Chapter 18
Garfus, who had been in business for a long time, had a wide network. Naturally, he already seemed to know about the recent incident.
Cecilia didn’t want to leave a negative impression of her family on someone who had maintained a friendly relationship with her grandfather. As she looked at him anxiously, Garfus chuckled.
“That’s impossible. The Lord isn’t the type for such things. I remember Lord Verde worrying because he always tried to avoid conflicts and minimize damage.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. Compared to the aggressive Lord Verde, it was hard to believe his son was like that. Personality-wise, he was more like Viscount Cargo than…”
Garfus trailed off and took a sip of his tea. He must have noticed that Cecilia’s expression had soured.
After Verde’s death, while Cecilia’s father Cargo was trying to shut down the Niberius business, someone else had been moving in the opposite direction.
Valdir Richmond. Uncle Valdir, her grandfather’s student, grew up like a brother to her father, but had a completely different personality.
So Valdir eventually went independent with her grandfather’s techniques. Rumors even spread that he was the “true successor” of Niberius.
Of course, that was nonsense.
Cecilia, not wanting to stir up bad feelings, changed the subject.
“Oh, I’ve just been talking about myself. How’s Sophia doing?”
She asked about his daughter, who was around her own age.
They had been talking for nearly 20 minutes. She intended to end the conversation here, but no answer came back.
Puzzled, Cecilia looked up at Garfus—his weary face was expressionless.
“She’s dead.”
“…What?”
Cecilia couldn’t believe her ears.
Dead? Garfus’s daughter, Sophia? Why?
Questions swirled in her mind, but her lips refused to open. Sensing her unspoken thoughts, Garfus smiled bitterly.
“It happened a while ago, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“…A while ago?”
“There was an accident not long after Lord Verde passed away.”
She had been about to ask why he hadn’t informed her, but the words caught in her throat.
If it happened shortly after her grandfather’s death, that was when her father had been aggressively cutting ties with every merchant and business contact.
For him, it was the only window to fully shut down operations. He’d acted coldly, regardless of anyone’s convenience. It was fair on the surface, but caused a lot of friction.
As a result, they hadn’t received any news from business partners.
With a darkened face, Garfus spoke as if recalling that time.
“To be honest, we struggled a lot when our biggest client, Niberius, suddenly cut off all business.”
Cecilia’s face turned somber.
“Don’t tell me Sophia died because of that…”
“No, nothing like that.”
Garfus paused, then gave a faint smile.
“It was a carriage accident.”
She had met Sophia only once—a girl her age, who had come with Garfus.
A shy child who hid behind Garfus’s legs for a long time, but eventually opened up and became her friend before leaving.
A long-forgotten memory resurfaced. Cecilia opened her mouth after a moment of silence.
“…I’m sorry.”
No matter what, she deeply regretted not being able to mourn Sophia’s death at the time. She apologized, and Garfus gently responded.
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, young lady.”
“…”
Even if it happened long ago, how could a parent ever forget the pain of losing a child? It must still weigh on him. And yet, he spoke as if to comfort her.
Cecilia felt tears threaten to fall from his unchanged kindness.
But then Garfus met her eyes, his voice calm yet chilling.
“She died because she was weak.”
“…”
“The weak die easily.”
A wrinkle formed between Cecilia’s brows.
“Garfus… that’s—”
Knock knock—
Just then, a knock came from outside the drawing room, followed by a voice.
“Time’s up.”
Silence fell between the two. Garfus gathered his things.
Cecilia silently stood with him. Garfus put on his fedora and bowed politely.
“I was glad to see you again, even briefly.”
“…Me too, Garfus.”
Garfus reached for the doorknob as if ready to leave. Cecilia watched him blankly, but instead of opening the door, he turned back.
“By the way, how is Viscount Cargo doing?”
A belated inquiry. Cecilia blinked and quickly nodded.
“Oh, yes…”
“That’s good to hear. If he ever wants to restart his business, please tell him my firm would be happy to help.”
Caught off guard, Cecilia couldn’t reply right away. Garfus turned slightly and added like it was a casual remark.
“I’ve been staying in the Northern Nanba Range for a long time because of a client there. I’d like to feel the warmth of Niberius again.”
“…I’ll let him know.”
“Thank you.”
Garfus smiled smoothly and left with a polite farewell, wishing peace for Niberius.
Left alone in the drawing room, Cecilia sat with a darkened expression, quietly replaying his last words.
“So, did you pick them out?”
Pierre asked without looking at Cecilia, who was standing in front of his desk.
Considering he had assigned the mission, he seemed quite indifferent. But Cecilia didn’t care—she had completed the task and was ready to go home.
This time, she answered confidently.
“The sixth, Garfus, and the tenth, Ferze. Those two.”
She had met with four more merchants after Garfus left. Three she didn’t know at all. One she recognized after some conversation. Not as close as Garfus, but familiar enough to identify face-to-face.
With certainty in her eyes, she spoke. Pierre, who had been staring at his paperwork, finally looked at her.
“You’re right.”
Huh? Cecilia tilted her head. It was as if he already knew exactly who it was among the ten.
As she looked at him, puzzled, Pierre spoke.
“Anyone who investigates can easily deduce that Garfus and Ferze had past dealings with Niberius.”
“Then… why did you make me do this?”
Having spent the entire day nervously sweating, Cecilia looked incredulous. Pierre replied in his usual calm tone.
“Let’s say it was to see how honest you’d be.”
Clearly, that wasn’t the whole reason. But Cecilia had no way of knowing Pierre’s true thoughts.
She sighed deeply. Pierre watched her for a moment, then asked:
“Aren’t you a little happy?”
“Happy?”
“Yes. You get to go home safely.”
Cecilia narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
“…Are you really letting me go?”
“I keep my word.”
He smiled as he spoke. A beautiful smile—but to Cecilia, it looked dangerous.
Her uncles used to say that the prettiest mushrooms were the poisonous ones. Be careful.
Cecilia felt her heart stir uneasily as she stared at Pierre’s glittering face and muttered to herself,
‘I’d better be careful.’
Steeling herself, Cecilia finally nodded.
“Then, will you at least acknowledge Niberius’s innocence?”
“Well… I’ll acknowledge that you’re not dumb enough to lie about it.”
The way he said she wasn’t “dumb” annoyed her for some reason, and Cecilia glared at him with slanted eyes.
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
Muttering, she heard him chuckle softly.
“Not really. You didn’t lie, but that doesn’t mean you told the whole truth.”
“…Ugh.”
He looked like an angel, but inside, his mind was a blizzard. Pierre turned back to his documents.
“You’ve done well. You can stay until tomorrow if you want.”
Cecilia straightened up and answered firmly.
“No, thank you. I’ll leave right away.”
“Alright.”
At that moment, the door behind her opened and Cain approached. Without looking back, Cecilia left the office.
Pierre watched her through the closing door, then smiled faintly.
“See you soon, Cecilia Niberius.”
