“It’s not difficult. Why?”
“Make one and take it with you.”
“Go alone…?”
Virki’s eyes, filled with fear, trembled violently.
Droplets gathered on his long eyelashes and fell down, drop by drop.
“I’m scared…”
She understood. There was no telling what kind of nonsense Duke Gloria might spew.
Still, it was at least a chance to confront him directly, face to face.
In a rush, Liselotte moved to the seat beside him and grabbed his slumped shoulders.
He was so limp, like a mollusk, that it was hard to make him sit properly.
Liselotte soothed him with a bright, gentle tone.
“How about taking Taebon with you? He’s your friend, a mercenary commander, knows Duke Gloria too, and he’d be reassuring. Perfect!”
“Mm… Duke Gloria said he wants to meet alone.”
‘Hm… then is there someone who could sneak in?’
As if reading her thoughts, Virki spoke in an innocent tone.
“There’s a shadow among Taebon’s mercenaries. You can’t even feel their presence, and they move quietly.”
Then wouldn’t that work?
Not understanding, Liselotte tilted her head, and he suddenly burst into tears.
“I don’t like them…!”
He definitely seemed extremely shy around strangers.
He basically didn’t seem to trust people.
Whenever Eren approached, Virki would wail like a siren, so he had long since been kicked out of the reception room as well.
Even so, he wasn’t someone one couldn’t talk to.
Hoo. Smiling brightly again, she said clearly.
“I told you to take a magic tool that records conversations, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If you bring back the conversation from there, it will become strong evidence in the contract termination lawsuit.”
“…Then can I become free?”
“Of course. I’ll do my best to make sure the lawsuit proceeds as quickly as possible.”
Virki rolled his eyes around as he pondered, then, as if making up his mind, nodded firmly.
“…Yeah! I’ll try my best! Because Lise said so! I believe you!”
‘Lise…?’
Startled by the sudden nickname, Liselotte brushed it off as nothing serious.
***
The Imperial garden.
The streams of water falling from a fountain adorned with angel statues formed thin rainbows.
At a small tea table set in a place like something out of a fairy tale, only Diana’s fragile voice rang out.
“My father has been on edge lately because of concerns about my health…”
“…Diana.”
“Valen, you know. House Keilos cleverly stitched together truth and lies. What kind of person in the world treats an employee so viciously? And yet, we were unfairly branded as that kind of House.”
Instead of replying, Valen closed his mouth.
All of these troublesome events had arisen because of the recent decision issued by the Employment Department.
Rumors were rampant throughout the Perida Empire.
While no one dared openly criticize one of the Four Great Houses, the whispers behind their backs were far from ordinary.
Valen himself had been deeply shaken for quite some time now.
“Diana. I understand what you’re saying.”
“Could you please arrange just one opportunity for me to speak to His Majesty?”
“Why are you asking me to do that? That is something Duke Gloria, as the Head of the House, should say.”
“My father has been barred from entering the Palace for six months because of this incident. So I…”
“Diana.”
Valen gave her a slightly pained smile and quietly looked at her.
“Do you remember how Duke Gloria once clung to me, saying that you had loved me for a long time, and that since it was the request of his frail daughter, I should meet you at least once?”
“…Yes. Even now, those feelings have not changed, Valen.”
“Then let me ask you one thing.”
He took a deep breath and deliberately let the silence stretch.
Seeing Diana, who had grown even more slender from her illness, he felt like a sinner.
“The lawsuit with House Keilos. Are you saying that House Gloria truly did nothing wrong at all?”
“…Yes. You know, don’t you? We’ve never had anything like this happen while cooperating with the South on subjugations.”
A lie.
Valen smiled quietly.
“Alright. I understand. Let’s leave it at that for today.”
While seeing Diana off to her carriage, Valen remained silent.
She, too, unusually, watched his mood.
The moment Diana departed, he strode off without hesitation toward the Emperor’s office.
Since when had it been? From where had Diana started lying?
