Number 7

Her heart rate was through the roof.

Never before had she been closer to a heart attack - well, aside from a few times in which she had literally died from a heart attack.

She continuously looked behind her, expecting to see the reaper approaching her with the gaze of death, yet no matter how many times she checked, he didn't approach.

'He... isn't going to kill me?'

Death had become so common that Eclaire couldn't possibly comprehend not dying.

It was outside of her expectations.

'Every time he's shown up like that, he's killed me.'

'So why not this time?'

'He knew about the fact that I had poisoned someone in the basement, but for whatever reason he didn't kill me this time.'

'Even if I was telling the truth about not intending to kill Gerard, shouldn't Yakov have been suspicious because of my actions?'

'Was it that he didn't know for sure whether I had betrayed Gerard?'

'Or was it that he knew for certain that I don't have any plan to kill him?'

At that moment, Eclaire came to a grand realization.

Everything up to that point clicked, and as she looked around, Eclaire rushed up the stairs, eventually making it to her room before closing the door.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

[You seem eager. Find something out?]

"It... everything... everything makes sense now. But I need to confirm it."

Glancing at her wrist, the woman felt the desire to save to this point, however she didn't do so.

'If I save here, then I'll really be killing the person that was poisoned. I can't afford to continue with that. If this round doesn't work, I'll continue from the last retry point.'

It all made sense.

She wasn't completely certain, but she just needed to test it to confirm.

'Yakov... information is revealed to him under one specific condition.'

With a grin, the woman headed out, exiting the room with a horrible smile on her face.

'If someone forms a plot against him... then that plot will be revealed. But to someone who has no intention of enacting such a plot... or if no plot has been formed in the first place... then nothing can be revealed.'

It was exactly the fact that she had been so calculating with everything she had done that had led to her repetitive defeat.

'So by planning absolutely nothing... perhaps I can ensure that nothing is revealed to him.'

Thus, the woman made her way forward - continuing with her current plan.

To do absolutely nothing.

'If Yakov doesn't try to kill me... then I'll have my proof. After all, my actions this time around were extremely suspicious - so there's no way a cautious person like that would allow me to stick around, now would he?'

With a nod, the woman approached the office once more.

'Unless he was absolutely certain that I wasn't planning anything, that is.'

----

"Eclaire? You're back already? I thought that you were going to wait an hour-"

"It was poisoned."

When Eclaire entered the office, Gerard had looked to her with surprise at her sudden return, at which Eclaire responded bluntly.

"It really was poisoned?"

As he heard the news, Gerard furrowed his brows in irritation, sitting forward in his seat as he began to think.

"So you're telling me that not only is there someone within this hotel who is trying to kill me... but also that they were able to somehow get into my office and poison my wine?"

"That... would be the only conclusion."

With a timid expression, Eclaire nodded at Gerard's deduction.

By all logical means, he was correct.

"Yakov. Have an investigation performed immediately."

"Understood, Sir. However before that... I already have some information which may or may not be linked to this assassination attempt."

Stepping forward, Yakov took the stage as Gerard followed him with his eyes.

"Oh, is that so? I guess you were already on it. Then, what is this information?"

"Sir, based on the information I've obtained, Isabella has turned traitor. Her subordinates will attack us momentarily."

"HUH!?"

At this information, Gerard sat back in his seat with astonishment.

"What the hell is that about!? I thought her subordinates were dead-"

"Their deaths were faked in order to draw out some of our more useful members. Fortunately, I had the foresight not to send out our executives, so only those former clients were lost."

"So you're telling me that the entire attack on the bloodhounds was just a facade?"

Thinning his eyes in suspicion, the man now spoke with spite in his tone.

"That is correct. It was a ploy they used to weaken our faction. Unfortunately for them, we didn't play into their hands. They will be forced to attack us using more direct means to defeat us. And I am expecting the attack to occur momentarily - which is why I will be taking my leave. There is a particularly troublesome enemy on his way to this room as we speak."

SLAM!

As Yakov made this report, Gerard's fist collided with the table with excessive force, his pent up anger having nowhere to go.

"What the hell!? They're already inside this building!?"

"There was one in particular who was able to slip by our defenses. I will take care of it personally. Please rest assured, Sir. The other executives are currently fighting their members as we speak, and we greatly outnumber them."

