Something that looks exactly like the original person, a harbinger of bad
luck. There was a famous rumor that encountering one would bring
misfortune.
"…"
I slowly furrowed my brow.
I might not know about misfortune, but the discomfort was undeniable.
Would I feel this way if I saw my reflection walking around in the real
world? It was strange and unsettling.
But then, I noticed a subtle difference.
'He's slightly different from how I am now.'
The first thing that felt off was the timing.
The fake Jaekiel didn't perfectly match my current appearance. If I were to
be exact, it looked like me from about ten years ago.
The youthful look on his face was unmistakable.
Step. Step.
I observed the movements of the fake Jaekiel as he entered the room. The
similarity in actions and the precision of his movements were as if I were
watching a reflection in a mirror.
'There's a high chance that this person knows me well.'
Meanwhile, the other members began to chatter.
"The leader has arrived. It's time for the real start."
"The antlered one was bound to end up like that eventually. Her arrogance
went too far. This isn't a place for friends to gather, after all."
Among them, there was someone approaching me.
It was a woman with her face covered by an opaque veil, who whispered
softly so only I could hear.
"Hey, how did you do it?"
"What?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?"
The veiled woman glanced around once, then leaned in closer to me and
lowered her voice even further.
"You tampered with this world, or exploited something, right? You used
some kind of foul play, didn't you? I'm very interested in that sort of thing.
Teach me, too. I'll pay you handsomely."
"What are you…?"
I was taken aback. No matter how clean they pretended to be on the outside,
inside they were desperate to walk a dishonest path.
"I'll do things beyond your imagination. So–"
"Live a decent life. Just be decent."
I clicked my tongue in disapproval and dismissed her.
Right at that moment…
"Silence."
Snap!
When the fake Jaekiel snapped his fingers, the door closed, and all areas
except around the round table were plunged into darkness.
"Let's begin the secret gathering."
"There are six of us? That seems about right."
Six people stood at regular intervals.
The fake Jaekiel fixed his gaze on the cat-headed one and gestured toward
me with his chin, seemingly asking about my identity.
"Oh, he's a new member. He had a clash with the antlered one, but won the
duel and drove her out…"
The cat-headed one began explaining in detail, but the fake Jaekiel shook
his head slightly, as if that wasn't what he was asking.
"Did you explain the rules of the gathering?"
"Oh, now that you mention it…! I'll explain them right away!"
As the cat-headed one finished his explanation and hurriedly approached
me, I quietly thought to myself.
'His way of speaking doesn't resemble mine at all.'
It was strange. He perfectly mimicked my appearance and mannerisms, yet
his way of speaking was completely different.
There were two possibilities.
First, he didn't intend to impersonate me completely, so he deliberately
made his speech different.
Second, his way of speaking was so strong and unique that he couldn't
change it even if he wanted to.
"Hey, new member."
The cat-headed one spoke.
"Since it's your first time, you might not know… Each secret gathering has
a theme. No matter how skilled you are, if you don't have information
related to the theme, you can't participate."
He tapped the round table a couple of times.
"Also, no pretending to know anything. Since the virtual world interferes
with all parts of the brain, if you lie, it'll be immediately displayed on the
round table, and you'll be exposed…"
Instead of just blurting out any information you know, you have to gather it
based on the set theme and then share it during the gathering. It was more
serious than I had imagined.
'This is pretty serious.'
Anyway, if that's the case, the most important thing would be the theme.
"What's the theme of this gathering?"
"Well, it's a bit tough…"
The cat-headed one scratched his head.
"The theme this time is, of all things, the princesses of the Empire."
"…The princesses?"
It was a completely unexpected theme.
I thought the information exchanged here would be about magic or the state
of the Demon Realm, considering the connections between the towers. I
never expected the theme to be the princesses.
The cat-headed one nodded, as if understanding my silence as disapproval.
"It's tough, isn't it? It's okay. You can come back next time."
