The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1566

Chapter 1566 Deeper Motive

"Gloriana may be capricious, but I don't think she's dumb." Ves stated to Gavin the next day.

Ves believed that Gloriana hadn't been entirely forthcoming in their earlier conversation. As a habitual liar himself, he recognized when someone was acting in a self-serving manner.

His girlfriend possessed another motive. Ves was sure of it. The feelings he sensed from her did not entirely match her facade.

For his part, Gavin partially agreed. "Prominent Hexers such as Gloriana are certainly aware of what they should or should not publicize. The Wodin Dynasty has an image to maintain. In their circles, I imagine that it's a big taboo to air dirty laundry on the galactic net."

"Then why did she went through with this idiotic act?"

"I think.. Gloriana doesn't see it as an unwise act." Gavin slowly guessed. "I know what you're like. You're very touchy about your secrets. Your girlfriend isn't like that. When I first watched her recording, I didn't see anything remarkable. I only brought it to your attention because the setting is rather odd."

Ves recalled what he saw. The footage only depicted a narrow shot of him standing still. His spiritual manipulation couldn't be sensed by normal people, let alone electronic recorders. William's body was fully out of sight and Gloriana censored almost all of William's screams.

Now that a day had passed since he confronted Gloriana with the footage, Ves realized that the damage wasn't as big as he imagined. At the very least, someone wouldn't be able to detect anything incriminating from the footage alone.

It was just.. Ves still found it perplexing that Gloriana saw no problem in uploading the recording. Since she sanitized the footage, she must have known that it was a sensitive moment.

"Gloriana isn't stupid." He repeated with a pensive expression. "What does she have to gain from this act?"

Was it really to solicit customers from her circle? Ves doubted it. She could have approached her friends and acquaintances in a more discreet manner.

Both of them entertained some suggestions, but neither of them came up with a compelling answer.

Ves turned to his bodyguard. "Nitaa. You're a woman, right? You've listened in on everything. Do you understand what Gloriana is after?"

The tall woman leaning against the far wall shrugged. "While I'm capable of discerning the intentions of many people, Miss Gloriana is beyond my capabilities. All I can say is that Gloriana likely holds no malice towards you. In her eyes, she saw no harm in her own actions."

Though Ves found it difficult to accept that viewpoint, his girlfriend's perspective was very different from his own.

Not only did she carry less secrets, her trust in institutions was still intact! As a result, she lacked the paranoid and suspicious mindset that Ves had developed over the past few years.

With threats such as the MTA, CFA and the Five Scrolls Compact looming over his head, Ves had become extraordinarily sensitive to secrecy!

Maybe it was a bit too unreasonable for him to expect the same degree of caution from Gloriana.

Having grown up in a largely-protected environment, she had no reason to develop the same level of paranoia as him. With no devastating secrets to hide and with the Wodin Dynasty as her backer, why would she be as touchy as him? Maybe it was him who overreacted!

"I think you're right, Nitaa." Ves nodded. "However, I still have an uncomfortable feeling about this. There must be something more behind her actions."

"I can't suggest anything further, but I think someone else may be able to shed a light on this matter." Nitaa said.

"Who?"

"Your spy associates."

"No." Ves immediately replied.

Approaching Leland was not a good idea. Flashlight followed its own agenda, and they may or may not have an interest in manipulating his relationship with Gloriana.

As for Calabast, she was not impartial either. As a Hexer and a woman with her own agenda, she would never let go of this opportunity to further her own interests!

Nitaa thought for a moment. "Then.. perhaps you might want to invite Casella Ingvar to your office. As a former noble, she's capable of thinking on the same level as Gloriana."

Both Ves and Gavin looked intrigued.

"Casella is a former scion from the Kingdom of the Three Flowers, which is just a third-rate state." Ves recalled. "I doubt she is fully able to understand Gloriana's context."

Gavin disagreed. "She's a noble, therefore she's highly trained in social interactions. Some things are common to all nobles. While nobility technically doesn't exist in the Hegemony, her status there is pretty much identical. I think it doesn't hurt to hear what Casella has to say."

After a bit of contemplation, Ves agreed with Gavin's suggestion. He called Melkor and told him to send Casella to his office.

Fifteen minutes later, Casella Ingvar stepped into the room. Her golden Avatar service uniform enhanced her dignity to a degree that made a very powerful impression.

She strode forward in a stiff gait and bowed towards Ves. "You called, Mr. Larkinson?"

"Yes." Ves blinked before shaking off his fascination for Casella. He activated his desk terminal and ran the recording that Gavin had saved. "Please watch this while I describe my situation."

He explained what happened with Gloriana while Casella watched the recording multiple times. Her frown increased as she heard his speculations.

"I think your suspicions aren't unfounded sir." She eventually spoke. "Although I haven't interacted with Miss Gloriana, a woman of her station would not make such an elementary mistake. Can you show me her Commbook page?"

"Certainly."

Once Casella started to browse Gloriana's Commbook page, she began to hum and nod.

Ves, Gavin and Nitaa watched wordlessly as Casella continued to observe Gloriana's social media interactions.

After ten minutes of browsing through numerous posts that mostly consisted of an image of Ves and Gloriana together, Casella finished forming her judgement.