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Chapter 08
I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well these days because I recently caught a cold, so I won’t be able to go out for the time being. Thank you for your offer, but unfortunately, I don’t think I can go boating with you.]
I sent a short letter of rejection to Lyxion, and as soon as I did, I ran out of Marquis Kristenner’s mansion. I got on a carriage and headed to the capital branch of the information guild ‘Setra’ along a road that I had become quite familiar with. I glanced at the building, which seemed to get gaudier every time I came, and then I went inside, which now felt as familiar to me as Dion, our mercenary guild.
As I passed by the entrance of the branch, the employees who saw my face suddenly ran up the stairs as if they had made a promise. I figured they were probably going to the guild master’s room on the top floor of this building. I acknowledged their efforts and walked as slowly as possible. In the meantime, several familiar employees greeted me awkwardly, pretending to know me. It seemed like the expression ‘Oh, that crazy person is here again’ was visible on their faces as they looked at me, but I greeted them appropriately without showing any ill feelings like a proper adult and went up the stairs.
“What is it today?”
A shadow fell over my head as I climbed the stairs. When I looked up to see what it was, the guild master of Setra was waiting for me in front of the stairs with a grim face. Even in the original story, where he was only mentioned briefly a few times, the supporting character had an unnecessarily handsome face today.
His long hair was tied loosely into a ponytail, he wore silver-rimmed glasses, and he had an aura of abstinence about him.
‘If you just look at his appearance, he’s exactly my type, but….’
I clicked my tongue in regret and glared at him with an equally unpleasant look. He wouldn’t have come all the way out here to welcome me.
Whenever I asked him to investigate the tastes of my blind date candidates, I would barge into his office without permission, so it seemed like he either hated it or was traumatized by it. Maybe both. He hated seeing me, and he was strangely similar to my older brother, so I climbed the rest of the stairs while looking at the guild master of Setra.
“Let’s go to the reception room for now.” When I finished climbing the stairs, the guild master walked ahead of me and guided me to the reception room.
“It looks like you’re pretty free today. You used to kick me out saying you were busy.”
“….”
I followed him into the reception room and muttered softly. There was no response. I didn’t really care because I had said it knowing I would be ignored.
“Please investigate Lyxion’s surroundings. Oh! And the former Duke Luhanes too!”
I sat down across from the guild master of Setra at a table in the spacious reception room and spoke with a serious expression. The guild master, who had asked his subordinate to bring us tea, raised an eyebrow and looked at me.
“What do you mean by ‘surroundings’?”
“Like if he’s been acting differently lately or who he’s been in contact with, things like that.”
The guild master’s expression became strange when he heard my request. He looked at my face as if he was examining it, and I responded with an expressionless face.
“Investigating Duke Luhanes’ surroundings is too risky compared to the requests you’ve made so far.”
It was as if he was asking why I wasn’t asking him to find out about my blind date’s preferences like usual. I’m sorry, but that’s none of your business.
Now that things have come to this, I had to find Lyxion’s weakness and prepare for it. Brother Michael’s reaction was like that, and the former Duke Luhanes’ reaction, which seemed strangely fixated on our family, was also like that.
The atmosphere of the turning point was not pleasant at all. Lyxion’s reaction was the worst of all. I didn’t know what he was thinking, so it gave me a headache. I was so anxious that I didn’t know what would happen if the engagement talk came up before Eunha appeared. Before that happened, I had to gather information and come up with countermeasures.
I took out the money bag I had prepared and placed it on the table with a loud thud.
“I’ll pay you as much as you ask for….”
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to decline your request.”
Cutting him off mid-sentence, I glared at the guild master, the frown on my forehead deepening. “You haven’t even heard me out yet?”
“I don’t need to. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to decline your request today.”
I’d thought that, given the circumstances, the guild wouldn’t be so quick to turn me down. But I hadn’t expected them to reject me so flatly. It didn’t seem like they were trying to extort more money from me; they seemed determined not to accept the request at all.
I was taken aback for a moment, then anxiously blurted out, “I’ll pay you a generous hazard bonus…!”
“No, this time it doesn’t matter if you offer me tens or even hundreds of gold.”
“But why not?”
Money was all I had. What else could I offer?
Suddenly, I couldn’t help but snap at him like I would at my brother, Michael. The guild master, calmly replied, frowning as if I were being too loud.
“Even if you keep saying ‘money, money,’ we have to think about our own safety. If we make a wrong move, we could end up dead. You know that as well as I do.”
…True enough. As unfair as it was, I couldn’t really argue with that. If someone told me to investigate the area around Lyxion, I’d tell them they were crazy and run away without looking back.
“I’ve paid you a fortune over the years. Can’t you do this one little thing for me?”
“Paid us a fortune? Anyone who heard that would misunderstand. We were simply compensated fairly for our services. If anyone insisted on giving us more than that, it was you, Lady Kristenner.”
I tried to push back a little, just to avoid seeming like I was giving up too easily, but it was no use.
That’s why I hate dealing with smart people.
Ugh, this isn’t working. Judging by the guild master’s expression, I had a feeling that no amount of arguing or begging would change his mind. I considered trying one last time, but then I remembered that I was twenty-three years old… and decided against it.
He seemed to have completely lost interest in me. He was staring at his fingernails with a bored expression on his face. He wasn’t saying anything to me directly, but I could feel the unspoken pressure telling me to leave.
Fine, I’ll go.
I grabbed my coin purse again, stood up abruptly, and walked toward the door. I kicked the door open with a bang and looked back at the guild master as I left. Since I was already in trouble, I figured I might as well get one last word in.
“Oh, fine! It’s not like you’re the only guild in town. I’ll just go somewhere else to get what I need… Huh?”
I had definitely just opened the door, so why was there a wall in front of me now? Wait, what?
I bumped into something soft yet solid and took a step back, my eyes wide with confusion. Then I met the gaze of cold, piercing blue eyes. They were familiar, yet unfamiliar.
* * *
I froze, taking another involuntary step back under the gaze of those emotionless eyes. The languid eyes slowly swept over me. I felt a chill wherever they landed.
He was just looking at me, but it felt like a sharp sword was being held to my throat.
“I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to go out because you weren’t feeling well….” The eyes examined me from head to toe, making sure I was uninjured. They blinked slowly once, and then a gentle smile appeared in their depths.
“Fortunately, you seem to be in perfect health now, Lady Kristenner.”
A smiling face is scarier, right?
He was wearing a gentle mask, but the coldness in his eyes hadn’t completely disappeared.
I wondered how long he had been there. Had he heard our conversation? How much of it had he heard?
Lyxion simply smiled at me, waiting for my answer, but I was terrified that his long, graceful fingers would reach out and strangle me.
I wanted to take a step back, but my legs wouldn’t move. I should have said something, but I couldn’t even speak.
“If you have any questions about me….” He deliberately paused, his gaze still fixed on me. I tensed up.
“…you should have asked me directly.”
