‘What is that?'
‘Is that a public confession?'
‘Amazing.'
‘I can't believe there are men who confess in such an unsophisticated way these days.'
Campus of the Department of Magic, in front of the fountain.
The students were astonished at the man holding an armful of bright red roses.
He was dressed in expensive-looking clothes and accessories from head to toe, and he felt too burdensome because it was too much.
The shiny brown boots, in particular, were the highlight.
‘Of all places, he is standing in the spot where Sir Isidor had been a while ago…'
‘It's really unfortunate.'
He was further compared to Isidor, who only added light points to his outfits so that his natural charm could stand out.
‘Haha. Everyone is amazed at my wealth. That's a given. I am the master of the Western Silver Mine.'
Louis Gargell enjoyed the attention she received and waited for Princess Deborah to come out of the classroom of the Department of Magic.
‘As expected, the girls in the capital look nice.'
In the meantime, he didn't forget to glance admiringly whenever a pretty lady passed by.
After a while.
From the front door of the Department of Magic, a young lady with the words ‘Deborah Seymour' written on her face came out.
As Deborah passed by, the people around her were very polite and got out of her way.
They were like herbivores that quickly moved away from the carnivores.
‘She is really gorgeous.'
Louis Gargell's eyes widened.
She was an impressive woman, with long purple hair that came down her waist and a slender body.
‘She doesn't seem to have a single bit of cuteness so she's not my type, but she is prettier than I thought.'
Above all, he heard that that woman named Deborah was a direct descendant of Seymour and had recently demonstrated her outstanding magical talent.
She was a necessary person for the Gargell family, where no wizard was born.
He had heard rumors that Princess Deborah is evil enough to be called a viper by all men; but if he keeps her isolated in the western territories and educates her, she'll fix her temper.
‘It's not like I will only look at that woman for the rest of my life.'
Suppressing his cunning intentions, he approached Princess Deborah and smiled kindly.
"Greetings. Princess Deborah. I came to meet you after being introduced by Belreck Seymour. It is an infinite honor to meet such a beautiful and noble person in person."
While he thought that it was the perfect first meeting, the Princess curled up her lips with a sneering face.
"Aah! So you're the Thompson, no, Louis Gargell. You're such a shameless person. How dare you put that ugly face in front of me."
"This, what. All of a sudden…"
Louis Gargell's expression hardened as a biting remark hit him unexpectedly.
"Catherine Bay."
For a moment, he felt a sense of humiliation from the oppressive eyes that looked down on him. The moment the name Catherine came up, Gargell's eyes widened.
"Th-That…"
"Yeah, it's the name of your mother's maid, who was kicked out of your estate last year because you touched her."
"…"
"Of course, I know this is not all. Mary, in the winter of last year, Joan, in the fall, three years ago…"
"W-Wait a minute, Princess!"
Louis Gargell's complexion turned gray before the uninterrupted revelations of his past.
"Really, there's a lot. I was surprised because something kept coming out every time I did some digging. A cat's fur would fall out less than this."
"Ugh!"
As she took a step closer with a fishy smile on her face, Louis Gargell faltered and began to step back.
"It's too early to run away. I have a petition that lists all your filthy deeds, and I will read it to you."
Louis Gargell hurriedly waved his arms as Deborah pulled out an envelope with a bright red seal from her bag.
"I-It's fine."
"Oh well, there's a line of people who can come all the way to the capital and testify about you if I want, so I don't need to get my mouth dirty. I didn't even have to go to the west, you also had a lot of fun here. You even created a slush fund."
She even knows that?
Louis Gargell's hands and feet began to tremble.
"I also know that recently, you have been so addicted to gambling that you keep false ledgers to steal the silver from the silver mines."
"…"
"Your father must have had a wild dream when he saw the letter from my Brother Belreck. And he must have handed you the Gargell seal to strengthen your relationship with the Seymour family. But you used that seal to make a slush fund."
"U-Ugh."
"Your father will be delighted to hear this. Don't you think?"
Louis Gargell felt terrified as he looked at the Princess, who knew what he had been secretly doing.
To the extent of finding out everything that happened in the estate located in a corner in the west, where the terrain is rough and outsiders rarely come and go.
