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Chapter 44
I didn’t expect him to accept right away.
Kenneth was freer-spirited than anyone, and that was why the original story’s protagonist had struggled to tame him.
Besides, I knew my position very well.
“In a way… I’m completely unprepared.”
As Kenneth had said, various merchants and entrepreneurs had approached him. Thick reports were probably included, and hefty capital to put those plans into action would have come with them.
“But right now, I don’t have a single penny to my name.”
I had only cleared my debts.
All the money and stolen goods that Xavier had acquired illegally had been turned over to the royal treasury. The law required that any profit gained through crime be returned to the state.
So, the only money I had to use was enough to hire maybe two or three assistants.
Considering that other families employed ten or even twenty people, it was an embarrassingly small number.
“I heard some of the places that recruited me were dukes’ households too.”
In a way, it was like this: I was being poached by a large company, but I turned it down to join a startup.
“It’s crazy…”
Even I thought that unless someone was a total lunatic…
“Are room and board provided?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Guaranteed working hours, minimal overtime, two-person shared room, freedom to go out.”
As he listed each item, he lifted his chin confidently.
“If those are guaranteed, I’ll follow.”
“…”
“Let’s finalize this here and discuss the details back at the mansion… wait, why are you making that face?”
“…”
I carefully sized him up from head to toe. He looked pretty enough and perfectly ordinary.
“Could it be…”
…that he secretly enjoys being dominated? Or maybe he has a taste for enduring some kind of suffering?
Perhaps overcoming hardships is his hobby.
“That actually seems plausible.”
It looked reasonably credible.
“That’s not the case.”
Sensing my impure thoughts, Kenneth twisted his face sharply in objection. I flinched slightly, tilting my head.
“I haven’t even said anything yet…”
“You were staring at me like I was some weird, suspicious pervert, weren’t you?”
“…Wow.”
Sharp as ever.
After leaving the café, we immediately took a carriage back to the mansion and headed for the reception room. Of course, we left Mathias in a room briefly to allow for smoother conversation.
—Are you really going to do this?
I couldn’t forget the pitiful look he had given me, but I had no choice.
“He’s a talent I brought here myself.”
If things escalated into a fight and emotions flared, it could be disastrous.
“It’s better that he’s not here. I didn’t want to make a contract under threat to my life.”
Kenneth, lounging casually on the office sofa, crossed his legs out of habit.
“…I’m sorry about earlier.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s already over. I was a little surprised, but it was fun. It’s been a while since anyone threatened me like that.”
“Been a while?”
So something similar had happened before?
Just as I found that a little odd, Kenneth exhaled and continued.
“Anyway, you only need to follow what I mentioned earlier. Until you chase me out, I’ll follow the head of the guild, so don’t worry.”
“…”
“I don’t like saying this myself, but I’m smart and highly capable. I’m the kind of talent you can use anywhere, so just make the most of me however you want.”
“Um…”
Hearing an unexpected user manual, I couldn’t resist asking.
“I debated whether to ask, but I’ll just do it straightforwardly.”
“What is it…?”
“Why did you accept?”
“What do you mean?”
Kenneth asked nonchalantly, feigning ignorance. I folded my arms lightly and stared at him.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
At first, I thought it was a joke. Someone with his pride who rejects almost every high-profile recruitment wouldn’t logically accept a job under these extreme conditions.
It was a decision that defied common sense, so I had been watching closely…
“And he even followed me all the way to the mansion.”
He clearly had a purpose. A definite reason to come to Renestie.
“Honestly, I can’t offer Kenneth as generous a deal as the one you were offered before. You know that, right? You already knew I was from the Renestie family.”
“…”
Kenneth remained silent at my words. Not responding verbally was tacit acknowledgment. Convinced that his reason for coming wasn’t entirely pure, I pressed further.
“What exactly is your purpose?”
“…”
“If you can’t answer, I can’t hire you either.”
Yes, this was a matter of trust. I should be grateful he was even willing to work under me, but…
“If he came with a clear goal…”
It would change everything.
Having just freed myself from Xavier’s minions, I didn’t want another potential threat in the mansion.
Perhaps sensing my intent, Kenneth hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking.
“Actually, I dropped out of the academy and have been away from the capital ever since.”
“…”
“You’ve clearly done your homework. How thoroughly did you investigate me?”
Kenneth let out a short, hollow laugh. Then he composed himself and continued.
“But this, you probably don’t know. The reason I stayed away from the capital was to search for the Mermaid’s Tear.”
“…You said what?”
Mermaid’s Tear?
Had I heard him correctly?
“That’s a legendary medicine.”
A miraculous herb that could revive even the dead, a plant so legendary it seemed only to exist in history books.
“Did that really exist?”
“Yes. And there is only one place where you can obtain it.”
His gaze briefly darkened as he looked at me.
“Renestie. That place is Renestie.”
At the same time.
Mathias, sitting alone at the bedside, clenched and unclenched his hands.
‘Is he angry?’
He knew, actually.
That his earlier behavior had been a bit excessive. But it was directed at Aria. His hands acted instinctively, unable to tolerate that rudeness.
‘I tried to hide it as much as possible.’
People don’t change all at once.
Mathias knew this well. He had been the same once.
The scars from rolling through life recklessly still remained throughout his body. When conflict arose, actions came before words—part of the remnants of his past.
‘It’s fine if I get scolded…’
But what if this incident caused Aria to distance herself? What if she pushed him away, insisting they’d only talk alone like this?
Mathias was afraid of that.
Even if everyone in the world hated him, there was one person…
“…I don’t want that.”
He didn’t want to be ignored by Aria.
