"In other words, your idea is to convince cadets from the LHU to join our side, for the proper compensation?" Christiane fixed her glasses back on her nose, leaning on the back of one of the the cushioned chairs she set the underbasement.

That's a fine piece of work, was Lawrence first thought as he came down to check Christiane's work. To be honest, he hadn't expected much. A little dusting around the corners, getting rid of the cobwebs here and there. Maybe mopping the floor and cleaning the furniture a bit. He never expected her to turn his small sanctuary into an appropriate conference room.

Firstly, she had painted the walls. From their previous dark dull gray tonality, they had gone through an incredible reformation, now painted in a lustrous sober light gray that gave off the 'casual but serious' feeling Lawrence often got from important people's offices. The floor, too, had undergone an important change. Christiane put marble white tiles with delicate filigrees on it, God knows how, and they fit perfectly in. A nice red carpet that looked pricey enough but not overly so was placed at the center of the room, preventing it from wearing of on contact with the polished mahogany table and chairs set. Said chairs, as previously stated, had red cushions that made it comfortable to sit on, without compromising back's position in a way that might cause health problems. Or so Christiane said. She also somehow managed to mount an enormous screen at furthest wall of the room, a way everyone sitting on the table could see perfectly the content displayed. Plain lamps hung from the ceiling, illuminating everything with a formal brightness. Lawrence didn't even know there was a thing like 'formal brightness' until she told him, carefully explaining the room's new accommodations without even a slight display of smugness. As if everything was perfectly normal.

And for some reason, Lawrence felt this was wrong.

"As expected of my minion!" he said, admiring the incredible work Christiane had done with the now renamed conference room. As a matter of fact, he was thinking how great it would feel to watch TV in this room with a couple of drinks at hand, but he wouldn't say that. And Incomprehensible certainly wouldn't let anyone guess it anyways.

Then, the question that was coming and going on his head finally popped up.

"Who's paying this?"

"Nobody" she said.

Lawrence waited for a few seconds, just to make peaces with the upcoming headache.

"What do you mean with 'nobody'?"

Christiane smiled softly, and Lawrence suspected it was the kind of smile she used when she didn't want to let out a maniacally evil laughter. "I researched a bit, and found out that a wealthy old gentleman died today. All his wealth and debts fell upon his nephew, as he specifically pointed on his testament. The family is currently having a dispute over who should be the owner of the gentleman's inheritance, as a matter of fact."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Your point being?"

The corners of her mouth tensed up a bit, and Lawrence could practically see the grin trying to draw itself on her face.

"I put all the expenses on the very same gentleman's name, and now whoever ends up winning the legal right to use the money is also in the obligation of paying for all of this" she shrugged. "That way nobody is going to try too hard to find the mysterious nameless lady purchasing furniture with his money. A lover, or a bastard daughter, they will assume something along the lines and leave it be, as they are currently too busy dealing with their own problems as to search for lose knots."

Lawrence's mouth twitched, unnoticeable. He was so glad he ranked up Facade to Incomprehensible. At moments like this he could fully appreciate the usefulness of his ability.

"Well" he tried to wash away the wicked plots of the femme fatale before him. "We were talking about how to deal with this new idea of mine."

Christiane nodded. "I think I understand what Mr. Lakewood is thinking. You already devised your own strategy, but you want us" she said a little sharply as she stared at Mika, currently fidgeting on her phone and trying to win a balance level in Mek*rama "to develop our own plans on the same premise."

It didn't sound bad. Three people thinking three different plans, then discarding, choosing or merged some in case of need, It would certainly be a best way of planning than just giving off a random Idea he just came up with and trying to improve it along the way.

He nodded for himself. He would do it that way while thinking of new strategies.

Christiane took that nod as a 'yes, that's exactly what I meant, you noticed as expected' nod, and nodded at him, which let him confused.

He pushed those thoughts aside, as he spoke once again in his authoritarian 'I know everything but I still want you to say it' tone. "I want you two to came up with the best possible strategies you can make from the start I'm giving you. "How to turn heroes into villains without anybody noting?" I want you to ask yourselves this for the upcoming times until any of you think of a decent answer for the question. And I want it written. In copies. And not a single of them may leave this house. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Lakewood." "Aye aye, chief."

He nodded again. Everything was going accordingly. He would give his minions time to think of a proper plan as he himself improved his own thoughts about the matter. He expected Christiane to have the best strategy, but it would still be a good exercise for him, planning something decent for a change.

And in the case Christiane came up with something good, he would casually comment she could do better and see what racking her brains with that pressure brought him. In case she couldn't think of anything, he would rule it off as a test on her own confidence, and tell her she passed. If not, then it was an even better plan for him.

He was getting better at this of being a criminal mastermind. He wasn't nearly as bad as he first thought, was he?

His eyes shone with an uncanny purple light as a wicked grin appeared on his face...