As Yakov calmed Gerard, the man nodded in response to his words.

"Don't take too long, Yakov."

"I will not."

And with these words, the older gentleman glanced at Eclaire as he headed off.

"Protect the leader with your life."

These were the words that Eclaire was left with, at which the man exited the room.

Eclaire was once more left alone with Gerard - however she had no intention to kill him at this time.

"Of course - I would die before allowing him to be harmed."

For until that man was dead, Eclaire couldn't make a move.

----

"Ah... now I've got nothing to take my mind off things."

Grumbling to himself, Gerard was clearly not pleased.

He tapped his finger on the desk, a stressful expression painted across his face.

"Can't drink, can't go out, can't do anything but wait. Eclaire, come here for a moment, will you?"

"Of course."

"What is your opinion on all this? The damn traitors invading our home..."

"It's inconceivable. The amount of ingratitude shown by the girl exceeds my imagination. To think that she would bite the hand that fed her... well, it's possible that she killed Sheldon herself. Don't you think so?"

Widening his eyes at Eclaire's words, Gerard nodded.

"That... that does seem likely, given the scenario. My poor nephew..."

"Killed by his own creation... it truly is a story of ingratitude."

"Tch. Well, all there is to do is wait. Come here, Eclaire. I'm getting impatient."

The man held out a hand, at which Eclaire immediately grimaced - or at least, she would have.

'He's going to try and grope me, isn't he?'

"Sir, I don't think we should do such things in this scenario. I need to be able to protect you in case anything happens."

"Tch... you're right, but... ugh."

Wiping his hand down his face, the man grit his teeth in anger.

"Why can't anything go right?"

And the moment he said these words, Eclaire's eyes widened.

She stopped herself from moving forward, using every bit of her willpower to prevent her from shouting.

'Nothing is going right?'

'Everything is going right.'

'For you, it's been going right since the very beginning.'

'How the hell can you say that nothing is going right?'

'If it goes right for me, it has to go wrong for you.'

'And it's been going right for you from the moment I came to this place.'

'So I don't want to hear anything about things going wrong.'

"What's wrong, Eclaire? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Ah, nothing. I was just... concerned."

"Hmm..."

Reaching into his pocket, the man pulled out a cigar.

"At least I can have one of these..."

Taking the lighter, he appeared to be too distracted to even ask Eclaire to light it for him.

----

Minutes passed.

It was not a long period of time, though to Eclaire it felt like an eternity.

"Shit! I'm supposed to be surrounded by women serving me, and here I am waiting around like some holed up rat!"

Slamming his fist on the table once more, Gerard's patience was growing thin.

Yet right as he said this, the door began to open, and a voice resounded throughout the room.

"I don't believe you'll be waiting very long, though I do apologize for keeping you waiting."

However this voice was not the one that was expected - rather, it was another.

"Who are you?"

Standing up immediately, Gerard grabbed a pistol as he aimed the weapon at the door.

Similarly, Eclaire grabbed her own weapon, both aiming at the door which slowly opened to reveal a red haired man.

This was a man that both of them knew - one of the men who was proclaimed as dead, and a subordinate of Isabella Stirling of the third branch - Bradley Vendetta.

"You should already know that, shouldn't you? We met just a few days ago."

"Why are you here!? Where is Yakov!?", Gerard shouted, his hands trembling as he gripped the gun tightly.

"Now, now. Calm down. I know that he's being rude, but we can't just kill him immediately. Be patient. No, I understand. I do, really. But let me talk to him first, alright?"

The strange red haired man started talking to himself, leaving Gerard and Eclaire speechless as they watched the spectacle.

"What... are you talking to me? Or are you talking to someone on a phone? What the hell are you saying?"

"Ah, sorry. The lady doesn't like you, fat man. She wants me to kill you here and now, but I've bought you a few minutes. But more importantly... she doesn't like you."

Pointing to Eclaire, the man's tone lowered as he glared at her with suspicion.

"Who are you?"

"W-wait just a minute! I-"

"Eclaire. Kill this man."

As Eclaire tried to shout out in protest, she found herself interrupted.

"That's an order."

And in that instant, Eclaire lost all control of her body.

Her eyes dulled, and she became nothing more than a shell of a person - a mindless drone following orders as she fired her weapon.

"Hey, hey. Don't do that."

