Chapter 11
The Queen of Roses
* * *
At Kairus’s question, Jonathan looked at him as if he were spouting absolute nonsense.
“In the eyes of a fence who buys and sells stolen goods, the guy who comes offering money is king. There’s no reason to even hesitate.”
To put it simply, if he went there with enough money in his pocket, Kairus might be able to get clues about the lost secrets of House Featherwing or the whereabouts of the Veil of Plumed Mist.
“If it’s just a bit of money a restaurant worker scraped together from his wages, would a place like Areumdri Pawnshop even bother treating me as a customer?”
“Of course not. If you show up with that kind of pocket change, they’d really treat you like a beggar. You’d end up with your limbs broken, hanging from a stick like some kind of toy.”
It was as good as saying there was no chance. But thanks to Jonathan’s tip, he at least had an idea of where to start.
The problem was that he needed a lot of money. However, Jonathan didn’t look like he had any intention of raising his wages. As he was pondering, Kairus cautiously spoke.
“According to the guaranteed contract, wasn’t I prohibited from side jobs?”
“That’s right. But, well, you’ve proven yourself to be a pretty reliable bastard. I can’t treat you the same way I used to.”
Jonathan grinned as he spoke.
“I won’t stop you from taking on some side work in your spare time. But don’t you dare neglect your main job because of it.”
Jonathan was giving Kairus the chance to look around for something to earn money on the side.
“Bennett City is full of ways to make money. If you look hard enough.”
“Of course, they’re not exactly legal methods, are they.”
At Kairus’s words, Jonathan let out a sound like, “Huh?”
“If scum like us knew a legitimate way to make a fortune, let me in on it too. Damn it, I’d quit this crappy restaurant and spend my days lazing around in no time.”
For people with no money, the easiest way to suddenly get their hands on a big sum was ultimately crime.
All you needed was the cheap seed money of a blade and a mask, and perhaps just a little courage to go with it.
If you asked exactly how much courage was required, the answer would be just enough to accept that, if you were caught, you’d end up in the labor correctional facility and work until you froze to death.
When you had nothing, and you wanted to make a fortune in a short time, you had to be prepared to bet your life.
“Thank you for allowing it. Then I’ll look into something suitable while continuing my work here.”
“Keep this in mind: restaurant work comes first. If you need to be away for a few days, tell me in advance. And if you’re gone for several days, I’ll take 20 percent of whatever profit you make from your side job.”
20 percent of the money Kairus would earn on the side.
It was an amount that, depending on how one looked at it, could be called either large or small. But in the first place, what Jonathan was saying now was different from the contract guaranteed by the Rose Garden.
“Yes, understood. Ah, but can the terms of a contract already guaranteed by the Rose Garden be revised?”
“On the premise that all the parties involved agree. For reference, as long as the collateral doesn’t change, they usually do it pretty cheap.”
The Rose Garden actually only intervened to seize the collateral if the contract was breached.
So they didn’t care if the contract terms themselves changed, but if the collateral changed, for any reason whatsoever, a huge additional fee would be charged so Jonathan explained.
“When you change the collateral, no matter how little they ask, it’s usually about double the original amount paid.”
“Wow.”
It was also, in a way, a warning to choose the collateral carefully.
“Makes me curious about the one running the Rose Garden.”
At Kairus’s words, Jonathan clicked his tongue.
“Don’t call them ‘boss.’ You call them ‘the representative.’ And what good would it do you to know, anyway? People like us at the bottom shouldn’t be curious about those high and mighty folks. Enough talk open up the place.”
At Jonathan’s words, Kairus gave him a thumbs up once.
* * *
On a drizzly night, a red private car arrived at a vast mansion located on the northeastern outskirts, a little away from Bennett City.
“This isn’t a mansion more like a palace.”
While a servant in the passenger seat busily wiped the rain off the windshield with a broom, a middle-aged man in a raincoat and monocle stepped out of the car’s back seat.
For whatever reason, he tapped the ground once with the cane in his hand, then stared at the mansion before him.
“Common rabble.”
After saying that, the middle-aged man slowly walked toward the mansion’s main entrance. The attendant following him opened his mouth.
“Open the gate.”
Immediately, one of the men standing guard behind the door replied.
“It is not permitted until your identity is verified. Wait there.”
At the cold response, the middle-aged man’s expression changed at once.
“Do you have any idea who this gentleman is, to be speaking like that?”
To the attendant’s words, the man answered.
“We don’t know. That’s why we’re asking you to wait so we can find out.”
Listening to the exchange, the middle-aged man spoke.
“Look at these utterly lowborn wretches. It is offensive enough to make the Director of the Imperial Treasury’s Customs Bureau wait, but you have the nerve to tell me to stand out here in this freezing weather?”
“We are merely doing our duty.”
One of the guards flicked his gaze toward his colleague inside the guard post, and the man inside immediately picked up the receiver of the telephone installed there.
“When your identity is confirmed, you will be treated accordingly. Wait.”
The Director of Customs held back the anger bubbling up inside him and waited. A moment later, a response came from the guard post.
“Identity confirmed. Welcome.”
Soon after, the gate opened, and as if he had been waiting for this moment, the middle-aged man swung his cane at one of the men guarding the entrance.
“You rotten bastards!”
But the cane never struck the man’s head. The cane was caught firmly in the man’s hand.
