La Traviata

Inside a conference room aboard the Mary Cruise Ship, four players sat around a round table, sharing the information they had gathered.

Bei Lang was the first to speak.

"I learned from the staff at the mini-golf course that the organizer named this cruise ship after his deceased lover, Mary."

"This means all the strange rules are related to her."

"Mary is the only ghost in this Instance, and the most powerful one!"

Hearing this, Thorny Show-off frowned and countered.

"But the information I won from the ‘Seven Stars Card Room' says the organizer's name is William, and he's trying to resurrect Mary on this ship. The ritual is held every year, but it has never truly succeeded."

"William should be the ghost controlling everything."

Their information conflicted, but for the time being, no one argued further. The clues they had were all fragmented, not yet enough to piece together the truth of the cruise ship.

At this moment, Fox Loli spoke up calmly.

"I have information as well, from the ‘Sky Light Church'. The priest there told me that every year, some lucky people who board the ship will find an Identity Card in their rooms."

"The guests with these cards can go to specific public areas and enjoy special treatment."

As soon as she finished, everyone's expression turned strange.

According to the Instance's side quest, they, the players, should have been the ones to receive Identity Cards.

But no one had found a thing in their rooms.

The lady in black asked, "How many Identity Cards are there in total?"

Fox Loli shook her head.

"I don't know. The priest didn't say."

The group fell silent. A strange possibility occurred to them.

Could someone have taken the Identity Cards in advance?

They remembered the strange player, Decade. He hadn't had a rule slip in his room and seemed completely clueless about it.

Maybe he really didn't know?

Bei Lang analyzed the situation.

"First, we need to find out what these identities are. Then, we can use the special treatment in specific areas to determine who is who."

In fact, he already had a vague guess about his own identity.

【The Wise One】.

The reason was simple. While he was investigating in the library, a staff member had approached him. The staff member had not only told him the rules but also said something strange.

【As the Wise One, you are meant to lead the Warrior through all difficulties, not walk this path alone. Go, find the Warrior!】

But he couldn't say any of this now.

After all, among the three other people at this table, one of them was the mole.

The lady in black spoke, an elegant smile on her face.

"My turn."

"I heard a sad love story from a guest in the Opera House, someone who has boarded this ship many times. I suspect it's about William and Mary."

Her words immediately captured everyone's attention.

A story about William and Mary? This could be key information.

"He said that a wealthy young heiress who frequented high society once met a young pianist at a ball. The pianist had been specially invited to perform."

"The man's background was ordinary. He only managed to perform that one piece by riding his piano teacher's coattails."

"Although the chasm between their statuses was vast, the heiress, who already detested the deceit of high society, was captivated by the pianist's strong heart and boundless imagination. After a year of exchanging letters, they began a relationship."

"In the time that followed, the heiress used her family's influence to give the young pianist countless opportunities to enter high society, and his fame gradually grew within those circles."

"The young pianist believed he was becoming more worthy of the heiress. He thought all he needed was to become just a little more famous."

The lady in black's expression suddenly turned strange. It was a mixture of regret and helplessness.

After a moment, she continued.

"Unfortunately, at a ball two years later, another woman of even higher status took a liking to the young pianist."

"With a small scheme, she made him believe the heiress was a promiscuous woman with a gambling addiction."

"Then, with the promise of connections that could help him fully enter high society, and with her own charisma, she captured the heart of the grieving pianist."

"At the same time, the heiress's family fortune was in decline."

"Already reeling from her family's downfall, she was then cruelly abandoned by her lover. She fell into despair and ultimately chose to disappear in silence."

"The heiress became a commoner, and the young pianist became a rising star in high society."

A mournful silence fell over the group. This story was not a happy one.

The lady in black's speaking speed quickened. They were reaching the climax. Even she seemed to be getting emotional.

"Another five years passed, and the two met again, once more at a ball. He was a piano master, and she was a waitress."

"This time, the heiress didn't remain silent. She found the pianist when he was alone and confronted him, demanding to know why he had abandoned her for another woman during her darkest hour."

"They argued, each sticking to their own version of the truth, venting all the resentment that had built up in their hearts."

"In the heat of the argument, the young pianist lost control."

"He gave the heiress a push. She stumbled back to the edge of the balcony, lost her balance, and fell from the high building to her death."

"In the two years after her death, the pianist was constantly depressed and his career floundered."

"This made the woman who had been so keen on him lose patience. She retracted all the resources she had invested in him."

"He, too, was abandoned, reverting to the commoner he once was."

The lady in black sized up the other three. They were all listening with rapt attention.

She narrowed her eyes and brought the story to its conclusion.

"But three years later, the pianist, who had lost everything, obtained a huge fortune from an unknown source. He built a massive cruise ship and named it after the heiress."

"From then on, a top-tier ball has been held on this ship every year, with all the invited guests being talented individuals from high society."

"He wants to prove something to everyone."

"He wants to prove that in the face of status and wealth, so-called pure love is fragile and easily broken. He believes he did nothing wrong back then. Neither did the heiress nor the other woman."

"Their only mistake was taking it all too seriously."

"He believes relationships should be like a ball. Once the party is over and everyone disembarks, everything that happened on the ship is nothing more than a fleeting bubble. No one will care, and no one needs to. That is the correct way to live."

With that, the lady in black looked at the others, awaiting their reactions.

The first to respond was Bei Lang. He frowned.

"When you were at the Opera House, which opera was playing? Do you remember what the guest looked like?"

However, the lady in black just shook her head.

"He was an old man with a full head of white hair," she replied in a resigned tone. "He disappeared after he finished the story. By the time I realized it, the person sitting next to me was a Marionette."

"Before he left, he also asked me a question."

"【As a fellow Sinner, who do you think is guilty, the young pianist or the heiress? And what are their crimes?】"

A hidden NPC!

The thought echoed in Bei Lang's mind.

He knew that some Instances had hidden NPCs who would only appear if a player met a special condition. And the man had just mentioned the word 【Sinner】.

Could it be that this NPC could only be encountered by someone with the 【Sinner】 identity?

The lady in black is 【The Sinner】?

Before he could finish sorting out his thoughts, the lady in black spoke again, answering his earlier question.

"The opera being performed at the time was…"

"《La Traviata》!"

Bei Lang lowered his head in thought.

The plot of that opera was quite similar to the story he'd just heard, another tragic love story. Except William and Mary's story seemed even more extreme.

The William of today had most likely become the personification of obsession.

As the analysis clicked into place, his body trembled.

He recalled what Decade had told him that morning after sneaking into his room. He'd been instructed to do something embarrassing at the ball tonight.

【Do whatever it takes to dance with Fox Loli for the entire ball. Don't let any other woman lead you away.】

Now, he understood why.

He had been very lucky last night, dragged along by Fox Loli to dance until the ball ended. If he did the same thing tonight, wouldn't that directly contradict William's entire philosophy?

William believed that status and money changed love, but Mary believed that love should be constant, unchanged by external things.

The act of not changing dance partners…

It would very likely earn him 【Mary's Favor】!

His group had racked their brains just to find a few clues, and they were still stuck guessing.

But Decade! He had known this since last night, all while being isolated and helpless?

And he had even given this opportunity to him!

"Holy shit! He really is an expert!"

"Expert, where the hell are you? Come save this clueless fool!"

"I have a whole werewolf-style deduction problem over here that needs your divine insight! What kind of 【Wise One】 am I!"

"You're the real 【Wise One】, expert!"