Was the story about Liselotte pushing her down the stairs also a lie?
‘But Liselotte had always shown me the same attitude.’
There had even been more than a few witnesses. What, exactly, was true and what was false?
Now that even his betrothed, whom he had trusted, was sowing confusion, his head began to ache.
When he stopped in front of the office, the chamberlain who recognized him knocked, knock, on the door and announced him.
“His Highness Valen is entering.”
The moment the door opened, Valen strode forward and stopped stiffly in front of the desk.
The Emperor glanced at him with pale eyes and smiled.
“You look troubled.”
“…Father. Have you heard about the notice the Employment Department issued to House Gloria?”
“Yes. Is there some problem?”
“I am coming from meeting Lady Diana just now.”
“Have you come to tease a widowed Emperor? The future of the Perida Empire is deeply concerning.”
“That is not what I meant.”
With a grave expression, Valen looked down at his father.
That sly smile and relaxed demeanor made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
That was what made him a difficult man.
Valen swallowed his dry saliva and continued quietly.
“If it had not been by your order, the Employment Department would not have moved.”
Until then, the Employment Department had only been watching the situation.
Of course, if pressure from the Merchants’ Association and the Academy had grown strong enough, the Employment Department would have had no choice.
But the one who accelerated the outcome was Larde. It was him.
Even Valen, who had only heard the contents in passing, couldn’t hide his shock.
That Duke Gloria, who had always seemed so good-natured, had ordered an employee to murder a relative.
At the same time, doubts arose as to whether those he had long regarded as a shield were truly on his side.
And then, suddenly, something came to mind.
He quietly opened his mouth.
“Ever since the lawsuit Liselotte filed before, have you been doing this deliberately…?”
At his question, Larde, who had been looking only at the documents until now, raised his head.
His water-colored eyes lingered on his son, wavering with confusion, then slowly curved.
“Who knows.”
***
Virki, sitting alone in Duke Gloria’s office, looked around.
The walls were densely lined with bottles of liquor.
Anix took out a bottle of wine and spoke.
“We could have met in Lergo Village just fine. For you to insist on coming all the way here, I hardly know what to do with myself.”
Despite the humble words, his voice carried a mocking edge.
Virki lowered his head deeply and swallowed his tears with effort so as not to cry.
“It wasn’t possible…”
“Where in the East would there be a place I cannot go?”
“Th-that Lergo Village originally belonged to the Magic Tower.”
“That was a story from more than five hundred years ago. It has long since become part of the East.”
Anix popped the cork cleanly with a wine opener and, as he filled an empty glass, asked,
“So, you filed a lawsuit. Claiming it was an unfair contract?”
“That’s true. The 5, the Grade 5… what was it again?”
Virki rolled his eyes for a moment, then let out a short sigh and continued.
“With Grade 5 byproducts, we can never produce a Grade 2 magic tool, no matter what.”
“So if the Magic Tower asks for termination, am I supposed to bow my head and say, ‘Yes, Tower Master,’ without question?”
“I delivered enough of the magic tools you wanted! So, um… right, that’s why I’m saying I’ll terminate the contract.”
“Hah…”
Letting out a deep breath, Anix leaned back heavily into the single sofa.
“So, the East has made enough profit, is that it?”
At first, he had been annoyed because Virki did nothing but cry, but now he was annoyed in a different way, because Virki was speaking in a stiff, awkward manner.
Lightly rolling the wine glass in his hand, he twisted his face into an arrogant scowl.
“Supplying goods is not an excuse, Tower Master. You did it because there was a contract. It’s not as if you gave them to us out of goodwill for free.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You secretly swapped out my special clause for another one. A fraud.”
“No, that’s not the case. It isn’t, Tower Master. To call us frauds is truly hurtful…”
He took a sip of wine, then briefly clicked his tongue, creasing his brow as he spoke.
“We were the first to recognize the Magic Tower’s potential and invested in its devices. Where would you find people as benevolent as us?”