“Please refrain from acts of violence within the estate. This verbal warning will be the only one, Director.”
“Release it at once! Do you think it would be any trouble at all for me to throw scum like you into the labor correctional facility and let you rot there for decades?”
The man said nothing in return. He only looked at the Director of Customs as a faint creaking came from the cane caught in his grip.
“I will guide you inside.”
The Director glared at him for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Fine. I will speak directly to the master of this mansion.”
With that, fuming, the Director followed behind.
As he trailed the man, the Director looked around.
He had no choice but to admit that the mansion was exquisitely arranged.
They knew exactly what materials to use for decoration, and what textures matched well with each color.
This was not the work of some lowborn upstart who suddenly struck it rich. It was refined and splendid at once, without crossing into vulgar ostentation.
“Director. Welcome, we have been expecting you.”
When the man opened the door, a room decorated overall in dark, crimson tones came into view.
At the prepared table, two people were seated. One was someone the Director recognized: the Chief of Security of Bennett City.
“Jensen Ludbow, Chief of Security.”
The Director acknowledged him with a simple greeting, then turned to look at the other seated figure.
It was a woman wearing a crimson silk shirt, a black necktie, and a navy blue flared skirt. Without a word, she set down the teacup she held in her hand and greeted him.
“Hello.”
It was an exceptionally pleasant voice, like clear water running briskly through a stream on a hot day.
“And who is this wench?”
The Director cast his eyes over the woman’s face and spoke in a tone of disbelief.
“Hey, Chief. Even if you’re taken with her, is it appropriate to bring some barmaid to a place like this?”
At those words, the Chief of Security’s face turned deathly pale.
“Sir, this person is….”
As he tried to say more, the woman lightly raised her hand. Immediately, the Chief swallowed his words and closed his mouth.
“This barmaid has a name Cecilia Longhorn. Welcome to my mansion.”
If she was the owner of this mansion… it meant that the woman before his eyes was the head of the Rose Garden.
Only then did the Director of Customs realize his mistake. He swallowed hard and forced an awkward smile.
“Well, it seems I’ve been rather rude.”
“You’re aware that you were rude, then?”
Cecilia Longhorn brushed her black hair back and clicked her tongue a few times toward the door, giving a signal.
At once, the door opened and several armed men entered.
“You called for us?”
“Would you hold that gentleman down for me?”
The moment Cecilia Longhorn gave the order, the men lunged forward and firmly seized the Director of Customs by the arms.
“W-what do you think you’re doing? Let go of me!”
As he shouted and opened his mouth wide, Cecilia shoved a gag into it.
“Shh. Be quiet at night. A respectable gentleman ought to mind his manners.”
In the same tone one might use to soothe a child, she picked up a large forceps and slipped it inside his mouth.
Holding the forceps, Cecilia Longhorn spoke in an indifferent voice.
“This will sting a little.”
With a dull crunching sound, a molar was ripped straight from the Director’s mouth.
The word “sting” had nothing at all to do with the searing agony that exploded in his head.
Afterward, Cecilia disinfected the socket where the tooth had been, packed it with gauze, and removed the gag from his mouth.
“Hold the gauze down with your bite. Keep it there for at least two hours, and don’t spit out any saliva or blood. There, all done. You did well.”
The Director of Customs, robbed of a tooth in the blink of an eye, turned crimson with rage and jabbed a finger at Cecilia.
“You… you little…!”
“Yes?”
Cecilia made a crisp snapping sound with the forceps in her hand and looked at him.
He had been about to say something else, but in the end, he shut his mouth. Watching him, Cecilia gave a smiling glance with her eyes.
“As expected of a man in high office, you’re quick-witted. You nearly became a mute.”
She said this as she playfully stuck out her tongue and tapped it lightly with her index finger.
Then she set the iron forceps on the table, gestured to the seat across from her, and beckoned him to sit.
“Surely you’re not going to leave after just having a tooth pulled? This isn’t a dental clinic.”
She turned to the men who had been holding him down moments earlier.
“It’s all right now. You can go back and wait outside. Oh, and there’s no need to bring the refreshments prepared for this gentleman.”
Considering he’d just had a molar torn out, he wouldn’t be eating anything anyway.
Cecilia smiled as if nothing had happened.
“Allow me to introduce myself formally. I am Cecilia Longhorn, the representative of the Rose Garden.”
“Do you have any idea what will happen if the Empire finds out what you’ve done to me?”
The Director of Customs had no interest whatsoever in her polite introduction. Having had a perfectly healthy molar ripped out moments ago, it would have been stranger if her words had registered at all.
“Nothing at all will happen. Alphonse Kimberley, Director of Customs. You won’t tell anyone, so there’s no way the Valorn Empire will ever know.”
Despite having just pulled out a living person’s tooth, Cecilia’s voice was a mix of certainty and nonchalance.
“You think I’m going to let this go after you ripped out my tooth?!”
At his shout, Cecilia began to twirl a strand of her hair around her finger.
“Those fifteen male slaves you purchased through Lumis & Wesson Transport Company where are they now, and what are they doing?”
At her words, the face of Alphonse, who had been glaring at her as if he would kill her, suddenly froze.
“Those filthy bastards. They swore absolute secrecy!”
“It seems you don’t understand that in Bennett City, a promise without our guarantee is worthless.”