"What wouldn't I give to go straight to my room..." murmured Kaiser to himself.
He was done with the duchess. She had agreed to support Kaiser; all that remained was to handle the administrative paperwork.
Dinner had already begun. It was supposedly in memory of the deceased. A load of bullshit, nevertheless Kaiser had to participate; at worst, he just had to make an appearance.
Most of the nobles were starting to head toward the grand hall, already prepared to welcome them. On the way, Kaiser continued to receive a few people coming to offer their sympathy.
Always with his well-chosen words and natural charm, he continued to play his role too. With habit, it was becoming easier and easier to manage.
A few well-placed words and the trick was done.
After a few minutes, the hall became lively; the sound of cutlery resonated as the discussions continued. For his part, Kaiser slipped away quickly after spending a few minutes inside. Who could blame him? What interest would he have in staying there?
As he took the main corridor, he suddenly spotted a familiar silhouette, who also seemed to be sneaking away.
"Lady Jessica!" Kaiser called out to her.
Fate must be on his side; he was going to look for her, and here she appeared right in front of him. Jessica Karlton was the daughter of Viscount Karlton. She was an illegitimate daughter, born to a servant; she knew the miserable life that an illegitimate child is entitled to. She was a victim of harassment from her sister, Melissa Karlton.
Having endured all those years of pain, she redirected her hatred toward her father; not only had this bastard, unable to control his urges, gotten his servant pregnant, but he hadn't even bothered to help them.
"Lord Kaiser, I thought you were inside..." she replied, surprised to see him. "... My condolences for your brother."
"How could I stay inside when you're sneaking away?"
Kaiser knew perfectly well why she was fleeing the hall; it wasn't rare for other nobles to belittle her. Unfortunately, she was just a naive girl, too kind for this cruel world. She hated her family but had taken no countermeasures; after all, they were still her family...
"What are you talking about? I... I wouldn't dare," she exclaimed, her cheeks blushing faintly because of Kaiser's remark.
It seemed that this time, things were going to be much easier. Kaiser needed Jessica to obtain a territory belonging to the Karltons: a forest that contained a metal, mithril. A very resistant metal that absorbed mana. It was something he had learned by reading the novel; it was going to be discovered a bit later in the original plot.
He wanted to get his hands on it and make a deal with the dark elves to obtain the elixir of life. But the problem was that he couldn't directly buy the forest; besides, he couldn't even be sure that the viscount would be willing to sell it to him. He could always use his authority to pressure him, but that would attract unwanted attention.
Instead of all that, he decided to go about it differently, much more sneakily. He had planned to use Jessica, or rather her hatred and her naivety, to trap the viscount. And besides, he was going to help this girl get her revenge.
"Why run away, Jessica? You have the right, like any other noble, to stay here with your head held high..."
Kaiser decided to play it straight. It was useless to go about it indirectly with her.
"Pardon?" she replied, confused.
"I've seen it, Jessica; those bastards look down on you because of your origins," Kaiser paused, looking her straight in the eyes. She seemed really embarrassed; she had just been read like an open book. "You didn't ask to be born in those conditions, and what does it matter, tell me?"
Hearing the end of the sentence, she looked at Kaiser for a moment. For the first time, what she saw wasn't contempt; it was something else.
"I... I..." She could barely articulate her words. Was it perhaps joy, or relief that someone had noticed her suffering without belittling her? She could no longer contain her emotions; tears rolled down her cheeks.
Kaiser didn't let the moment pass; he stepped forward and took her directly in his arms.
"Don't worry, you're not alone..." murmured Kaiser. "We're going to make them pay..."
She didn't push him away; on the contrary, she let go, crying as if there were no tomorrow. One could almost say that it was the Karlton family that was in mourning, not the other way around.
After about ten minutes, Jessica finally calmed down, allowing for a real discussion.
"Forgive me, Lord Kaiser," she said weakly, wiping her tears.
"Don't worry; you have the right to feel weak for a moment, but the important thing is to always get back up... you deserve much better than that, Jessica," Kaiser replied, releasing the pressure.
She lowered her eyes, a bit embarrassed. "I don't deserve so much attention, you know."
"And why not?" retorted Kaiser. The situation seemed much more critical; she must be so used to being belittled that her self-esteem was at rock bottom.
Without giving her time to respond, Kaiser continued.
"I think you deserve much more than what you're getting today," he said in a calm voice.
She was really confused. Why so suddenly? Why was Kaiser interested in her?
But the gaze didn't betray anything; at least, that's what she had convinced herself. And the young man's gaze before her reflected sincerity.
What did she have to lose by trusting Kaiser? She was already at her lowest; she was in a family that didn't want her and had no one for whom she mattered. Maybe it could be false, but she wanted to believe it. She finally seemed to matter in someone's eyes, and she wanted to keep that feeling as long as possible.
She looked away. "I've never known what I deserved."
Kaiser looked at her for a moment before sighing.
"You deserve a future where you won't be relegated to a corner anymore. Where no one can treat you like a servant's daughter. Where you will be respected."
She remained silent, but her breathing became shorter.
"You know what, Jessica? I'm going to be honest with you. You're just lacking confidence in yourself, but you're beautiful, intelligent... well, you see where I'm going with this," Kaiser tenderly took her hand. "But there's something I won't accept, neither today nor ever... do you know what it is?"
Jessica looked at him, confused, trying to understand what he meant.
"I don't know, Lord Kaiser." She finally replied.
"Call me just Kaiser. What I hate is when someone takes someone who matters to me from above... I can't accept it," Kaiser replied calmly, his voice becoming much sharper.
"Those people who made you suffer, they have to pay... your father the Viscount Karlton, your sister, and each of those assholes... but I'll need your help to do it."
The silence that followed was heavy; the young girl seemed to think seriously. After a few minutes, she had finally made her decision.
"Lord Kaiser... sorry, Kaiser, what do I have to do?"
A response that Kaiser was waiting for. Finally, now he could move on to the next step.
"We're going to start your revenge with your father. I need you to gather some evidence for me on possible illegal activities he might be involved in... I'll take care of the rest."
Without hesitation, she chose to accept... who could blame her? If he had been a good father, his daughter wouldn't have chosen to betray him.