VDBO 30

Chapter 30

The man who had been laughing until tears streamed down his face led me to a proper room. A place with a table and chairs. He even gave me clothes I could cover myself with.

Now then, the guy who kidnapped me—no, the man—who was he?

This man was the new head of Iskar. Someone who didn’t get along with Mr. Schvalt, almost like an enemy. More precisely, he had been on bad terms with the previous head.

After that, the leadership changed once, and then changed again—and that was how this young head, Shail, came to power.

Since then, I’d heard that he and Mr. Schvalt hadn’t crossed paths much, but regardless, it was true that their relationship still wasn’t good.

Still, aside from Mr. Schvalt, this place was the only one that truly had its hands on the underworld. That was why I judged that joining hands with him was my best option.

“I thought you’d come looking for me a bit sooner.”

At that, he shrugged.

“I sent people several times, but your security was ridiculously tight. There was barely any opening at all. You forced me to step in personally. So—why were you looking for me?”

He asked casually, sitting with his legs crossed.

I was still feverish, so I leaned halfway against the sofa as I sat.

“Before that.”

“Hm?”

“Bay is probably going to storm this place looking for me soon.”

Shail uncrossed his legs and jumped to his feet.

“What? Why are you only telling me now? That’s a headache.”

I gestured for him to sit back down.

“Sorry. I meant there isn’t much time. And you already knew, didn’t you? That they’d come looking for me.”

“Sharp kids are no fun.”

“Anyway, I’ll repay any damage later. If you leave me behind and go, things won’t escalate too badly. Before that, I wanted to propose a deal.”

He sat back down obediently. There were rumors he was a complete madman, but seeing how well he listened, maybe that wasn’t entirely true.

“But how did you know about me and steal the key?”

“There’s no time—can’t I explain that gradually later?”

“You’re incredibly self-centered.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that too.”

I raised my palm apologetically and decided to get straight to the point. Normally, I’d be able to talk to him more calmly, but—

It hadn’t even been a full day since I’d been slapped by Duke Ludwig. I’d reunited with my mother after a long time, then the next day came body aches, a kidnapping on top of it all… I was only half sane. Honestly, my organs might actually have been inflamed from being truly ill.

“You probably have a lot of questions for me. I’ll explain those gradually later too. For now, I need you and an information network. Find me a sharp kid and attach them to me. After today, the number of people around me is only going to increase.”

“How should I send them?”

“As a maid would be fine. Someone without connections would be even better.”

“Alright—wait. Are you ordering me right now…?”

“I told you, later, gradually. If you’re sending me an informant, I should repay you too.”

I forced myself to stand again. It felt like Mr. Schvalt would track us down any moment now. I didn’t know how long I’d been unconscious.

“You—you’re looking for your mother’s keepsake, aren’t you?”

“What?”

Shail, who had tolerated my behavior fairly well until now, instantly turned hostile. A cold, killing intent dripped from his face as he stared at me like he might stab me at any moment.

His mother Cassandra’s pocket watch.

A masterpiece made by embedding the one and only jewel that no longer existed: the Saint Diamond.

A gemstone that never shone no matter how it was cut. Soft and matte like fine down feathers, perfectly white without a single impurity. It was called the Saint Diamond because it was said to contain the soul of an angel.

A jewel used to express nobility rather than flamboyance. It no longer appeared anywhere on the continent. Only a handful of Saint Diamonds already cut and circulated in the world still existed.

Unless you examined it closely, you wouldn’t even know it was a Saint Diamond—but Mr. Schvalt would recognize it at an auction and buy it to propose to my mother.

She wouldn’t accept.

Later, when she was killed by the crown prince, she would die clutching that watch to her chest. That was what would happen unless the future changed.

Mr. Schvalt could probably obtain something even better, so I figured borrowing this one wouldn’t hurt.

Shail wasn’t searching for it out of greed. He wanted it because it was precious. All I was doing was trying to return it to its rightful owner.

