Chapter 32
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 32
"Last night, some insolent wild horse destroyed the fence around my Estate. I'm searching for it."
"A wild horse, you say? How intriguing. What sort of horse was it?"
"A black one. A rather... enormous black horse, I'm told."
"Enormous... a black horse?"
The woman's eyes gleamed with sudden interest.
She smiled slowly and made her request with perfect courtesy.
"I would appreciate more details, if you please."
"What more could I possibly tell you?"
"One cannot paint a portrait knowing only that it has eyes, a nose, and a mouth. I require specific characteristics and precise circumstances."
Ulias's sharp retort, delivered with a subtle smile, made Marquess Oellin glance irritably toward his Butler.
The Butler stepped forward respectfully and described what he had witnessed.
Ulias's hand moved so swiftly it was barely visible as she recorded every detail, then she nodded.
"I have identified the information you seek. This falls under Red Level classification—acquisition will cost 800,000 Gran, with expedited delivery incurring an additional 20 to 30 percent surcharge depending on timeframe. Do you wish to proceed?"
"8, 800,000 Gran?"
The Marquess shot to his feet in shock, his face flushing crimson.
800,000 Gran was roughly equivalent to three months of tenant fees from his entire domain.
That alone was no small sum, and on top of that? An additional charge?
"You, you audacious swindler! How dare you attempt to deceive me! 800,000 Gran for mere information?! Preposterous!"
"If you wish to decline, you may simply abandon the transaction."
Even as Marquess Oellin ranted and raved, Ulias's smile never wavered.
Norman's Temple treatment alone cost 100,000 Gran per week—this was highway robbery of the highest order.
"What manner of vile and wicked organization is this! I shall report your extortionate practices to the Nobility Council at once!"
"I understand your refusal. Shall I cancel the transaction and see you out?"
"Who would conduct business with charlatans like you! Come, Butler! There's no way information from these scoundrels could be reliable!"
He spun toward the door, but her unruffled voice followed him.
"Approximately 650 kilograms in weight, roughly 2 meters 60 centimeters in height to the head, 3 meters in body length. A horse with sleek, muscular black fur and blue eyes... There is a confirmed sighting from precisely four years and three months ago."
Marquess Capren Oellin whirled around in astonishment, staring at her.
"However, if you distrust this information, then it holds no value whatsoever."
She continued to regard him with that composed smile.
"Should you wish to conduct further business in the future, please do return. We will assist with payment on your way out. Safe travels."
With neither quite an invitation nor quite a dismissal, she bade him farewell and suggested he come again.
Marquess Capren descended to the first floor, seized by an inexplicable, unsettling sensation.
It felt as though he had been bewitched by a phantom.
'...It's remarkable how she discerned my identity the moment she saw me. And how precisely she extracted that information about the horse is truly eerie.'
Could that woman have fabricated the entire story about the black horse?
Even if it were genuine, he had no desire to spend 800,000 Gran merely to avenge his son.
'I can use other sources. Hmph! The Serviente Family isn't the only organization that deals in information!'
Despicable creatures.
Who dares attempt to pilfer my coffers?
When the council convenes next, I intend to lodge a formal complaint regarding the Serviente Family's exorbitant profiteering.
I'll teach them a proper lesson.
Marquess Oellin descended to the first floor with a troubled mind.
Just as he was about to exit the Information Agency with his Butler leading the way, an iron grate rose up through the doorway.
Clang!
"Gasp!"
What... what is this?
Before he could even process his shock, a courteous yet weighty voice emanated from the desk behind him.
"It appears your consultation concluded within the hour. The basic consultation fee of 60,000 Grans and service charges of 10,120 Silver for beverages have been assessed. Will you be settling by check?"
Capren turned around irritably.
There stood a massive man behind the desk—one who had been nowhere in sight before he ascended to the second floor.
A man with a courteous smile and a physique that contradicted it entirely.
"What... what is the meaning of this...?"
Capren was so flabbergasted that words barely escaped him.
Though his expression darkened considerably, the man's smile before the desk remained unshaken.
"Should you lack a checkbook, we also accept promissory notes. Alternatively, you may provide information of equivalent value. Of course, we must assess the information's worth after hearing it. Ah yes, the iron gate will not open until payment is rendered. You see, we have quite a number of... runners."
"This! This! You brigands! Open this door at once!"
Marquess Oellin's voice thundered forth.
It was a tone of such fury that any servant in his Estate would have trembled and bowed their head instinctively.
"The door will open naturally once payment is complete, Marquess."
"You wretched vermin!"
In his rage, Marquess Oellin reached for a small ceramic piece adorning the wall beside the door.
