Chapter 61: The Distraction

His tentacles increased their pace, moving in synchronized patterns that hit every pressure point at once. Elena’s protests dissolved into wordless sounds, her body trembling so hard that the bed frame creaked beneath her.

"Elena. Focus. What people does Daven answer to?"

"The Consortium." The word came out in a rush, like something she’d been holding back for years finally breaking free. "They call themselves the Merchant’s Consortium, but they’re not merchants. They’re... gods, they’re everywhere. Every major operation in this city, every smuggling ring, every protection racket. It all flows up to them."

[Target’s receptivity: 85%.]

"Names. Give me names."

"I only know one. The one Daven reports to directly." She was sobbing now, pleasure and terror warring for control of her expression. "Lady Vex. The High Chancellor. She’s the one who controls everything."

Nacho went very still.

Lady Vex. One of the three people who actually ran the Tuscanny Empire. The woman in charge of the treasury, responsible for every coin that moved through Imperial coffers.

If Elena was telling the truth, then Vance’s investigation wasn’t just about bringing down a corrupt noble. It was about exposing rot at the very heart of the Imperial government.

[Target’s receptivity: 93%.]

"When does Daven meet with her next?"

"Tomorrow night. A warehouse in the dock district, the one with the blue door. He’s delivering tribute, his share of the month’s profits. Lady Vex comes in person to collect because she doesn’t trust anyone else to handle that much money."

[Target’s receptivity: 100%.]

[Charm saturation complete.]

Elena’s back arched one final time as the climax hit her, a soundless scream tearing from her throat as her body convulsed against the silk sheets. Nacho let the sensation ride out, his tentacles maintaining their rhythm until she collapsed into boneless relaxation.

[Lewd Act Performed: Sovereign’s Touch]

[Talent Extraction initiating...]

[Talent Stolen from Elena: Deceptive Presence (Rare)]

[Talent Stolen from Elena: Information Retention (Uncommon)]

[Talent Stolen from Elena: Social Navigation (Uncommon)]

[Talent Stolen from Elena: Danger Assessment (Uncommon)]

[Talent Stolen from Elena: Emotional Detachment (Rare)]

[All Talents successfully absorbed.]

Five more Talents flooded into his consciousness, each one slotting into place like pieces of a puzzle he hadn’t known he was solving. Deceptive Presence would make it easier to maintain his disguises. Information Retention stacked with his enhanced Memory Palace. Social Navigation and Danger Assessment were practically made for someone in his position.

And Emotional Detachment... that one felt strange. Like a weight he hadn’t known he was carrying had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders.

He withdrew his tentacles and stood, looking down at Elena’s unconscious form. She’d sleep for hours, just like Rosalind. When she woke, she’d remember a pleasant encounter with a generous client and nothing more.

The information she’d given him, though. That changed everything.

Lady Vex. The High Chancellor. One of the three most powerful people in the Empire, and apparently the secret head of a criminal consortium that controlled half the illegal trade in Valdris.

Vance was going to lose her mind when she heard about this.

Nacho left the Gilded Lily through a side entrance and made his way across the city toward the meeting point he’d arranged with the Inquisitor. His tentacles coiled invisibly around him, satisfied and warm, already hungry for the next opportunity to feed.

Tomorrow night. A warehouse with a blue door. Lord Daven and the High Chancellor in the same place at the same time.

If he played this right, he could bring down the entire Consortium in a single stroke.

And if he played it wrong, he’d probably end up dead or worse.

Either way, it was going to be interesting.

Vance was waiting for him on the roof of an abandoned warehouse near the docks, her dark hair streaming in the night wind like a banner. She turned when she heard him approach, her hawk eyes catching the moonlight in a way that made them gleam.

"You found something."

It wasn’t a question. Whatever Talent she used to track power signatures must have picked up the change in him, the new strength humming through his evolved form.

"Lady Vex." He watched her face as he said the name, looking for any sign that she already knew. There was none. Just confusion, rapidly transforming into disbelief.

"The High Chancellor? That’s impossible. She’s one of the Emperor’s most trusted advisors. She practically runs the Treasury."

"Which makes her the perfect person to run a criminal empire on the side." Nacho pulled the relevant pages from his inventory and handed them over. "Daven doesn’t operate alone. He answers to something called the Merchant’s Consortium, and Vex is the one holding his leash."

Vance scanned the documents, her expression growing darker with each line she read. "How did you get this?"

"Does it matter?"

"It matters if I’m going to use it as evidence."

"Then let’s say I have a very persuasive way of extracting information from unwilling sources." He shrugged. "The details would only give you nightmares."

She stared at him for a long moment, clearly weighing whether to press the issue. In the end, practicality won out.

"Tomorrow night. Daven meets with Vex at a warehouse in the dock district. If we can catch them together, with whatever tribute he’s delivering, that’s enough to build a case even the Emperor couldn’t ignore."

"And if the Emperor’s in on it too?"

The question made her flinch. She hadn’t considered that possibility, or maybe she had and was hoping it wasn’t true.

"Then we’re all dead anyway. Might as well go down fighting."

Nacho nodded. That was the answer he’d been expecting from her.

"I’ll be at the warehouse tomorrow. You bring whatever backup you trust, and I mean actually trust, not the kind who might sell you out the moment things get complicated."

"I have three people. Four, counting myself."

"Four’s not much."

"Four is all I need if they’re the right four." She folded the documents and tucked them into her coat. "What about you? What’s your role in this?"

Nacho smiled. It wasn’t a friendly expression.

"I’m the distraction."