HPL 27

chapter 27

The carriage door opened, revealing Mark’s flushed face.

“My lady, we’ve arrived at the mansion.”

“Did you just run here to open the door for me?”

“Was it that obvious? I heard that when a noble lady gets off a carriage, someone always opens the door for her…”

Mark trailed off, looking embarrassed.

He probably ran over himself because no one else was there to open the door for me.

When I thanked him, he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his finger.

The moment I stepped down from the carriage and set foot on the ground, Ariel walked out from the main building.

She snorted at the sight of me, then stomped off toward the garden.
Seems like she’s upset that I got invited and she didn’t.

Mark looked flustered, glancing back and forth between Ariel and me.
Then Judy came running out from the building.

“Sorry, but the kitchen furnace broke. You said you were good at fixing things, right? Please help!”

“Ah, sure. I’ll take a look.”

Even as Judy dragged him away, Mark kept glancing back at me.

Once the two of them disappeared completely, I headed straight for the annex.
As I approached it, a heavy, gloomy aura pressed down around me.

Ever since Nene arrived, I’d adjusted the warding so that the evil spirit’s energy would flow out more easily — and now it was much stronger.
At this rate, no ordinary person would even dare look toward the annex.

As I stepped inside, I glanced toward where the spirit orb was hidden.

“Doing a fine job, aren’t you?”

{You don’t even have to tell me to do this kind of fun work. When I curse that anyone who enters will die bleeding out, they can’t even hear me properly, but they all get terrified anyway. It’s a pity that girl—Judy or Juice or whatever—didn’t wander near today. She’s always fun to spook.}

Oh? So Judy’s been wandering around here.

Leaving the boastful spirit to its “guard duty,” I entered the annex.
Nene came running up, holding something in her hands.

“Welcome back! I made this flower crown from wildflowers that grew near the annex. It’s a token of my gratitude.”

She handed me the crown, looking both shy and nervous.
When someone gives you something they made with you in mind, the polite thing to do is accept it.

“Thank you.”

I smiled and took it. Nene’s face lit up with a bright smile—then she started glancing at me anxiously again.

Her eyes kept darting toward the crown. She must want to see me wear it.
Well, wearing a flower crown won’t make Diana’s head fall off or anything.

When I placed it on my head, Nene’s face bloomed with joy.
Just then, Roy appeared at the entrance.

Out early in the morning, and only now coming back? He’s quite late.

As soon as she saw him, Nene subtly grabbed the hem of my skirt, clearly frightened.
Roy’s aura was sharper than usual today.

“Something happen in town?” I asked.

Roy gave a bitter smile.
“I ran into the slave traders who sold me.”

“You saw them? Did they do anything?”

He flicked the sleeve of his priest’s robe.
“This outfit works wonders. Add a wig and a hood, and they didn’t even imagine it was me. How about we talk details inside?”

It sounded like it would be a long story, so I led him to my room.
Nene followed behind me like a baby duck trailing its mother.

Once we sat down, Roy began recounting what had happened a few hours earlier.

Disguised as a priest, Roy had been walking through the streets when he came across some unwelcome faces.
The slave traders passed him without a second glance, hurrying somewhere else.

Sensing a chance for information, Roy followed them.
Unaware they were being tailed, the slave traders slipped into a narrow alley and met a man there.

The first thing that caught Roy’s eye wasn’t the man’s eyepatch or rough face—
it was the black dog tattoo on the back of his left hand.

After describing this much, Roy paused to catch his breath.
I frowned slightly, processing what I’d just heard.

“So the slave traders met with members of the Black Dog group?”

“That’s right. And the topic of their conversation was… strange.”

His eyes gleamed.

“Strange?”

“They were talking about finding a runaway cat.”

My gaze automatically shifted toward Nene.

People from the underworld and slave traders don’t discuss ordinary cats.

Realizing it was about her, Nene’s face paled.

Then another thought struck me.
Those slave traders were Roy’s mortal enemies.
Would Roy really have just stood there doing nothing?
If I know him, he’s the type who could attack someone without blinking.

“Did you attack them?”

He shrugged slightly.
“No. I figured I could get more information if I let them go. For today, at least.”

For today.
That sounded ominous.

His eyes looked bloodshot in the dim light.
I stared at him intently, while Nene fidgeted nervously beside us.

Sensing our unease, Roy softened his gaze and changed the subject.

“When we meet Wayne’s group tomorrow, we should share this. Tom and Jack said they were gathering info on the Black Dogs too—maybe we’ll have overlap. Anyway, what’s that on your head?”

“Nene made it for me.”

I tapped the flower crown lightly with a finger.

Roy looked at it for a moment, then glanced toward Nene.
Being looked at made her stammer.

“I-I made it. Doesn’t she look like… a goddess?”

A goddess, huh?

I froze for a second.
Tommy, the spirit, snickered.

{She says you look like a goddess. Must feel nice.}

A goddess being told she looks like a goddess—
that’s like telling a human, “Hey, you look human.”
It felt strange either way—too odd to feel flattered, too silly to be annoyed.