"No. He knows well."
At that moment, someone else cut in and answered.
It was none other than the fake Jaekiel.
Our eyes met boldly in the air. Having a conversation while facing myself
felt so surreal.
"Why do you think I know?"
"Your alias, the Emperor's name."
The fake Jaekiel gestured towards my alias with his chin.
"Impersonating that name is already a great crime. But if you can't live up
to it, it's an even greater crime."
He even shrugged at me, as if to say, "Isn't that right?"
"Isn't that right?"
I shrugged back once as well.
"Well, I guess so. Fortunately, it's a topic I'm very familiar with."
I answered with a bit of bravado, but it wasn't a lie. In the entire Empire,
there was no one who knew the princesses better than I did. Such a person
simply didn't exist.
And so, the gathering began.
"Like last time, I'll go first."
The first to volunteer was a man whose head was replaced with a giant
compass. Since egos in the virtual world could take any form, it wasn't that
surprising.
"The Fourth Princess has been raking in the stakes recently."
The Fourth Princess, Chein.
The continent's greatest capitalist.
The round table glowed with a golden light.
I instinctively understood. This was a device that verified whether the
speaker's words were true.
The members' reactions were, of course, not favorable.
"The Fourth Princess raking in money is nothing new. Even a passing dog
could tell you that."
"This is unbelievable. Is this how we're doing things today?"
"Please, calm down and hear me out."
There was a calm confidence in the compass's voice.
As if he was certain he had brought something truly remarkable.
"Didn't I use the word stakes? The Fourth Princess, who used to earn gold
coins through business, has now started sweeping through gambling
houses."
The members were still just blinking, unresponsive.
I, too, didn't think it was particularly impressive information yet.
"Are you saying we should be careful when visiting gambling houses?"
"I suppose so. I was just thinking about going."
The compass scoffed at the members' reactions.
"Oh dear, oh dear… You all really don't understand anything."
He then raised one finger sharply.
"The important thing isn't how much she's earned, but why she suddenly
started sweeping up the stakes. And I've obtained that very information!"
That was when the fake Jaekiel showed his displeasure.
"We don't have time. Get to the point."
"Ahaha, understood. Someone who was present at the scene overheard the
Fourth Princess say something. It was a single phrase, but more valuable
than anything."
"Quickly."
"Dowry! She said she's aiming to raise a dowry!"
A heavy silence fell.
"…"
It was only after a long pause that the members began to turn their heads.
"Dowry?"
"Dowry? Are you saying the Fourth Princess is preparing for marriage?"
"That doesn't make any sense…"
But those doubts didn't last long.
Shhh!
The round table glowed golden.
"…!"
"Impossible!"
The compass enjoyed their reactions and shrugged.
"She's sweeping up everything, regardless of the gambling house or the
amount. Perhaps she's planning to buy the entire continent as a dowry…"
"…"
Meanwhile, I didn't react at all.
No, to be precise, I couldn't react at all.
The truth revealed by the round table was too shocking.
'The Fourth Princess is preparing a dowry?'
Just who is she preparing to marry?
It wasn't a question that needed deep thought.
The proposal letter I sent reached all five of them. Which means…
'Me.'
No one else but me.
She's preparing for marriage with me.
However, why she's so desperately raking in money is still unclear. With
the wealth she already has, she could easily push through with the marriage.
…It must mean she's not preparing for an ordinary marriage. My head was
already starting to throb.
"The magic towers will need to be on high alert too."
"Of course. Who knows what pretext she'll use to demand gold coins. You
all know the Fourth Princess's personality."
The members' chatter barely registered in my ears.
Then it happened.
"This time, I'll go."
The cat-headed one cleared his throat.
"It's a relief there's no overlap. My information is incredible too."
I started to listen intently with all my might.
'I'm so glad I decided to participate in this secret gathering.'
I repeated that thought over a hundred times in my head.