The Reincarnated Villainous Young Master's Guide to Happiness

Chapter 47: Benedick's Pilgrimage

This chapter is brought to you by Mahogany by asease. 

Edited by: bafflinghaze

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The criminal underworld was lit abuzz after the news of the Odum Family taking a step back from the annual social season was announced by the Office of the Imperial Faction.

Tybalt kept his eyes and ears open during this time.

With Royce and Finny gone, he was playing defense at the Capitol.

Putting a plug to some of the rumors proved more difficult than he expected.

In Noble Society, there were whispers of Naza attempting to kill the Duke.

The commoners theorized the Duchess and Lady Guinivere had rebelled against the family and were keeping Aurelion hostage.

As for the slums and the Red Light District, they believed Naza and Aurelion fought until they were both grievously injured and close to succumbing to their wounds.

All these rumors were running rampant, and alas, he needed to compromise. As long as none were close to the truth, he would allow them to spread, adding a few of his own into the mix to cause confusion.

The Odum Ducal was a symbol of order and balance. For something to tip the balance was inconceivable. No one could know what really happened.

Honestly, this was not how he wanted to spend his summer vacation...

The Capitol was in an uproar, and Tybalt had a migraine trying to keep things together.

Hence, he was here, sitting in a room within the Lotus Garden.

The brothel was packed with visitors on this particular night. The time slot he reserved was with his Aunt Ophelia, who vacated the room with a kiss on Tybalt's cheek once he was seated and settled with food and drink.

Tybalt was waiting. There was someone he contacted to meet him here, and with the way things were going currently, it was best they met at the Lotus Garden rather than anywhere else.

He poured himself a cup of tea as he read the report he received from his network.

There were summary reports on a few cases of poisonings that matched Naza's, but they were sporadic and difficult to determine as many of the victims were lower-level criminals.

Tybalt wasn't sure what to do with the information at first, unable to pinpoint any correlations. What was the leading cause of these incidents?

There was a keyword in Tybalt's mind as he read the reports.

Flower.

The word gave Tybalt pause as he noticed an interesting detail in the identity analysis of some of the victims.

Not many people realize how much of the underworld belonged to The Syndicate. The criminal organization had been around for almost as long as the Empire's existence so most criminal cases and deaths were usually connected back to them.

But why would they try to target Nazareth?

... The Iron Lotus, a sub-organization severed from—

Tybalt paused.

What did he remember of the Iron Lotus?

Tybalt knew Naza worked with the organization before. He took commissions from them to fund his earlier projects, and in return, they allowed him to send members after Aurelion.

He didn't know how Naza had come into contact with them, but he'd seen some of the things Naza created for them.

The Slave Emblem, for instance, was about to hit the black market soon. Sightings of Naza's creation were strictly within one circle of the underground ruled solely by the Iron Lotus, but it seemed the leaders of the organization were now actively seeking profit.