After the two brothers safely completed their mission, the older one, Vico, left the capital to carry out his next assignment.
A short time later.
“There is good news, Sien.”
Laila Nightwalker, who remained in the capital, summoned Sien to her office.
“The Gold Rock Mine you acquired recorded an unprecedented boom in gold production this year.”
It was the continent’s largest gold mine, which Sien had acquired through negotiations with the highest-ranking vampire, Julio Cesare, who once plotted to kill her with poisoned tea.
“And just a moment ago, the dividends corresponding to the thirty percent share transferred to you were converted into gold coins and deposited in the national bank of the Republic of Veneto.”
“Talk about perfect timing.”
“It’s a considerable sum you’ve managed to secure this time. Don’t hesitate to use it as you wish.”
The Nightwalker Family was the richest family on the continent. But just because the family was wealthy didn’t mean one could spend money as freely as water. The family’s wealth belonged to the family, not to the individual.
However, the money that Sien now possessed was by no means the property of the family.
“Whether you spend that money foolishly or wisely, or simply keep it, the choice is entirely yours.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mother.”
Sien quietly bowed his head and paid his respects.
***
When Sien stopped by the national bank and checked the account under his name, he was so shocked he could barely catch his breath.
The Gold Rock Mine’s output this year was an unprecedented five hundred kilograms of gold, and Sien’s thirty percent share, after taxes and various expenses, amounted to nearly one hundred kilograms of gold.
Converted to Republic gold coins, it was a staggering sum of thirty thousand nim.
Considering that it cost barely twenty gold coins to live lavishly for a year in the continent’s wealthiest and most luxurious city, it was, quite literally, an astronomical fortune.
What’s more, this money was not even part of the family’s assets. As Laila Nightwalker had said, it was entirely Sien’s to spend as he pleased.
And this was only the income for a single year. According to Sien’s memory, the gold vein at Gold Rock Mine still had many years left before it would dry up.
“I really struck it big this time.”
Even Sien had not expected to receive such a vast sum. With this endless stream of gold pouring in, there was no reason to hold back.
“…Maybe I should splurge a little for once.”
After all, there are times when one ought to spend.
Especially for someone like Sien, who understood the value of the future better than anyone.
***
In this city—the heart of the Republic of Veneto, famed for its wealth—there was no end to the places one could spend money.
One could lose their fortune in a single morning with a massive wager, or purchase jaw-dropping jewels and luxury items. Or, wisely, invest in large-scale trade or financial businesses run by the state.
But Sien’s destination was not any of these obvious places.
Taking a small boat upstream along the Grand Canal, Sien arrived at the residential district of Uptown and stepped ashore.
This area, commonly inhabited by the upper class or nobility, was a wealthy district far removed from the clamor of the lower city, Downtown. At first glance, it didn’t seem the sort of place to spend money.
Yet Sien, wearing a pure white Larva mask—a symbol of oblivion—simply wandered the streets without any particular destination.
“Spare a coin, please.”
He’d been walking for a while when suddenly, a voice called out from behind.
“Spare a coin, milord.”
A filthy beggar was begging for money from Sien. The moment he saw the beggar, Sien pulled something from his robe without hesitation.
A gold coin.
“It’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.”
“And the poor already live in hell.”
Sien recited as he handed over the coin, and the beggar grinned slyly.
“Follow me, milord.”
Of course, this man was no ordinary beggar. In this city, beggars were not treated kindly enough to wander around asking for money with impunity.
The place the beggar led Sien to was a grand mansion. The aura of the guards at the entrance was unmistakable, even if they were not simply protecting a noble’s residence.
“Please, enter.”
The guards opened the way for Sien and the beggar as soon as they saw them together.
It wasn’t because they recognized the ‘Star and Dagger Crest’ under Sien’s robe. Nor could they possibly recognize Sien’s face behind the white Larva mask.
This was simply that kind of place.
As if a masquerade ball were being held, everyone here, like Sien, wore their own masks and enjoyed social gatherings.
This was the black market, where the most secretive and clandestine transactions took place in the wealthiest city on the continent.
It was known as the “Auction of the Faceless.”
Sien, too, mingled among them without revealing his identity.
“Oh my, a young gentleman has come.”
Someone in a mask approached Sien and spoke. They concealed their own identity while slyly probing for Sien’s.
“There aren’t so many young men who can make it here.”
Sien did not reply. There was no problem with revealing his identity or responding to their questions, but he simply remained silent out of concern for their safety.
No matter how cunning and sly the people here might be, before the name of the Nightwalker Family, they were nothing.
“My, you are quite the silent one.”
“Sometimes, silence says more than words, young and charming gentleman.”
Perhaps interpreting Sien’s silence as a sign of weakness, a masked pair of nobleman and noblewoman laughed slyly.
“Thank you for the advice, Lord Marco. And you as well, Lady Isabella.”
“……!”
“In most cases, silence is preferable to many words.”
The moment their names were revealed—those whose ornate attire resembled peacocks—an air of embarrassment settled in the room. No matter how they tried to hide, it was impossible to escape the eyes of Sien and the Nightwalker Family.
“This is why I find these gatherings tiresome.”
Of course, revealing one’s identity here was not a death sentence. The ‘Auction of the Faceless’ was nothing more than an old, ceremonial tradition—an idle amusement. Yet nobles clung to such useless formalities as if their lives depended on them.
The two nobles, flustered, quickly left, and no one else dared to openly bother Sien.
Instead, Sien could feel their attention focused on him more intently than before.
“Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut.”
