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Chapter 16
The list contained everyone I had ever done business with—except for the mercenaries.
“I need you to separate the people connected to Kylerus Hadid,” I said. “Some of them are probably just other identities he uses.”
“Hmm… and?”
“I want to move my funds somewhere he can’t trace before he notices. As completely as possible. I also need accounts under false names. I’ve already narrowed down a few options.”
“I see.” Annie pointed toward the ceiling. “Are we moving all of that, too?”
“No. Just part of my assets.” I shook my head. “And I also want to know if there’s any way to have this marriage annulled without a lawsuit or settlement. Divorce is fine too. I just need to know whether such a method exists. I’ll handle the rest myself.”
“An annulment…”
“And after I run…” I continued quietly, “I want asylum. The moment I leave this place, everything has to happen in one motion.”
“I understand.” Annie nodded slowly. “If even one thing goes wrong, both you and I will end up offering our necks to Kylerus Hadid. Being sold as slaves or thrown into an arena for gladiators to toy with would be the best possible outcome. Right?”
Her chilling words made me squeeze my eyes shut.
I knew Noah was the hidden mastermind—the villain of the story—but it seemed his reputation was even worse than I had imagined.
I needed Annie’s help badly enough to tell her everything, but that didn’t make it any easier.
No matter what awaited us, he was still the man I loved.
“I’ll leave the rest to you,” I said. “I’ll tell you more as things progress.”
“So…” Annie smiled. “This is going to make me a lot of money?”
“Probably.”
She ran a finger across her crimson lips.
“Hmm… Give me a little more time to think.”
Even as she spoke, her eyes kept drifting back to the sheet listing my assets.
“But before that…” she asked, “can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
Now I was curious what she wanted to know.
“Does that man really raise monsters instead of normal animals?”
“…”
“He really does?”
“No. He doesn’t keep any animals.”
“I see… I was wondering if the rumors were exaggerated. I know everything that’s publicly known about Kylerus Hadid, but nobody really knows what he’s like. He’s… that kind of person.”
“I understand.”
“Has he ever been violent toward you?”
“Never.”
“I didn’t think so, but I had to ask.” She sighed. “I guess your story really shocked me.”
Simply hearing everything seemed to have exhausted her enough for an entire year.
She rested her chin on one hand, swinging her legs as she repeatedly furrowed and relaxed her brow.
Eventually, she straightened up.
“What if I refuse this job?” she asked. “What will you do then?”
At some point, both of our teacups had run dry.
Only then did I realize how parched my throat had become.
I set the empty cup down.
“I’ll try to do it alone.”
“Oh, come on. If you say it like that, what does that make me?”
I couldn’t help smiling.
“I just don’t want you to feel pressured. But if you help me… I’ll reward you generously.”
“I already know that from experience.” Annie sighed. “That’s exactly why I’m struggling to decide.”
“And I promise you…” I looked straight into her eyes. “By the time my final request is over, you’ll have earned enough money to retire from this business forever.”
Her mouth fell open.
Then she suddenly shouted.
“I was already having a hard enough time deciding! How could you say something like that?”
I smiled brightly.
I had known for a long time that Annie dreamed of pulling off one huge score before disappearing for good.
“I have to convince you somehow,” I said. “I don’t really have another choice.”
“You’re terrible. Seriously!”
Even so, after hearing my offer, the crease between her brows deepened even further.
She stared at the dozens of gemstones decorating her fingernails in silence.
Then—
Bang!
She slapped the table.
“Fine.”
“Annie?”
“I’ll do it.”
She grinned.
“If I can pull one last big job and disappear, I’d be stupid not to. Besides…” Her smile turned crooked. “I had a nasty run-in with one of Kylerus’s subordinates a long time ago. I’ve hated the bastard ever since. And honestly… I’m getting tired of being ‘Annie’ anyway.”
“Thank you.”
Relief spread across my face.
Good.
Annie had chosen my side.
“Oh, one more thing.”
As she packed the documents into her bag, she looked at me again.
“Yes?”
“I’m here as your friend, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I know it probably won’t happen…” She scratched her cheek awkwardly. “But could you keep me from running into Kylerus Hadid as much as possible? If I absolutely have to meet him once, I can manage… but I don’t think I can act normal in front of him.”
She actually shivered.
“I’ll do my best.”
“You can make me look like complete trash if you have to,” she insisted. “Just don’t let me meet him. Promise?”
Faced with such a desperate plea, all I could do was nod.
After Annie left, I returned to work in my office.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
Nigella was out overseeing preparations for the company’s expansion, so I looked up, wondering who had arrived.
The first thing I saw was a head of white hair.
“President. It’s Ginger.”
Ginger bowed politely before stepping inside.
“I didn’t assign you anything. Did a client come?”
“No… that’s not it…”
He dragged over a chair on his own, sat down, clenched both fists, and straightened his back stiffly.
