Chapter 92
Praise
Frank Fontaine, the second gift they had received unexpectedly, confessed everything he knew.
After hearing his story, Ferda and Isabella realized one thing.
“When they said they would give us the Dandolo Trading Company, they meant they would hand over everything Tilda had already prepared.”
It had seemed strange that Black Bandana would acquire and transfer the largest trading company in the Empire.
But as Frank Fontaine poured out his testimony, the outline of their plan became clear.
—She promised that if I cooperated, I would become an executive at the Dandolo Trading Company’s headquarters in a few years! In return, I was responsible for hiring and managing the assassins.
“What a foolish thing to do.”
Ferda had assumed that, as a merchant, Frank would at least carefully weigh the profits and losses before committing such an act.
Then he recalled something Stephan had said.
Frank Fontaine had failed to rise in the world simply because he was incompetent.
And that incompetence had revealed itself clearly in this conspiracy.
Even so, Frank Fontaine was not a complete idiot.
He was clumsily foolish and clumsily intelligent at the same time.
Although Frank had overseen the operation, he possessed documents that would allow him to claim someone else had been ultimately responsible for the filthy scheme.
Henri Dandolo’s seal had been stamped in the section confirming that he had provided all the funding.
Tilda had prepared everything so that, in the worst-case scenario, she could shift all the blame onto the Dandolo Trading Company.
And Ferda could make use of those documents as well.
“So Black Bandana intends to use these documents when they hand over the Dandolo Trading Company.”
“Do you think they will be enough?”
“They can damage the Dandolo family’s credibility, but transferring ownership of the entire business would still be difficult.”
Regardless, the documents and Frank’s testimony had made Ferda’s work much easier.
Tilda Pascal could be ruined in one way.
Henri Dandolo could be ruined in another.
‘Is Rico Dandolo truly the client?’
When the matter had appeared to involve nothing more than protecting his son and business from a wretched daughter-in-law, Rico had seemed the most likely candidate.
However, giving these documents to Ferda meant removing his own son from the business.
It could also be interpreted as an attempt to save the company itself.
Ferda wondered whether that was truly a choice a father would make.
“I do not know how they intend to hand the company over to you, Lord Ferda, when you are practically a third party, but the resistance will be considerable.”
“That is nothing to worry about.”
Ferda possessed the most enticing prospect imaginable: magitech.
Countless investors were already salivating over it. If he offered it to the Dandolo Trading Company, they would welcome a new owner.
“Even so, I cannot imagine any normal method by which we could take control of it.”
“From an administrator’s perspective, would it be wiser to withdraw now?”
“How could we withdraw when it would benefit our finances? I will investigate the acquisition process more thoroughly and begin preparing in advance.”
“Do so.”
Isabella pushed her glasses up with one finger and smiled.
Since she often complained about their finances, the proposal was enough to make her rejoice.
Yet while everyone else should have been pleased, Ferda glanced toward Luri and asked,
“More importantly, what about you?”
“What do you mean?”
As always, Luri’s manner was formal and blunt.
“You agreed to cooperate with a human scheme. It does not seem like something you would enjoy. Are you truly all right with it?”
Luri answered,
“I may possess pride as a Dragon Spawn, but I am not a fool. What purpose would there be in protecting my pride over something like this?”
“Is that so?”
“If I am to resent anyone, I should resent my master.”
Luri sighed and began to complain.
“Unlike other dragons, she never gathered treasure and spent her life idling about. That is why we now find ourselves having to obtain funds through methods like this. In that case, should even this insignificant servant not do her part?”
“You had some resentment toward your master.”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“No.”
Even while criticizing her master, she was still acting for her sake.
How could Ferda not find that admirable?
“I am merely grateful that you are lending us your strength.”
Ferda reached toward her head.
When Luri saw his hand, she flinched and slightly lowered her head.
“Regent.”
Just before his hand touched her hair, Isabella’s voice cut between them.
“What is it?”
“Were you just about to touch Miss Luri’s head?”
“I was.”
“Why would you do such a thing?”
Isabella’s voice grew sharp.
Taken aback by the unexpected emotion in her reaction, Ferda answered first.
“I was told that this is the most effective way to praise a child.”
“That is indeed how one praises someone younger, but in that case, it is not something you should do to Miss Luri.”
“Is that so?”
“I…”
“Surely you have not forgotten that Dragon Spawn possess immense pride?”
Now that she mentioned it, Isabella had a point.
Ferda nodded, and Isabella continued her argument.
“More importantly, Miss Luri is several times older than you, Regent. Although she possesses the appearance of an eternally pure and youthful flower that will never wither, you must not overlook the fact that she is an adult.”