No doubt, some would try to deduce Sien’s identity from his distinct gaze. As the two fleeing nobles had said, there weren’t that many young gentlemen who could attend such gatherings, and even fewer with eyes as keen as Sien’s.
“Oh, whatever.”
Sien shrugged to himself, realizing it wouldn’t change anything.
After a while, as the bell announced midnight, a voice rang out.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.”
A man in a formal suit, wearing a jester mask, appeared on stage.
He was the host of the auction.
“Thank you for making the difficult journey here tonight. Blah blah blah… Well, enough with the useless pleasantries. For those who come every night, hearing the same words isn’t any fun. I suppose there aren’t any first-timers here, are there?”
He burst out laughing at his own joke, then continued speaking.
“Well, then, feel free to explore every corner of the mansion at your leisure.”
Thus, the Auction of the Faceless began.
There was no gathering of people to display goods onstage, no shouting of bids in competition.
Instead, people began wandering through the mansion, sprawling and luxurious as it was.
Sien did the same.
In each of the countless rooms, servants dressed in formal attire and masks waited in silence.
At the center of each room, glass cases sparkled with crystal light, displaying the items for sale.
Quite a few guests gathered in groups, admiring the items as if at a social event.
“A Potion of Rejuvenation.”
The items nobles would naturally be interested in were mostly things like these.
“A dragon’s heart, elixirs, century-old ginseng, even fairy fruit.”
Strange elixirs that promised youth, beauty, or inexhaustible energy. Potions that let one struggle, even a little, against the fate of birth, sickness, and death.
These items were so expensive that even nobles could barely afford them, and even those present had to accept a heavy price. But they were always ready to bleed as much as needed to slow the cycle of life and death.
Of course, such things meant nothing to Sien.
As Sien crossed the corridor and climbed the spiral staircase to the second floor, the atmosphere grew starkly more severe.
This was the floor for enchanted weapons, armor, and artifacts.
A few nobles with the air of knights or magicians browsed the rooms, but their number was much smaller than the first floor.
And Sien did not stop there.
He went straight up the spiral stairs to the third floor, where, at last, a shadow blocked his way. Not servants in ridiculous masks, but guards clad in full armor and armed with swords.
“Beyond here is not for auction items.”
“I know.”
Sien replied in a cold voice.
“Tell them the master of the Star and Dagger Crest from the Faceless has arrived.”
“…Please, forgive our rudeness.”
The guards, realizing the significance of his words, hurriedly stepped aside and made way.
Following the path they cleared, Sien found a room waiting for him.
“Welcome, esteemed Walker of the Night.”
As if expecting him, the door opened and a voice greeted him.
Unlike the exaggerated speech from earlier, this was an extremely respectful tone as the host of the auction, ‘the Faceless One,’ greeted Sien.
His face still hidden behind the grotesque jester mask.
“Perhaps the items displayed in the mansion did not suit your taste?”
“I’m looking for something specific.”
“Though I may be nothing but a fence, you know, there’s nothing I can’t sell here except for what I don’t have. Please, tell me.”
“Could you sell me swordsmanship?”
“But of course. As I said, we sell everything except what we don’t have.”
The Faceless One laughed as he spoke. Though Sien couldn’t see his real face behind the mask.
“The ‘Faceless Stance.’”
Sien said. Instantly, the smile vanished from the man’s expression.
“I am searching for a sword manual or instruction in the ‘Faceless Stance.’”
“Regrettably, that is not something we sell.”
“Didn’t you just say you sell everything except what you don’t have? Did I ask for something you don’t have?”
“Hah, now this is awkward…”
The man gave a troubled, bitter smile.
“I am, after all, nothing more than a fence.”
As if to say, in front of the continent’s greatest assassin clan, such a thing would be unthinkable.
“In the eyes of those who Walk the Night, our so-called ‘Faceless Stance’ is nothing more than a petty trick, unworthy of being called swordsmanship. Just as my name implies.”
“The ‘Thief Master’ sure is humble.”
Sien smiled at the man’s words.
“Since when could the Master of the Veneto Thieves’ Guild rise to such a position with nothing more than a petty trick unworthy of being called swordsmanship?”
A fence, a thief, the master of the thieves’ guild that operated in the most luxurious city in the world—that was the true identity of the person before Sien.
It was a fact that was not surprising to either of them.
“—That’s only from the perspective of the Star and Dagger Crest’s masters.”
“I did not come to you today as a member of the Nightwalker Family.”
“Hah, but I could have sworn I just heard the ‘master of the Star and Dagger Crest’ was seeking me out. Did I mishear?”
“I had to use that name, or else I’d have had no way to request an audience with the Master of the Veneto Thieves’ Guild.”
Sien answered, unfazed by the Faceless One’s irony.
“And, well, it’s odd to say this in front of the Thieves’ Guild Master, but I’m not here to steal anything or swindle you.”
“It’s odd for the Thieves’ Guild Master to say this, too, but I’d say the taxes and fees you’ve been taking are quite thievish as it is.”
“Strictly speaking, that’s not me but your guild leader who’s collecting those.”
With a sigh, the Thief Master shook her head and removed the jester mask.
Then, an astonishing thing happened.
The voice that had sounded male from behind the mask was a lie; beneath it was the face of a woman, cold and full of dignity.
“The 13th Thief Master of the Veneto Thieves’ Guild, Monica XIII.”
With long, dark blue hair flowing to her waist, and a voice that resonated with authority.
“I greet the esteemed master of the Star and Dagger Crest, Walker of the Night.”