Chapter 676 : Bait

Seated comfortably on her suite’s plush sofa, Dorothy enjoyed the warmth radiating from the blazing fireplace nearby, sipping hot coffee leisurely as she continued to analyze the golden pedestal she’d acquired from Samson—trying to unravel its relationship with the True-Sight Key crystals and the Dark Gold Society.

After her earlier experiments and considering the intelligence from Beverly, Dorothy had roughly pieced together the likely current situation involving the golden pedestal and its connected crystals.

“If my deductions are correct, then after the heist at the Pure Stream Cathedral in Adria, the Dark Gold Society learned of Maria’s Light’s extraordinary nature through documents preserved in the cathedral’s museum and through Azam’s legacy. They then upgraded its security and began their research—this is likely what caused the crystals’ historical logs to become irregular.”

“At first, the Society probably regarded Maria’s Light as a mundane item. So they would have stored it casually—grouped with other valuable but non-mystical artifacts, using minimal extraordinary safeguards.”

“But once they discovered its value, they ramped up security measures, applying more mystical protections and stricter storage protocols.”

“The crystals’ log data is recorded in the Grand Library of the First Dynasty. That Library likely has a means of scanning all True-Sight Keys across the world in real time and storing their data. But when the Society upgraded Maria’s Light’s protections, the new mystical security measures began to interfere with the Library’s scanning. That’s why, starting in April last year, the record of Maria’s Light vanished from the Library.”

Reclining on the soft sofa, Dorothy considered things from the Dark Gold Society’s perspective—what decisions she would’ve made if she were in their position.

“Later, the logs reappeared—probably because they tried to activate the True-Sight Key’s function of revealing the location of the Star Numerology Scriptorium. That meant taking Maria’s Light out for experimentation, which required the crystals to be exposed to normal conditions. High-level security measures, while concealing the crystals, would also obstruct their functioning. If the Key’s activation mechanism relies on sending out spiritual interference to find its target, then overly strict protections could suppress it. So for certain experiments, they’d have had to disable the security, allowing the Grand Library to briefly scan the crystals again.”

“The researchers likely took Maria’s Light in and out of protection repeatedly, trying to activate it. That’s why the logs appear in fragments. Judging by the Library data, the experiments weren’t going well. Frequency dropped over time, possibly meaning they were losing interest due to lack of progress.”

“Eventually, perhaps due to continued failure, they shelved the project. From late last year to now, the record has remained completely dark—Maria’s Light must have been placed into long-term storage again, but this time in a higher-security facility.”

Dorothy speculated silently. Realizing that the crystals were likely now sealed in a high-security vault, her brows furrowed. She slowly stood from the sofa and, still in her slippers, paced across the thick, luxurious carpet, continuing her thoughts.

“The True-Sight Key crystals in the Society’s possession are different from the one Azam held—they’re not standalone items. They’re part of a higher-tier construct: the Guiding Pedestal, which only works when combined with the golden pedestal. So no matter what the Society tried, they couldn’t activate them without the pedestal.”

“Frederico, having once been Falano’s Chancellor, likely knew some of the history behind Maria’s Light. He must have realized that the crystals needed to be recombined with the pedestal to function properly.”

“So, they probably started searching all over Falano for the golden pedestal. But it wasn’t going to be easy to find. Historical and legendary accounts alike make no mention of what happened to it after the crystals were removed for the necklace. During the Cold Moon Revolution, a vast number of Bourbon treasures were either seized by the Dark Gold Society or scattered. Many artifacts vanished amid the chaos—especially those that weren’t publicly displayed or favored by the court.”

“Because the golden pedestal didn’t align with Falano’s popular aesthetics, Charles had it returned to its original location after Maria claimed the crystals. It was never a prized exhibit.”

“If I hadn’t dug up the original archival records from the Charles era within the Falano National Museum’s vast document store, even Samson wouldn’t have known it was still buried in the museum’s lower vaults. It escaped destruction simply by being overlooked—lumped in with other forgotten relics.”

