Rey currently had two theories.
His first one was slowly becoming the more probable one, so by asking this, he wanted to connect the final dots.
Was it really this person that protected his body’s secrets from being discovered?
"Not much. You must have discovered that new mories surfaced when the Family Head used his Soul Art on you. That’s because I set them up that way. Those mories would only surface if they are stimulated by Soul Art, and once you were under his influence, you suddenly rembered things you felt you had no recollection of. You had no choice but to confess the truth and implicate yourself."
’What?!’
Although Rey kept a stoic expression, his thoughts were in disarray at the mont.
"I didn’t do those things..."
"Oh, but you did. I simply suppressed those mories so you had no idea."
"Y-you an—"
"Yes. I controlled you when you were unaware, and made you do certain things you had no recollection of. Why else would that maid have seen you saying those things? I arranged it that way and made sure she saw you behaving in that manner. If I didn’t do it that way, the Family Head would have been able to find inconsistencies. That’s why I couldn’t use False mories but real ones."
The more Rey listened, the more confused he beca.
However... this only lasted a mont.
His eyes flashed with a hidden glimr of recognition as he pieced everything together.
’This person... Is not responsible for my body’s arrangent or the existence of that second soul.’ He smiled softly. ’It is as I suspected. The second soul likely belongs to the forr owner of this body, and my body’s secrets were protected by an effect of my Reincarnation."
So what exactly was this person responsible for? He had already told Rey.
’He did control and made new mories which I was unaware of. But... those didn’t actually affect my main soul. They affected the second Soul.’
That was why the unearthed mories did not co from his main soul, but this new one.
The new soul didn’t co from the culprit.
He simply influenced it.
It was the sa way the Lord Dreyfus also affected it with his Soul Art. It seed neither of them could affect his real Soul.
But why was that the case?
’Because it is a soul from H’Trae and is not registered into the laws of this world, maybe?’
That was his working theory.
But Rey still had a few things he wasn’t sure about. Unable to find the answer himself, he had to ask questions to confirm them.
"You must have waited until I fell asleep or was unconscious before controlling like this." He spoke calmly.
"That’s right. After all, I had to fool you as well until the mont the Family Head stirred up those locked thoughts. I also couldn’t leave behind remnant mories that conflicted with the new mories, else he would have known sothing was amiss. There were tis I had to make you fall unconscious as well, so the takeover would be easier."
"I see..."
Rey understood now.
’This is why I have no mories that conflict with his control over my body. Back when I thought I was unconscious, I was doing those things I saw in the second soul’s mories.’
Rey felt a tinge of embarrassnt.
He actually groped Amara and even kissed her. All of these things had actually happened!
’It didn’t seem like Amara was aware of my actions in those mories, but she doesn’t strike as soone so easily fooled. She must have known what I was doing and allowed them... or at least didn’t speak of them.’ Rey groaned to himself in realization.
No wonder Amara began to get very possessive of him and grew bolder in the display of her intentions.
It was because Rey had also been getting bolder.
The two of them were playing this ga of ignorance, but while Rey was truly innocent and didn’t know what was happening, she knew and kept up the act.
’All of this runs deeper than expected, but I can’t dwell on it any further.’
What had happened had happened.
The only thing that mattered now was what stood in front of him.
An opportunity!
"Since you have co to see , and you’re willingly giving this intel, I assu there’s a way out of my predicant?"
"Yes..." The shadowy figure said. "I can easily prove your innocence and let you off the hook. It’s as simple as framing soone else."
"But my mories are real. I won’t be let off so easily for doing and saying those things."
"Hehe... Don’t worry. Although the Family Head is very protective of his daughter, I already found a workaround. I can easily expose that this scapegoat was manipulating you from the shadows. Since you still have your Curse Imprint, it’s not possible to have hard Amara, right? Therefore once we prove that these mories were due to soone’s manipulation, it’ll beco clear that you are innocent."
"I see..."
"Although I didn’t intend for this particular outco, it appears the Family Head has already found sothing amiss with your mories. We can use that to further prove your innocence."
