On the second-floor balcony of the castle—
A wise-looking woman with long blue hair leaned quietly against the railing, murmuring softly to herself, "Non-mutant… suspected special variant… history of mental illness, possibly dissociative identity disorder… possesses more than two abilities… strength is hard to estimate…"
In her mind, she was replaying the recent battle between Raymond and Longshot.
For someone with the "Mental Computation" ability—essentially a walking supercomputer—this kind of mental playback was a basic function.
Not only could she replay the fight, she could also analyze every second of it, breaking it down frame by frame to study Raymond's combat traits, strengths, and weaknesses.
Combined with details Red Devil had revealed earlier and the background research she had already done, a detailed profile of Raymond was slowly forming in her mind:
Education: PhD in Psychology, Yale University
Occupation: Core member of the Hellfire Club, Instructor at S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, Owner of the Money Talks Detective Agency
Relationships: Single, never married. Parents are alive. Has a non-blood-related younger sister who is also a mutant.
Form 1: Strong melee abilities, destructive power on par with Juggernaut but lower defense.
Form 2: Elemental-like transformation into lava. Immune to regular physical attacks. Can unleash large-scale, near-disaster-level attacks.
Form 3: Unknown. Suspected to involve magical capabilities.
① History of mental illness, possibly related to S.H.I.E.L.D. status. Claims to be cured, but evidence suggests otherwise.
② Personality changes with ability shifts. His powers may be tied to his mental condition. Needs further observation.
As she updated this mental file using memory playback, she was suddenly interrupted by a voice:
"Miss Tessa, why are you out here alone?"
It was Costa, the White Rook—despite being the only normal human among the core members, he walked up holding a glass of wine, smiling warmly.
"It's a bit stuffy inside, so I came out for some air." Tessa smiled politely, though with a trace of distance.
Clearly, she didn't intend to continue the conversation and offered no follow-up topic.
Costa didn't mind. After sipping his wine, he grinned and said, "Miss Tessa, you seem pretty interested in Dr. Raymond… Want me to help you get to know him?"
Tessa's heart skipped slightly at his words, though her face remained calm. She replied with a gentle smile, "Interested? Me? You must be imagining things, Mr. Costa."
Costa gave her a meaningful look, then chuckled and said, "Maybe I did imagine it. I won't bother you any further—time to mingle."
Tessa gave a small nod and said nothing else.
Only after Costa left did her expression grow slightly serious.
"Did he figure something out?" Tessa wasn't sure.
She had detailed profiles memorized for every core member.
Costa was no exception.
What no one knew was that—out of all eleven core members—the one Tessa feared the most wasn't Juggernaut or Red Devil... It was Costa.
Even though Costa was just a normal human, and most people believed he only got his spot as the White Rook because of connections and his highly gifted son, Tessa never underestimated him.
Because Costa was the only one among the core members she couldn't fully read.
Take tonight for example—she hadn't shown even a hint of special interest in Raymond. All her data collection and analysis had taken place silently in her mind.
On the outside, she looked just like anyone else watching a sparring match.
But Costa still walked up and asked if she liked Raymond—and he didn't sound like he was joking.
This wasn't the first time something had happened.
It made her start to wonder—had Costa seen through something?
If the secret buried deepest in her heart was ever exposed, she wouldn't even have a place to die in peace.
Don't be fooled by the warm smiles and support she currently received. People treated her well because her ability was rare and useful.
But once they found out she was an undercover agent planted by Professor X...
All that kindness and care would turn into cold, killing intent.
Especially Juggernaut, the Black King—he would stop at nothing to eliminate her.
The Hellfire Club might seem harmonious on the surface, but the core members were all dangerous people with blood on their hands.
She had no illusions about being forgiven if her cover was blown. That's why she was always extra careful.
So far, no one had suspected her.
Except for one possible threat—Costa.
It always felt like he could see right through her.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking..." she shook her head and forced the thought away.
No matter what, she was sure of one thing—Costa was just a regular human.
Her ability could easily tell the difference between mutants and non-mutants. That's how she knew the moment she saw Raymond that he wasn't a mutant.
Likewise, she knew that Juggernaut, Longshot, and Costa weren't mutants either.
Of course, Juggernaut and Longshot still had obvious superhuman powers—no one doubted that.
But Costa—he had nothing. At least based on everything she had observed, recorded, and analyzed—he showed no signs of being anything more than a normal man.
Could a regular person really uncover her biggest secret?
She didn't believe it.
Still, what Costa said reminded her to be more careful.
If she wanted to dig deeper into Raymond's background, it would be hard to hide her interest.
So… why not create a reasonable excuse instead?
With that in mind, she walked back into the castle, took a glass of wine from a passing server, and headed toward Raymond, who was on the other side of the second floor.
What she didn't notice was that downstairs, across the room, Costa and Juggernaut were clinking glasses.
Their eyes casually swept in her direction.
"Well?" Juggernaut asked.
"Sigh… Miss Tessa probably has no choice," Costa said softly.
"You're really that sure she's hiding something?" Juggernaut swirled his drink and asked calmly.
"Not a hundred percent," Costa said after a pause, "but I'm at least seventy percent certain."
Juggernaut lowered his eyes slightly and let out a long sigh.
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