“I imagine the Society must have assumed the pedestal had been lost along with the rest of the Bourbon artifacts. That’s probably why they carried the crystals all over Falano, hoping that through experimentation, the crystals might ‘sense’ and react to the pedestal—but all those efforts failed. That’s what caused the erratic movement in the logs.”

With this reasoning in mind, Dorothy stepped out onto the balcony and looked at the bustling city below. Now that she’d mostly deduced the Society’s line of thought, she was ready to begin verification—and if correct, formulate her next plan accordingly.

But first, she decided to check the state of her current spirituality—to assess how she should proceed from here.

During her stay in Falano, Dorothy had accessed numerous sources of mystical knowledge from various channels, which enriched her spirituality substantially.

The Crimson-tier advancement ritual of the Desire Path provided her with 4 points of Chalice and 2 points of Revelation.

The riddle and truth behind the Temple of the Goddess of Beauty provided 5 points of Chalice and 2 points of Revelation.

Secrets about Charles the Splendor King, learned from Samson, provided 2 points of Chalice and 1 point of Revelation.

Details from the Falano succession war provided 2 points of Chalice and 1 point of Revelation.

An overview of the National Veneration Kingship system provided 3 points of Lantern and 2 points of Revelation.

The story of Robert and Frederico, likely due to its recency, yielded little extractable spirituality.

All in all, her journey through Falano had earned her a total of 13 points of Chalice, 3 points of Lantern, and 7 points of Revelation. It was a solid gain—especially in the widely used Chalice spirituality.

Since Dorothy had scarcely used any Crimson-rank abilities this time around, her spirituality consumption was minimal. Thanks to Spirituality Mastery, her only notable expenditures were:

1 point of Shadow from profiling many mortals in the Temple of the Goddess of Beauty and Fernand.

1 point of Stone for a single lightning strike.

Marionette control consumed negligible amounts.

Summing everything up, her current spirituality was: 31 Chalice, 15 Stone, 24 Shadow, 19 Lantern, 20 Silence, and 46 Revelation.

“Whew… With Spirituality Mastery, the consumption is way lower. I know Gold-rank advancement will require a huge amount of spirituality, but at this rate, I’ll probably hit the threshold soon.”

“With this much spirituality as my reserve, I’m finally in a position to confront the Dark Gold Society head-on. What’s next is verifying my deductions…”

As she finished organizing her thoughts, Dorothy gazed out over the city once more—her mind already shifting toward her next move.

…

Over the course of the following day, Dorothy began verifying her hypotheses. The method was simple: she once again contacted Samson through Adèle and asked for his help in investigating some matters. With the covert assistance of Samson, a high-ranking official in Falano, the information Dorothy sought was quickly retrieved.

According to Dorothy’s earlier deduction, the Dark Gold Society had likely conducted a nationwide investigation and acquisition campaign for Bourbon-era relics last year, in their search for the golden pedestal. Such an effort would inevitably overlap with operations by both the Afterbirth Cult and Falano’s official mystical forces, both of whom had also been collecting Bourbon artifacts. As the head of Falano’s clandestine mystical police, Samson was likely to have some intel.

As expected, Samson delivered. According to the data he provided, there had indeed been several mystical incidents across Falano over the past year involving Stone Beyonders. In two of those cases, these Stone Beyonders clashed directly with Afterbirth cultists—both parties competing over what appeared to be two gold artifacts sourced from the Northern Shore. Upon examining the cities where these Stone Beyonders had appeared, Dorothy found that they coincided with the historical movements of the Maria’s Light crystals.

She also asked Samson’s people to investigate last year’s personnel shifts at the National Museum, and more anomalies came to light: several suspicious individuals had been recruited without proper screening—allegedly after bribing someone in HR. These individuals were assigned to sensitive storerooms and were even reported for accessing exhibits without authorization. But the reports had been buried thanks to more bribes.

