North x Northwest

The dressmaker was surprised to see that the people standing on either side of the door weren’t simple servants but soldiers. At some point, his knees started to wobble and he kept looking behind him for no particular reason. The man he first thought was a butler now looked like a soldier as well. He entered the inner chamber shaking like a leaf and before the butler could say anything, the dressmaker already knelt down on the floor and cried out.

“It’s n…n…nice to meet you, Sir!”

A man sitting in a chair had his back turned towards the dressmaker. One leg stretched over the console. From the dressmaker’s position, all he could see was the tip of this man’s well-polished shoe.

From somewhere, the sound of a knife sharpening could be heard. 

 – Sshhhk… Shhhk… –

The dressmaker stiffened and looked around. As it turned out, one of the men in the room was trimming his fingernails with a dagger. The dressmaker closed his eyes quickly and sank to the floor, sensing that the sharp blade could easily slit his throat at any moment.

The man’s voice then crept up the back of his neck.

“What did you do when you went to the Retiro residence?”

“…What?”

“…”

His request for clarification came out as a reflex, but the dressmaker innately knew that he shouldn’t make this man ask him twice. As a result, he responded after slapping his mouth.

“My client’s name is Levi. I went to receive an order for the lady’s clothes.”

“Was she really the one who called for you?”

“…”

“Is the Marquess in his residence?”

“S… Sir! Sir! I don’t know anything!”

“…”

The dressmaker fell flat on his face, his nose crashing into the floor. A crunching sound came from behind his high-raised buttocks, it sounded like the soldiers approaching him were pulling their swords from their scabbards.

“Pl… please spare me! Please spare me!”

“Is the Marquess in his residence?”

“Oh, if I tell you that, I…”

As the footsteps neared, the dressmaker flinched his hips and moved his body slowly forward. The moment he was about to start crawling, the soldiers passed him and shoved something in front of his nose. The dressmaker raised his head, startled by the sound, and saw a box the size of a parcel. The butler lifted the lid, revealing a stack of gold coins. As the dressmaker held his breath, the man in the chair tilted his head and laughed low. Before the dressmaker lowered his head again, he caught sight of the man’s black hair that drooped to the side.

“If you answer truthfully, I’ll double it.”

“…”

The dressmaker gulped and swallowed in agony.

“Of course, if you don’t answer, I won’t let you go so easily.”

“Yes, yes! He is. He’s in his mansion!”

“Is it true that the bastard himself ordered his mistress’ clothes?”

“…”

From the moment the man called Ed a ‘bastard’, the dressmaker appeased his own heart for betraying Ed, thinking that he had done the right thing a hundred times. Simultaneously, he began to further comfort his own troubled mind. 

‘With so many employees at the mansion, even if Sir Edgar tries to find the source, he won’t suspect me, a mere dressmaker.’

“Have you seen the woman?”

“No. I haven’t…”

“So, how can you be sure the clothes are for his mistress?”

“He ordered several pieces of women’s clothes in great secrecy.”

“Hmm…”

“And… the only woman in that house is Miss Levi. But she’s as tall as the Marquess and the clothes weren’t her size. So it must be for another woman! Of course, she’s also slim, but not as tall as Miss Levi…”

“Do you have records of her measurements?”

“Yes, yes! Of course, I have.”

“…”

The dressmaker quickly took out a booklet from his inside pocket and flipped through it.

“Here it is.”

The butler snatched it and brought it to the man. The man looked through the booklet and muttered annoyedly.

“…I can’t even remember how tall she was…”

The butler stuck close to the man and whispered his answer.

“…I think she was indeed as tall as this…”

“…How can you be sure of that?..”

“…Why else would he try to keep all of this under the radar? The Marquess kept his whereabouts a secret for a reason, so what made him compelled to do that? It must be to deceive the Duke of Mireille. That duke’s lackeys will also be waiting for her to appear here…”

“…Why would he be cheating on the duke? Lilo… is he planning to take her for himself?..”

“…I’m sorry, but isn’t it looking like that’s the case? Why else would he be keeping her without sending word to the duke’s residence? No matter how eccentric and far from women he is, at the end of the day, he is still a man with desires…” 

“…What?!”

“…”

The chair swayed as if the man would kick out of his seat at any moment. Meanwhile, the dressmaker kept his posture as crouched as possible in an attempt to erase his presence from the room.

“That madman…”

“In addition, he’s a very clever man… He might want to use his title as a marquess as a shield. That could be the reason why he’s hiding in his own house… Or maybe the rumours are true and a relationship between the two…”

“Shut up!”

