### Chapter 36: Trust
Ever since the attack on the Hughes estate and the mysterious d*ath of the War Merit Noble Andrew in his own home, the noble circles were abuzz with chatter.
In various tea parties and social gatherings, many young nobles were discussing these events.
As the victim, Hughes pointed the finger at War Merit Noble Andrew for leading the attack.
But since the suspect was already dead and couldn’t defend himself, it was no use.
However, his d*ath also proved one thing: he had issues.
As to why Andrew would target Hughes, many guessed it was out of revenge.
After all, at the last gathering, War Merit Noble Andrew had provoked Hughes, resulting in a bit of a scuffle where Andrew had even ended up face-down right there.
Many nobles, who had been fighters before turning noble, were generally considered more brutish.
So, charging impulsively to raid Hughes’ mansion wasn’t entirely unforeseen or weird.
No one found it odd.
But things weren’t as simple as they seemed; only a moron would think it ended there.
This ruckus calmed down somewhat under the shadow of Andrew’s mysterious d*ath.
At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.
—
Over in another part of the story, Night Star was getting ready to embark on another mission with Ulysses. This time, they planned to continue fooling some smart aristocrat.
They were heading back to the old War Merit Noble from before. The first time around, he had tried to make a move on Ulysses, but Night Star had stepped in and sanctioned him.
Since his status with the War Merit Nobles was important, Ulysses didn’t want to let go of the power at his disposal just yet.
Upon reaching their destination, though, they realized the noble was out of town, likely for several days.
With this news, Hughes could only shift targets and find other noblemen to con.
Night Star was a little bummed about it.
She actually had some inquiries for the old noble. Such as, the whole assault on Hughes.
When she mentioned killing him earlier and Night Star got spooked, little did she know he was out.
Now she might have to wait until next time.
It’s possible he’s hiding in shame somewhere, not daring to show his face.
How annoying.
—
Before long, twilight crept in.
Night Star, yawning from boredom, returned to their place with Yuri.
“Gwaah… What a snooze today…”
To Night Star, watching Yuri scam everyone felt quite dull.
Sure, his methods were impressive, but she had zero interest in learning such tricks.
It doesn’t really matter if she’s pulling off cons.
If it works, great. If not, oh well.
Probably best to roll with it.
Speaking of which, it’s nearly a month now…
One month being her stint in this timeline.
From the theater’s perspective, it’s like things are about to hit big with the grand performance.
Yet after so long, Night Star still hadn’t seen Yuri’s true face—always wearing that mask.
She felt slightly dejected.
It meant Yuri didn’t fully trust her.
Was she that untrustworthy?
Aren’t I supposed to be the best lil’ loli sidekick?
Yuri is so clueless!
Compared to Hughes, he falls way short!
I’m fuming!
Yep, I need to get mad right now!
Just as Night Star puffed up her cheeks, ready to confront Yuri, she saw him turn his back, put his hands on his face, and appear to take something off and put it on the table.
She squinted at it and realized it’s Yuri’s usual mask.
She even suspected he slept with it on!
But now, he took it off!
Bam, blew her mind for the year 2023!
“Yuri, you, you, you…”
“What?”
Yuri faced away from Night Star, not even turning around.
“The Bison said he’d never take off his mask!” Night Star blurted out instinctively.
Yuri looked confused.
“Who’s the Bison? Whether he takes off the mask or not has nothing to do with me. And I never said anything like that.”
“Oh… Guess not,” she murmured.
“He always said no way before, so why now?”
“It was because I didn’t trust you back then.”
Night Star eyes lit up.
“So you trust me completely now!?”
That would be a major win.
Yuri shook his head.
“Not completely yet… It’s only a small step toward trust,” he admitted.
“Ouch… Such a suspicious guy…”
Even a cute, obedient loli like her couldn’t be fully trusted.
Who else could gain Ulysses’s trust, anyway?
Guy might d*e alone.
Wait, no—by the canon, he won’t live that long…
Anyway, it’s fine.
Ignoring Night Star’s grumblings, Yuri turned serious and said, “Well, since we’re clear, allow me to introduce myself properly. Call me Ulysses; much obliged.”
Night Star’s eyes widened.
“Waaah! So Yuri wasn’t his real name? Hey, you weren’t lying this time, right?”
“No need to, Ulysses is my full name.”
“I can’t believe you kept your real name hidden for so long!”
“Who told you to act suspicious?”
Ulysses slowly turned to face Night Star, staring her dead in the eye.
“Thanks for everything so far.”
“Mmm…”
Night Star’s gaze lingered on Ulysses’ handsome face. Not a surprise at all.
She had figured he’d be a cutie when they met the fraudster initially.
Turns out, she was right.
Both had their unique charm.
Hughes was a warm, gentle kind of hunk.
While Ulysses was seductive and suave.
Exactly what she speculated, huh.
“Mmmhmm, satisfying,” Night Star mused.
Her curiosity was satiated, and she felt accomplished.
“Mwah… Ulysses, now that you revealed your real identity, we’re true partners, right?”
Ulysses put his mask back on and replied, “I suppose.”
“So how far has your plan come along?”
“Really close,”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Ulysses nodded, explaining further, “I visited most of the nearby nobles and successfully conned them. Everything is set according to the original plan. We’ll go for War Merit Noble as an extra precaution.”
“Congrats!”
Night Star clapped happily, before continuing.
“When do you plan on starting?”
“As soon as we can. What do you think?” Ulysses waited for her answer.
“Since all the preparation is done, let’s start as soon as possible, huh? I bet you’re eager to see that revenge play out!”
“True. Let’s prep tomorrow then.”
“Keep it up!” Night Star pumped her fist.
“After this point, I won’t need your help any more. Just sit back and enjoy the show—the grandest fraud opera ever!”