As I struggled to find the right reaction, Roy’s lips curved faintly.

“She’s right. You do look like a goddess.”

I couldn’t tell if he was teasing or serious, but the chill that had surrounded him moments ago had faded.

That change felt strangely significant, so I kept looking at him.
He caught my gaze and misunderstood it, chuckling softly.

“I mean it. You really do.”

Compared to when I first met him, Roy had changed quite a bit.
The man who once strangled others without hesitation now teased me with an easy smile.
That bleakness in his soul was still there, but somehow it didn’t dominate him as before.

The next day, Roy and I left Nene at the annex and headed to Wayne’s secret hideout.

Inside, we found Tom and Jack covering their ears with both hands, while Wayne solemnly read aloud from the scriptures.
Some things never change.

When we entered, Wayne finally stopped reading.
Tom and Jack looked relieved, waving at us.

The cheerful mood quickly shifted once we began exchanging information.

Tom and Jack spoke first.

“The boss brought the corpses of the dead to the Black Dogs.
They acted clueless, said they didn’t know anything since they’d kicked those men out earlier.”

“We didn’t have proof they were lying, so we couldn’t press further.”

As they spoke regretfully, Roy and I exchanged a glance.
We had something to add.

Wayne immediately noticed our serious expressions.
“You’ve got something to say.”

We nodded slightly.
Everyone leaned in.

Roy calmly recounted everything from yesterday.
When he described the eyepatched man, Tom and Jack exchanged startled looks.

“One of the Black Dog officers—Caesar. That matches his description.”

“Yeah, it must be him.”

“So, the slave traders linked to Countess McCurlin met with underworld scum involved in kidnapping non-humans?”
Wayne folded his arms, chuckling coldly.
His lips smiled, but his eyes were as sharp as ice.

“What’s that woman been up to lately? Think she’s connected?” I asked.

Wayne dropped his arms and answered,
“She left her mansion for three days not long ago.”

His blue eyes gleamed like a predator spotting prey.

We all leaned forward.
He explained that the countess left her estate once a month.

“She claims it’s for inspecting her trading company, but I asked one of the employees. Turns out she’s only there the first day—after that, she goes somewhere else.”

Meaning, for two out of those three days, no one knew where she went or what she did.
Suspicious, indeed.

Roy raised an eyebrow. “And the employee just told you that?”

Wayne pointed to his own face and put on a weary expression.

“With a face like this, full of worry? When a son shows up fretting about his poor overworked mother, people naturally want to help. The employee didn’t know where she went, though.”

On paper, Wayne and the countess were close, so the employee must’ve thought he was genuinely concerned for her.
Besides, Wayne’s acting skills were superb—he could charm anyone.

Leaning back in my chair, I summarized our situation.

“Seems like everyone has something suspicious going on.
But the easiest group to dig into might be the Black Dogs.
At least they’re openly involved in illegal stuff.”

When I murmured that, I realized everyone was staring at me.

“…What?”

Wayne rested his chin on his hand and grinned playfully.

“You’re fascinating, you know that?
A person chosen by the gods, yet you look at the world like a predator, picking out the weakest prey first.”

“Not every chosen one goes around smiling all holy. And stop calling me ‘noona’—we’re the same age.”

“Then… how about darling?”

Who’s your darling?
But before I could retort, someone beat me to it.

“Cut the crap.”

Roy narrowed his eyes sharply.
Wayne didn’t flinch.

“I’m very interested in Diana, you see. So don’t call it nonsense—call it a hopeful declaration.”

Roy glared icily. Wayne only smiled slyly in return.

While they squared off, I turned to Tom and Jack.

“Tell your boss to leak a rumor. Something about non-humans visiting the city for fun.
If the Black Dogs react, we’ll know we’re onto something.”

“Yes, ma’am. But… should we just leave those two like that?”

“They look like they’re about to fight.”

They both nodded toward Roy and Wayne.
I waved a hand dismissively.

“Let them be. They’ll bond over it.”

“I’d rather you not curse us like that,” Roy muttered.

“The only one I want to bond with is Diana,” Wayne added. “Not that ice block.”

Both men shuddered simultaneously.

I gestured at them with my chin, giving Tom and Jack a see what I mean look.
They nodded, getting it immediately.

The road to the Red Scorpion headquarters wasn’t easy.
The path twisted endlessly, and some parts looked like dead ends at first glance.

Even when we finally arrived, tall walls blocked the view inside.
There were multiple fake entrances, too.

Tom and Jack warned us that if you stepped into the wrong entrance, the people inside would know instantly.

When we passed through the real one, an ordinary-looking building came into view.
In front of it, children were kicking a ball made of bundled leather scraps.

There wasn’t even a hint of that “criminal stronghold” atmosphere.

As I stood there blinking at the surprisingly peaceful scene, a man in his sixties approached, broom in hand.

“Welcome.”

He looked utterly ordinary—aside from his sharp eyes.
But I recognized him right away.

“So you’re the boss here, aren’t you?”