HSYR 21

Surrounded by nothing but wasteland, she hadn’t expected much, but Goha was a surprisingly prosperous trade city.
At the entrance to the city stood a trading post where merchants traveling to and from the south bought and sold goods, and around it were clusters of high-end inns catering to wealthy traders.

Merchants usually rented out entire inns to safeguard the goods they were transporting, so one- or two-story inn buildings were spaced out at intervals.
Each one had its exterior lavishly decorated to attract customers, making it entertaining just to look around.

“Ooooooh!”

Helena gasped in surprise when she saw a woman walking by with an armadillo in her arms.

“Th-that… is that a monster?”

“It’s an animal, Lady Heren. It’s called an armadillo.”

“That’s an animal? To think there’s a creature that looks like that in this world…!”

Aaron let out a quiet chuckle as he watched Helena get excited like a child.

So the madam has a cute side too.

Then Helena spoke.

“So then, where do we go to find this man named Wesley…?”

Aaron was taken aback by her words.

“Do you know nothing besides the fact that he’s in Goha?”

Helena answered cheerfully.

“Nope.”

“Haaah…”

For a moment, Aaron nearly saw darkness before his eyes, but he forced himself to regain his composure.

“…We’ll have to ask the barkers. They’re the ones with the widest connections in this city.”

Helena exclaimed in admiration.

“As expected, you really know your stuff when it comes to things like this! I’m glad I brought you along, Sir Aaron.”

Aaron ran a hand over his face. He didn’t want to believe the reality of having conversations like this with a countess.

“What do you mean ‘know my stuff’?! I merely stated the obvious!”

“Why are you getting angry? Hahahaha!”

“Haaaah…”

As soon as they passed the street of high-end inns where no barkers were present, they spotted several barkers loitering about.
When they noticed Helena, dressed in flamboyant attire atop a white horse, and Aaron, dressed like her attendant knight, their eyes lit up and they slowly began approaching.

Suddenly, Aaron realized:

We must look like walking cash cows.

Sure enough, the barkers swarmed them in an instant, rubbing their hands together like flies that had discovered a pile of fresh dung.

“Ooooooh! Young master!”

“To think such an esteemed guest would visit a shabby place like this! You must have come back from quite the adventure!”

“I’ll serve you properly today! Just give me one chance!”

Helena snapped her riding crop against her leather boots with a sharp smack and shouted arrogantly.

“Enough, you vulgar fools! Do you think I came to a filthy place like this because I wanted to? I’m here to find someone.”

Aaron’s mouth fell open. Helena’s performance as she argued with the barkers was far too natural.

“I’m looking for a man named Wesley. Well, once I find him, it’s not like I’ll just leave immediately either. Ahem!”

Her portrayal of a reckless young noble who had come to a dangerous city under the pretense of searching for someone was so perfect that Aaron could only marvel.

One of the barkers quickly stepped forward.

“Young master! If it’s Mr. Wesley, I know him. He lives in the house with the yellow roof. I’ll guide you!”

“Oh, how fortunate! To find someone who knows Wesley so quickly. This should make things go much faster.”

“Hehehe, after you’re done with your business, you should experience Goha’s culture too. I’ll guide you through that swiftly as well.”

“Ahem, one simply can’t resist cultural experiences…!”

Listening silently as he followed behind Helena and the barker, Aaron shook his head.

The barker led them to a run-down inn. Rather than a house with a yellow roof, it would be more accurate to call it a house that used to have a yellow roof—it was that dilapidated.

“This is it!”

Upon arriving, Helena glanced at Aaron, signaling him to get rid of the barker.

Though dumbfounded, Aaron had no choice but to rummage through his pouch and toss a silver coin to the barker.

“That’s enough. Leave now.”

Delighted by the unexpected extra income, the barker happily withdrew.

No sooner had that issue been resolved than Helena strode into the inn entrance and shouted in a booming voice:

“Wesley, come out!”

At the sudden shout, a loud crash echoed from deeper inside the dim interior.

Soon, a plump woman who looked like the innkeeper stormed out, fuming.

“What kind of trouble is this before we’ve even opened for the day?!”

But the moment she spotted Helena, the woman froze, unsure of what to do. Helena’s extravagant attire was something rarely seen even in a trade city.

