“I never thought Uncle would actually go to an alchemist. What kind of potion is he trying to get?”
“I’m not sure. But he said he plans to attend the banquet at the marquisate in two weeks with some man.”
Kiri then told her the man’s name and background. Ireneah repeated the name a few times before a sense of familiarity hit her.
“I feel like I saw that name somewhere recently…”
“On the list Lady Sellen gave us. The candidates for Lord Callio’s marriage.”
“Ah, right. Now I remember.”
Last spring, a man who graduated from the military academy with Lord Callio’s sponsorship had that name. He was said to be the best-looking among the candidates on the list.
Thinking of Sellen’s commentary, Ireneah let out a small laugh.
“I’m going to announce my marriage partner at that banquet, and he’s bringing an unmarried man who I’ve never even met before?”
Something’s fishy. It smells bad—so bad it makes her sick.
She didn’t know exactly what kind of trick he was planning, but it was clearly something cheap and dirty, like a back-alley thug would do.
Did he even realize that he was worse than the people who looked down on him for being lowborn?
“I wish he’d just go ahead and poison my drink instead.”
At least then, she’d have evidence to report him.
“Marquess.”
Kiri frowned hard, as if asking what nonsense she was saying. Ireneah waved her hand playfully.
“I know, I know. I won’t do anything reckless. You’re just like my brother, always overprotective.”
“If you didn’t act like a moth drawn to fire, I wouldn’t need to be.”
His tone was formal, but the content was surprisingly casual—not how one would usually speak to a noble.
Ireneah really cherished the two siblings she had once rescued from the arena, so she didn’t mind their lack of distance.
“Anyway, I need to go there myself to hear the details?”
“Yes.”
“I’m already swamped with work. Why does everyone keep calling me around like this?”
Clearly, she had spoiled Sellen too much.
Thinking of Sellen’s annoying face, Ireneah frowned.
“This time, I’m really going to fix his attitude. Kiri, help me out.”
With Kiri’s help, she changed clothes and put on a bonnet in the moving carriage.
She’d done this so many times, she could do it with her eyes closed.
“How do I look? You can’t see my face, right?”
“No, Marquess.”
“Then wait here. I’ll be back soon.”
She left all her guards behind and went into the back alleys alone.
Kiri inhaled sharply, clearly wanting to say something. But all he said in the end was:
“Please be careful.”
“Take care of the paperwork while I’m gone!”
Kiri watched her leave with a worried expression. But there was no real need to worry.
Ireneah was under the protection of Sellen, the leader of the intelligence guild Moonshadow, which controlled the capital’s underground world.
Until two years ago, the group dominating the back alleys wasn’t Moonshadow, but the deadly Assassin Guild ‘Swamp of Silence’.
They were so powerful, people didn’t even dare complain if they got stabbed on the street—as long as the attacker had the guild’s double-S tattoo.
It was Moonshadow that finally brought them down.
They had started small—just a group of victims banding together, saying they couldn’t take it anymore.
None of them had chosen the back alleys—they were forced there because they had nowhere else to go.
And since they couldn’t run anymore, they decided to fix the place they had to live in.
But before they could make progress, someone betrayed them. Their existence was about to be exposed.
That’s when someone offered them help:
“I’ll give you a place to hide. I’ll take care of your pursuers. Stay there for now.”
They were desperate, so they had no choice but to accept.
Once safe, they began to question the helper’s motives.
“I know what you’re trying to do. Let me help.”
“…What’s the price?”
“You’re building an information guild, right? Just let me be your client forever—for free.”
To be honest, the guild leaders thought she was crazy.
But time wasn’t on their side. They had to succeed before more innocent people were killed.
So they accepted her help—and it turned out to be the right choice.
Now, two years later, Moonshadow had taken full control of the capital’s black market and back alleys.
“Welcome! It’s great to see you again, Lady Linia! Was your trip pleasant?”
“Not at all. I told you I’m busy. Your delivery service sucks. Did I really have to come here myself?”
“Please take that up with our Master…”
The girl who welcomed her looked visibly deflated.
Ireneah knew the girl’s tricks by now, but she still pretended to fall for them.
Her name was Julie, and she reminded Ireneah of her younger siblings.
“So, where’s your Master?”
“Waiting for you downstairs! Let me show you the way!”
Julie eagerly grabbed her hand after receiving the cookie Ireneah handed her.
Led through a hidden door and down the stairs, they entered a secret room.
“Our Master has been dying to see you! Go on in!”
“When is her neck finally going to snap from all that waiting?”
She always said she was “dying to see” her, but Ireneah never actually saw her suffering.
“Always joking around.”
She thought it would be the same as usual, but when she stepped inside, she froze in shock.
-Baam, ba-baam!-
She was supposed to be at the guild’s headquarters—but what she saw looked like a grand ballroom.
“Oh my God…”
“Lady Linia, VIP of Moonshadow, has arrived!”
Someone even blew a trumpet like in some royal court.
Guild members dressed in tuxedos and gowns clapped politely.
“Kyaa! It’s Lady Linia!”
“We love you, Lady Linia!”
The cheering sounded like something out of a theater play.
“Why am I the only one embarrassed here?”
Ireneah took a step back, seriously considering running away.
Noticing this, a neatly dressed woman with short green hair approached her, smiling brightly.
“May I have this dance, my lady?”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to pull this kind of stunt?”
The crumbling old house above was just a disguise. The real guild started underground.
Sellen, the guild master, had opened the entrance to all Moonshadow members—and about once a month, she would decorate the lobby like this.
Once, she turned it into a jungle with huge flower pots, and Ireneah thought nothing could surprise her anymore. She was wrong.
“Why do I have to deal with this nonsense even here, when I’m already being dragged around everywhere else?”
Sellen just smiled and gestured around her.
“I told you, it’s not for me. Everyone loves this kind of stuff.”
Ireneah knew that the people of the back alleys, who had suffered so much under the old guild, now lived with joy thanks to Moonshadow.
She didn’t plan to mock them for imitating high society. But why did Sellen always include her?
“Sellen. I told you many times, I—”
“—am busy? Of course. But you came because you want answers, right?”
Winking, Sellen gently led her to the center of the ballroom.
As she bowed gracefully, the music changed to a dance number.
“Lady! Please accept our Master’s dance!”
“She’s been waiting just for today!”
Yeah, right. She lived for teasing Ireneah.
Ireneah gave in to the pressure and curtsied, lifting her skirt.
She wanted to step on Sellen’s foot, just for being annoying—but the woman dodged every time, like she was reading her mind.
“So, Lady. What are you most curious about?”
“What’s the potion my uncle ordered?”
Maybe Sellen realized she’d pushed enough—or maybe she noticed Ireneah’s tone had turned sharp.
As she spun her in a dance move, she leaned in and whispered:
“He ordered a love potion.”
“A love potion?”
“It’s made by burning a strand of someone’s hair. Once you drink it, you fall in love with that person instantly.”
No matter who you loved before.
Ireneah shivered at the idea.
“That’s… impossible. You can’t force love with drugs, can you?”
“That’s what alchemists do, mostly. You know that, don’t you?”
Honestly, Ireneah hadn’t realized potions could go that far.
In the past, she’d bought a permanent contraceptive potion from an alchemist.
It had made her infertile after just one dose—keeping her from having her awful ex-husband’s child.
Sadly… it also meant she could never have a child with someone she did love.
That’s so sad