“Is that so?”
Although Isabella had filled her statement with suspiciously personal flattery, her argument was still reasonable.
Ferda turned toward Luri and silently asked for confirmation.
“That is correct.”
Luri nodded.
“I have lived several hundred years longer than you, Lord Ferda. Do you truly think I would enjoy being praised in such a manner?”
She appeared to agree with Isabella’s logical argument, though a faint dissatisfaction was written across her face.
Ferda assumed it was resentment over her wounded dignity.
“My apologies. It seems my method of offering praise was inappropriate, so I will refrain from patting your head—”
“No.”
Isabella interrupted him as though she had been waiting for that moment.
“There is another way.”
“Another way?”
“As I said, that is a method an elder uses to praise someone younger. Correct?”
“Yes.”
Isabella pushed her glasses firmly into place.
“Then would it not be acceptable for an older Dragon Spawn to praise a younger Dragon Spawn in the same way?”
“…?”
Neither Luri nor Ferda understood what she meant.
Isabella adjusted her glasses once more and declared,
“In other words, as the elder, I can praise Miss Luri.”
“Hmm?”
“…What?”
Ferda looked puzzled again, while Luri’s expression twisted in disgust.
Both of them wondered whether Isabella was joking.
“What did you just say?”
“To repeat myself, I am saying that I will praise Miss Luri by patting her head.”
Isabella’s glasses gleamed.
She was more serious than anyone.
Isabella stepped forward.
Luri reflexively stepped back and assumed a defensive stance.
“It’s only a face. It won’t wear away just because you touch it. Feel free to touch it as much as you like. Hahaha!”
Realizing that he had misspoken, Zed quickly tried to laugh it off.
As he laughed, Zed lamented his life.
‘Why did I have to come all the way here just to suffer through this…?’
Zed hated Garnet for dragging him here.
But more than anything, he hated Ferda for selling him off.
‘Is money really that important? Is a knighthood really such a big deal?’
He thought about it carefully, then answered his own question.
‘Yeah, it is, damn it.’
Zed had no choice but to keep smiling obediently.
“Brother, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Why are all of you so desperate to get your hands on this guy?”
“What? You haven’t heard?”
The man smiled brightly and smacked Zed several times on the top of his head.
“This bastard violated our young lady. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard that famous story.”
“What? I think I’ve heard something like that before. That was him?”
“Yeah. This is the bastard.”
“Oh… How dare he lay his hands on our young lady…”
Even the formerly innocent-looking man began burning with rage.
Zed hurriedly waved his hands and shouted,
“Wait a moment! That part about me violating her is a bit exaggerated!”
“Go on, then. Spit it out.”
“We had just finished a grueling mission that day. We were both exhausted, and we were comforting each other. Then we ended up alone together in a room, the mood was good, and I thought it might be rude for a man to back out at that point…”
“So did you take responsibility like a man?”
“Well… Had I known she was the daughter of a family like this…”
“I asked whether you took responsibility.”
“…I ran away.”
“Then how is that any different from violating her, you pretty-boy bastard?”
The hands gripping Zed’s face tightened.
The men seized him firmly.
“Haha… W-what are you doing, brothers?”
“We’re not asking for much. We’ll just carve a single line across your face. After that, repent and marry our young lady.”
“Ahahaha! How about putting that knife away?! I don’t really enjoy jokes like this!”
“What you consider a joke is reality to us. Boys, hold him still.”
“What are you idiots doing?”
A husky woman’s voice sounded from among the crowd of sweat-reeking men.
“Oh, Captain. We were just about to give him an initiation.”
“He isn’t even one of us, so what initiation? And I don’t recall initiations involving daggers.”
“Come on, shouldn’t we work in a family-like atmosphere?”
Zed desperately signaled to her with his eyes to save him.
Garnet sighed and drove the men away.
“Stop wasting time and clear out. Whatever else he may be, Zed is the Regent’s knight.”
“Tch. Consider yourself lucky.”
“We’ll get a look at your ass next time.”
At Garnet’s command, everyone withdrew.
Zed, who had been trembling like a gazelle surrounded by predators, looked at her and said,
“Thanks for saving me.”
Garnet slapped him across the face.
Smack!
“Ow! Why?!”
“That was payment for the idiocy you displayed at Valdrova Castle.”
“Fair enough. Other than that, you don’t have any personal feelings left, right?”
“Not at the moment. I still bear a grudge against you, but not enough to let it ruin the job.”
“What? No woman who has experienced me has ever said something like that…”
“…Would you like me to break you?”
