Hmm... that's probably not very likely either.
After all, capturing Phrolova was just because Lucian had accidentally discovered her observing in secret at the time.
In theory, Phrolova's original plan must have been to stay hidden all along, emerging only when the timing was right—like what they had done before on Mt. Firmament.
If even Lucian capturing Phrolova was part of Fractsidus's premeditated plan, that would be a bit too terrifying.
But thinking about it this way, perhaps Scar being captured and thrown into Jinzhou City Hall's prison back then was also planned...
After all, Scar going deep into Jinzhou City Hall alone was no different from walking into a trap.
It couldn't be that Scar just enjoyed pedaling a sewing machine, right?
Rover pondered for a moment before looking at Lucian. If Lucian wanted to grab Cristoforo right now, she would stand by his side without hesitation.
Lucian thought for a moment before saying: "From what we can see now, aside from Phrolova, the only high-ranking Fractsidus member who came to Ragunna should be him."
"Now that I've already captured Phrolova, but they haven't made any extra moves."
"There are several possibilities. First: They feel their plan is far more important than Phrolova."
"Second: They believe Phrolova's abilities allow her to escape, so they don't care."
"Third: Phrolova being captured was part of their plan from the start."
"Fourth: For some reason, they feel that even capturing Phrolova won't impact their plan at all."
"Hmm... probably these points for now. We can't judge the exact reason yet."
"Now, Cristoforo probably still doesn't know that we've already learned his identity."
"He knows we've captured Phrolova and knows about our relationship with the Montelli family, yet he still came here, which means he must feel secure in some way."
"Anyway, since we already have Phrolova in hand, how about we first secretly gather decisive evidence of Fractsidus's collaboration with the Order of the Deep, then capture him in one fell swoop?"
Carlotta nodded slightly: "I agree."
"So, shall we probe him a bit now?"
Lucian nodded: "These high-ranking members of Fractsidus all seem to have some kind of special title."
"From what we learned from Lorelei earlier, Phrolova is the Conductor."
"Maybe Cristoforo has a title like that too. Let's test him out first."
With that, Lucian led the group to stand behind Cristoforo.
Lucian forcefully patted Cristoforo's shoulder, overjoyed: "Hey! Isn't this the great writer Cristoforo? I didn't expect to run into you here?"
Cristoforo wasn't startled by Lucian's action; he seemed to have anticipated it.
He turned around with a smile, first glancing at the tightly bound Phrolova, only to see that her head was still covered with an eyepatch and headphones.
"..."
Cristoforo couldn't help but wonder inwardly: Had Phrolova gotten addicted to this?
Originally, Cristoforo had thought that Phrolova had been secluded in that dim mansion for too long, so this was a good chance for her to see the outside world, or perhaps to gather relevant clues by staying by Lucian and Rover's side.
He hadn't expected that even with her ears and eyes covered, she showed no intention of leaving.
Cristoforo glanced at the rope binding her; this item was indeed quite miraculous, but Phrolova's avatar shouldn't be so easily restrained.
This was also why, after probing at Whisperwind Haven earlier, Cristoforo had stopped paying attention.
Had Phrolova really gotten addicted? Or had she awakened some undiscovered fetish...?
Cristoforo looked at Lucian with a smile: "What a coincidence, Mr. Lucian, Miss Rover..."
"And this one, the second miss of the Montelli family..."
He removed his red top hat and bowed slightly: "I extend my most sincere greetings to you all."
Carlotta sized up Cristoforo. If Lucian hadn't told her this man was a high-ranking Fractsidus member, she might really have thought he was just a member of some family.
His speech, behavior, and this courteous demeanor were all impeccable...
Of course, that was under the premise of not knowing his true identity.
Now that Carlotta knew who he was, such actions only made her feel it was utterly hypocritical.
It was said that Fractsidus's high-ranks were all a bunch of madmen.
The only difference was the form of their madness; some were unmasked, seeking to destroy heaven and earth; others lurked in the shadows like insidious vipers.
Carlotta felt the latter was even more nauseating. As the second miss of the Montelli family, she naturally preferred open and aboveboard people.
Of course, the "open and aboveboard" here didn't refer to those Fractsidus high-ranks who wore their madness on their faces.
Rather, it referred to people like Lucian...
Carlotta thought this to herself and fell silent for a moment. Being openly flirtatious everywhere—should that count as open and aboveboard too?
"Speaking of which, aren't you a writer? What are you doing at this auction?"
If Cristoforo said even a word about wanting to buy some valuable collectibles, Lucian was ready to squeeze him for a hefty sum.
After all, the items at this auction weren't cheap at all; even the middle class would find it a stretch to buy auction items, let alone ordinary people.
However, aside from the auction items, some collections appraised as average value weren't so expensive.
Cristoforo laughed heartily: "Ha! To be honest with you, I'm actually here for inspiration."
"The plays at Carnevale all revolve around the order's stories and legends. I'm thinking... maybe I should write something more worldly."
Inspiration?
Lucian pondered for a moment.
Come to think of it, Cristoforo's public identity was that of a writer. Could his title within Fractsidus be related to that?
Phrolova's ability was to control Echoes using Red Spider Lilies, which did have some connection to a conductor.
But Phrolova's public identity was...
...She didn't really have one; openly and covertly, she was a Fractsidus high-rank.
Could the titles be related to their own abilities?
So far, they hadn't seen Cristoforo in action or learned his true strength. Maybe next time, they could find an opportunity to test him...
Rover then asked: "Something more worldly?"
Cristoforo nodded with a smile: "For example, a story about a black-hearted merchant who lends at exorbitant interest rates, only to lose everything in the end because he overlooked the legal clauses."
Rover fell silent for a moment: "Sounds boring."
"It'd be better to write about an ordinary person impersonating an intelligence merchant and scamming the real intelligence merchant."
Lucian: "?"