Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Merchant Guild - [1]
Silence. Suffocating silence. Hans was frozen solid.
His eyes seemed glued to the bed. Meaning the disheveled Rozina.
Messy hair like she'd just woken up, with glossy red locks cascading down. The nightgown clinging to her body was top-grade silk that no commoner could even dream of touching.
And the pale shoulder peeking out from beneath those silk folds.
"Whoa, fuck... Weren't you definitely at the market?"
Hans's eyes held a mix of awe, shock, and the look you give trash—every possible thought swirling inside.
"No, you idiot."
"Like hell it's not. How the fuck did you pick up another one in that short time...? And a lady of the house, no less?"
Hans muttered in disbelief, his face utterly vacant, while Rozina yawned and turned to me.
"Aiman. Who might this gentleman be...?"
She rubbed her eyes as she asked.
"To barge in so boldly first thing in the morning... An old friend, perhaps?"
Her voice dripped with languid elegance. And the hand propping her up on the bed was smooth as jade, without a single trace of hard labor—pure nobility.
If I could see it, no way Hans missed it. The guy had eagle eyes for numbers, after all.
I could practically read his thoughts. Something like this?
-Silk nightgown. Manicured nails. And that effortless class. Nobility?
Yeah, that vibe. Proof? All the color drained from his face.
A noble lady lying in a commoner guy's bed? He'd seen what he shouldn't have.
Creeeak. Hans backed away oh-so-carefully, not making a sound, his hand on the doorknob.
"Ah. Looks like I came to the wrong place. Sorry. Excuse me."
He tried to ghost out the door like a specter. But my hand was faster.
"Where you going, you punk?"
I lunged and grabbed Hans.
"You came here, so spit out your business and go. Running off after seeing this? That's gonna cause bigger problems."
I dragged him kicking and screaming back into the room. Pale as a ghost, he kept stealing glances at Rozina.
I shoved him into a chair and poured him a glass of cold water. Meanwhile, Rozina slipped into the bathroom, changed, and came back out.
"Drink."
"..."
"Drink, I said."
"This isn't poisoned, right?"
"You wanna find out?"
Hans trembled, clutching the glass.
"Relax and talk. Lady Rozina's on my side."
"Lady? So she is nobility..."
Hans swallowed hard. But at my prodding, he just let out a deep sigh.
"...Probably nothing'll happen. If shit hits the fan, it's on you."
"Wait, me? I'm the one who has to take responsibility?"
"Yeah. You."
"..."
He looked exasperated at my irresponsibility but quickly sobered up.
"Haa... Fine. Straight to the point. The Merchant Guild's atmosphere is off."
"Merchant Guild?"
"Yeah. They're gunning for your piano."
Rozina and I exchanged looks. Hans pulled a crumpled wad of memo papers from his pocket.
"When you played at the market, crowds swarmed it, right? The market vendors loved it—big business day."
"Yeah."
"But lately, the Guild Master's been throwing around dirty money. Looks like he signed some contract with the market vendors' association. Tracked the ledgers 'cause it seemed fishy, and bam—shady fund flows."
Hans pointed at the memos.
"And cash flowing to bureaucrats too. They're probably pushing some 'Special Instrument Management Act' or bullshit like that."
"An act?"
"Yeah. Something like 'Unregistered new instruments must pass Guild verification.' They'll seize your piano by force or monopolize the tech."
Hans said it dead seriously.
"I don't know the details—no access to internals. But from the ledgers and their movements? 99% sure. They wanna steal your piano and milk it for cash."
Hans really was damn good at this... I'd sensed it from day one. If this were modern times, the guy could've built his own company.
Rozina's eyes sparkled as she listened.
"Hooh..."
She scanned the memos (packed with ciphered numbers).
"Reading all that from ledger flows alone? Quite... sharp."
Hans flinched at her praise and bowed his head.
"But..."
Rozina tilted her head.
"Does Aiman know about this too?"
"Aiman-nim...?"
Hans freaked at her words, but I played it cool.
"Of course."
"More impressive than I thought? You and this Hans fellow... My family doesn't have talent like this."
"We're not that smart. Either of us."
I coughed awkwardly.
"Could even call us idiots."
The backstory was simple. Back then, Hans and I had caught execs skimming and cooking double books.
Not out of justice. Just pissed that we got peanuts for salary while those assholes played money games.
We gathered proof and tipped off audit. Result? Disaster. Audit chief was in on it.
Execs banded together, painted us as slackers spreading lies.
We got suspended and basically kicked out.
"That's when we learned—even if a commoner flies high, they can't beat the cartel of the powerful."
Rozina pondered my words, then snapped her fan shut with a tak.
"A rotten Guild twisting laws to steal from others? Unforgivable in a noble's name."
She looked at me proudly.
"Shall I handle it? With my family's power, dismantling a puny Guild like that is child's play."
Nobles gonna noble.
Hans's face stayed grim. He'd been fidgeting uncomfortably, and now he glanced at me.
"Aiman. I'm outta here. Telling you this much settles my debt."
He stood.
"Hold up, Hans. Stop."
I called him back from the door.
'Guy's broke right now.'
Hans had skills. Just bad luck and no connections. I knew it.
Skint and scraping by now, but give him wings and he'd soar higher than anyone.
And Rozina... Her personality was... unique, but she wasn't the backstabbing type. I could tell.
"Lady Rozina."
"Yes?"
I pointed at Hans.
"This guy's got real talent, as you see. Tight-lipped, number cruncher extraordinaire. Brain to dismantle a whole Guild."
"I see."
"Think... the Bellua family could hire him?"
"...!!"
Hans's eyes bugged out.
"Hey! You nuts?! Me, in a noble house...!"
"Shut it. You're broke and desperate, right? Work for nobles, and you escape the mage draft too."
Rozina eyed me, then smiled oddly.
"Sure."
She approached Hans, lips quirking up.
"If Aiman recommends you, I trust it. And I just happen to need a sharp financial manager for the family."
She offered her hand.
"Best terms. Salary triple the Guild's. Or five times, if you want."
"P-Pardon? No... Pardon?"
Hans looked shell-shocked. Rozina paused, glanced at me, and added,
"Aiman's just worried about his friend, right? Can't bear to see you starve?"
"N-No, it's not... like that."
"Hehe, got it. I'll take it that way."
She nodded meaningfully, chuckling.
"Well then."
Rozina snapped her fan open and turned to the door.
"Contract's sealed. Shall we get to work?"
"Right now?"
"Gotta meet those Guild bastards. Time to make them pay for eyeing Aiman's piano. And Aiman."
"Yes."
"This isn't pure charity. It's an investment. Investment."
Her tone was rock-solid, no doubt.
"I see you climbing way higher than this. So I'm investing early. Might even have to thank Serika."
...Just getting that imperial letter was enough for a mad movie at my funeral.
Way higher? Bullshit.
"Now, shall we really go?"
Grabbing Hans again as he tried to bolt was just icing.