Ever since I had offered him my deal, I hadn’t pressured him at all.
I intended to let him decide for himself.
The silence had gone on much longer than I expected.
I’d begun to think he had refused.
To be honest, I’d even prepared for the possibility that Ginger Perian would run straight to Kylerus and report everything.
That was why I had secretly planted a suggestion in his mind that day.
Since it hadn’t been broken, he obviously hadn’t said anything.
Has he decided?
I was hopeful.
Still, I kept my expression perfectly calm.
“President…”
“Relax. Speak freely.”
Ginger immediately cleared his throat with absurd enthusiasm.
“Ahem! Ahem! Hm!”
Then he looked at me with determined eyes.
“I’ll take the deal.”
Relief flooded through me.
When forced to choose between Kylerus and me…
He had chosen me.
Well—
More accurately…
He had chosen money.
“So you’ll work with me? Even knowing how dangerous it is?”
“It’s dangerous either way.” He shrugged. “If both choices could get me killed, I’d rather choose the one that pays.”
“Uh…”
Hasn’t that been your philosophy all along?
“And…” His voice softened. “You’ll really… get her out… won’t you?”
I understood immediately.
He meant his lover.
I nodded without hesitation.
“I pledge my loyalty to you, President!”
He sprang to his feet and bowed a perfect ninety degrees.
When he looked back up, the hunger for money practically shone from his eyes.
He really does love money…
Still, I welcomed him wholeheartedly.
He had become my ally.
I extended my hand.
“Let’s work well together.”
He hurried forward and shook it enthusiastically.
“The pleasure’s mine, President. Ah… should I call you Master instead?”
His expression practically screamed that fox ears and a fluffy tail were about to appear.
I laughed.
“No. ‘President’ is fine. It’ll attract less attention that way.”
Then I lowered my voice.
“You know what your first job is, right?”
“Yes. Secretly report everything you do to Miss Nigella—”
“No.”
I interrupted him.
“For now, there’s nothing complicated. Whatever I do…”
I smiled.
“…don’t tell Nigella.”
“Understood.”
He hesitated.
“Um… President?”
“Yes?”
“Could I… touch that gold bar just once?”
“…Well… all right.”
So I let him hold one.
After feeling its weight, Ginger marched out full of determination, shouting that he would prove he’d made the right decision.
As he was leaving, I gave him a smaller gold bar instead of the large one I’d shown him before.
He nearly drooled over it.
Then, incredibly, he begged me to put a magical shackle around his neck so he could never betray me.
I had only given it to him as a gift.
He was someone I never should have met in the original story, and I was genuinely happy he had agreed to join me.
Besides, I’d already placed one suggestion in his mind.
But Ginger only laughed.
“If I were scared of something like that, how could I survive in this business?”
With his consent, I cast an even stronger suggestion.
Not something horrifying like forcing him to commit suicide.
Instead…
If Kylerus ever discovered the truth, every related memory would simply disappear.
It was an incredibly dangerous spell—little different from turning someone’s brain into mush.
Even so, I warned Ginger that betraying me would cost him his life.
Using such a powerful suggestion on someone I considered one of my own left a bitter taste in my mouth.
But thinking of it as the minimum safeguard for both of us made me feel a little better.
Above all…
It was still better than letting Kylerus discover everything.
* * *
Nearly half a month passed.
Summer was now just around the corner.
Perhaps I had misheard what I’d overheard that day.
Noah showed no suspicious behavior whatsoever.
I explained that a friend had come to Ferrarium for a vacation, and he didn’t seem particularly suspicious.
Meanwhile, Annie played the role of my visiting friend perfectly.
From time to time, I showed her around Ferrarium so our meetings would appear completely natural.
Ginger also faithfully kept Nigella from learning anything about what I was doing.
Then, today…
Annie finally delivered the results of my first request.
“Normally, a list like this would take me less than a week. But whoever hid these identities did an unbelievable job. That’s why it took so long. Each identity even had different subordinates managing it. Honestly, tracking all of this down made me question my own abilities. Sorry for taking so long.”
“…Ha…”
Just how carefully had Kylerus Hadid hidden everything?
When I saw the list…
I finally understood why even Annie had struggled.
I slowly read through every name marked in red.
Count Rakhman.
Baron Lentain.
Viscount Maihue.
And…
Noah Edissy.
Every single one of them…
Was another title used by Kylerus Hadid.
The remaining five highlighted names all belonged to his retainers or trusted subordinates.
Fortunately, around twenty others had no connection to Kylerus at all.
The problem was…
Most of them had only done business with me once.
Or they simply weren’t important enough to matter.
Which meant…
Almost everyone at the core of my business network was connected to Kylerus.
Ha…
I had actually believed Count Rakhman was someone I could trust.
No wonder Noah Edissy had so much money.
And Baron Lentain, too.
I’d been born a commoner.
I had simply assumed that all nobles were wealthy.