If I stopped this and stopped that, maybe I could stop my mother’s fate too. That was my thinking.

“It’ll be at an auction soon. The biggest auction house… what was the name again? You can find that yourself, right? It’ll be the third item. If you want it before then, look among the sellers listing items—find the one with blue hair. I don’t care what happens to them.”

Shail’s face was still vicious.

“How am I supposed to believe you? What if you’re just an ill-mannered little thief?”

Though he looked slender, he wasn’t head for nothing. The killing intent sent chills down my spine, my body tingling painfully. It was similar to the feeling I sometimes got from Mr. Schvalt’s gaze. I spoke without letting my agitation show.

“Even if what I’m saying isn’t true, you lose nothing by checking, right? Is it really that big a problem? Or you could just kill me now. Is that so hard?”

I tilted my head and lifted my chin, as if inviting him to draw a blade.

After staring at me for a moment, Shail let out a hollow laugh and relaxed his expression.

“What kind of creature are you?”

“If you feel like helping me after you find the keepsake, send someone.”

“And if I don’t?”

“The head of Bay dotes on me a lot. If I lie and say you kidnapped me because you fell in love with me at first sight, he might even start a war with you. If you’re fine with that, you can ignore me.”

At that, Shail’s expression became even more ridiculous.

“…W-what did you just say?”

“You don’t like unnecessary trouble either, right?”

“That’s not the issue! You think he’d believe that?”

“He believes everything I say. So what’ll you do? I should get going now.”

Noise stirred outside the previously quiet room. It seemed Mr. Schvalt had arrived.

I pointed at the door with my eyes, urging him to answer quickly.

He gaped for a long moment like he’d lost his mind, then suddenly ran a hand roughly through his hair.

“Figure it out yourself.”

“I’m confident in that. Now leave me here.”

“What?”

“I’ll make something up. Hurry and go. You brought me here because you didn’t want to make things bigger either, right? This isn’t even your territory.”

Shail looked dumbfounded, like he couldn’t believe I even knew that much.

Sometimes he really did seem dumb for a head. Still, judging by how his power hadn’t diminished, he was clearly capable—at least in front of his subordinates.

The noise kept growing louder. Maybe because my tension was finally easing, the pain hit me all at once. My head spun.

Just as I said, he slipped out through the back door, clearly not wanting to escalate things. If he ran into Mr. Schvalt, more of his men would die here, and he didn’t want more bloodshed just to retrieve a single stolen key.

I headed back the way I’d come in earlier.

Bang. Bang.

The sound of doors opening and closing had been getting closer for a while now. Rough, urgent noise. I stopped in my tracks.

“Haah…”

The mouth I’d been clenching finally opened, hot breath spilling out on its own.

I’m really exhausted now.

This is my limit.

My vision flickered.

The heat that had risen all the way to my head tormented me terribly. Honestly, curses nearly spilled from my throat.

Then suddenly, at the end of the corridor, a man stumbled backward in terror. There were still people left.

But before he could scream for help, a swift slash cut him down, and he collapsed. The man who wielded the blade stepped into view.

“….”

I stared at the man standing before me, my face frozen in disbelief.

Why is he here?

Haha. I laughed.

Am I seeing things?

No—could this be real?

But Valeri Ahibara Kazinef couldn’t possibly be here.

As if answering my doubt, he strode toward me quickly. His white shirt was stained red in several places, as if he’d cut down countless people.

The scent of blood mixed in, but I could still feel his familiar scent—the soft, comforting one that was uniquely his.

Is this really not a hallucination?

“Valeri…?”

For the first time, I called his name familiarly.

Just as I’d once hoped—not Valeri Ahibara Kazinef, but simply him.

“Ha…”

He looked slightly out of breath, wearing an expression I couldn’t describe. He lowered his head briefly, as if collecting his emotions, then raised it again.

“Yes. I came to take you with me.”