The man jumped up and slapped the butler on the cheek. The butler immediately straightened his dishevelled body and then lowered his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“How can you afford to talk about such nonsense!”

“I made a mistake.”

“Damn it!”

Suddenly, a dagger fell far away when the man brandished his arm. It made a whooshing noise on the marble floor when the blade scraped against it. 

“Get her right now! Bring her to me before she gets dirty!”

“Yes!”

When the butler beckoned the soldiers, they grabbed the dressmaker’s arms.

“Ack!”

Only then did the man realise that the dressmaker was still there. The dressmaker met the man’s eyes who looked back at him with an eerily atmosphere surrounding him. The man’s dark blue, darkly sunken eyes wriggled. His dark blue justaucorps contrasted his pale skin, making him look even paler. He was a handsome man with a somewhat sickly and decadent impression due to the dark circles under his eyes. 

The dressmaker lowered his eyes in embarrassment at the face he had never seen before.

“How far have you gone with your eavesdropping, you rat?”

“Oh, no, I didn’t hear anything…”

“In front of whom are you telling lies!”

The butler hurriedly stepped in between the man and the dressmaker.

“This is Sir Venua*, the prince regent of the principality of Obernyu. Hurry up and pay your respect!”

“Agh! It’s an honour to meet you for the first time. I’m the dressmaker, Lou…”

“Wouldn’t even a lowly person like you have a wife and children?”

“..?!”

The dressmaker’s eye rims along the shaded corners of his eyes were burning red. The man’s smile was cruel when he mentioned the dressmaker’s wife and children. This added to the dressmaker’s woes. His involvement in such a dangerous situation had been a terrible mistake, so he closed his eyes tightly and nodded his head. Furthermore, his opponent made it clear what the dressmaker would lose when he opened his lips.

“You’ll have to take today’s affairs to the grave.”

“..!”

After that, the soldiers dragged the dressmaker out. While the butler also followed them, Venua couldn’t overcome his anger and shouted.

“Be sure to confirm that mistress’ identity! Be very sure!”

***

Even after Ed managed to shut his eyes, he barely slept. In addition, he woke up not long after that. He decided to get up at first, but that idea didn’t last long, so he laid down again and pulled the blanket up to his neck. Still, he couldn’t sleep at all. 

Ed finally kicked off the blanket and got up. 

‘It’s a waste of time to try to hold on to a sleep that won’t come anyway.’ 

Ed, loosely dressed in a gown, walked to the fireplace while holding a candlestick. The fire was out, so he worked the bellows without much sincerity. When the flames were revived, he threw some firewood into it.

From the simple desk in front of the fireplace, Ed picked up Lil’s portrait. Since Lil was still not aware of the involvement of the Duke of Mireille, he had to deal with it alone.

‘Mireille’s move could be either of these two possibilities. He can either send his subordinates directly to Roahn or this mission can be assigned to the Garni merchant guild officers who are already present. In the first case, those visitors would need to stay in a rented mansion or inn. In the case of the latter, searching through the Garni offices should be more efficient. But going to one of their guild’s buildings today was a complete waste of time. Their departments in Roahn are heavily guarded. And because they’re constantly involved in commercial disputes, I had a more difficult time investigating the guild, especially since I couldn’t afford to reveal my identity… 

Let’s focus on the first possibility for now…’

Staring at the list of rental villas on his messy desk, Ed skimmed the fine prints dejectedly. 

‘It would be much easier for me if I could consult with Liloa, but that’s a hopeless case. There’s also no way to make Liloa naturally aware that the Duke is after her… No, even if I could, I shouldn’t… As I don’t know why the Duke suddenly became interested in her again, I have to consider the possibility of another group… some third party could be involved…’

“When can I even try to inspect all these places…”

‘Liloa wants to concentrate on the Gualtiero plan, so I don’t have much time to go out either. After all, the situation with Gualtiero is equally pressing. Her crew’s escape has to be handled flawlessly. Until then, Liloa will never try to settle personal matters…’

Ed sighed and went through the list again. As he had no time to go out, he had no choice but to send someone. Ed was marking the places he needed to prioritise when he spotted Villa Somemei on the list and his quill came to a halt. 

‘At a glance, this guest seems to have used a pseudonym. It’s common to use pseudonyms in Roahn, but what makes this doubtful is that a person with enough wealth to rent this entire expensive villa has never contacted the governor.’ 

Ed made up his mind to go to this place himself.