured softly, "Okay."

Slowly, she stood up and picked her cane off the side of the seat, then she began making her way to the adjacent dressing room.

"I’ll just quickly freshen up."

She went inside, and after adjusting her clothes, she came out and locked the door behind her. Then, standing in front of the maid, she took off her blindfold, touched her closed eyelids, and muttered, "I can see."

Before now, Annabella had learned that Apostles of Domains with the Divine Skill: [False Witness] could tell a lie about their condition, making it reality. So she mimicked what one would say, after which she opened her eyes to reveal her clear blue eyes.

Without wasting any time, she then began heading for the dining room downstairs. Even before she stepped into the hall, she could see her father, mother, and brother already seated at the long table.

While her father was a middle-aged man with dark blue hair, sharp blue eyes, and a stern expression, her mother was a pale, quiet woman with ash blonde hair and blue eyes that stared blankly at her plate.

Annabella began to scratch her forearm. It was an involuntary nervous response anytime she came in front of her family. She did not know when that habit had started, but she did it every time now in front of them.

When she got to them, she offered a polite bow and murmured, "Good evening, Father. Good evening, Mother."

However, none of them gave her a response. The only one who acknowledged her was her brother, who nodded gently at her without a word.

Annabella sat down on her seat and began serving herself food.

For a few seconds, the sound of silver cutlery scraping against porcelain was the only noise filling the room.

Then, she lifted her gaze and swept it across her mother. She could see her mother’s astral body shrouding the physical frame like a dim, overlapping ghost. It looked gray and frayed, like it was trapped in a lucid nightmare.

The same was the case for her father, which meant both of them were already long gone.

The only person who was slightly different was her brother.

She could see his astral body desperately calling for help, trying to speak to her as if trapped in immense pain.

He was afraid.

...Afraid of losing himself completely to the power taking over him.

Pretending not to see anything, Annabella lowered her head and continued eating with a quiet sigh and a somber expression.

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