"Sothing wrong? But you went through that whole process to ensure it would be flawless, right? Looks like you made a mistake." Rey chuckled softly, trying to taunt the culprit to glean more regarding his true nature.
People didn’t like to be mocked.
It made them lose composure, especially in scenarios where they appeared to have control.
If Rey could sohow break into this man’s psyche, he could profile him better, and it would help him understand him more.
Unfortunately for Rey, he didn’t even budge.
"Very funny. Actually, I didn’t make any mistakes. The problem isn’t with the suppressed mories, but it has to do with the fact that you have so missing mories."
’Missing mories, huh? I guess that’s because the second Soul isn’t . It should have a lot of gaps, even.’
"It could be an unknown side effect of my Technique or an incompatibility with your feeble mind, but since there’s no way of telling... we might as well use that to your advantage."
"I see..." Rey smiled, realizing that the man had lashed back at him with his statent.
He had indeed reacted.
This allowed him to gain a better insight into his character. Although the mastermind was unquestionably brilliant, their advantage seed to dwell more in their superior position as well as depth of experience, rather than simply higher cognitive abilities.
In essence, this person was ultimately human.
They were imperfect.
’I am still largely ignorant about this world, not to ntion the fact that I am only a slave. Compared to , this individual surely has higher freedom, authority, and a high degree of knowledge. He is aged and experienced, so it is no surprise that he caught by surprise.’
Once Rey settled on his thoughts, he felt a surge of confidence within him.
Just as he had hoped...
... This wasn’t a hopeless situation, after all!
’He is also unaware of my body’s mysteries, just like everyone else. His advantage isn’t as great as he believes. But... I should let him keep that notion for now.’
"What do you want?" Rey sighed, finally bringing them to the main topic of discussion.
"A Contract. You and . A Slave Contract that overrides your pre-existing one."
"You want to own ?"
"Yes."
"But... why?"
"It is as you would imagine. You have great potential. I can tell you are special. Rather than rot here in the service of the Desgarron Family, your talents will be better used sowhere else."
There was a certain contempt with the way he spoke, disregarding the nobility of the Household he just referenced.
Rey took note of this and many more things.
’A Contract, huh?’
"Won’t my Master or anyone else know of this?"
"You should know what ’stacking’ ans."
Rey nodded.
He recalled his match with Bad Boy several months ago, and how his opponent used this high-level move to hide superior Techniques within an inferior one.
"Well, it follows the sa premise. I’ll hide the Curse Imprint of my Slave Contract within the pre-existing one. I can essentially take over at any ti as long as I destroy the initial Slave Contract."
"I see..."
Rey felt complex feelings within him.
’I am almost free from the previous Curse Art, yet another one will be applied to ? This is annoying...’
But he also recognized that he had little to no choice in the matter.
Refusal ant death.
He didn’t want that—not yet.
’I’ll just add this guy to the list of people I will have my revenge against later.’
"My orders will also always override the command of your current Master, so you can’t even disobey while I am yet to get rid of the old contract."
"I understand."
"You might also be wondering what would happen if the Family Head found the new mories of this conversation, but whether or not you agree with this deal, I plan to erase everything we talk about from your mind. That way, the most he’ll suspect is that it’s a part of your other lost mories. You won’t be able to escape your predicant without my assistance."
"... I understand."
Rey sighed deeply, staring at the shadow.
This person was really shrewd.
They truly coveted all their bases and left almost no room for error.
’Unfortunately for you, you’ve already made too many mistakes without realizing it.’ Rey felt his lips curling upwards, but controlled himself before revealing his satisfaction.
For one—
’I won’t forget anything because it is the other Soul you will affect with your Technique.’
In essence, Rey would be completely aware of this culprit’s existence and would keep all the clues he had managed to gather in his head.
He would not end up being a sleeper agent like this person intended.
As for the second thing...
... It was even more damning!
’Thanks to all the clues you gave , I have finally seen through you and pieced together the final pieces of the puzzle.’ With a hidden smirk, he closed his eyes and nodded gently.
’I now know who you are!’
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