Chapter 393: Matthew Pierre [1]

"Inviting the academy to their forge... Damian really knows the art of damage control."

Matthew chuckled as he read the reports presented before him.

The authorities under his lead had now shifted a considerable amount of attention to investigate the Levaith duchy, which was under the suspicion of being either involved or related to the cults in some way or the other.

The one under the most suspicion was none other than the duke’s younger brother... Arnold Levaith.

Leaving aside whether he was related to the cults or not... the very fact that a direct descendant of the Levaiths had let the cults carry out their attack while turning a blind eye to the suffering of the innocents in the territory of his own house was a crime that wouldn’t go unpunished.

Even if Arnold was found innocent in the recent attacks against Syma... Matthew was going to ensure that people like him would pay for their sins.

Remembering the face of the girl who had taken it upon herself to come forward and tell what she had witnessed at the scene of the attack was something that Matthew wouldn’t let go to waste, no matter how far he had to go in order to achieve the desired justice for the girl and many others like her... who had no choice but to be silent due to the tyranny of their rulers.

"Sasha... was it?"

Uttering the name of the brave girl that he had the chance to meet, Matthew couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

Even if she was a vampire... Matthew Pierre wasn’t one to discriminate on the basis of such petty things.

He would make sure that the girl received the justice that she deserved.

Getting up from his chair, Matthew placed the document in his hand on the table, before moving towards his private kitchen to brew some coffee for himself.

The windows across his room were all wide open, and a rush of cold wind blew from them before hitting Matthew’s face.

The night-time was one of his favourites as that was when his brain worked at its best capacity.

The world... it was currently caught in a turmoil, and the situation was becoming dire with every passing day.

The cults who had revealed themselves as the instigators of the attack were still roaming free, and that only went on to amplify the anger and distrust amongst the public.

Matthew, being one of the leading figures in the investigation, was more informed than the rest, and so he knew that the situation was far more serious than what appeared on the surface.

After the recent attacks, it might have appeared like some resemblance of order had been established in the world once again, but... the people in power knew better.

It was a sort of calm before the storm.

The mastermind... whoever they were, had been able to convince the forces on the level of the cults to act as their meat shield.

That in itself had rung alarming bells in the minds of everyone who was currently working on the investigations.

And... it was as clear as the day that the mastermind... the real forces behind the destabilization of the peace in the world, were already playing out their cards in the shadows.

Matthew wasn’t worried about the muscle power that could have been available at the disposal of the mastermind—

No.

Although, it was something to be taken note of as there was no way the real perpetrators would be some weaklings, but more than that... Matthew was worried about the conspiracies that were being brewed in the territories of all the major powers across the world.

Most of the crime syndicates that had been rampant before had gone surprisingly quiet in the recent years.

It wasn’t like the crimes had disappeared... on the contrary, the level of crimes had increased, but it was just that... the criminals had become sort of organized in their operations.

The attention that these syndicates used to receive from the authorities had decreased as... the proof of a crime being committed had meticulously been erased from existence.

With no proof... there was no way the authorities would be able to gather enough manpower to tackle some invisible crime network.

But the most interesting thing was something else.

Matthew, despite all his intelligence, would have failed to notice the change in the trends of the crimes across the world and in the Veltran Empire itself had it not been for the warning of a certain someone.

Thinking about Remzi, Matthew’s expression dropped a little, though he was quick enough to shift his train of thoughts.

It wasn’t like he hated Remzi, but more like... he didn’t like the way in which the crazy bastard operated.

Remzi’s words were always a carefully managed opera of deceit... something that Matthew detested.

People wore masks to hide their real selves, and to some extent, it was a normal thing in the world, but Remzi, on the other hand... was someone who was made by a bundle of never-ending masks.

Behind each mask of his, there was a new one, and beyond that, another mask lay waiting to trap his victim in its fold.

Still, it was the words of that very guy that had made Matthew pay attention to the crimes across the world and compare their records to the ones in the past.

The difference was clearly visible, yet it was subtly hidden by an intricate system... which ensured that the authorities wouldn’t find the decrease in the crime rate as an unusual thing.

The entire thing was presented as the most natural turn of events, but when one looked and inspected all the details on a deeper scale... the real threat was unveiled in the most horrifying way.

Someone had carefully planned and mapped out everything, and now... the board was being played according to a predetermined script that Matthew and people like him had just come to notice.

The realization wasn’t the best one out there, and the more Matthew thought about the possible solutions to solve their current and future predicaments, the more he lost himself in the scale of everything happening in the world at the moment.

"Bitter."

His thoughts were interrupted by the first sip of the coffee, which... was not up to his standards but—

Gulp.

Matthew gulped it in a single motion.

After all, to keep his mind at its best state... this was his daily routine, even if it bordered on being a weird one.

Looking past his window and staring into the dark sky... for some reason Matthew felt the night far quieter than its usual self.

’Strange.’