He was confident that he had done a good job concealing the name Catherine Bay, which the Princess brought up.
He couldn't even imagine how great the information power of Princess Deborah was.
Her cold eyes, which narrowed like that of a snake's, pierced him.
"And above all, I am most curious about the reaction of my Brother Belreck, who trusted you and tried to arrange a meeting with me."
"Ack!"
Princess Deborah waved the red envelope detailing Louis Gargell's nasty conduct.
"If he sees the petition from the maids and servants who worked for the Gargell family, won't he feel insulted by you and throw down the gloves at your brazen face?"
(T/N: A physical action intended to issue a formal challenge to a duel.)
Louis Gargell gasped.
A duel with Seymour's second son, who is considered a genius.
He would have died instantly while taking out one attack artifact.
He was sweating profusely, and his lips trembled.
"W-Wh… What…"
"Speak properly. Don't stutter."
"W-What do you want from me? Princess. I will do a-anything. I will beg you right here if I have to."
"It's simple. From now on, don't ever show yourself in front of me. Don't even let me hear your name. If possible, I would like for you to be locked up in the west where you live and never come out. I will give you 3 seconds."
3. 2. 1.
She counted without mercy.
Louis Gargell, who barely stood there with a look of incontinence on his face, ran like crazy, fleeing to a place where the Princess's gaze could not reach him.
***
‘He runs well.'
While watching the shabby back of Louis Gargell quickly moving away, I rubbed the nape of my neck, which was aching with tension.
The moment my first request at Blancia, which was to find his weakness, saw the light.
‘As expected, the Master knows how to dig what one has burrowed.'
The Master had been digging into all of Louis Gargell's secrets, and I was holding onto the weapon he gave me while waiting for my opponent to fall into a trap.
Since the heir, Belreck, had brought in Louis Gargell himself, I thought he would appear soon; but I didn't know that he would even announce his appearance through gifts and letters.
I thought that if I set up a duel with Belreck while holding onto his weakness and wielding it, he would definitely get scared and run away at the dangerous situation; and it went as I expected.
‘By the way, how intelligent is the Master?'
The western Akon region is a rugged mountainous region, and it would not have been easy to collect information as it was far from the capital; but he dug up everything that the son of that region's lord, who was no different from a king, had concealed.
Certainly, the informants the Master had planted were already hiding all over the Empire.
Who on earth is he?
Isn't there a high probability that he is the son of a family that has been in the information business for a long time?
He speaks politely to me, but I'm certain he is not a commoner.
Because the Master liked the metaphors used by the nobles.
The bottom line is that I want to keep doing business with him.
To do that, I must look like a tycoon who will bring him great profits, while trying not to look easy to him.
‘I need to be good at tug of war. I didn't expect him to bring me this information.'
I swallowed dry as I looked at another envelope sealed with a silver seal, not the one with the red seal that I used to threaten Louis Gargell.
***
"Louis Gargell fell from a horse?"
While Louis Gargell, who went to the academy and caused a commotion, was getting in his way, the news came to Belreck's ears.
"Yes. Mr. Belreck. That's why he injured his important part… Ahem! As it is probably the most critical accident for a man, he won't snoop around the capital's social circle anymore."
"…"
The annoyance is gone.
It was Belreck's brief joyfulness.
His father disapproved of Louis Gargell, so he refused to get involved with him any further.
But even though it was not a bad situation for him, he felt a bit uncomfortable.
Today's work was out of hand, so Belreck returned from the Wizardry Association to the separate building and started walking around the townhouse.
His head was usually filled with only thoughts about work and achievements, but perhaps because of his chaotic mood, he caught sight of the flower garden buried in the bluish darkness.
‘It was originally a rose garden managed by Mother…'
Why did his father suddenly change his mind and plow the garden?
‘Don't tell me it's because of Deborah.'
He wished it wasn't, but his gut insists that that's correct.
‘But why?'
While he stood there in an ambiguous mood, a white wax-like figure slowly walked out of the darkness.
‘Deborah?'
Belreck suddenly remembered his mother, perhaps because of the way she was walking with her back against the flower garden, and narrowed his eyes.
Comments