The man who laughed to tears, took me to the proper room. A place with tables and chairs. And he gave me clothes to cover.

But the man who kidnapped me, no, I mean, that guy. That guy is the Iskar’s new chief. The previous chief was not on good terms with Sir Shubart, just like an enemy, but he wasn’t on good terms with the current chief too.

Since then, the chief changed again and again until Shale became the chief. I don’t think he often encountered Sir Shubart, but it was true that their relationship was still not good.  Still, he is the one who controls the underworld as much as Sir Shubart, so I decided that it would be best to hold hands with him.

“I thought you’d come to me sooner.”

Then he shrugged his shoulders.

“I sent someone several times, but your escort was so tight that there was hardly any gap. You’re forcing me to step up by myself. So why did you look for me?”

He sat leisurely with his legs crossed and asked. I sat half-leaning against the sofa because my fever was still there.

“Before that.”

“What?”

“Maybe soon people from Bei will break in to find me.”

Shale loosened his twisted legs and jumped up.

“What? Why are you saying that now? Then it will be a pain in the ass to deal with them.”

I beckoned to sit down again.

“Sorry, I meant we didn’t have much time. And you already know that fact, don’t you?”

“Being a quick-witted person is no fun.”

“Anyway, I will pay for the damage later. If you just leave me behind, you won’t suffer big damage. I just wanted to say I want to make a deal with you before that.”

He sat quietly again. There were rumors that he was like a jerk, but I don’t think he’s like that because he’s being obedient.

“But how did you know me and steal the key?”

“We don’t have time for that, so can we talk about it later?”

“You’re quite arbitrary.”

“Ah, I’m sorry about that too.”

I raised my hand to apologize to him and decided to get to the point. Originally, I would have been able to talk to him a little calmer. I thought it may be because I met Duke Rudbihi and got slapped, but less than a day later, I met my mother after a long time. Or maybe it was because I was really sick that my body didn’t function properly.

“You must have a lot of questions for me. I will answer you later too. First, I need you and some sources. Get a competent kid and stick them to me. After today, there will be more people guarding me.”

“How should I send it?”

“As a maid. It’s better if that child had no ties.”

“I underst… wait, you’re ordering me to—”

“I will tell you later. I will pay you back for it.”

I got up from my seat again. It seemed that Sir Shubart was about to arrive here. I don’t know how long I’ve been passed out.  

“You, aren’t you looking for your mother’s belongings?”

“What?”

Shale, who had been quite accepting of me until recently, turned hostile instantly and looked cold. He stared at me with sharp eyes.

Shale mother’s belonging, Kasandra’s pocket watch. It was the only masterpiece made of the now-disappeared jewel of saint diamond.  Even though it is a gem, no matter how hard you polish it, it doesn’t shine. It’s a pure white game that doesn’t have any impurities with the matte finish. It’s called a saint diamond, meaning the soul of an angel dwells in it.

A gem that is used to reveal its nobility rather than splendor. Now, it hasn’t been found anywhere on the continent, so there are only a few saint diamonds that have already been crafted in the world.

You can’t tell if it’s a saint diamond unless you look at it closely, but Sir Shubart will find it at the auction house and buy it to propose to my mother. Mother doesn’t accept it, but later, when she later dies, holding it in her arms when she eventually dies at the hands of the prince. In other words, it will happen if I don’t change the future. Sir Shubart might be able to find something better, so I decided to interfere with at least this.

Shale is not looking for the gem because he wants it, but because that item is really precious to him, and I am just trying to find a more suitable owner for it. If I can change the story, I might be able to change my mother too.

“It will be auctioned soon. In the biggest auction house… what was it called again? You can find it, right? It will come out as the third item. If you want to find it before that, find the blue-haired one among those who put things in the auction house. I don’t care what you will do to that person.”

Shale still had a ferocious look on his face.

“How can I believe you? What if it’s one of your traps?”

Even though he looked slender, I felt a chill in my spine and even a tingling sensation to living as if he became the chief for nothing. It’s similar to what I sometimes felt from Sir Shubart’s eyes. I said without agitation as much as possible,

“Even if what I’m saying isn’t true, you have nothing to lose now. So is it a big problem? You can even kill me now.”

I tilted my head and raised my chin as if telling him to use his sword. Then Shale, who was staring at me, smiled and relaxed his expression.

“What are you doing this for?”

“When you find the item and think you can help me, send someone to me.”

“What if I don’t want to help you?”

“The chief of the Bei cares a lot about me. If I lie to him that you fell in love with me at first sight and kidnapped me, he will start a war with you. Well, if you don’t mind about it, you can just ignore my words.”

Hearing my words, Shale’s expression became even more ridiculous.

“…w-w-what?”

“You don’t want to be bothered, don’t you?”

“That’s not the problem! Will he really believe that?”

“He believes everything I say. Oh, what to do? I have to go now.”

There was a commotion outside, which was quiet. Perhaps Sir Shubart had arrived.

I pointed my eyes at the door and urged him to answer quickly. He puffed his mouth and pretended to be stunned for a while, then suddenly ruffled his hair violently.

“You know what to do, right?”

“I’m confident in that. Now leave me alone.”

“What?”

“I will take care of it, so go away quickly. Don’t you bring me here because you didn’t want to do more work? This is out of your judgment.”

Shale made an absurd face, like saying how I knew all about it. Seeing him look like that makes him look stupid for a chief. I don’t know how he is in front of his subordinates, but given that his power has not decreased, I’m sure he has the skills.

The noise was getting louder. My body started to ache as the tension began to release. Suddenly, my head felt dizzy.

Shale hurried out of the back door, perhaps not wanting to do more work, as I said. If he faces Sir Shubart, his men will die here more, so he wouldn’t want to see more blood only to find the one who stole the key.

I went out to the place where I had come in earlier.

Bang. Bang.

From a while ago, the sound of the door opening and closing was getting closer. It was a wild, urgent noise. Then I stopped moving forward.

“Haa…”

My mouth, which had been tightly shut, opened, and hot air leaked out automatically. I’m really tired now.

It’s already my limit.

Gradually, my vision was fading away. The fever that came to the top of my head was terribly tormenting me. Seriously, swear words were about to come out of my throat.

At that moment, at the end of the hallway where my eyes met, a man was running backward in fear. There were still people left. However, before he could even shout for help, he fell down at the sword that someone quickly used in front of the man. It was not long before the man who used the sword appeared.

“…”

I looked at the man standing facing me in disbelief.

Why is this guy coming out of here?

Haha. It’s so funny. I can’t believe I see an illusion. No? Is it real?

But Valery Ahibara Kasinev can’t be here.

As if to defy my doubts, he strode as fast as he could towards me. His white shirt was red here and there because of how many people he had stabbed. Although the bloody smell was mixed, my body became comfortable when he was by my side.

Is this really not an illusion?

“Valery…?”

I called him like that for the first time. It’s not just what Valery Ahibara Kasinev wants, but also the same feeling for me to call him like that.

“Ha…”

Looking breathless somewhere, he had an indescribable expression on his face. Then he lowered his head for a moment as if to sour out his emotions and then raised his head again.

“Yes, I’m here to pick you up.”