Chapter 30
I half meant it. Better to go with them, no matter where, than to be left behind alone in this strange place.
The surprise on Kirhin’s face melted into a soft warmth. He rose from his seat, eyeing me with pity. When he stepped closer and laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, I could only look up at him, bewildered.
At his firm decree, the surrounding servants bowed their heads. As I glanced sideways at Nina’s narrowing eyes, Kirhin sank down on one knee before me. Looking into my face, he gave me a warm smile.
When my expression fell, Kirhin poked me lightly on the cheek.
He had a taste for the strangest things. At times, it felt as though he thought of me as a pet puppy.
His eyes pressed for an answer, so I gave a reluctant nod. Kirhin ruffled my hair and rose to his feet.
I walked to the entrance to see him off as he left the estate. The carriage bearing him and the escort’s horse dwindled to mere specks before vanishing from sight. Silence settled heavily across the sprawling mansion.
Standing beside me, Laurel gave my back a natural nudge. Just as I turned around, Nina’s stern voice rang out.
Standing straight-backed, Nina exuded the dignity of the estate’s true master. Her frosty gaze drove into Laurel like a blade.
A smile slowly spread across Laurel’s lips. It was far from cordial, carrying an unexpected edge of hostility.
Nina did not budge an inch at Laurel’s words. This time, her glare fixed onto me.
It was rich coming from someone who addressed me as ‘my lady’ with eyes that held nothing but contempt, but strictly speaking, her words were not wrong.
Besides, the Laurel here was practically a different person from the Laurel at the washing place. I needed to keep my distance from someone acting as if we were the closest of friends.
Looking hurt, Laurel took my arm. I slowly shook off her hand and looked at her.
“Adapting to changing circumstances is the most basic principle of survival. Rather than leaning on past familiarity, isn’t it your duty to consider my standing?”
Her eyes widened in disbelief, but Nina’s sharp gaze cut in, silencing her. I walked calmly back to my chair and sat down.
Nina never simply brought what was asked without a test. In some ways, she was stricter than an etiquette tutor. At times, it even felt as though Kirhin himself were under her scrutiny.
Swallowing a sigh, I searched my memory. I had a decent memory, and I was always on edge during meals with Kirhin in the mansion to avoid making any blunders.
Kirhin drank different teas in the morning and evening. Having only ever tasted brew boiled from discarded scrap leaves, there was no way I could know tea brands or varieties. Sensing my lost expression, he had always placed the order with Nina on my behalf.
When I named a familiar variety, a faint smirk touched Nina’s lips. It pricked my pride that her expression seemed to say, ‘Of course, that’s all you know,’ but it was the truth. At least I had spared myself a scolding in front of Laurel, which was relief enough.
Nina retreated, leaving me to sit placidly beneath Laurel’s prickly stare. Looking out the broad window where warm sunlight poured into the room, I said a quiet prayer.
…May everyone return safely without incident. Lars turned his head at a rustling sound. Yanken was striding into view, parting the underbrush.
Lars understood well why Yanken trailed off.
The merchants did not strictly need to strike this deal with them. Though Balshuin was growing increasingly extortionate, his power was too overwhelming to defy, leaving the coalition largely resigned to their fate.
It was Lars who had persuaded them. He had hammered home that Balshuin was not a man to be satisfied with mere concessions. Pushed any further, the merchant coalition itself would be swallowed whole.
Using that accumulated wealth, Balshuin would expand his army, and Lars knew exactly where the tips of those spears would ultimately turn. Diverting the trade away from the Fremont Merchant Coalition was the opening gambit to thwart that future.
House Beekman’s long-standing rapport combined with Lars’s sound arguments had brought the merchants to agree, but seeing Balshuin’s ruthlessness firsthand could still change their minds. Everyone needed to emerge unscathed today, if only for that.
It was for this very reason that they had chosen an abandoned farmhouse on the edge of the forest as their meeting site. Mercenaries hired by Yanken lay in wait throughout the trees. They were few in number, but each possessed exceptional skill. Every one of them had once served in Lars’s unit during the war.
Yanken lowered his stance and whispered. Having already sensed the presence, Lars had his hand on his waist, glaring sharply toward the window.
Listening to the rustle of someone making their way through the shadowed grass, Lars soon lowered his guard and exhaled. One could tell who it was simply by that careless tread.
Reciting the password with a grumble, Kirhin pushed the door open and stepped inside. He flinched at the sight of the murderous aura around Yanken, then cleared his throat to feign bravado before approaching Lars.
Rendered speechless by Lars’s dry retort, Kirhin gave a dramatic shudder.
Lars’s tone was matter-of-fact, but the words carried a chilling edge. Kirhin hugged his arms around himself and twisted his face into a grotesque grimace.
Yanken clicked his tongue. Lars shook his head and asked,
On Kirhin’s extended finger was a thick signet ring engraved with a bull, the crest of House Beekman. It was proof of his legitimacy as the baron’s heir, an essential seal needed when signing the contract with the merchants.
Lars let out a soft chuckle to keep the atmosphere from turning too grim. The tension melted away from Kirhin at once, and his nose wrinkled in an amused smirk.
Puffing his chest like a proud peacock, Kirhin cut himself off mid-sentence. His nostrils flared. Sniffing the air as he drew close to Lars, he broke into an admiring grin.