In a voice that was clearly forced to sound calm, the woman said,

“Y-young master! What brings you to such a shabby place?”

Helena replied confidently.

“I’ve come to see Wesley. Tell him Heren has arrived—he’ll know.”

The innkeeper looked bewildered.

Wesley was the only long-term guest in this dilapidated inn. She charged him more than the standard lodging fee, which included compensation for driving away troublesome visitors on his behalf.
But she couldn’t do that with this guest.

It was the kind of situation she couldn’t refuse, even knowing it would become a hassle.

As if possessed, the innkeeper went up to Wesley’s room and pounded on the door.

“Wesley, you have a visitor!”

Only after knocking for quite some time did she hear rustling from inside.

A moment later, a man with messy hair, an unkempt beard, and a generally filthy appearance opened the door.

“Nancy, what is it? A visitor? I told you to drive away anyone who comes looking for me.”

“He’s a noble. He said you’d know if I told you Heren was here.”

Of course, Wesley didn’t know.

Blinking his bleary, sleep-crusted eyes, he asked,

“Heren…? I don’t recognize the name.”

Seeing his pathetic state, the innkeeper could only click her tongue.

“Wesley, get your act together. You don’t even remember what you ate yesterday, do you?”

“Huh? What did I… eat yesterday…?”

The look she gave him was pure exasperation.

Feeling uneasy under her gaze, Wesley began rambling defensively.

“Nancy, you know… a man who’s lost his dreams is bound to rot away at rock bottom.”

“You’re not calling the inn I inherited from my mother ‘rock bottom,’ are you?”

Wesley jumped in alarm, waving his hands frantically.

“N-no! Of course not! This inn is a place steeped in the history of the trade city Goha! Somewhere everyone should visit at least once! Th-the rock bottom is my life!”

The innkeeper irritably patted his shoulder.

“Stop babbling and go down already!”

Scratching his chin with an awkward expression, Wesley headed down the stairs.

On the first floor of the inn, a beautiful young noble with a flamboyant appearance and his attendant knight were waiting for him.
Still, they were unfamiliar faces.

Wesley asked blankly,

“Who are you?”

The beautiful young noble with an odd mustache replied arrogantly,

“Would you know if I told you? You should be asking why I’m here.”

“…Fair enough. Why have you come?”

Helena pointed to herself.

“I’ve come from the House of Ishpern. By now, you should be able to guess my business.”

The dull expression on Wesley’s face instantly vanished.

With a strange glint in his eyes, he slowly looked Helena up and down.

I thought this day might come someday, but…

He ran through the lineage of the House of Ishpern in his mind, trying to recall whether there was someone of this age and appearance among those with a claim to succession.

But as far as he remembered, no such person existed.

Where did this reckless young noble crawl out from?

Rubbing his brow as if troubled, he dragged a chair over and slumped down carelessly.

“Have a seat.”

“Hmmm…”

Eyeing the filthy wooden chair with clear displeasure, Helena gracefully laid a handkerchief over it before delicately perching herself on top.

Wesley stared at her in disbelief before speaking.

“Why is the House of Ishpern looking for me?”

Helena caught the wariness in his expression.

He’s not spilling everything as readily as Mr. Kurt did.

Then again, the former head butler who had waited faithfully, nurturing the heir while clinging to his loyalty to a count’s house that fell five years ago, was the unusual one.

Most people would’ve left to find their own way.

She’d assumed Wesley had done the same, but judging by his current appearance, that didn’t seem to be the case.

As a former steward of the count’s house, there should have been plenty of places willing to take him in. Yet Wesley had never left Burwood and remained in Goha.

Since he was in a trade city, she’d thought he might be running a business using his connections—but he didn’t look well-off at all. If anything, he looked like someone rotting away while still alive.

Could it be that type? An old fool drowning in booze, unable to let go of his glorious past…?

Perhaps unnerved by Helena’s gaze, which seemed ready to strip him bare, Wesley’s face gradually filled with discomfort.

“What is this? You said you had business—then say it.”

But Helena only continued to stare straight into his grayish-brown eyes.

And yet… for someone like that, his gaze earlier was far too sharp.