Chapter 209: Upon the Chessboard
Winston spoke calmly.
"Many people believe the doctor will be protected without limit."
"That he'll be free to ask for anything he wants."
He gave a slight shake of his head.
"That's a misconception."
"The only people who have ever truly enjoyed that kind of privilege..."
"...were the emperors of past."
"And only those who held real power."
He took a slow sip of his drink.
"What ordinary people call 'getting whatever you want'..."
"...is more like a lion in a circus."
"'Jump through the hoop...'"
"'...and I'll give you some meat.'"
Silence lingered for several seconds.
"The Marquis is the only one who openly placed himself in opposition to the doctor."
"As for the others..."
"They merely signed the document because they believed they had no choice."
"At least..."
"...that's what they tell themselves."
Charon looked up.
"But they still offended the others who are also watching the doctor."
"You still don't understand."
The smile on Winston's face deepened.
"I'm referring to those who stand above the High Table."
"My friend..."
"Do you really believe the High Table is unaware of their existence?"
"Or that they don't know those people have also set their sights on the doctor?"
Charon lowered his voice.
"That's exactly what I don't understand, sir."
Winston remained silent for a moment before asking,
"What do you think the underworld really is?"
"Or rather..."
"What is the High Table?"
Charon answered without hesitation.
"They govern the underworld."
"They create its rules."
"Correct."
Winston nodded.
"But they are far from being the ones who make the rules of the world."
"Perhaps one or two people might become so arrogant that they convince themselves they're invincible."
"But twelve ruling families..."
"...do not all lose their minds at the same time and decide they can challenge the entire world."
His voice was gentle...
...yet every word carried weight.
"That..."
"...is the true purpose of having twelve seats at the table."
"They never think only one move ahead."
Setting his wineglass down, Winston asked another question.
"Suppose you were one of those powers greater than the High Table."
"And suppose the High Table had completely brought the doctor under its control."
"They could use him however they wished."
"What would you do?"
Charon answered without the slightest hesitation.
"I'd take him."
"I'd simply seize him from the High Table."
"Exactly."
Winston wasn't surprised in the least.
"That's what everyone would think."
He continued.
"Now reverse the situation."
"Suppose you were the High Table."
"You've already secured the doctor's complete loyalty."
"And you know those above you will inevitably come to claim him."
"What would you do?"
Charon fell silent.
He considered numerous possibilities before finally answering.
"I'd hand him over willingly."
Winston nodded in satisfaction.
"A fool might choose to resist."
"But a wise man understands the distance between himself..."
"...and those above him."
He leaned back slightly.
"So..."
"What do you think the High Table is doing now?"
Understanding slowly dawned on Charon.
"They're preparing the way."
"They're arranging for the doctor to be brought under someone's control..."
"...but not for themselves."
"Precisely."
Winston's voice became almost a whisper.
"Those above seek only one thing."
"To remain in an unwinnable position."
"They let the High Table do what they themselves prefer not to do openly."
"If it succeeds..."
"...they simply take over."
"If it fails..."
"...the High Table bears the consequences."
"They can become either the scapegoat..."
"...or the gift."
Charon frowned.
"And what does the High Table gain from all this?"
Winston smiled faintly.
"When you solve a difficult problem for those above you..."
"...they generally choose the gentlest possible takeover."
"They don't care about appearances."
"They care only about results."
"If the High Table succeeds..."
"...you may suddenly find many unfamiliar faces sitting at the table."
"Or even discover that every seat has changed hands."
"The High Table serves as a convenient buffer."
"Those above can distance themselves whenever necessary."
"And in return..."
"...the High Table receives a carefully measured portion of the reward."
He paused.
"Perhaps..."
"...even limited access to the doctor's services."
"After all..."
"...they're the ones who delivered him."
Charon slowly digested everything Winston had said.
Finally, he murmured,
"So, sir..."
"There are no fools involved in this game."
"Oh?"
Winston's expression suddenly turned unusually strange.
