"It seems everyone's been having a little trouble lately. I'm sure you're all quite distressed."
"But worry no more, because I'm here now! I love nothing more than helping people overcome their problems."
"I believe you've already recognized me. That's right, I'm the one who orchestrated the serial suicide case."
"What?!"
The moment the young man finished speaking, a collective gasp of astonishment erupted from the crowd. They quickly clamped their hands over their mouths, staring nervously at the pitch-black object at his feet. The waves of energy emanating from it filled them with primal dread.
Though Marquis Relf had long suspected this, hearing the young man confess to his identity in person forced him to acknowledge he had underestimated his opponent's capabilities.
The aura of madness surrounding the young man certainly fit the profile of the perpetrator, but blindly believing everything someone said wasn't the mark of a prudent man.
After carefully choosing his words, Marquis Relf slowly spoke.
"You claim to be the mastermind behind the serial suicide case. Shouldn't you provide some evidence to support your assertion?"
"Oh, so you don't believe me?"
Hearing the young man's tone sharpen with a hint of menace, Marquis Relf felt a surge of panic. After all, who wouldn't be terrified of a madman who dared to place a bomb at their feet?
Yet, determined to achieve his goal, Marquis Relf forced himself to maintain a calm facade, continuing to speak under the horrified gazes of the other nobles.
"Didn't you say you wanted to discuss a partnership? Trust is paramount in any collaboration. If I can't verify your identity, how can we possibly move forward?"
The young man seemed to ponder this. Seeing that he hadn't immediately flown into a rage, many nobles secretly breathed sighs of relief, wiping sweat from their foreheads.
Unbeknownst to them, a fine layer of perspiration had also formed on Marquis Relf's brow, but he dared not lift a hand to wipe it away. He needed to monitor the young man's every move; the device concealed beneath his robes might be his only lifeline if the situation escalated.
Fortunately, though the young man was clearly unhinged, he seemed capable of reason.
"Alright," the young man said, "you make a valid point."
After a moment, the young man seemed to have finally understood and nodded.
"I suppose I should prove my identity."
Hearing this, Marquis Relf breathed a small sigh of relief, eagerly anticipating the useful information the young man might reveal.
His greatest fear was that the perpetrator of the serial suicide case possessed some means of controlling people's actions. This was why he was willing to risk everything to pry information from the young man.
But the next instant, the young man's words froze the marquis's expression.
"Alright, give me your address. I'll send someone over to take a dive from your roof."
"!!!"
Marquis Relf felt his scalp crawl with horror and stammered frantically, "N-no, that won't be necessary!"
The young man gave him a puzzled look. "Hmm? Didn't you say that trust is the most important thing in a partnership? You don't believe my identity, but this is how I prove I'm absolutely trustworthy!"
As the young man's voice grew louder, his eyes burning with unmistakable madness, the crowd panicked and scrambled for cover behind anything that might offer minimal protection from an impending explosion.
"Get out of here! I found this place first!"
"Hand over the cabinet! I'm a Count!"
"Why doesn't this damn hotel have a secret passage?!"
The scene descended into chaos, yet everyone instinctively lowered their voices. After all, even if they were doomed, they didn't want to be blown to smithereens right then and there simply for losing control of their volume.
"What I mean is, I completely believe your identity now! We can skip the formalities and get straight to discussing our collaboration without wasting any more time on verifications!" Marquis Relf interjected hastily, trying to calm the young man down.
"Is that so?" The young man's mood seemed to soften slightly at these words.
As his voice subsided, the oppressive aura emanating from the device at his feet gradually dissipated, bringing a wave of relief to the group.
The young man then turned his gaze to the others. "And what about you? Do you also believe my identity?"
"If not, feel free to give me your home addresses."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely prove who I am!"
The young man's words sent a chill down everyone's spines, and they hurriedly spoke up.
"No, no need! We completely trust you, Monsieur!"
Who would dare disbelieve someone who could make them jump off a building just because they felt like it?
"It seems we've already established a considerable amount of trust," the young man said, nodding in satisfaction at their reactions. He then turned back to Marquis Relf. "Now, shall we discuss our collaboration?"
"We're curious to know what kind of collaboration you have in mind, Monsieur," Marquis Relf said cautiously.
"Hahaha! Why, the very thing you're currently working on, of course!" The young man burst into laughter, and the energy fluctuations around his feet intensified dramatically. The nobles scrambled back to their prearranged hiding spots in terror.
Marquis Relf inwardly cursed them all to death. He desperately wanted to find cover himself, but he forced himself to maintain a composed demeanor while dealing with this madman.
"Purging Fleuve Cendre—I quite like that," the young man continued. "But it's not enough. Not nearly enough. We should completely cleanse the entire area."
"Those vermin in Fleuve Cendre have no right to exist in this world!"
"It's a pity my previous actions were too subtle for these vermin," Marquis Relf remarked. "They still haven't grasped that death is their true destiny."
"It seems they need a little... assistance to understand this fundamental truth," the young man replied.
"It appears our interests align, Monsieur."
Hearing his suspicions confirmed, Marquis Relf felt a flicker of relief.
"In truth, the pretense of 'purging Fleuve Cendre' is merely a way to lull those wretches into complacency. Our true aim is their complete eradication."
Marquis Relf revealed his true intentions, prompting the young man to burst into laughter.
"Excellent! Your ruthlessness earns my approval!"
Marquis Relf forced a strained smile and nodded.
Though the young man's words were peculiar, Relf dismissed them as the ramblings of a madman.
Unbeknownst to Relf, a cold, sinister smile lurked beneath the youth's clown mask.
"Then, about our collaboration..."
"Not so fast," the youth interrupted. "There seems to be one crucial detail we haven't addressed yet."
A sudden unease washed over Marquis Relf, filling him with a premonition of disaster.
"It seems you haven't yet proven to me that you trust each other enough for this collaboration!"