Later, when Samson, aiming to improve control over Bourbon relics, ordered the clandestine police to intervene and tighten museum oversight, the compromised employees—having received advance warning—quietly withdrew from their posts.

The timing of these individuals entering the museum aligned with when the crystals were logged as returning to Flottes. Because Flottes was heavily guarded, with an archbishop stationed there and official mystical forces concentrated in the city, the Society had no choice but to work through limited, covert infiltration.

Dorothy concluded that these individuals were operatives sent by the Dark Gold Society to locate the golden pedestal from within the museum. But their numbers were limited, and the storage crates inside the vaults were overwhelming. Without archival references, it would’ve been almost impossible to locate the correct artifact in a short time. And as for combing through the archives—the volume of material was so vast that, without someone like Dorothy and her reading abilities, their search had no chance of success. They’d been forced out by Samson’s policies before they could find what they were after.

With this series of confirmations from Samson, Dorothy felt confident in her previous guess: the Dark Gold Society had indeed been searching for the golden pedestal and had been conducting trials throughout Falano. Though they had probed the National Museum, they hadn’t committed to a serious infiltration—because they were never able to confirm the pedestal’s presence there. Once their attempt was thwarted, they quickly withdrew to minimize their losses.

“Now then… I’ve more or less confirmed the Dark Gold Society’s objective. So the question is—what should I do next?”

It was midday in a park somewhere in Flottes. Dorothy sat on a bench, casually feeding a flock of pigeons that had gathered around her. As she scattered the last of the birdseed, she wrapped her short coat tighter around her and began thinking seriously.

“If the Dark Gold Society is looking for the golden pedestal, then all I need to do is circulate news about its existence. That should draw them out—it’s the perfect bait. Right now, it’s the best strategy I’ve got to trace their movements.”

“But the key issue is: how should this information be released in a way that doesn’t arouse suspicion? Judging from how they pulled out of the museum, they’re extremely cautious. If I want to lure them out without tipping them off, I’ll need finesse.”

Staring at the birds scrambling over the crumbs in front of her, Dorothy let her mind wander.

“The simplest method is to host an exhibition, splash it across the newspapers, and list the golden pedestal as one of the featured items. But that would make the bait too obvious. To the general public, the golden pedestal isn’t some prized relic. Most Falano citizens dislike its design. It was so overlooked that even during the chaos of the Cold Moon Revolution, it escaped notice. Suddenly announcing an exhibition centered around such an artifact would scream ‘trap’ to the Society. High-profile exhibits usually feature iconic, glamorous relics—no one outside a niche circle would see the pedestal as valuable. If the Society sees this obscure item suddenly making headlines, they won’t be excited—they’ll be suspicious.”

“I could solve that by keeping the exhibition small—but then the publicity would be limited. It might never reach the Society’s ears.”

“Even if I used some alternative method to promote the pedestal, I’d run into the same problem. At the core of the issue is this: the golden pedestal’s value isn’t recognized by ordinary people—or even most Beyonders. That makes it incompatible with large-scale publicity. And if the Society sees that kind of promotion, they won’t trust it easily.”

Furrowing her brow, Dorothy tapped her fingers against her knees. She knew her enemy was looking for her bait. But the problem was crafting the kind of bait that would fool a Crimson-rank opponent—one who was extremely cautious.

“Huff… So is there a way to publicly spread the word and still avoid triggering their suspicion?”

She let out a slow breath. Sitting on the bench, deep in thought, a sudden flash of inspiration struck her.

Immediately, she reached into her bag, pulled out the Literary Sea Logbook, and opened it across her lap. Flipping to the communication page for Nephthys, she thought for a moment, then raised her pen and began to write.

“Hey? Senior Neph, enjoying your winter break? Speaking of which, you’ve still got time off left, right? Any interest in coming to Falano for a trip? My treat, of course~”