He and Cassie were determined to investigate the Sovereigns to learn their Flaws. Getting to the bottom of the Immortal Flame clan's fall was not directly tied to that investigation, but then again, it very well could be.
There were very few people who knew enough to be a useful source of information for them, and even fewer of those people were within their reach. Saint Jest was one such person.
However, Sunny doubted that the amicable older gentleman would be inclined to share what he knew with them.
'How troublesome.'
He suppressed a sigh and looked at Summer Knight.
'Should I try to pull more information out of him?'
No… it was probably not a good idea, at least not now. Even if he did not really show it, Sir Gilead was already doubting the Lord of Shadows — which was reasonable. A man who put so much value in loyalty had to have reservations about a person who seemingly only cared about self-interest.
So, Sunny could not appear too eager to learn the secrets of the King of Swords. Gilead's convictions might have been naive, but the man himself was no fool. He was carefully scrutinizing his every word, no doubt, evaluating how dependable the Lord of Shadows really was.
For now, Sunny's motives for joining the Sword Army were indeed seen as unclear, and therefore questionable. Not only that, but he had not even pledged his allegiance to Clan Valor itself — instead, he made a pact with Changing Star as an individual.
Should Sunny make his motives seem a little more transparent, and a bit less suspicious?
'Why not?'
He smiled.
"You said that Lady Nephis has grown up beautifully, yes?"
Summer Knight raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by the sudden question.
"I did."
Sunny stared at him for a few moments.
"Do you think about Changing Star's beauty often?"
His already cold tone grew even chillier at the end.Gilead blinked a couple of times.
"...Do you?"
Sunny responded evenly:
"Quite a bit."
Summer Knight stared at him in bewilderment for a few moments, then looked away and coughed.
"That… huh… I see. I am sorry to disappoint you, Lord Shadow, but Lady Nephis already has a young gentleman in her heart…"
Sunny grinned behind the mask.
"So what? I hear that he's a pampered fool of a Master. Pleasant to look at, but nothing much beyond that. A useless person."
Sir Gilead coughed again.
"I'm not… I don't think... ah, look at the time. My war party will have to enter battle soon. Actually, I was supposed to perform a few inspections … if you'll excuse me, Lord Shadow."
With that, the valiant Saint rose, gave Sunny a polite bow, and jumped down from the platform. His movements weren't hurried at all.
Sunny watched him leave with a satisfied smile.
'Well, then… that went well.'
After that, the motives of the Lord of Shadows should seem quite clear.
Albeit perhaps just as questionable as before…