Chapter 44: The Bronya Gambit

“W-What did you say?!”

The words struck March 7th like a bolt of lightning.

The color drained from his face, leaving it a sickly, chalky white.

Chen was killed?

Just like that?

By this woman who had appeared out of nowhere, a woman who looked exactly like a female version of Lord Bronya?

Was it his fault?

Had his frantic shouting outside the door distracted Chen, leaving him open to attack?

The thought was a shard of ice in his gut.

“What did you do to Chen?!” he shrieked, his voice cracking.

“You… you murderer!

Give Chen back!”

Blinded by a storm of worry and his mind still buzzing from the earlier incident with Caelus, March 7th’s own logic had completely short-circuited.

He didn’t notice Dan Heng’s utterly relaxed posture, nor did he see Caelus, who had followed him out, tilting her head with an expression of intense curiosity.

He lunged forward, a reckless, desperate charge, completely ignoring the cold, dark muzzle of the rifle still pressed firmly against his forehead.

“March!

Calm down!”

Dan Heng’s sharp command cut through the panic.

He snagged the back of March 7th’s collar, yanking him back a step with a grunt.

His gaze, however, was fixed on “Bronya”—on the way her hand held the gun, on her confident stance, and, most tellingly, on the corners of her mouth, which were curled into the unmistakable smirk of a prank well-played.

That expression… that familiar, infuriating feeling…

He withdrew his gaze and spoke, the sound laced with a deep sense of helplessness.

“She is Chen.

This is his ability again.”

The smirk on the face of “Bronya”—or rather, Chen—finally broke free, blossoming into a wide, triumphant grin.

With a theatrical flick of the wrist, the intimidating musket dissolved into thin air, scattering into motes of shimmering light like a magician’s trick.

She shrugged, the casual, roguish gesture a bizarre contrast to the severe beauty of Bronya’s face and the crisp lines of her military uniform.

“Tsk, Teacher Dan Heng really has sharp eyes,” Chen’s voice announced, though it was now filtered through a female larynx, making it sound oddly pleasant and melodic.

“Seen through already?

How boring.”

March 7th froze solid, caught in a comical tableau—half-turned in a charge, his collar still firmly in Dan Heng’s grip.

The expression on his face was a whirlwind of emotions, shifting from pale rage to utter confusion, then to a deep, furious blush of embarrassment and annoyance.

Finally, it settled on the verge of a complete breakdown, a look that screamed, ‘Do I really look like that much of a fool?’

“Ch… Chen?!

Is that really you?!” He pointed a trembling finger at the gray-haired girl in the military dress.

“You… you turned into this?!

This, this, this… is this a gender-swapped Bronya?!”

“Bingo!” Chen, in Bronya’s form, snapped his fingers with a crisp click.

“How about it?

Do I look the part?

Surprised?

Didn’t see it coming?”

He even did a little spin, showing off the body that belonged to the original Bronya, the iconic triple-spiral pigtails of his gray hair swaying gently with the movement.

“You… you scared the life out of me!” March 7th finally snapped, slumping bonelessly to the ground.

He clutched his chest, panting heavily, a war of lingering fear and indignant shame raging within him.

“I thought… I thought something really happened to you!

What kind of joke is that!

Saying you were being sent to hell!”

“Oh, that?

Wasn’t that just to enhance the element of surprise?” Chen showed not a shred of remorse.

Instead, he leaned in, bending at the waist to bring Bronya’s beautiful face, now filled with pure mockery, closer to March 7th’s.

“Besides, who was it that started shouting at the door, questioning if I did ‘something bad’ to Caelus?

This is just reasonable retaliation.

And a good way to test the bluffing potential of a new skin… er, a new form, in a practical scenario.

Seems to me the effect is outstanding!”

He deliberately emphasized the words “something bad,” his eyes flicking meaningfully toward the doorway where Caelus now stood, looking as calm and unruffled as if nothing had happened.

March 7th’s face turned so red it looked like it might actually start smoking.

He stammered, mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.

Dan Heng sighed, pressing his fingers to his forehead.

A familiar throb had started behind his eyes.

He was going to get an aneurysm, he just knew it.

Being on a team with Chen was a constant, unrelenting test of one’s heart and blood pressure.

“So, this was your surprise?” he asked wearily.

“Using your ability to temporarily transform into… the female version of this world’s Lord Bronya?”

“Exactly!” Chen straightened up, planting his hands on his hips in a posture of pure, unadulterated pride.

“I’ve done some research.

Lord Bronya is an orphan, right?

Doesn’t know his specific background?

Well then, we can totally say that I’m his long-lost sister!

Separated at birth for some tragic reason, but we look incredibly alike!

That way, approaching him, gaining his trust, and gathering information becomes perfectly natural.

This will be a massive benefit to our investigation into the Stellaron!”

The plan was so audacious it bordered on the absurd, yet it possessed a strange, obvious logic.

In a world of politics and suspicion, a familiar face—or in this case, an almost identical one—was the best key to unlock any door.

March 7th had already scrambled up from the ground.

He was still puffing his cheeks out in a huff, but he had to admit, as terrifyingly annoying as Chen was, the ideas he came up with… were sometimes genuinely clever.

He glanced over at Caelus.

The girl was staring intently at Chen’s “Bronya” form, her silver eyes alight with a rare, undisguised flicker of interest.

Dan Heng finally nodded, his expression grim.

“The risks of this plan are extremely high.

But considering our current difficulty in obtaining information and your… persistence in contacting Lord Bronya… it’s worth a try.

However, we must devise a detailed backup plan and an evacuation route.

And…”

He looked directly at Chen, his tone turning deadly serious.

“You must focus on your own safety at all times.

If anything goes wrong, drop the disguise immediately.

Your survival comes first.”

“Understood, understood!” Chen agreed with a breezy grin, already rubbing his hands together in gleeful anticipation.

“So, the next question is… where and how should we let Miss Bronya and Young Master Bronya have their touching, completely unexpected reunion?”

[Elysian’s Note:

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