Dodging the bullets by twisting his head back and forth, the red haired man seemed to laugh at the display, however Eclaire continued to fire - eventually reloading her weapon as she ran out.

"I guess there's no reasoning with you."

With a sigh, the man closed his eyes - and this time he didn't dodge.

A bullet went straight through his forehead, blood spraying out from the wound - however even at this, the man did not fall.

Instead, he opened his eyes.

"An indulgent master and his loyal dog... do you wipe his ass too if he orders you to?"

"You... how can you..."

Gerard merely stepped back in horror, tripping over his chair as he watched the scene before him.

For the man did not die.

"How am I still alive, is what you're thinking. That isn't the question you should be concerned with."

Snapping his finger, the man chuckled as a searing pain erupted in the head of Eclaire - for within her own forehead, a wound appeared.

The exact same wound that she had inflicted upon this man.

"The real question is, how are you alive?"

At that moment, Eclaire fell to the ground, and the red haired man merely looked down on her with pity.

"I guess at the end of the day, that man was your only competent subordinate. And now that he's gone... your reign is over."

These were the last words that Eclaire heard before she died.

Again.

----

[Attempt Number 11]

'Why did he live? He was supposed to die, wasn't he?'

As far as Eclaire was concerned, Yakov should have fought Bradley - and the two should have taken each other's lives in the battle that ensued.

It was supposed to result in the deaths of both parties, yet this time it had only resulted in the death of one.

This wasn't the real issue though.

The real issue was Gerard.

'Ah... ah.... I was so close... but I forgot something...'

Indeed, Eclaire had failed to consider a very critical piece of information.

'Gerard is strong on his own.'

The man known as Gerard had an ability which allowed him to order around his subordinates, stripping them of their free will as they followed his commands - and anyone who submitted to him as a subordinate at any point would be subject to this ability.

Eclaire hadn't exactly written Gerard off, but she didn't anticipate the scenario progressing in such a way.

Gerard had killed her once before, but that was in his own madness after witnessing the death of Yakov. Eclaire had thought that if she caught him off guard that such a scenario wouldn't occur twice.

But the appearance of an enemy changed everything.

'So what do I do?'

If she refused to go to Gerard's office, Yakov would search her out and likely deem her to be a traitor.

If she did so, she would be ordered to fight to defend Gerard, even assuming Bradley won and defeated Yakov.

If they both killed one another, there was nothing to say that Gerard wouldn't fall into madness as before.

'So basically... I need to kill Gerard after Yakov has left, and before anyone shows up.'

However, would that actually work?

If Yakov's ability actually worked as she believed it did, such a plan wouldn't work.

Yakov would find out and kill her before she was able to enact it.

'I'll... try.'

However, Eclaire couldn't be so sure.

She had to test this once more, to be absolutely certain.

'I'll... do one more test.'

While she was terrified at the prospect, she resigned herself to this fate, understanding well that it would almost certainly end in her death.

'If I am wrong... then I'll succeed.'

Thus, Eclaire decided.

'And if I'm right... then I'll try again.'

----

After a quick detour, Eclaire made her way directly to Gerard's office.

She had no time to waste.

If she died here, fine.

If she didn't die here, fine.

Her purpose right now wasn't to live, but that would certainly have been a nice bonus.

'I need to just hurry up and get there.'

Making her way to the office, Eclaire immediately opened the door - however this time something was different.

'It worked.'

The room was empty.

Gerard was elsewhere, and Yakov was likely with him. This left the room open for Eclaire to do as she needed.

'It's a simple trick, but I guess it somehow evaded Yakov's radar. Which means one of two things. Either he doesn't know what I'm about to do, or he's able to counter it even if he isn't here right now.'

Picking a bottle of wine, Eclaire uncapped it as she pulled an item out - rat poison.

Pouring a slight bit into the bottle, the girl moved to the next, taking one after the other as she poisoned each of them.

'That's all of them.'

Quickly, she placed all of the bottles back where they came from.

'It was easy enough to bribe a beautiful woman into distracting Gerard... he's a man who has no control over his desires, and when he sees something he likes, he takes it without question. That gives me the time I need to prepare the stage... but the fact of the matter is, Yakov is probably going to kill me before Gerard drinks this.'

As she finished placing the alcohol back on the shelves, the woman stepped away, taking her place by Gerard's desk.

Then she waited.