In that moment.
"That is a ceramic gift from the Grand Duke of the Kainon Kingdom three hundred years ago, currently valued at approximately 1.21 million Grans. Your predecessor received it as a gift from His Majesty the King himself."
Marquess Oellin nearly dropped the ceramic in alarm.
His palms grew slick with cold sweat.
'This... this tiny white ceramic is worth 1.21 million?'
They use something this precious merely as lobby decoration?
'The wealthy...'
Marquess Oellin exhaled in astonishment and carefully returned the ceramic to its place.
The man smiled knowingly.
"Thank you for your understanding. Then allow me to assist you with the check payment."
The man approached courteously, producing a checkbook with practiced grace.
Impeccably dressed and wearing an upright smile, one might not have noticed at first—but the man's left arm was a prosthetic.
Three blade-sharp spikes were embedded between the bones of the back of his hand...
"Simply fill this out, if you would."
The man smiled kindly as he handed over the checkbook with the hand bristling with blade spikes.
...And yet, despite that damnably courteous smile as he approached, Marquess Oellin's hands trembled uncontrollably.
* * *
Before the morning sun could rise, Grace's eyes snapped open.
Through the parted curtains, the pale dawn light was beginning to break across the sky.
Gazing at it with drowsy eyes, I slowly pushed myself upright.
"Why do I feel so... refreshed?"
My body felt unusually light and comfortable.
More than comfortable—I felt invigorated.
A long, luxurious stretch escaped me!
I extended my long, pale arms into the air, stretching languidly.
My body felt weightless. Wonderfully so.
"Perhaps it was that hot bath before bed?"
Not a trace of muscle soreness anywhere.
Despite having ridden so intensely yesterday, my body felt impossibly light.
I dangled my legs over the edge of the bed, swinging them gently as I gazed out at the vast landscape beyond the curtains.
It felt as though a weight had lifted from my chest.
Suddenly, I recalled last night's dream.
"It was such an entertaining dream."
I had been playing alongside all manner of animal companions.
The sky had become a sea where whales drifted, and beautiful serpents slithered across the ground.
Among them was Lucky, the black horse that had carried me yesterday.
They surrounded me, fighting and crying and laughing all at once.
Then those companions gathered together and severed the thorny vines that had bound me.
A wolf and a bear dug deep into the earth, and I buried the thorny vines that had wrapped around me in that hole.
As we began covering it with soil, insects crawled out from the vines.
The black horse came galloping over and trampled them to pieces.
Snorting fiercely, the horse utterly destroyed them, then kicked at the earth with its hind legs, completely burying the vines and insects.
"Hmm..."
Now that I thought about it, there wasn't anything particularly amusing about the scene.
So why had I laughed so hard?
Was it because the embedded thorns had finally come free?
"That serpent was so beautiful, I remember..."
The serpent had glided toward me and coiled around my legs where the thorny vines had been, climbing upward.
The silver serpent gazed at me with crimson eyes.
As I stared, mesmerized by its enchanting beauty, the horse came galloping back and seized the serpent's tail, slamming it against the ground.
"Hmm..."
No matter how I thought about it, the dream was strange.
"What a peculiar dream to have."
It was also unusual for a dream to remain so vivid in my memory.
I shook my head as if to dispel the lingering images of the dream, then threw the curtains wide open.
The pale twilight of dawn and the pleasantly cool morning breeze felt wonderful against my skin.
There was still some time before the wash water would arrive.
Grace settled by the window, savoring this rare moment of leisure as she admired the view.
'Now that I think about it, I was supposed to visit the Study today....'
Julie, who had returned from the Estate, relayed that Marquess Oellin had told her to rest well at the Black Family before coming back.
She said he had told the Marquess's household that Grace had been injured due to his mistake.
He had apparently instructed her to stay until she fully recovered with the Black Family's full support.
'He's not the sort to show mercy simply because I was injured. He must be trying to solidify his ties with the Black Family through this opportunity.'
Grace's heart felt complicated.
A man who said he would give abundantly the love she had never received.
And now she had even come to share this family's secrets.
"...This is giving me a headache."
The real problem was that her heart kept threatening to crumble.
Had I always been such a woman without conviction?
She rubbed her forehead awkwardly, then shook her head to dispel the wandering thoughts.
What good would it do to worry prematurely?
Until he returned, I intended to simply live at ease.
"...But why does his voice come and go like that?"
The strange thing was that whenever she thought of him, an answer almost always came.
'Could it be that I hear his voice when I think of him? If so, shouldn't I be hearing it now?'
She murmured softly, thinking of him on the chance it might work.
"Can you hear my voice, Your Excellency...?"
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org