"The Marquis?"
"He is."
"A complete fool."
"No matter how this ends..."
"...he's almost certainly a dead man."
Charon asked,
"Doesn't he have any chance at all?"
"Of course he does."
Winston answered calmly.
"Everyone is given an opportunity."
"If he could become the only person the doctor truly trusts..."
"If he made himself completely irreplaceable..."
"If the doctor could no longer save lives without him..."
"...then he could obtain everything he has ever wanted."
He chuckled softly.
"So, at least for now..."
"...he's still being clever."
"He proposed what everyone wanted to do..."
"...but none of them dared to."
"The question now is whether he can remain that clever."
"For us, it would be a good thing if he does."
"At the moment, he is our judge."
"Our executioner."
"He holds our lives in his hands."
"A fool's desperate struggle before death can drag everyone around him into ruin."
"And for us..."
"...he is the nest."
"We are merely the eggs inside it."
"Our fate is completely tied to his."
Slowly, Winston rose to his feet.
"So..."
"Let us pray..."
"...that he remains intelligent."
Charon asked,
"Then what do you intend to do?"
A faint smile tugged at Winston's lips.
"For now?"
"Nothing."
"We'll carry out the Marquis's orders exactly as instructed."
"But when the right moment comes..."
"...we'll extend a gesture of goodwill."
He casually adjusted his cuff.
"Also..."
"Effective immediately, Rayne Clinic is to be placed under our highest level of observation."
"The instant any bounty related to New York appears..."
"...I want to know."
"Understood."
Charon bowed slightly before turning and leaving.
The door closed behind him.
Silence once again settled over the room.
Standing before the window, Winston gazed out at the city below, his expression unreadable as his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
---
Meanwhile, over at Rayne Clinic...
Sophie's arrival had noticeably brightened the atmosphere.
Well...
Mostly, it had brightened Ethan's mood.
Standing at the reception desk, Sophie looked far more relaxed than before.
Her mother's miraculous recovery had finally lifted some of the crushing weight she'd carried on her shoulders for years.
The constant tension she'd lived with seemed, at last, a little lighter.
Earlier, Ethan had already entered her basic information into the clinic's records.
Thirty-six years old.
Years of clinical experience had forged a calm, steady professionalism—judgment sharpened through countless emergency cases and overnight shifts.
"I'll finish handing over my responsibilities at the hospital as soon as possible."
She spoke calmly.
"I'll be able to officially start no later than next Wednesday."
"Perfect."
Ethan nodded.
"We'll be waiting for you."
He said it casually...
...though the excitement in his heart was impossible to hide.
Handing her file to Helen, he said,
"Helen, could you take care of her personnel file?"
"She'll officially join us next week."
"Certainly, Doctor."
Helen accepted the documents with her usual graceful composure.
Natasha leaned lazily against the counter nearby.
Though she also appeared to be in her thirties, she carried herself with effortless elegance.
Sophie politely nodded to both women.
Helen glanced at Ethan.
Then immediately looked away.
It was only a fleeting look—
So brief it could easily have gone unnoticed.
But Ethan caught the meaning instantly.
Wait...
Has "over thirty, calm, and elegant" somehow become one of the clinic's hidden hiring requirements?
Natasha shot him a glance as well.
A faint, knowing smile curled at the corner of her lips.
It was the unmistakable smile of someone silently saying,
"I know exactly what's going through your head."
Ethan:
"..."
This was a perfectly legitimate recruitment.
She was highly qualified.
The clinic genuinely needed more staff.
So why were both of them looking at me like that?
He quietly adjusted his cuff, pretending not to notice.
I'm simply hiring an exceptionally capable nurse, he declared to himself with complete seriousness.
Closing Sophie's file, Helen spoke in her usual professional tone.
"Miss Sophie, we'll have all the paperwork prepared before your first day."
"We'll also arrange your access credentials."
She smiled warmly.
"Welcome to Rayne Clinic."
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