'I have around an hour until the enemy will show up... will Gerard be back here by then? If he doesn't come back and Yakov arrives instead just to kill me...'

If that were the case, then Eclaire knew her next move - she would have a woman distract Gerard while Yakov was off fighting Bradley.

This way, Gerard wouldn't be able to order Eclaire to protect him when Bradley appeared. Eclaire could negotiate with Bradley if she wasn't under Gerard's control, but if he was present it was a losing scenario.

However...

"Haha... that was fun. I'll keep you in mind for next time. Don't worry, I'll give you a reward. You'll be first in line when we're distributing food next."

From outside the door, Eclaire heard Gerard's voice - likely talking to the woman who she had sent his way.

The door opened, and in walked Gerard and Yakov.

"Eh? Eclaire? What are you doing here?"

"I was told by Yakov to come here, but you two weren't here, so I've been waiting."

"Hmm... is that so? Sorry to keep you. There was a cute one who just couldn't resist my charms, so... well, you know how it is."

Making his way over to his desk with a snarky grin, Gerard sat down with a chuckle.

"Get me a drink, will you?"

"Of course."

Everything was proceeding as expected.

"Is there any particular drink that you'd like?"

"Hmm... do the one on the third shelf, 4th from the left."

"Understood."

'I'll take this bottle... pour it... and hand it over-'

And just as expected, at the very last moment, a hand went through Eclaire's chest.

"Trying to serve poison to the leader? Eclaire... I had expected better of you."

Blood sprayed, and pain erupted within her chest as her heart was crushed.

However even as such horrifying pain overcame her, Eclaire smiled.

She smiled as a wretched grin painted itself across her face, blood dripping from her mouth as she looked up to the man who killed her.

"I've figured you out."

And with these final words, which she whispered to Yakov, Eclaire fell to the ground.

Yakov widened his eyes at this, watching with horror as the woman died with such a smug expression.

'She... figured me out?'

What did she mean by this?

This woman lay dead on the floor.

How could she have been smiling?

Even if she had figured out his ability, her life was extinguished.

She would never be able to use the knowledge she had obtained - even if by some strange measure she had managed to figure out Yakov's ability.

'So why?'

'Why was she so content with dying?'

A chill went down the spine of the man who had yet to experience defeat.

----

'He will always take the most efficient path. He will always wait until the last possible moment to try and stop me, but if that's impossible, he will act before I can guarantee my victory.'

'His timing will always be as late as possible, so long as he is still able to win.'

'If he can kill me right before I kill Gerard, he will do it then.'

'If he can't do that, and he needs to do so beforehand, the information will be revealed just early enough for him to be able to stop me.'

'The information given to him will reveal the best possible set of actions for Yakov to take in order to prevent anything from going wrong on his end - in this case, what he needs to do to prevent Gerard's death.'

'If I have no intention to kill Gerard, no information will be revealed - as there is nothing to reveal.'

'I cannot checkmate him, as he will always be given information just prior to being checkmated.'

'This is my theory... and I've almost confirmed it.'

'But I need to try one more time.'

'If I have no intention to kill Gerard, then Yakov will have no intention to stop me.'

'And if he has no intention to stop me, then he won't.'

'But if someone powerful enough to the point where there is nothing he can do to defeat them appears... he will gain a single goal.'

'To survive.'

'And even if failure is guaranteed - he will still fight to the death.'

'Because that is what will be necessary to save Gerard's life.'

However, there was still one strange unknown.

Why, when Yakov fought Bradley the first time, did he give his life to defeat his opponent - yet the second time he ended up being killed by his opponent?

'It's because the first time, I got Gerard drunk.'

'If Bradley had entered the office when Gerard was drunk, I would have been able to plot with Bradley to kill Gerard at that moment.'

'On the other hand, because Gerard wasn't drunk the second time around, he was able to hold his own - and order me to die in his place.'

'Gerard's death would have been inevitable in the first scenario, and so something was revealed to Yakov.'

'I don't know what... but it was something important.'

And yet - in that second scenario - that crucial piece of information had not been revealed.

For Gerard would not have died, even in the event that Yakov lost.

'Something that allowed him to defeat Bradley - since it was absolutely necessary for him to do so.'

For to Yakov, protecting Gerard was his one and only goal.

Even if it was at the cost of his life.

----