“My apologies. Please continue.”
Since they had not seen each other in years, many unresolved emotions still remained between them.
They could have gone straight to business, but instead they chose to speak about the things they had never said.
“You shamelessly continue using the name Swallow.”
“You do too, Fiendish.”
“Do not call me by that nickname.”
“Why not? It brings back pleasant memories.”
“Didn’t I break your nose when you called me that?”
“And I still kept using it afterward.”
Zed grinned slyly.
At the sight of his face, Garnet growled like a rabid dog.
“Stop smiling like that. Loose women may enjoy it, but it only makes my blood boil.”
Zed immediately erased his smile.
Garnet drew a deep breath and spoke in a calmer voice.
“I need your help with this mission.”
“What kind of help?”
“You must infiltrate a location and find an object.”
Zed waved his hand dismissively.
“Infiltration? What kind of ability do you think I have? I can’t do something like that.”
“You are perfectly suited for this.”
“Based on what?”
“I reached that conclusion after considering both your recent actions and what you did when we worked as mercenaries.”
“What did I ever do back then? I don’t remember doing anything in particular.”
When Zed continued playing dumb, Garnet sighed.
“Do you remember the battle at Palestine Castle?”
“Of course. It was brutal.”
“All of us were captured, but you were the only one who wasn’t. Everyone assumed you had fled, but you secretly entered the castle and led us out.”
“I was lucky that time.”
“You had that kind of luck seven times. No one else noticed, but I did. I know you moved in secret and saved us.”
“You’re giving me far too much credit…”
In truth, even Zed had never thought much of those incidents.
He had not considered them acts of infiltration. He had simply believed he was doing what any comrade should do, and because the situation demanded secrecy, he had moved quietly.
He had never thought it was anything remarkable.
When he still refused to cooperate, Garnet decided to use her final card.
“Are you going to make me mention that you are the last surviving descendant of the Red-Eyed Tribe?”
Zed’s expression hardened.
“I would rather not make things uncomfortable by bringing that up, but right now I need—”
“That information.”
“Who else knows?”
Zed asked with a murderous expression unlike anything he had shown before.
Garnet accepted his hostility and answered calmly.
“Only me.”
“Don’t try to cover for anyone. Even for the sake of our old friendship, this is not something I can overlook.”
Garnet scowled and snapped at him.
“You idiot. Who do you think has been controlling information about you all this time? I personally manage every record related to you.”
“My information?”
“You genuinely believe you’ve hidden yourself well, don’t you? You think that because you live like some frivolous pretty boy, no one will notice? You absolute fool. Without my help, you would already be dead. Do you understand? Everyone would have figured it out, captured you alive, and displayed you like a monkey in a zoo!”
As Garnet huffed in anger, Zed awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“R-really? I always thought you hated me enough to kill me.”
“Why would I try to kill you? Whatever else may have happened, you were a comrade who fought beside me through life and death.”
“Oh.”
“Of course, those men really do want to kill you.”
“Ah…”
Zed smiled, but his face had turned pale and cold sweat poured down it.
Garnet looked at his miserable appearance and snorted.
“So what exactly is the job?”
“You need to infiltrate a mansion and locate the medium of a Garden Contract.”
“A Garden Contract… I’d rather not get on another witch’s bad side.”
“Your name is already written in their death ledgers several times over, so what difference does it make?”
“It is?”
“Are you truly an idiot, or are you only pretending to be one?”
Garnet looked at him pitifully before returning to the mission.
“We believe the target has entered into a contract with Yor Philiase. We judged that you would be the most suitable person for this task. What do you think?”
“It is the best possible judgment.”
For the Red-Eyed Tribe, who were known as mage killers, enemies who relied on magic were easy prey.
A true witch might have been troublesome, but their opponent was merely a wicked woman imitating one.
“Then show me the blueprints for every location I need to infiltrate.”
Garnet placed a thick stack of documents in front of Zed.
A map formed in his mind.
The blueprints.
The locations of every item they had identified.
Using them, he pinpointed the places where the object they needed to steal was most likely hidden and began constructing the operation in his head.
Once the outline had become clear, Zed turned toward Garnet.
“By the way.”
“What?”
“This doesn’t have to be a completely silent infiltration, does it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m asking whether I’m allowed to make things a little ugly.”
Garnet gave him an exasperated look.
“…Are you planning to seduce Tilda Pascal?”
“No. Why would I go through all that trouble?”
“Because that is usually what you do.”
“Good grief. You claim to know me, yet you understand me so poorly.”
Zed grinned.
“Jobs like this only get resolved after you stir up a proper commotion.”