Westminster Bank

"But then, when I saw you at the bar," she added, "I knew you couldn’t be the killer, Mr. Constantine... No murderer would return to the scene of their crime, and you really did seem to be just investigating the case."

’No, no, no, miss. Now even I’m starting to wonder if I’m the killer...’ Baron wiped a coffee spill from the edge of the table. Though his face remained impassive, a storm was raging in his heart.

After everything he had been through, Baron had a profound understanding of "Destiny." He knew that when it came to him, there was no such thing as coincidence.

If his original self’s appearance in London with the Canaan Tree Staff wasn’t orchestrated by the Dragon Eater Association, there were only two other possibilities:

One: his original self had wanted to go to London on his own.

Two: some other person or organization had arranged for him to go to London.

As for his original self’s motivations, Baron had read the diary. It said he was going to find a family to collect on an insurance policy. The documents were all there in the diary; he just had to check the dates.

But as for another person or organization arranging the trip to London... if it wasn’t the Dragon Eater Association, then who could it have been?

Of course, there was another possibility: Fula was lying. But Baron felt that at this point, there was no real need for her to lie.

For some reason, Baron’s thoughts drifted to the person he encountered trying to assassinate Freya when he’d snuck into Buckingham Palace. After that incident, the same group had tried to kill Freya again, once at the bar and once more not long ago.

Baron was certain the group that tried to kill Fula in the Griffin Carriage was the same one that had gone after Freya before. After a brief inquiry, he’d learned from Jack that the assassin, while hiding in the carriage, had muttered things like "Number 3" and "Number 4"—code for contacting someone.

He wanted to question why Jack had hidden in the carriage *before* the assassin, watched him mutter to himself, waited for Fula to board, and only revealed himself when the assassin was about to strike.

But based on those words, it wasn’t hard for Baron—who had briefly joined this organization and participated in their little "Guess My Number" game—to deduce they were all part of the same crew.

Moreover, the stone that the latest assassin’s corpse turned into was identical to the tablet fragments he’d acquired during the surprise Demon attack on the Magic Train, suggesting they were all connected.

Then he thought of the mysterious person who had placed him in Isabella’s bed. And the playing card he had "coincidentally" found, the one containing the Dream Master’s remains. And the mysterious person who had led him to Lady Eleanor’s villa to complete the contract with the Dragon Witch... Oh, and the flower girl, Julis, who had vanished without a trace.

’Is there some connection between all of them? Or is it really just a series of simple coincidences? Am I just so unlucky that I happen to stumble into these things every single time?’

If he grouped them by the nature of the event, the assassins would be in one category. The ones who arranged the contract, gave him the Prole playing card that led to the dream, and put him in Isabella’s bed might be another... Their existence always seemed to have a strange "propulsive" effect on him.

Whether it was the Dragon Knight Contract with the Dragon Witch, or the playing card with the Dream Master’s remains that he just happened to find on the road... even back then, Baron had started to wonder why *he* was the one to find that specific card. To some extent, he even owed his Blood Demon Hunter powers to it.

Then there was waking up in Isabella’s bed. Baron guessed that might have been the work of someone’s twisted sense of humor, but the real purpose seemed to be getting him to participate in the Beowulf Family’s so-called Dragon Hunting Ceremony. The goal, unsurprisingly, was for him to collect the Dragon Spear.

Through their machinations, they must have already known Baron had a contract with a Red Dragon—a Pure-blood Ancient Dragon capable of contending with the Three Great Dragon Kings. That was probably the very reason they wanted him to participate in the Dragon Hunting Ceremony.

Following this line of reasoning, Baron felt he was starting to grasp the bigger picture. But what was their motive for doing all this? This path seemed inextricably linked to him "getting stronger." Could his increasing power somehow benefit the people hiding in the shadows?

Perhaps he was overthinking it. He just felt this group of mysterious individuals was far more enigmatic and cunning than the assassins. They were like a pair of invisible hands, moving the pieces on a chessboard at will, their ultimate goal impossible to discern.

He shook his head, burying these thoughts deep down. He could worry about all that after he’d dealt with the current mess he was in.

His thoughts returned to Anthony’s death. ’If Fula’s only role was to dispose of Anthony’s body,’ Baron thought, ’then someone else must have been the one to kill him with the Canaan Tree Staff.’

’It definitely wasn’t my original self. I fell into a mental trap, subconsciously ignoring the context of the Inner Side and Anthony’s identity as a Silver Knight. A Silver Knight’s reflexes are on a completely different level from someone who just wrote in his diary about wanting a raise every day. It would have been impossible unless Anthony *wanted* to die.’

’But considering Anthony was willing to abandon his own sister for love, if he had really met my original self, that love-obsessed psycho probably wouldn’t have even given him a chance to explain. He would have sent him to meet God in a single move... It’s a shame surveillance isn’t widespread in 1987. Otherwise, I could just check the footage.’

’But this trip wasn’t a total loss. I still haven’t found Anthony’s killer, but I’ve found the person and organization that framed me. Now, all I have to do is shake off the blame and pin it back on them.’

"So, Mr. Constantine, I am willing to atone for everything I’ve done... You are truly innocent... You never should have been dragged into matters that have nothing to do with you."

Fula said suddenly, "I understand that a simple apology is not nearly enough to make up for all the disasters that Freya, Anthony, and I have brought upon you..."

She took a card from her pocket. "This is an account I opened at Westminster Bank. It holds two hundred thousand pounds worth of Gold. I am willing to give it all to you, unconditionally."

"I am also willing to tell you all my secrets and grant you the power of life and death over me..."

Fula said with a pained expression, "But Miss Freya... she truly is innocent. She’s not a bad girl at heart, just spoiled and a little arrogant... I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her impertinence, Mr. Constantine..."

"And who, then, will forgive *my* innocence?" Baron sneered. "Do you really think a so-called apology and two hundred thousand pounds worth of Gold can erase everything I’ve been through because of you?"

Baron said softly, his voice low and dangerous, "You sorely underestimate a person’s determination for revenge, Miss Fula."

Though Fula described it as a series of convenient coincidences, in Baron’s eyes, he had experienced a bona fide fantasy adventure—one that could be split into a trilogy and make a killing at the box office.

Fula was taken aback. "Y-yes... an apology like that does seem rather cheap, doesn’t it."

She bit her lip, her expression conflicted. Or rather, it looked less like conflict and more like she was steeling herself to make a decision.

"Mr. Constantine..." she said, "I know it’s foolish to beg for your forgiveness over and over... but... I can swear on the [Traitor] that Freya knew nothing about the Dragon Eater Association... Also, if it’s possible..."

She cautiously raised a single finger, a blush creeping onto her beautiful cheeks. "I can grant you any one request."

She paused. "As long as it’s a request that doesn’t endanger anyone’s life, I will accept it... Consider it my penance for breaking your engagement when I was inhabiting Freya’s body."

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